Christopher Price stresses the value of moral education founded in the school’s values and the whole curriculum with great clarity. The School Curriculum and Assessment Authority discussion paper on spiritual and moral education highlights the “ethos of the school” and development “through all subjects of the curriculum” but then continues to place more emphasis on religious education and collective worship.
Most children are quite clear that, for example, stealing or dishonesty are wrong according to the scriptures of major religions. Unfortunately, most often they do not go on to act on this knowledge. If moral education is to be successful it will require more than revelation, and must be a process of personal discovery based on experience.
The Office for Standards in Education might usefully gather and disseminate examples of teaching that appear to be most successful for moral development (as examples, rather than national curriculum Orders) and ways of spreading positive values throughout a school.
The British Humanist Association is taking on this task as a priority.
ROBERT ASHBY Executive director British Humanist Association 47 Theobald’s Road London WC1
