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The Free Church Education Office exists to provide a focus for the Free Church voice on public education issues. The Free Church Education Office has interests in all sectors of education from early years, through all phases of schooling to lifelong learning for all. The main activities of the Office relate to Community Schools and Church Schools, Further and Higher Education and Religious Education.
Our main tasks
Representation
This is an important task at the national level. Representation on a range of consultative and advisory groups provides opportunity for the Free Churches to make a contribution to debate and policy, facilitates networking with other interested parties and enables Free Church representatives to keep abreast of developments. Some opportunities for representation come by constitutional right, others by invitation.
Responses to consultation documents from government and public bodies
Again, some consultations are open to the Free Churches by constitutional right, others by invitation. Within the limits of available staff resources, and with appropriate input from other Free Church contributors, responses are made to those documents in which the Free Churches have significant interest.
In making such responses and in representational activities, officers of the Unit identify the most appropriate of their number to take the lead in each case. Normally, only one response/representation will be made from the Unit, though there may be occasions when the Methodist Church voice as an education provider needs to stand alongside a different Free Church voice. Individual denominations continue to determine, though their own decision-making processes, those occasions when they wish to make separate responses.
Appointments
The Office maintains a register of the many Free Church appointments to SACREs and LEA committees. Membership of Learning and Skills Councils (LSC), and any similar groups introduced in future will also be recorded centrally. Assistance is given to ensure that appropriate appointments are made.
The Office also maintains the database of all Free Church Chaplains in Higher Education.
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