Tony Watkins » education

The First Grader

Tony Watkins — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 10:58:58 +0000

The First Grader (Soda Pictures, 12A, UK release date: 24th June) is a heart-warming true story of Kimani N’gan’ga Maruge, an octogenarian Kenyan man who exercised his right to an education and battled bureaucracy to take his place at primary school. Set against the background of Maruge’s history as a Mau Mau rebel, The First Grader is a celebration of the power of education and one man’s indomitable spirit.

This inspiring tale of perseverance against the odds will be of particular interest to anyone with a heart for international development issues. To help you to make the most of the film, Damaris is producing free resources addressing some of the themes raised.

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Independent research shows ‘faith schools’ promote community cohesion and equality

Tony Watkins — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 10:49:01 +0000

Secondary schools with a religious foundation contribute significantly and substantially more to the promotion of community cohesion and the provision of equality of opportunity for students than other schools, according to the results of an academic study of recent Ofsted inspection data.

Analysis of the sample of independent inspection reports suggests that secondary-level ‘faith schools’ (of all faiths and denominations, taken as a group) received average grades more than 11 per cent higher than ‘community schools’ for their promotion of community cohesion, and outperformed such schools by almost nine per cent for their effectiveness in tackling inequality.

The research, by a recognised expert on the evaluation of school performance, is published today alongside a set of case studies of Church of England schools which have pioneered programmes that reach out well beyond the school gates to help foster good relations across their local community. [more . . . ]

via cofe.anglican.org

Posted via web from Tony Watkins

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Why should children study religion

Tony Watkins — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 13:00:55 +0000

Earlier this year, Bjørn Ulvaeus wrote an article in The Guardian arguing that religion has no place in schools. Yet according to statistics published in August, the number of children in the UK opting to take GCSE Religious Education has risen for the eleventh year in a row. Paul Woolley, Director of Theos think tank, gives five reasons why children should study religion:

religion has always been with us
religion isn’t just yesterday’s news. It’s hugely significant today
like it or not, religion is the future
religious literacy is important for commerce
perhaps most contentiously, religion persists and should be studied because it is often life-giving

You can read his article which explains these reasons on the Theos website.

Posted via email from Tony Watkins

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