Showing posts with label Politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Politics. Show all posts
Focus on relationships and quality - not buildings
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Relational youth ministry is quoting the Bishop of Chelmsford speaking to a Grand Committee of the House of Lords:
“My heart sank a little when we spoke of building youth centres. Those of us in the faith communities and the churches have been involved in work with young people for a long time.
“Buildings are important, and churches sometimes struggle with that, but it is the relationships and the quality of the work that are really important. We must be focused."
Great thoughts, lets hope his comments lead to something positive.
£30m to keep parks and sports facilities open later
Saturday, February 02, 2008
Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families Ed Balls recently announced a £30m investment over the next three years so sports facilities can be used all year and round the clock.
He urged more councils to end the ‘no balls game’ culture and help give children and young people out-of-school sports provision by opening up local facilities such as parks, playgrounds, basketball and tennis courts for longer hours.
Some of the comments Ed Balls made include:
He urged more councils to end the ‘no balls game’ culture and help give children and young people out-of-school sports provision by opening up local facilities such as parks, playgrounds, basketball and tennis courts for longer hours.
Some of the comments Ed Balls made include:
“We have some great sports facilities in schools. But at this time of year some young people find their local pitches are unlit and waterlogged. And even if they do function the gates are locked at sundown."
“And I’d ask all local authorities to look at the public sports facilities they already provide and make sure they are usable for as long as possible. If young people want to play sport after school we should encourage it - not lock the gates or turn off the lights."
“Of course local authorities have to make sure places are safe and secure - but floodlights can make areas safe for use and experience shows us that area which have provided out of hours sporting opportunities have seen a fall in anti-social behaviour.”
Check out his statement here.
Government loses faith in growth of religious schools
Friday, January 18, 2008
The Government has decided against backing more faith schools, the Children, Schools and Families Secretary, Ed Balls, told MPs.
In what is being seen as one of the most significant policy shifts of the post-Tony Blair era in education, he told a Commons select committee: "It is not the policy of the Government nor my department to expand the number of faith schools. We're not leading a drive for more faith schools."
His comments are seen as a major departure from the stance taken by Mr Blair and one of Mr Balls' predecessors, the staunchly Catholic Ruth Kelly. Mr Blair made it plain that he wanted to see faith groups coming forward to sponsor his flagship academies – set up to replace struggling inner-city schools – on the grounds that faith schools had better exam results than the national average and could pass on their expertise.
Muslim Fear Behind Faith Schools Reverse?
The spread of faith schools across the country has been shelved because ministers fear they could help create a new generation of Muslim extremists, it was claimed last night.
A favourite project of Tony Blair, the schools have previously been seen as a success, with good academic results and satisfied parents.
But in a Commons committee on Wednesday, Ed Balls, the Schools Secretary, appeared to take a step back from plans to create more. He said ministers had no ideological commitment to faith schools, in which children are admitted on the basis of their parents' beliefs.
Mr Balls added that he did not necessarily believe they were best for communities and that it was up to local people to say if they wanted one in their area.
He also said he wanted faith schools to avoid dividing neighbourhoods along racial lines, adding: "There were many examples of faith schools who actually promote community cohesion. I want that best practice to apply to all schools."
Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali writes on influence of Islam in the UK and disestablishment of the church
Sunday, January 06, 2008
Michael Nazir-Ali, Bishop of Rochester has written an article in the Sunday Telegraph entitled Extremism flourished as UK lost Christianity. Some of the bits that have been highlighted include:
There has been a worldwide resurgence of the ideology of Islamic extremism. One of the results of this has been to further alienate the young from the nation in which they were growing up and also to turn already separate communities into "no-go" areas where adherence to this ideology has become a mark of acceptability.
Those of a different faith or race may find it difficult to live or work there because of hostility to them. In many ways, this is but the other side of the coin to far-Right intimidation. Attempts have been made to impose an "Islamic" character on certain areas, for example, by insisting on artificial amplification for the Adhan, the call to prayer.
The Bishop was criticised by Ibrahim Mogra, of the Muslim Council of Britain. He said:
It's irresponsible for a man of his position to make these comments. He should accept that Britain is a multicultural society in which we are free to follow our religion at the same time as being extremely proud to be British. We wouldn't allow 'no-go' areas to happen. I smell extreme intolerance when people criticise multiculturalism without proper evidence of what has gone wrong.
Obviously the media have picked up on the more controversial sections of his article, but he makes two important points:
Much of this has come about because of a "neutral" secularist approach which refuses to privilege any faith. In fact, secularism has its own agenda and it is certainly not neutral. It is perfectly possible for Britain to welcome people on the basis of its Christian heritage.
We often try to suggest that the agnostic view point is a nothing, but it has its own views and beliefs and they impact politics, education and other areas. He points this out with issues such as the erosion of chaplaincy units in hospitals.
His other key point is:
Not only locally, but at the national level also the establishment of the Church of England is being eroded. My fear is, in the end, nothing will be left but the smile of the Cheshire Cat.
