In Depth:  Lizzie Harewood

Lizzie Harewood

We’ve been studying Romans 14 at church recently, and the teaching has covered "disputable matters" – issues where Christians, in good faith, may disagree.

Politics, preferred Bible translations, and permitted leisure activities on a Sunday are all examples of what might fall into this category nowadays. But one such "disputable matter" is rapidly moving up the agenda for many Christian families: just what should we do about smartphones and children in the church?

Lizzie Harewood

The big news in the education world at the moment is that the government has published an updated draft of Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE), the statutory safeguarding guidance for schools and colleges. And this version includes long-awaited guidance relating to “gender questioning” children — something the Association of Christian Teachers (ACT) has been pressing the government for over many years.

Schools were first promised this guidance in 2018, yet repeated delays, internal disagreements and a change of government meant schools were left waiting for almost eight years.