vol21 issue3

Supporting schools in a year like no other

Last academic year was surely the strangest and most challenging that schools in the UK have ever experienced. And the year ahead will have to respond to all that has happened.

1. Redesigned website

During home learning it was more important than ever that teachers, students and parents could easily find what they needed on our website. The strengths and weaknesses of our site became much clearer to us as we watched uptake of our various home learning resources.

How will this shape CAFOD’s support for Catholic schools in England and Wales?

When lockdown happened, like all teachers, our Education team had to adapt quickly to new ways of working. And we plan to carry into the new academic year the insights we gained.

So we spent the summer reworking our webpages. We hope that our academic, collective worship and other resources are now much easier to locate. Some resources have been updated, and some new ones have been added.

2. New prayer resources

During lockdown we began monthly coffee catch-ups on Zoom with school chaplains. These were very popular and will continue. They are a chance for chaplains to share with each other and with us some of the challenges that they experience and the resources, initiatives or support that they find most useful.

If you are a chaplain and would like to join the next catch up, contact schools@cafod.org.uk

One thing the chaplains highlighted was the constant need for new, easy-to-use prayer resources. So, as part of our mandate to promote understanding of and engagement with global justice, we will provide new prayer and liturgical resources in the coming year. We’ve begun with a collection of twelve prayers. Each fits a different global justice theme and is on a PowerPoint slide, ready for assemblies or classroom prayers.

This work is ongoing, so please let us know what works for you and where we can improve things further: schools@cafod.org.uk

Prayers for young people: cafod.org.uk/youngpeopleprayers

3. Online assemblies

We have always provided assembly material for schools, particularly during Lent, Harvest and Advent. In the past, these have been in the form of an adaptable PowerPoint and script, often with an accompanying

film showing our work alongside poor communities around the world.

During lockdown we felt that something more was needed. With most students at home, normal assemblies and acts of collective

worship - those reassuringly regular parts of the school week - had become impossible.

So, our first ever online assembly “Hope in the time of coronavirus”, premiered on Youtube on 18 June. The response was incredible. We received many photos of students watching together in class and messages saying how uplifting the experience had been. Some followed up by supporting CAFOD’s Summer of Hope, fundraising for our Coronavirus appeal. Thank you!

We will offer more online assemblies in the coming academic year. We held one to start the year on 10 September, “The world you want”, and will run another on 8 October in anticipation of Harvest Fast Day.

Watch the previous assemblies and find out about the next one at: cafod.org.uk/schoolstogether

4. Online CPD

By March, our team had trained more than 500 teachers in using a range of global resources and in how to make great school links, as part of our three-year programme of free, British Council funded CPD. The teachers gave amazing feedback and we were devastated when this programme had to stop.

So, during lockdown, our professional trainers, Bethany Friery (primary) and Susan Kambalu (secondary) worked hard moving the programme online to ensure that this dynamic training could continue.

In the coming year we are offering Everything is connected: Enrich school life through global learning as an online course. We hope that Connecting to the world: Successful school linking will follow soon. You can already book for our face to face course, Young leadership for global justice, in May.

Find out more on our CPD pages: cafod.org.uk/connectingclassrooms

5. Alternative school visits

When school visits by our 200+ school volunteers came to an abrupt halt, many schools missed out on visits they had already booked, but our volunteers also felt the loss.

Our Liverpool team even made a video to let their schools know how much they were missing them! You can watch it at https://vimeo. com/437867768.

As the new term begins we know that schools will welcome essential visitors only. But our School volunteer coordinator, David Brinn, has been working with our trained volunteers to develop an engaging range of online offers so that they can continue to support schools, giving children and young people an insight into CAFOD’s work.

If you would like a virtual CAFOD speaker in an RE lesson, contact dbrinn@cafod.org.uk

Thank you for everything you do to help CAFOD and support your students to be more aware of global justice issues and how they can support the poorest communities.

DIARY DATES

• Harvest Fast Day - Friday 9 October 2020: Theme: Coronavirus – Survive. Rebuild. Heal. Our Harvest assembly YouTube premiere on Thursday 8 October will share inspiring stories from around the world showing how you are supporting families through this crisis.

• Advent 2020: Primary and secondary Advent calendars will be available as PowerPoints with daily class prayers and activities.

• World Gifts: We will provide simple posters to help classes raise money together for a World Gift, during Advent or at any time of year.

• Lent Fast Day 2021: Lent Fast Day is Friday 26 February. Theme: Walk for Water (Ethiopia). Invite your school to take part in a nationwide walk for water in solidarity with those who must do this daily.

Young people spreading hope this Summer

This year has been a year like no other. In a time where it would have been easy to give up hope, young people have instead committed themselves to inspiring and leading us all to a brighter future. Not only were we faced, as ever, with the ongoing challenges of poverty, injustice and climate change, but we were also confronted with a global pandemic.

In the midst of adjusting to a new way of life, to learning at home and not going out with their friends, young people around the UK have challenged themselves to look out for our global neighbours around the world.

Pope Francis in Christus Vivit pointed out to us that “Young people are not meant to become discouraged; they are meant to dream great things, to seek vast horizons, to aim higher, to take on the world, to accept challenges and to offer the best of themselves to the building of something better”. This is exactly what we have seen young people doing with their schools, youth groups and at home during the summer term and holidays.

Young people across the country have accepted the challenge of building something better. Across the world, many people lack access to basic healthcare or clean water, and others cannot go out to work because of the lockdown, making it difficult to provide food for their families. After learning about how different communities have been affected by COVID-19, these young people have come up with creative ways to take part in CAFOD’s Summer of Hope appeal.

At St Bernard’s school in Slough, the students have taken part in a sleep out. Maarlon, a student, shared that “by sleeping outside, we raised money to help those people in need. It made me reflect on how privileged I am to have the basic necessities during this global struggle.” Charity work and fundraising is seen as an important part of St

Bernard’s school community. Siobhan, Lay Chaplain, shared that “The students thought this would be a great way to do something together while we are apart. Students and staff slept in their own garden or living room and were sponsored for this. We raised over £1000 which will go towards helping those that are living in countries with poor health systems”

At Salesians College in Farnborough, the CAFOD Young Leader group have been organising online quizzes for their school community, already raising over £600. Joseph explained that being a young leader is “a good way to make a visible difference to the wider community… and hopefully help change and improve the lives of others.”

