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The Stephen Lawrence Enquiry Report focused attention once again on the extent to which the evils of racism still persist within our society. Long before the enquiry published its findings, The Church of England had been taking a leading role in tackling the issue. Among its initiatives was one stimulated by a visit of a representative of The Committee for Minority Ethnic Anglican Concerns to the diocese of Hereford. During this visit the challenges faced by rural primary schools in educating children to live in a culturally diverse society were highlighted. As a result the Church of England set up a working group drawn from:
The Committee for Minority
Ethnic Anglican Concerns
The Board of Education
The Church's Rural Officers
The Board of Mission
The National Society
and a number of rural dioceses.
The group felt that there was a significant level of resources available to urban schools. For this reason they chose to focus on the issues raised in Hereford, namely, "how can rural primary schools be helped and supported to make a proper contribution towards enabling pupils and their families to recognize and value the cultural diversity of our country".
This was seen as appropriate not only because of the needs identified in Hereford and other rural dioceses, but also because the Church of England has a large number of rural primary schools and, therefore, a major responsibility in this area.
Despite problems obtaining grants to support this work, funding was found from the Central Church Fund and from the budget of several Diocesan Boards of Education.
In the first instance the group commissioned a study carried out by researchers from Durham and Cambridge Universities. The report of this pilot study, called Valuing Cultural Diversity in Rural Primary Schools, was presented to the working group in the autumn of 1999. Following discussions of the study nationally and in the dioceses, the group turned its attention to providing support for schools. The group's focus is on rural schooling, where the Church of England has a large number of schools and therefore a particular responsibility. This new resource is directly derived from the work of that study and a series of courses and conferences at which the findings were discussed.
It is presented as a resource for school self-evaluation, although this may not be the only way in which the material can be used effectively.
A key document from The National Society, published in 1996, is Respect for All. It will be helpful to have a copy of this booklet available in school. It is important that the leaders and facilitators of any school review process are familiar with this key text.
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