‘Their churches are at home’: the communication and definition of values in four aided Church of England secondary schools

The role of head teachers in the formation and transmission of values within schools has long been viewed as pivotal. At a time when the place of faith schools, as part of state funded educational provision, is openly questioned, this paper reports on a small-scale study of the views that four head teachers have of their place in their school's values framework. Special reference is made to the formation of values and to their communication. The expression of these values is then examined with special reference to their application in the context of school admissions policies. It is then suggested that some critiques of church schools adopt an oversimplistic approach and that there is no one overarching understanding of what it means to be a Church of England school.