Young people in Brentwood diocese have joined together to do an 18 hour Lourdes challenge. After their summer pilgrimage was cancelled, they decided to spend the 18 hours they would have spent on the coach journey doing amazing challenges to raise money for CAFOD. Beth shared that “Young people in the Diocese are brilliant in their creativity and enthusiasm, and we look forward to the 18 hour challenge as a wonderful launch for our virtual pilgrimage”.

Children and primary schools have also been getting involved in the Summer of Hope. Freddie from year 2, decided to do his first ever half marathon after learning about being a good neighbour at school. He has raised over £1000 for CAFOD helping us to reach out to where the need is greatest.

Families around the world are already seeing the difference that our supporters, including these young people, are making. We have been able to adapt our programmes, provide hygiene kits, food and clean water to families, and supported partners to raise awareness in their communities. We have joined forces with the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) to scale up our response, ensuring that no one is beyond reach of the aid they need to survive.

Yet, COVID-19 is still affecting communities around the world. Families who have been forced to flee their homes are particularly vulnerable to the virus. Refugees face overcrowding and a lack of hygiene facilities in refugee camps meaning the spread of the virus could be devastating.

For countries that have had years of conflict, people will struggle to access healthcare and lockdown means people are pushed further into poverty, putting millions at risk of hunger and malnutrition.

As we head into autumn and winter, we continue to work with our experts on the ground to understand their challenges and needs and support them in responding quickly. The need is still great, and as these children and young people have shown us “there is more joy in giving than in receiving, and that love is not only shown in words, but

Get involved

also in actions” Christus Vivit 197. Their enthusiasm and passion for social justice is inspiring. And you can join them.

On 9 October, schools and families will be taking part in Harvest Fast Day. By coming together for a simple meal, your support can mean fewer families have to ask “How do I keep my child safe if we don’t have water for handwashing?” There are resources available online making it easy for schools to take part and to encourage young people to consider others during this time.

• Order free stickers, money boxes or collection envelopes from shop.cafod.org.uk

• Find videos, assemblies, prayers and other free education resources on our website cafod.org.uk/schools

• Share photos and stories of the day by tagging @CAFOD on Twitter

How your money can help

£6

£6 can buy a hygiene package for a vulnerable family containing soap, washing powder and reusable face masks

We continue to hold you and all our global neighbours in our thoughts and prayers. Whatever you can do this autumn term will make a real difference, as we work together for the common good.

£12 can buy text books, exercise books and pencils for a child to continue their education despite school closures

£12

We can’t wait to see how your school will get involved on or around Friday 9 October!

Download or order your Harvest resources at: cafod.org.uk/schools

Supplied to members of:

The Catholic Association of Teachers, Schools and Colleges. The Catholic Independent Schools Conference. The Birmingham Catholic Secondary Schools Partnership. The Manchester Catholic Secondary Schools Partnership. Through the SCES to all Catholic Schools in Scotland.

Editorial Team:

Editor - John Clawson News Roundup - Willie Slavin

Patrons

Bob Beardsworth, Peter Boylan, Carmel O’Malley, Kevin Quigley, Dr. Larry McHugh, Willie Slavin, Fr John Baron

Editorial Contributors:

Research: Professor Gerald Grace, CRDCE, Peter Boylan

CATSC - John Nish

CISC - Dr Maureen Glackin

SCES - Barbara Coupar

CAFOD - Lina Tabares

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Our mission is to serve as a forum where Catholic heads, teachers and other interested parties can exchange opinions, experiences, and insights about innovative teaching ideas, strategies, and tactics. We welcome— and regularly publish—articles written by members of the Catholic teaching community.

Here are answers to some basic questions about writing for Networking - Catholic Education Today.

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Usually it seems to work out best if contributors simply say what they have to say and let us worry about finding a spot for it in the journal. As a rough guideline we ask for articles of 1000/2000 words and school news of about 300/400 words.

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Please send as a Microsoft Word file attached to an e-mail. To submit articles for publication, contact John Clawson by email at editor@networkingcet.co.uk

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We are living in unprecedented times. Autumn term is usually when teaching staff bring together the various cohorts of pupils in their charge. Now it is a time to ensure they can keep them apart. I imagine there will be members of the teaching profession agonising over whether they have taken enough precautions to protect colleagues and students. There will also be lots of students wondering if they are safe or if they are maybe passing on the virus to teaching staff or family at home.

One thing we can be certain of is that our teaching staff, for all the pressure they constantly work under, are rising up to the challenge, They are leading from the front as always.

I hope you can make time to enjoy this very full edition of Networking and maybe you will find something of interest that will induce you to put pen to paper and submit a response.

John Clawson Editor

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You do but Networking - Catholic Education Today owns copyright to our editing and the laid-out pages that appear in the magazine.

What are some hints for success?

As much as possible, talk about your experience rather than pure theory (unless discussed in advance) Use specific examples to illustrate your points. Write the way you’d talk, with a minimum of jargon. Near the beginning of the article, include a paragraph that states your intentions. Don’t be subtle about it: “This article will...” is fine.

Closing Date for Copy - Volume 22 Issue One – Winter Term 2021 edition - Copy to Editor by 11th December 2020. Published to schools 11th January 2021.

Foreword from the R&D Editor of Networking, Professor Gerald Grace KSG

Our contributor, John S. Harris, concludes this challenging article by saying ‘the Catholic sector…has focused on the perceived right of Catholic families, not on serving the poor and the marginalised. In doing so, it has allowed its schools to become conduits for the recycling of privilege.’

His argument is supported by an impressive range of research and analysis (see references). This is not a polemic, it is a serious, small scale research.

While international research shows that his conclusion is, unfortunately, true for quite a number of countries worldwide, it has always been assumed (and proclaimed) that

in England and Wales, Catholic schools are ‘first and foremost in the service of the poor, those who are deprived of family help and affection and those who are far from the faith’. But is this true?

Readers of this article are invited to send their reactions to what John S. Harris has written. Please send your views (800 word limit) to me at crdce@stmarys.ac.uk

Professor Gerald Grace CRDCE Professor of Catholic Education

St Mary’s University, Twickenham TW1 4SX

London UK

Is religious selection in our schools compatible with social justice?

