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Beliefs and values are often presented in British society as a matter of opinion and of personal and private choice about which there can be no public discourse. By contrast Christian education will seek to represent God in Jesus Christ who is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Powerful secular and material forces operate through many media in British society. Christian education will seek to provide a coherent alternative world view in which, for example, the denial of self and the life of service provide the route to real happiness and perfect freedom. Such counterbalances to secular messages do not indoctrinate the young rather they free them for personal choices on the basis of understanding.
In a Church school, Christian education cannot be restricted to some aspects of the curriculum, such as worship or religious education. Schools recognize that all aspects of the life of the school contribute to the moral and social development of their pupils. Similarly, all aspects of the life of the school contribute to the pupils' spiritual and cultural development. So, a Church school will find opportunities throughout the school curriculum, explicit and implicit, and through relationships at all levels, to share the Christian gospel and to exemplify the life of faith. Such integration requires the inspection of schools by OFSTED inspectors and denominational inspectors to take place in close consultation. Such proclamation of the gospel, like the teaching of Christ himself, will be powerful and attractive but not overwhelming or oppressive. Faith cannot be evoked through coercion.
In character and mission statements, in the school prospectus, in aims and objectives, in policies and schemes of work, a Church school will express the centrality of the Christian faith to the life of the school, not as an additional or incidental feature but as a fundamental and guiding principle. Thus it will be central to the Church's mission.
Extract taken from The National Society's Inspection Handbook, 3rd edition (The National Society, 2000)
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