In the past, I have supported the establishment of the Church, but now I have to ask if it is only the forms that are left and the substance rapidly disappearing. If such is the case, is it worth persevering with the trappings of establishment?
The disestablishment of the Church of England is an interesting issue which has come higher up the agenda with the increased multi-cultural society and Gordon Brown's decision to relinquish Downing Street's involvement in appointing bishops.
In many way disestablishment would be a sad thing - there has been that relationship between church and state since the reformation - and it acknowledges the influence the Church of England had, and to some extent has on society.
But the Church of England doesn't have the influence any more, recent research showed that attendance at Catholic Mass has overtaken the number of worshippers at Church of England Sunday services. The link between the Church and State can also make the Church lazy - they are used to privileges that others don't get, they have influence which isn't necessarily deserved, disestablishment may make the church think and priorities harder, and become more vocal on issues.
NCVYS responds to the Children's Paper
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Following on from the government's Children's Paper the NCVYS (National Council for Voluntary Youth Services) has just brought out a policy brief here - well worth a quick read.
The Children's Plan
Saturday, December 15, 2007
The government has announced the Children's Plan, a £1bn 10-year strategy for education, welfare and play. It includes changes to the primary school curriculum and the possible end of the Sats tests in England by 2009. The wide-ranging plan promises 3,500 playgrounds, flexible school starts for summer babies, more nursery places in deprived areas, a focus on teaching English, maths and foreign languages in primary schools, adventure play parks and more information for parents about children's progress.
Children's Secretary Ed Balls said the mission was to make "our country the best place in the world to grow up" and the Plan would "unlock the talents and promote the health and happiness of all children, and not just some". The Children's Plan draws together the government's proposals to improve children's learning and well-being by 2020.
You can download a free copy of the Plan here.
You can download a free copy of the Plan here.
EA documents re: Charity Commission changes to churches in the UK
Thursday, December 06, 2007
Adrian has blogged about the UK EA releasing freely some some legal framework documents that could be really helpful if you are a church which is lead by one of its employees and/or decisions are not taken by a vote of the full membership. The Charity Commission has some big changes for churches, and the EA has been working with them:
The Evangelical Alliance and the Charity Commission have announced the completion of three model governing documents that provide guidance for independent churches. These documents are the culmination of four years of work.The documents set out the proper checks and balances required to allow paid church leaders to take appropriate leadership responsibilities as church charity trustees, manage any potential conflicts of interest, and offer churches a legal structure to help govern their charity.The work, initiated in 2003, was primarily designed to strengthen accountability and governance of new independent churches. The model governing documents have been drawn up by the Evangelical Alliance, African and Caribbean Evangelical Alliance, Anthony Collins (solicitors) and Stewardship, in partnership with the Charity Commission...
Kate Moss mistook David Cameron for plumber
Saturday, November 10, 2007
David Cameron has told how supermodel Kate Moss asked for his phone number after mistaking him for a plumber! The pair met at a charity dinner but the Conservative leader had no idea what to talk about so he started a conversation about flood damage.
Mr Cameron said he was stuck for words when Top Shop boss Sir Philip Green introduced him to the top model. "I went over to her table and on the way over I thought, what on earth am I going to say? And I remembered she actually has a house in my constituency and we'd had these terrible floods in West Oxfordshire and so I said, 'Very nice to meet you, very sorry about the flooding in your house. I know your local pub has been flooded, I've been to see the publican and I know you like to go to the pub and so I know it's going to reopen in six months. So I went on like this, twittering on, and she turned around and said, 'God, you sound like a really useful guy, can I have your phone number?'"
Abortion Briefing Paper by the Baptist Union
Monday, November 05, 2007
This year has just seen the 40th anniversary of the 1967 Abortion Act. Debates about medical advances and the support given to pregnant women have become prominent in the UK in recent months. The Baptist Union have published a briefing paper which had some helpful ocmment in it, you can download it from their website by clicking here.
Only energy-saving light bulbs to be sold by 2011
Thursday, September 27, 2007
On the news today Hilary Benn, the Environment Secretary has announced plans to phase out the traditional light bulb. The idea is that by 2011 all high-energy light bulbs to be taken off the shelves.Mr Benn estimated that the move would save five million tonnes of CO2 a year and take the UK closer to its target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 60% by 2050.
I really like this idea, it is certainly a simple, but effective step to make the world a slightly better place.
Child safety and risk taking
Sunday, July 22, 2007
One of the real tensions of children's and youth work is increasingly of allowing children and young people to be independent, to enjoy adventure, to get into scrapes, but at the same time keeping them safe. Over the last few years we have seen lots of schools stopping snowball fights and conker fights to name just two things. So I was really pleased to hear that Ed Balls, the Secretary for Children, Schools and Families, is launching a consultation on child safety to ensure that children are not "wrapped in cotton wool".
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