Reappraising the evidence

Non-discriminatory, open to all

In 2016, a manifesto of the Catholic International Education Office proclaimed that “the Catholic school is an inclusive [and] … non-discriminatory school, open to all, especially the poorest”. “If it is to continue its mission”, it went on, it may encompass “mainly, or even exclusively” pupils of other faiths and none (OIEC, 2016, pp 3-4).

The manifesto echoed many of the points arising from The Catholic School, issued in 1977 as a supplement to the Second Vatican Council’s Declaration on Education. Catholic schools were not to be only for Catholics; rather, it decreed, “in the certainty that the Spirit is at work in every person, the Catholic school offers itself to all, non-Christians included” (Garrone, 1977, para 85).

Voicing a concern that, in some countries, Catholic schools had strayed from their mission to the poor and were showing elitist tendencies, the document re-stated the Church’s over-riding commitment to “the poor, those who are deprived of family help and affection, or those who are far from the faith” (ibid, para 58).

Finally, The Catholic School issued an appeal to Episcopal Conferences to “consider and develop these principles which should inspire the Catholic school and to translate them into concrete programmes” (ibid, para 92).

How faithful has the Episcopal Conference of England and Wales been in answer to this call? How inclusive are our Catholic schools?

PS. In your responses, please indicate if you are willing to have these printed in the journal at a later date, or if they are to remain confidential. Please endorse your response with a 3 for one of the following:

a. Can be printed, with name of writer, name of school and location of school.

b. Can be printed with name of writer only.

c. Can be printed but with no identification d. Confidential only.

Thank you.

Association, and the National Small Schools Forum.

For several years he co-ordinated the Leicestershire Educational Action Research Network (LEARN).

Following retirement, he conducted a research project for the DCSF (as it then was) into formal small school collaborations.

He currently chairs the governing body of a Catholic primary school on the east coast.

John Harris has been a member of the national committees of the Association of Teachers of Mathematics, the Community Education

The Catholic school system in England

The English Catholic school system has evolved in response to the social and political milieu in which it operates. It voices its commitment to helping the poor and the marginalised, and it has a rich tradition of integrating immigrants into civil society. But much has changed. Catholics have long outgrown their status as outsiders. Now, in common with those from other Christian denominations, Catholics are likely to have a higher occupational class and a larger household income than the population at large (Oldfield, Hartnett and Bailey, 2013, pp 33-34).

This relative affluence is reflected in the socio-economic composition of Catholic schools (ibid, pp 31-32). The standard indicator of children’s material deprivation is their eligibility for free school meals (FSM). As a threshold measure, it is open to criticism as to how accurately it identifies true hardship. Nevertheless, it is a widely used and generally trusted proxy, and remains the best indicator of pupil poverty that we have.1

The statistics show that Catholic schools have a free school meal take-up that is significantly lower than other schools –11.6% compared with 13.6% nationally. They also take a much smaller proportion of the most vulnerable children – 11% fewer children who are ‘looked after’ (that is, in local authority care) and 14% fewer children who have an education, health and care (EHC) plan or equivalent (CES, 2018, pp. 25-27).2

The Catholic Education Service has asserted that “research by St Mary’s University … has concluded that certain ethnic groups are less likely to claim FSMs due to a range of cultural reasons and that these particular groups are over-represented in Catholic schools” (ibid, p 25). In fact, the report referred to makes no such claim, stating that “the data gathered … were too limited to be able to draw a direct link between migrant parents and likelihood of FSM takeup”. (Montemaggi et al, 2017, p 10).

Moreover, the DfE report Pupils not claiming free school meals has conducted extensive and detailed research into this area. Using HMRC benefits data, it tracked disparities between FSM eligibility and registration. This revealed that nationally 14% of children eligible for FSM are not claimed for, but that there were significant differences at regional, local and school

level. Pupils in wealthier areas were less likely to be claimed for, even though they were eligible. The effect was replicated at school level: eligible pupils were less likely to be claimed for if their school had a low FSM rate (Iniesta-Martinez and Evans, 2012, pp 11-12, 15).

The DfE report also provided details of variations in registration rates among different sectors of the population. Contrary to the CES assertion, it was eligible white British families who were least likely to claim, whereas eligible pupils whose first language was not English were more likely to claim (ibid, pp 17-18).

As the CES points out, Catholic schools have much larger catchment areas than other schools, and children tend to travel greater distances to them. These children often displace applicants living close to the school, who are more likely to be disadvantaged. Moreover, there are considerable costs – in both time and money – contingent on attending a school outside one’s immediate locality. These include the ability to pay for transport and additional childcare, as well as the general complexity of day-to-day planning familiar to any parent. Together, they are likely to be beyond the resources of the most needy families, particularly since the loss of subsidised school transport (Andrews and Johnes, 2016, pp 14-18, 24-25; The Tablet, 29 August 2014).

Catholic schools and ethnic minorities

Catholic schools take a higher percentage of pupils from ethnic minority backgrounds than other schools. More specifically, the CES annual census shows that Catholic schools in England take much higher proportions of pupils from black African, black Caribbean and black British communities, and also from white nonBritish categories. By contrast, they take a lower than average proportion of pupils from Asian backgrounds (CES, 2018, pp 21-2).

Different minority ethnic communities tend to cluster in our larger towns and cities, often following traditional migration routes, and are to be found especially in London. These are areas where Catholic schools are also commonly located, so it is to be expected that children from ethnic minorities are more likely to be enrolled in them. CES census figures show that schools in the dioceses of Westminster, Southwark

and Brentwood (that is, the three Catholic dioceses serving London) have particularly high concentrations of children from ethnic minorities (more than two-thirds in the cases of Westminster and Southwark). By contrast, six dioceses (including Liverpool and Plymouth) have less than one-quarter of their pupils from a minority ethnic background (ibid, p 44).

It is too easy to make careless assumptions about ethnicity. Children whose families self-identify as being from an ethnic minority will not necessarily themselves be migrants. Most will be from an established minority ethnic community, where the children and maybe also the parents have been born in this country. Their experience is likely to be very different from that of people who have recently arrived on our shores, perhaps with very little knowledge of our language or culture. Many people from minority ethnic communities are living in hardship and working in low-paid and insecure occupations. But others are highly skilled and in well-paid employment (Dustmann, Frattini and Theodoropoulos, 2010, pp 2-4).

A typical Catholic school?

