Book Review: Growing Faith in Schools, by Anna Shaw
Anna Shaw’s Growing Faith in Schools offers a timely and insightful exploration of how schools, churches and households can work together to nurture the spiritual development of children and young people. What struck me most while reading was the clarity with which the Church’s vital role is presented, not as an optional extra, but as an essential partner in nurturing children’s discipleship. The book makes it equally clear that when any one of the three spheres (church, school or home) attempts to function in isolation, mission and ministry are inevitably diminished.
There is a great deal of hope woven throughout the booklet. It offers a compelling glimpse into the significant cultural shift taking place across the Church of England, charting how initiatives such as the Growing Faith Foundation and the Flourish network are helping to reimagine ministry with children and young people at the centre. With substantial financial, structural and theological investment being directed into this area, the landscape feels both energised and full of possibility.
What is particularly helpful is the way the booklet illuminates what is happening nationally, something that can often feel distant or unclear. It’s clear signposting to emerging initiatives and new resources makes the wider picture accessible and encouraging. In many ways, it reads less like a standalone publication and more like an invitation to think and minister in a new way!
One of the challenges Shaw highlights with honesty is the fragile state of home discipleship. The research she cites makes sobering reading: many Christian households feel unequipped or lack confidence to nurture their children’s spiritual growth. Shaw does not simply lament this; she signposts practical ways churches and schools can come alongside families, offering shared language, rhythms and opportunities that place discipleship back into the everyday life of the home.
I found the book’s signposting particularly strong, clear, practical, realistic and deeply rooted in current practice. It is full of questions that prompt leaders to reflect on purpose, mutuality and the depth of partnership. Shaw’s chapter on collaboration especially left me thinking: What does healthy, purposeful partnership actually look like in my context?
Personally reflecting on my own experience, I found myself wondering whether, had I encountered this booklet during my time as an incumbent, or in curacy (probably more helpfully), I might have engaged with my schools more strategically. Although I was actively involved in my parish’s schools, I often held back out of concern for already overstretched head teachers. The examples in the booklet, however, gently challenged that assumption. They show that when engagement is relational, thoughtful, and centred on the flourishing of the child, it is frequently welcomed, and the benefits far outweigh the demands.
Growing Faith in Schools is a rich, accessible, short and thought provoking resource. It poses essential questions, offers grounded and wise guidance, and leaves the reader with plenty to reflect on. I highly recommend it to clergy, church leaders, headteachers, school staff, especially those responsible for Collective Worship or RE, governors, and anyone who longs to see children and young people grow in faith through the support of the whole Christian community.
Growing Faith in Schools is available from Grove Books.
Interested in exploring these ideas further?
Join Anna for a series of webinars and online training sessions designed to deepen understanding of how churches, schools and households can work together in nurturing children’s discipleship.
Engaging, practical and rooted in real world examples, these sessions offer an accessible next step for anyone inspired by the themes of Growing Faith.
February 2026 Lead On Review by Jo McKee, Head of Leadership Development at CPAS.