Diocese of Chichester

Throughout the speech Bishop Martin stressed that the challenges faced by educational leaders and teachers in schools today in order to create the best possible learning environment for young people today are not insignificant.

The effective use of resources for the education of the "whole child" - and for all children- wherever they are educated, was also important.

The Bishop explained: "The tone of the statement on the review certainly chimes with the "whole child" approach of the Church of England's vision set out in its 2016 vision for education which outlines wisdom, knowledge and skills as the framework for nurturing capacity for decision-making, ethical considerations and social and environmental responsibility".

Of the 155 schools run by the Diocese of Chichester (eight of which are secondary) the Bishop emphasised that delivering education to around 37,000 pupils locally was a "serious responsibility".

He made a point of paying tribute to volunteers who act as governors, working closely and in partnership with local school leadership teams.

The Bishop also acknowledged the importance of religious literacy as "an important strand of education for understanding the complexity of national and global society". With the ongoing background debate about the teaching and importance of Religious Education, this was certainly worth further reflection.

Most of all, Bishop Martin wanted to ensure that such discussions did everything possible to stress that all children were given the resources and opportunities where possible to learn. This is especially so given the effects of digitalisation on learning and the implementation of technology for the rolling out of the curriculum which was heavily dependent on local budget availability.

The Bishop was keen to stress how he welcomed the importance that the report gave to art, sport and drama alongside the other more obvious key core curriculum subjects.

A copy of the full speech can be found here