Statistical information needs to be animated by real life examples. Aggregated data may well disguise wide variations, including outlying cases that show major differences from the norm. Moreover, a dataset of all the nation’s schools will frequently obscure regional differences, contrasts between urban and rural areas, disparities attributable to cultural or ethnic factors, and many other variables. Unique features can be overlooked; nuances can be missed. Speaking about faith schools as if they are all the same is highly misleading.

Individual Catholic schools may fail to recognise themselves from the description of ‘average’ characteristics; indeed, they may feel seriously misrepresented. There are plenty of Catholic schools wrestling with a range of acute social problems associated with poverty – urban decay, endemic unemployment, family breakdown, widespread drug abuse, and so on. Such schools can get lost in the overall picture because they are markedly outweighed by other schools which show the opposite tendency.

Nevertheless, it remains true that, for many parents, Catholic schools have become associated with prestige and exclusiveness. In turn, ‘top’ Catholic schools are tempted

to parade their elite status, taking them increasingly far from their mission to serve the poor. How this has happened is largely a product of the context in which schools are now required to operate.

The effects of parental choice

The Education Act of 1988 ushered in an era of parental choice that rapidly promoted competition between schools. Rivalry became more intense with the increasing availability of league table data. It enabled some schools to market themselves as ‘better’ than others, when in fact the differences between them may have only reflected the relative affluence of their intakes (Andrews and Johnes, 2016, p 39). The pattern has become self-perpetuating: schools judged as ‘outstanding’ are admitting ever fewer disadvantaged children. These instead become more concentrated in schools that have been graded as failing (Burgess, Greaves and Vignoles, 2020, pp 7-10; Gadsby, 2017, pp 17-18).

Nationally, the system cannot be said to be working well. One in ten children fail to get their first preference of primary school; in London it is much higher (and in some London boroughs it is one in four). At secondary level, the position is even worse, with one in four failing to gain their first choice in many urban areas, and one in three in London. Of those who appeal, only one in seven are successful; for disadvantaged children, the proportion is significantly lower (Hunt, 2019, pp 7-8).

How inclusive are Catholic schools?

The scramble for places has led to the emergence of schools that exhibit a high degree of social selection. For example, there are well over a thousand schools where the proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is between 10 and 40 percentage points lower than that found in the neighbourhoods from which they recruit. Many of these schools are Catholic, and are to be found in major cities throughout the country, especially in London (Allen and Paramashwaran, 2016, pp 1-3; Cullinane et al., 2017, p 14).

Black families are more likely than white families to choose a faith secondary school (the large majority of which are Catholic) but are less likely to gain a place there. Similarly, a disadvantaged child who applies

to a faith school is significantly less likely to be admitted than a more affluent child living nearby (Weldon, 2018, pp 8 and 19)3

The claims and counter claims relating to the inclusiveness and effectiveness of Catholic schools are a direct result of the marketisation of the education system. In order to ensure their place in the pecking order, schools are forced to engage in a constant struggle for status. For many faith schools, this pressure has corrupted the admissions process, leading to a degree of social sorting which may be unintended but is nevertheless real.

The key oversubscription criterion for entry to a Catholic school is baptism, often augmented by the requirement to demonstrate religious observance. This makes most children ineligible, but it doesn’t prevent deception. A number of investigations have provided evidence of widespread abuse of admission arrangements, such as seeking to secure a place by feigning religious commitment (Francis and Hutchings, 2013, p 24; Montacute and Cullinane, 2018, pp 22-23).

Research by YouGov for the Westminster Faith Debates casts further interesting light on parents’ motives for choosing faith schools. The survey showed that, by a wide margin, the two most important factors in choosing a school were ‘academic standards’ and ‘location of the school’. By contrast, the two least important factors, with very low scores, were ‘grounding in a faith tradition’ and ‘transmission of belief about God’; only 3% chose the latter. It would appear that, even for Catholic parents, Catholic schools are chosen not for their Catholic ethos but for their reputation for high standards (Woodhead, 2013, pp 2-3).

Selection and the ‘faith cap’

Current government policy – despite some vacillation – is that new schools of a religious character must make available half of its places irrespective of faith. This is based on a concern that schools that cater for a single faith community will inhibit social integration. It is a concern shared by many Catholics and, indeed, supported by Vatican guidance, as we have seen. However, the response of the bishops has been to refuse to open new schools on the grounds that it would mean turning away children because they were Catholic.

The term ‘faith cap’ is misleading. The ‘cap’

does not impose a quota of children of a particular faith, which cannot be exceeded. Rather, it prohibits these schools from selecting more than half their pupils on the basis of religion. Children of the faith may still be admitted under the criteria for selecting the other half. In practice, the number will vary, depending on the popularity of the school4

This ambivalence was illustrated in an interview with Paul Barber from the CES, published in the TES (28 October 2016). He stated his personal opposition to “schools of 100% one faith”, noting that having children of other faiths in a Catholic school was “a real blessing” and that “we want to have the spaces to welcome them” (TES, 2016).

What Barber did not say, however, was that the offer of places for non-Catholic children is provisional – that is, they are only given places that are not wanted by Catholics. In areas where competition for places is most intense, there are unlikely to be any places for non-Catholic children.

Meeting the challenge

The Vatican report “Education today and tomorrow: Challenges, strategies and perspectives” (2015) states that “Catholic schools … aim for quality in their students’ education, but their concern should not be limited merely to polishing their good reputation”. “The real test of whether their service is authentic”, it continues, “is their attention to the poor and concern for those in disadvantaged circumstances. There is always the risk that we forget the poor; this calls for maximum vigilance” (Responses to the questionnaire of the Instrumentum Laboris, 2015, pp 41-42).

Regrettably, the Catholic sector has been caught napping. In response to the manifold changes of the past decade, it has focused on the perceived rights of Catholic families, not on serving the poor and the marginalised. In doing so, it has allowed its schools to become conduits for the recycling of privilege.

References

Allen, R. and Parameshwaran, M. (2016). Caught out: Primary schools, catchment areas and social selection. [online] The Sutton Trust. Available at: Caught-Out_ Research-brief_April-16.

Andrews, J. and Johnes, R. (2016). Faith

schools, pupil performance and social selection. London: Education Policy Institute.

Burgess, S., Greaves, E. and Vignoles, A. (2020). School places: a fair choice? School choice, inequality and options for reform of school admissions in England. London: Sutton Trust.

Catholic Education Service Digest of 2018 Census Data for Schools and Colleges in England. (2018). London: Catholic Education Service.

