Ofsted critical of Religious Education

An Ofsted report published today claimed that most locally agreed syllabuses for RE were "not good enough", and that those devising the syllabuses "did not have the educational expertise to produce them without professional support".

The Guardian (Manchester) reports here, or you can read Ofsted's official press release here.

Bishop defends right to live in castle

Evangelical Bishop of Durham and esteemed New Testament scholar Rt Rev Tom (NT) Wright has been defending his right to live in the lavish Auckland Palace, according to yesterday's Telegraph (London).

Bishop Wright attacked "the forces of commercialism" for depriving the Church of some of its "most deep-rooted symbols" by selling off its ancient heritage for short-term gain. He warned against "inverted snobbery" and received support from the Telegraph, who commented in their leader column that the bishop "is being neither selfish nor spendthrift. He is being pragmatic and intelligent by stating that hardly any money will be saved by relocating him and that any money saved will not be worth the concomitant loss of splendour."

Read the summary here.

Jewish heritage under threat

Some British Jews fear their heritage may be under threat following the sale of several hundred Hebrew manuscripts for £4.3 million last week.

The collection, belonging to the Montefiore Endowment, was auctioned off at Sotheby's in New York. According to the Telegraph (London), there is "growing concern among scholars that Britain's Jewish community is breaking up key parts of its heritage for short-term convenience and gain."

More here.

Gays and lesbians disappointed by new RE guidelines

The gay community in the UK has criticized the Labour governments new National Framework for failing to address sexuality in its guidelines on the teaching of tolerance.

The document, published today, says pupils should "appreciate and view positively differences in others, whether arising from race, gender, ability or disability", but gay rights groups are claiming sexuality was deliberately sidelined in an attempt to appease religious groups.

More here.