There is a famous proverb: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

Cyclists competing in the forthcoming Tour de France know this - where riders from different teams will commit together to incredible climbs in the toughest of circumstances, knowing that those who break away from the peloton face a much harder task.

But what does “going together” mean for schools and educators in a variety of challenging contexts? How can we be greater than the sum of our parts in a system where all can flourish?

Hope for the future

This week, a new publication, Our Hope for a Flourishing Schools System reaffirms the Church of England’s 2016 Vision for Education, outlining key recommendations for how to make this hope a lived reality.

Our language of hope is not merely wishful thinking or an optimistic outlook. Rather, Christian hope in uncertain times offers a realistic evaluation of the present and energises us towards a future that does not yet exist.

This new document offers intentional and transformational hope for a resilient school system fully focused on the flourishing of children and adults.

The sector faces many challenges, and much needs to be done to ensure that there is a flourishing school within reach of every child, where each child is equipped, resourced and empowered to see their future through eyes of hope.

This will only be possible through a shared commitment to flourish together by collectively investing in the adults in our schools in a way that ensures they are championed by society, treated with dignity and know they are loved, valued and trusted to fulfil their vital roles.

Helping everyone flourish

Indeed, the education system stands or falls on the extent to which it is led by adults who are, themselves, flourishing. Where there are few flourishing adults, there will be few flourishing children.

The adults in our system cannot work much harder, or give many more hours to their jobs. Unless education reclaims its status as a career in which an adult can expect to flourish, there will continue to be deep challenges in the recruitment and retention of staff.

That’s why we have made recommendations that seek to focus on this kind of flourishing, such as:

• A once-in-a-generation re-imagination of special educational needs and disabilities funding, provision, training and development.
   
• Wise and compassionate accountability systems for school inspections and performance measures.
   
• Ensuring teaching is again regarded as a vocation in which adults can truly flourish and to which they choose to commit for the long term.

Deep collaboration and mutuality in each local context can ensure that no school is left behind - so the smallest rural schools are not neglected because they are considered a financial risk, but are embraced as part of a desire to bring high-quality education to every community.

That will require long-term solutions that do not assume one-size-fits-all answers to school organisation but values each local context.

The partnership between church and state is a vital part of the educational landscape and we will continue to work proactively with the government to shape policy in these areas, bringing the insights of dioceses and school leaders from across the country.

Taking a long-term view

Our dioceses are brilliantly placed to imagine how their whole family of schools can ensure effective provision for every community.

The political cycle means the pressure is always on to find short-term solutions that can add value in the eyes of the electorate, rather than a long-term commitment to the flourishing of everyone.

The temptation may, therefore, always be to go fast, but we must choose to go together if we are going to go far.

Our children deserve nothing less and our hope is that this will be a shared commitment and conversation across the sector as we collaborate to that end.

Reverend Nigel Genders is the chief education officer of the Church of England