Catholics hit hard by end of free faith school transport. (2014). The Tablet. 24 August.

Cullinane, C., Hillary, J., Andrade, J. and McNamara, S. (2017). Selective Comprehensives 2017: Admissions to high-attaining non-selective schools for disadvantaged pupils. London: Sutton Trust.

Dustmann, C., Frattini, T. and Theodoropoulos, N. (2010). Ethnicity and second generation immigrants [online].

Francis, B. and Hutchings, M. (2013). Parent power? Using money and information to boost children’s chances of educational success. London: Sutton Trust.

Gadsby, B. (2017). Impossible? Social mobility and the seemingly unbreakable class ceiling. London: TeachFirst.

Garrone, Cardinal G.-M. (1977). The Catholic School. Rome: The Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education.

Hunt, E. (2019). Access to schools: the impact of the appeals and waiting list system. London: Education Policy Institute.

Iniesta-Martinez, S. and Evans, H. (2012). Pupils not claiming free school meals. Department for Education.

Montacute, R. and Cullinane, C. (2018). Parent power 2018: How parents use financial and cultural resources to boost their children’s chances of success. London: Sutton Trust.

Montemaggi, F., Bullivant, S. and Glackin, M. (2017). The take-up of free school meals in Catholic schools in England and Wales. London: St Mary’s University, Twickenham.

OIEC (2016). Catholic schools committed to an integral education of the human person, in the service of society. Meeting of the Council of Europe, Strasbourg (official translation from the French).

Oldfield, E., Hartnett, L. and Bailey, E. (2013). More than an educated guess: Assessing the evidence on faith schools. London: Theos.

Penney, B. (2019). The English Indices of Deprivation 2019. Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government.

Responses to the questionnaire of the Instrumentum Laboris. (2015). Educating today and tomorrow. Rome: Instrumentum Laboris.

TES. (2016). Catholic education chief says total religious segregation in schools is “dreadful.”

Weldon, M. (2018). Secondary school choice and selection: Insights from new national preferences data. Department for Education.

Woodhead, L. (2013). New poll shows the debate on faith schools isn’t really about faith. [online] Westminster Faith Debates. Available at: WFD-Faith-Schools-PressRelease.

Notes

1 The Catholic Education Service (CES) persists in the view that the Indicators of Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI) provides an alternative, and more accurate, test of pupil poverty. However, the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government warns that the IDACI is unsuitable for this purpose, since it measures deprivation in neigbbourhoods, not in schools. It is therefore unable to distinguish between those children who come from deprived families, and other children who live in an area of high deprivation but are not themselves deprived (Penney, 2019, pp 3-4).

2 The national comparative percentage for looked-after children is omitted in the CES data, and the comparative percentage of children with an EHC plan is misleadingly described as “marginally below” the national figure.

3 This is perhaps a surprising finding, given that children from minority ethnic communities are over-represented in Catholic schools nationally. The explanation lies in the fact that they tend to form a higher proportion of the population in urban areas (especially London), where most Catholic secondary schools are sited.

4 Not all Catholic schools adhere to a strictly ‘Catholics first’ ruling. There are a very small number of Catholic schools which reserve a proportion of their available places for non-Catholic children in their local area. The new Catholic voluntary aided primary school in Peterborough will be one of these.

Conference on Academies and Catholic Education

A Reflection from History

The many people who were unable to attend this important conference, are indebted to the speakers and organisers for publishing such a full account of the proceedings.[1] Having access to this impressively coherent, informative and balanced collection of papers will provide an invaluable and lasting resource for students of Catholic education.

The depth and breadth of the experience and expertise of this group of Catholic lay people is in itself notable as exemplifying the post-conciliar Church coming of age. One is tempted to speculate that the spontaneity of the pervasive freedom of expression may well have benefited from the absence of an ‘official’ Church voice and is all the more authentic for it. Most commendably, the reader is invited to weigh up the range of arguments and accounts and draw her or his own conclusions.

Of the contributors, Margaret Buck is in no doubt that Voluntary Aided status, from a different historical period in our country’s history, offers a great deal more long-term security than the Academy status that sits comfortably within the neo-liberal capitalist, market orientated economic philosophy of the late 20th, early 21st century. Raymond Friel makes a case for the degree of autonomy within the Academy structure to develop a thoroughly coherent and very distinctive Catholic ethos based upon our Gospel’s soundest values.

Louise McGowan’s searingly honest selfexamination, elicits this telling admission about the turmoil of the early stages of academisation: ‘I do not believe that the governors and out-going headteacher had realised what they were signing up to.’ Its personal effects leading her to conclude: ‘I was so busy dealing with what was around me that I didn’t notice what was happening to me.’

Clearly the profound issue arising in

this report and from elsewhere, is the degree of State control over the nature of school academies, their governance and management and the expectations of teachers. It might be argued that the State has set up proxy corporate enterprises to manage these institutions, synchronised by its own Government Department, to pursue a utilitarian Government policy with little accountability. However those institution leaders and their teams of teachers are oppressively held to account.

The authentic experiences of those teachers was understandably missing at this seminar. But their vocation, professionalism and career in Catholic Education has moved them, from a familiar Voluntary Aided Local Authority pattern to this different one.

Reflecting on the whole Academy initiative from a historical perspective, there would seem to be a less than convincing display of resolve in securing the best possible outcome for the Church at critical stages of educational legislature. Sadly, the lack of a hierarchical unity of response to Academisation from across the diocesan spectrum from total adoption to total refusal and everything in between, has more than one precedent which could quite reasonably be interpreted as the story of diminishing control of our Catholic schools.

That dual partnership has been slowly ebbing away since the mid 70s, with the final implementation of the 1944 Act at the raising of the school leaving age to sixteen. The party political consensus over education broke, assisted by decisions for a comprehensive schools programme.

