Ethos
Here at Paideia Christou (pie-DAY-uh Chris-too) we believe that it is “the fear of the Lord” that is “the beginning of knowledge” (Proverbs 1:7) – not jumping through the hoops of a national curriculum. The Apostle Paul knew this when he commanded fathers to bring up their children in “the nurture (paideia) of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4). The Greek word here is impossible to translate adequately, as it implies an all-encompassing process of training, education, and enculturation under the lordship of Jesus Christ.
But this is not at all easy to achieve, and neither is home-educating an automatic solution with guaranteed results. Many parents, while realising the need for an explicitly Christian education, also realise that, for whatever reason, they might not be best placed to teach all the desired subjects, at least not up to A-level or even GCSE standard. Yet home-educated children often end up needing recognised qualifications too, in addition to the “the fear of the Lord.”
Paideia Christou aims to help bridge that gap by supporting home-educating parents in making sure that their children attain the necessary qualifications for initial employment or further education. This is achieved through an explicitly Christian approach to each subject, through training in critical thinking in a non-neutral world, and through recognising that the discipline of preparing for GCSEs and A-levels in the British educational system can be an excellent means of motivating and inculcating discipline in home-educated children, as well as preparing them to take their place in society as faithful and fruitful disciples of Christ.