Church Schools in Wales
The Church in Wales and the Roman Catholic Church make a major contribution to the education system in Wales by providing almost 300 schools. This means that 60,000 children and young people are educated in schools that have a strong and distinctive Christian ethos in the curriculum and in the pastoral care of their pupils, staff and families.
There are church schools across England and Wales providing up to 25% of the school places in some areas. They vary in size from small village primary schools with fewer than fifty pupils to large comprehensive schools with 1,500 or more pupils. All share a commitment to providing the best possible education for their students within the context of a strong commitment to be a serving Christian community.
There are three main types of church schools, as follows.
Voluntary Aided Schools
In these schools the governors employ the staff, are responsible for the admissions to the school, and determine the content of the religious education syllabus. The daily worship within the school will follow the Anglican or Catholic tradition of school worship and will be one of the key activities contributing to the sense of community and strong Christian ethos that is a feature of Anglican schools. The governors also have to find 15% of the cost of all major building work carried out on the school building. The governing body of these schools includes governors nominated by the Church and the LEA, and others elected by the parents and the staff; the governors nominated by the Church are always in the majority.
Voluntary Controlled Schools
In these schools the LEA employs the staff, is responsible for the admissions to the school, and determines the content of the religious education syllabus, unless the school chooses to follow a denominational syllabus, with the consent of the parent body. The daily worship within the school will follow the Anglican or Catholic tradition of school worship and will be one of the key activities contributing to the sense of community and strong Christian ethos that is a feature of Church schools. The LEA funds the costs of all major building work carried out on the school building. The governing body of these schools includes governors nominated by the Church and the LEA and others elected by the parents and the staff, with no single group of governors in the majority.
Foundation Schools
There are a very small number of Foundation schools in Wales, where the governors employ the staff and are responsible for the admissions to the school, but the LEA determines the content of the religious education syllabus, unless the school chooses to follow a denominational syllabus, with the consent of the parent body. The daily worship within the school will follow the Anglican or Catholic tradition of school worship and will be one of the key activities contributing to the sense of community and strong Christian ethos that is a feature of Church schools. The LEA funds the costs of all major building work carried out on the school building. The governing body of these schools includes governors nominated by the Church and the LEA and others elected by the parents and the staff, with no single group of governors in the majority.