However the seeds of a market based education were also being sown with one of the early examples being the publication of ‘A Framework for Choice’ in 1967.[2] A major contribution in the book was by A.C.F. Beales, a prominent Catholic academic, who dwelt on Cardinal Bourne’s proposal from 1926 advocating a form of education voucher for each pupil. Bourne’s motive was far from ‘free market’ but sought to ensure a fair distribution of state resource to Catholic schools. Beales warned that ‘one of poverty’s degradations is unavailability of

by Peter Boylan KSG

choice.’[3] That these two leading Catholic figures are together is a coincidence of history, as both played a significant parts.[4]

In 1926, the Hadow Report made proposals for the institution of secondary education for all pupils and in many ways was the precursor of the 1944 Education Act. However, the proposals received a very mixed reception from the Voluntary Sector, largely Catholic schools who faced either huge costs in renovating or building schools, or facing the compulsory transfer of pupils to Council schools. As a part of the following campaign, the Hierarchy, led by Cardinal Bourne in a document circulated to the Hierarchy entitled ‘Principles to be Remembered’,[5] offered among others, three of the principles relevant to current discussions:

• It is no part of the normal function of the State to teach,

• The teacher is always acting ‘in loco parentis’ never ‘in loco civitatis,’

• The teacher never is, and can never be a civil servant and should never regard himself or allow himself to be so regarded. Whatever authority he may possess to teach and control children, and to claim their respect and obedience, comes to him from God through the parents.

The concept of ‘in loco parentis’ was enshrined in English case law as long ago as 1893 when a legal judgement expressed that ‘the school master (sic) was bound to take such care of the boys in his care as a careful father would take of his boys.’ This judgement was confirmed in 1906 in a pastoral letter by the Bishop of Salford, Dr. Casartelli who added a number of similar legal statements. It was confirmed more recently in the Child Protection Act of 2003.

Bourne’s successor’s Cardinal Hinsley, needed to face the calamities of WW2 and the preliminary negotiations leading to the 1944 Act. In January 1945, A.C.F. Beales analysed what he saw as the failure of the Catholic body to convince government of its case.[6] His concerns led him to pose the question ‘What about next time?’

He went on to outline a programme of action that would have secured a more promising debate with government while critical of the Church’s approach to education. He observed that the ongoing debate following the 1944 Act among the Catholic community was focussed on costs, while any education value was ignored. While proposing the founding of a Trust Fund to secure finance as well as a crisis fund to meet the present situation, he questioned academic standards within Catholic schools, and the lack of any Catholic academia which would have been able to research and validate some of the accepted premises. ‘We seldom ask ourselves whether the formula “Catholic children in Catholics schools taught by Catholic teachers” means Catholic education. A complete non sequiter’ he wrote. Bemoaning the lack of continuing formation for the laity he diagnosed that their fault is not knowing how to study, but we teachers do not know what this is for the non-professional adult. “And so, the priceless heritage of Catholic teaching passes them by; the laity lack a formation; the clergy distrust their initiative; and we all go round and round in an endless circle.” The delusions outlined in 1944 are in many ways still with us, seventy-five years later.

During the debates on a Catholic response to the Grant Maintained Schools’ initiative in 1988, the then Bishop Nichols could express the deep reservations and unease of the Bishops’ Conference of ‘attempts to organise education on the principles and practice of an open market economy.’[7] However, that cohesion among the Hierarchy was broken for reasons which the late Dominic Milroy OSB would refer to as ‘the problem of the federal Church.’ Witness the different responses to the Grant Maintained School initiative and now to Academisation among the Hierarchy and a recurring theme emerges that weakens the body as a whole when the centre cannot hold. Can there ever be a policy among

the Bishops that strengthens all parts of the enterprise of Catholic Education in the country?

Bookshelves are littered with the proliferation of post-conciliar publications, reports and exhortations with recommendations and programmes for action. ‘The Easter People 1980’, ‘Signposts and Homecomings ‘81’, ‘Servicing Catholic Schools, ‘88’, ‘A Struggle for Excellence’ ‘97’, ‘Foundations for Excellence ‘99’, ‘The Common Good in Education ‘97’, to name a few of the most prominent sources of unfulfilled promise.

In the report, Gerald Grace comments that this challenge concerning MATs and Catholic Education ‘alerts the whole Catholic community to focus on this important question’; John Sullivan identifies ‘the need for constructive engagement in society by lay Catholics,’ who must ‘display professional competence as well as devotion, if they are to deserve respect and are to carry out their mission.’

In the exhortation of Pope Francis, ‘Christus Vivit’[8] there is a section on Youth Ministry. The model being signalled is captured in a reflection on the journey of the disciples on the road to Emmaus. Those disciples are shown how to recognise what they are hearing; to interpret these events and then to choose what to do next. Recognisable as the scriptural source of the Young Christian Workers’ analytical mantra of ‘See, Judge, Act’ was attributed to the far sighted Cardinal Cardijn’s capturing of the essence of Catholic Social Teaching. Cardijn, one of the giants of Vatican II, is credited as playing a major part in the formation of the young Argentinian priest Jorge Mario Bergoglio.

While we now have an academic and research community, as well as a measure and recognition of the quality of Catholic schooling, there is still the need to ensure Catholic adult lay formation and so engage

Comment from Professor Gerald Grace

in the debate on social and political issues in the market place. Similarly national capital finance is a serious issue and one which is a factor in some dioceses for taking up initiatives that include a financial incentive.

The declining influence of the Church as a partner in shaping the country’s education system is surely a matter of the gravest concern. One might ask, as Beales did in 1945, what about next time? What comes after Academisation and how we are to ensure that we are capable of more than a pragmatic accommodation, remains a matter of some considerable concern.

Focussing on the costs again at the expense of a coherent argument about the inherent value of education is no more valid today than it was in 1944. What we can point to as a most encouraging development since Beales lamented the absence of a Catholic academic research and validating facility, is the emergence of an increasingly influential body of academic work, shared across the Catholic world, coming from these islands.

However, the future shape and content of Catholic education cannot be a matter simply for these interested educators. A secure future remains entirely dependent upon a unified hierarchical conversation engaging a Catholic community whose allegiance to our schools has never faltered.

[1] Conference Report. ‘Are MATs and Academies a Threat to the Future of Catholic Education In England and Wales? Ed Sean Whittle, Networking publications obtained from willieslavin@aol.com

[2] ‘Education, A Framework for Choice’ Ed Rhodes Byson, IEA 1967

[3] ibid

[4] Bourne, Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster, 1903 to 1935: Beales became Professor of History of Education, King’s College London.

[5] This document is quoted in full in ‘The Education Question’ T Quirk, private publication 1943.

[6] ‘Some Delusions in Catholic Education,’ ‘Illuminating Facts: The Schools and the Sceptics’ Beales, address to Leeds Newman Association Easter 1944. Published Bradford CPEA January 1945.

