THE Bishop of Oxford has issued a “call to action” to safeguard the future of Church of England schools.

The Rt Rev John Pritchard, who is chairman of the Church’s national Board of Education, said in a report to the General Synod that action needed to be taken now to ensure the survival of church schools.

Earlier this year Bishop John hit the headlines saying he believed up to seven in 10 CofE schools could become academies, and that the number of places reserved for Christian children at church schools should be limited.

In his report, he raised concerns church schools that became academies could see the church foundation “drift until it had no meaning”.

Bishop John also pointed out problems in RE teaching, which he said faced “serial challenges” in non-faith schools.

He said: “The Church of England should not be overly complacent about the quality of teaching about Christianity in its own schools.

“Syllabuses generally do not give enough help to teachers on entering the profession who lack even a default understanding of Christianity.”