Lichfield is one of the 44 Dioceses which make up the Church of England. Within this family of Dioceses, Lichfield can claim to be one of the most ancient with its roots in the Diocese of Mercia, founded in 656 AD and St Chad, who became the first Bishop of Lichfield in 669 AD. The Diocese now covers most of the County of Staffordshire, the northern part of the County of Shropshire and a substantial part of the former Metropolitan County of the West Midlands. The Diocese envelops all or part of 7 Local Authorities and has 207 Church Schools and academies in its remit.
The principle focus of the work of the Board of Education is on its Church Schools, which have approximately 45,000 pupils in them. This presents enormous opportunities to the Diocese, its schools and parishes to promote the Christian message and values among so many children and young people the greater part of whom will have no links with their local church.
The Board provides excellent support services for its church schools through the Service Level Agreement. This provides the means for schools to access advice, information and professional support on Collective Worship, Spiritual Care, Religious Education and the development of a schools distinctive character as a Church of England school.
The Board works in partnership with the seven Local Authorities in the Diocese (Sandwell, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent, Telford & Wrekin, Walsall and Wolverhampton) and also with the Department for Education and Academy Trusts. The Board also works alongside higher and further education providers.
The Board ensures that headteachers, teachers and governors have the intellectual and spiritual resources to promote the distinctive Christian character of our schools. The Board also supports the collaboration between clergy, parishes, church and community schools.
For further information on the Diocesan Board of Education please click here.
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The Diocesan Board of Education also promotes and monitors the religious character of a number of schools within St Chad's Multi Academy Trust. For further information on these please visit the Trust website.