[7] Address to Conference on Grant Maintained Status, ACSC London 1993

[8] ‘Christus Vivit’ a Post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation to Young People and the entire people of God’ Pope Francis 2019 CTS publications.

The Research and Development Editor of Networking Professor Gerald Grace, adds his reflection on this contribution to the debate on academisation.

i. ‘It is so important when considering present challenges, to set them in the context of history. This reminds us of the valued principles of the past (not to lose them) and also the mistakes of the past (and not to repeat them).’

ii. ‘ In my view academisation (in its current

forms) represents a corporate takeover of Catholic schools by subtle and indirect means and the whole Catholic community needs to think more deeply about it. It is not an evidence based policy, but rather an ideological project arising from the political ambitions of one man, Michael Gove. It threatens to extinguish a valued

principle of the past, Voluntary Aided status (with relative autonomy) and to replace it with greater power for whoever is Secretary of State for Education in the future. I am surprised that so many of our Bishops cannot see this political strategy.’

New Hall Steps Up to the Plate

During these unprecedented times, New Hall has come together to support the nation and local community in the most remarkable of ways. Reflecting the School’s ethos of care and service, New Hall has taken action with many initiatives over the past few months in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

In addition to producing over 200 face shields for the School’s local hospital, Broomfield Hospital, New Hall School has donated a large amount of protective equipment to local care homes. These initiatives have been commended by new outlets: https://bit.ly/39uxn7H. Principal, Katherine Jeffrey, said: “The selflessness and hard work of the staff has provided some much-needed relief to the local community and The School’s Art, Design & Technology Department have done a fantastic job designing and manufacturing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for frontline key workers battling the virus.”

New Hall’s award-winning voluntary service, NHVS, has continued its 40-year tradition of giving service to those in need in the local community. Whilst clubs such as lunches for the elderly and support groups for vulnerable adults have been unable to run in person, New Hall has provided ongoing support and care, through home deliveries, Zoom/Skype calls and letter writing to all the members of its weekly action groups.

Various members of the community have participated in several sporting challenges to raise money for NHS Charities Together. Isla-Rose Onions (Year 1) ran 26km over the month of May, raising a total of £870,

including Gift Aid. Miss Beatty, teacher of English, took part in the 2.6 challenge, walking 2.6 miles for 26 days to raise money for the Little Edi Foundation, despite being eight months pregnant!

Accompanying these efforts, the School’s Senior Prefect Team banded together and walked/ran/cycled 5614km (approximately the distance from New Hall to Times Square in New York) over a period of 30 days, to raise money for NHS Charities Together. James Alderson, Head of Sixth Form, said: “The challenge was an excellent opportunity for Sixth Form students to keep fit and stay connected, while serving the community. The team raised a total of £3,604 and covered an impressive distance of 5727km!”.

The Art Department has contributed to the NHS Heroes Portrait Initiative, with a dozen students and various teachers creating over 60 portraits of Key Workers, to be exhibited in the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh in due course.

New Hall School remained open to Key Workers’ children continually from March. With a plethora of activities on offer, from golf lessons and croquet, to painting and animal welfare, the School’s ‘Key Worker Childcare Scheme’ provided much-needed support to NHS and frontline Key Workers, as well as ensured that the children continued their studies and selfdevelopment.

New Hall’s large and vibrant Chaplaincy has continued to support the prayer life of the School and local community. Fr Martin Hardy, New Hall’s Chaplain, has regularly live-streamed Mass from the magnificent and historic Chapel.

Principal, Katherine Jeffrey, said: “New Hall’s Chaplaincy Team and Theology Department have created an imaginative and moving

set of ‘Remote Liturgies’, which have been valued by our community during these unprecedented and difficult times. These have helped people to stay connected, as well as being supported in prayer. This has been especially important at a time when many have suffered isolation and loneliness and others are struggling with illness and bereavement.” New Hall is also creating a memorial orchard in the fields in front of the stunning former Tudor palace that forms the School’s main building.

New Hall School was the first independent school nationally to sponsor a state primary academy. Throughout lockdown, New Hall continued with its public benefit work running the successful New Hall MultiAcademy Trust.

New Hall Year 1 pupil completes 26km for the NHS

Key Workers’ children enjoy activities at New Hall

Key Workers’ children on the New Hall scheme

PPE Masks created by New Hall Art & Technology Department for frontline workers

Saint Paul’s Flags in Antarctica!

Year 7 pupils from Saint Paul’s Catholic High School in Wythenshawe, Greater Manchester took part in a competition to design a flag for Antarctica. The wonderfully colourful flags were then taken to Antarctica as part of a project with Antarctic scientists.

The aim of this initiative is to inspire new generations about the Antarctic and Antarctica Day.

Mrs Helen Allsopp, Head of Geography at Saint Paul’s, explained: “Following a Geography lesson about Antarctica, the pupils were asked to design a flag for the Antarctic – as it does not have its own –based on what they have learnt. The flags were taken to Antarctica by the scientists who have sent us some fantastic photos of the pupils’ pictures in Antarctica.”

On December 1st 1959, 12 nations signed the Antarctic Treaty, a document declaring that Antarctica would be off limits to military activity and setting it aside as a place for peace and scientific discoveries. As of 2010, December 1st has been celebrated each

year to mark this milestone of peace and to inspire future decisions. It is hoped that the celebrations can be extended worldwide through the Antarctic Flags initiative; giving new generations the opportunity to learn about the Antarctic Treaty and to share, interpret and cherish the values associated with Antarctica!

“This really is a remarkable achievement, we are extremely proud of those students who took part in the project. They enjoyed the work and showed so much enthusiasm for the topic,” commented Mr Alex Hren, Head Teacher.” We received some amazing entries from our Year 7s for the competition – well done to all those who took part!”

Students from Saint Paul’s Catholic High School took part in a competition to design a flag for Antarctica, the flags then accompanied a team of scientists to the region.

Inaugural Conference at the Convent of Jesus and Mary Language College, London; 12 March 2020:

How do Catholic schools serve the goal of social justice?

By Carolyn Malsher and Louise McGowan

‘Following Pope Francis’s lead, how should Catholic education serve the poor, regardless of whether or not they are Catholic Christians?’

This was the question we posed to speakers and delegates at our oneday conference in March, just before COVID-19 and lockdown posed a whole new set of challenges around education and equity.

We were thrilled to have an esteemed lineup of keynote speakers in Professors Gerald Grace, Stephen McKinney and Richard Pring. In combination these academics represented a good century of research in Catholic education.

Professor Grace took us back to the seminal work The Catholic School issued by The Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education in 1977. He reminded us that the ethos of Catholic education has always been the ‘preferential option for the poor’ and, as Pope John Paul II had clarified, this was “not limited to material poverty but encompasses cultural and spiritual poverty as well.”

Following on from Professor Grace’s historical overview we focused in on more recent developments with Professor McKinney’s studies into the role of Catholic schools in addressing specific injustices such as food insecurity and life chances for those living in areas of deprivation. He touched on the connected issue of sectarianism extant in his home town of Glasgow and how that had been and was being addressed; a subject which drew an interesting discussion from the floor on parallels with delegates’ experiences.

After a thought-provoking morning of keynotes, delegates were able to choose from a range of short papers in parallel

sessions based on their specific areas of interest.

Dr Margaret Buck offered definitions of poverty originating both outside and inside schools, working from her research conducted in state-funded English diocesan schools. She identified material poverty, emotional poverty, and poverty in the faith as being areas of deprivation which may need to be addressed within a Catholic educational setting.

Focusing on primary education, Dr Ann Casson spoke of strengthening the ‘Nexus’ of connections between the home, school and church in order to develop the spiritual capital of pupils, their families and the whole school community. Her presentation was based on empirical research carried out by the National Institute of Christian Education Research (NICER) at Canterbury Christ Church University, which identified some effective approaches such as pastoral care for the whole family, opportunities for parents to share worship and provision of time and space for prayer.

We were pleased to welcome Edward Conway, headteacher at St Michael’s Catholic High School in Watford, one of our partner schools within the Diocese of Westminster Academy Trust. His session focused on the current deficit of social services and the consequences this has had on the de facto position of Catholic schools as an additional support service for vulnerable families. He described what this looks like in practice and how it impacts on schools who are themselves under budgetary constraints. He also gave some helpful pointers towards accessing support from Catholic charities.

Martin Earley looked at the contribution to debate around Catholic social teaching made by two orders of religious fathers; the Dominicans and the Jesuits. He examined the output of their teaching via their academic journals: New Blackfriars

and the Heythrop Journal, respectively. He identified many points of overlap and similar concerns, but noted differences in approach and emphasis, with the Dominicans being more radical and quicker to address ‘difficult’ subjects e.g. MarxistChristian relations, liberation theology and sexual ethics while the Jesuits were more measured and discreet in their criticism of church policy.

The challenging question of whether a selective faith-based entrance policy for Catholic schools is compatible with a social justice ethos was presented by John Harris. The fundamental principle described in the 1977 document is that “In the certainty that the Spirit is at work in every person, the Catholic School offers itself to all, nonChristians included … “ However, school admission policies are often such that the inclusivity this statement implies may be sacrificed, certainly for oversubscribed schools with high uptake from within the Catholic community. The fear of a loss of Catholicity or a dilution of Catholic ethos in schools with a higher proportion of nonCatholic students is, arguably, problematic

Louise McGowan is the Headmistress of the Convent of Jesus and Mary Language College where she set up a Catholic Research School in September 2018. She has recently completed her doctoral thesis that uses autoethnography to examine a life in Academy and faith leadership and is currently preparing for her Viva Voce examination.

Carolyn Malsher is the Administrator to the Research School and Librarian at the Convent of Jesus and Mary Language College in north west London.

and should be addressed with great care and sensitivity.

For full details of John’s research see p8

Dr John Patterson, Principal of St Vincent’s, a specialist school for students with sensory impairment, described his work in forming connections between schools, universities and businesses with the aim of improving the social capital and employment opportunities for visually impaired students. He explained his school’s ‘Common Good’ curriculum and its focus on learning through service while simultaneously promoting opportunities for spiritual discernment.

As a Catholic research school we are lucky to have several practitioner-researchers on our staff, and two of our colleagues presented papers to the Conference. Claudia Paisley, Assistant Headteacher, is contributing to a wider study being undertaken throughout the London Borough of Brent on the underachievement of Black Caribbean students. In her talk on the study she is undertaking within our own cohort of students she examined some of the factors that are emerging to suggest that we as educators could be unconsciously complicit to this issue, which has implications for our stated aims to promote social justice and core Catholic

values. She spoke of how we influence the beginning of a black child’s awareness of themselves and can unconsciously contribute to a crystallising self-view that they are less able, less valued and have less right to a voice.

Our Head of History, Sharon Aninakwa, described the school’s work on a history curriculum that engages with ‘difficult’ histories, and gives our students the language and critical consciousness to understand the impact these histories have on our identities. The school teaches on the basis that history can (and should) be a tool for ‘scholar activism’ where students can confidently seek justice by studying the roots and legacies of injustice. Sharon invited some of her sixth form students to speak to the delegates about what this mode of teaching actually looks and feels like in practise and their voices presented a compelling and much appreciated addition to this paper, amply demonstrating why the Convent was awarded the Historical Association Quality Mark for History Gold Award in 2019.

Outside of the formal sessions we were pleased to offer a ‘poster conference’ during tea and lunch breaks, where our student researchers presented projects they

had been working on during the year. These students were also able and enthusiastic ambassadors for the school, helping with hospitality and conducting guided tours for the delegates of the Convent’s buildings and grounds as well as making visits to lessons. We were incredibly proud of them.

As this was the first ever Research Conference we had hosted as a new Research School, we were grateful to

Louise McGowan and Professor Grace

Research Students

be working in conjunction with Dr Sean Whittle and the wider Network for Research in Catholic Education (NRCE) community and the support in sponsorship from Willie Slavin and the Networking Catholic Education Trust. Their support, experience and knowledge of the field proved an enormous help in terms of marketing, outreach to interested bodies and the format and organisation of the day.

Finally, we would like to thank our delegates; academics, Headteachers and representatives from Catholic organisations and charitable bodies, for attending and contributing to the many thoughtful and fruitful discussions. Our Conference was luckily timed just prior to the wholescale closure of our schools to the majority of students. As we return to our new, post-lockdown education system, the issues and concerns that we all brought to this day will have been exacerbated and the push for an understanding of and a practical application of social justice in Catholic schools must be prioritised.

Louise McGowan and Professor McKinney

Louise McGowan and Professor Pring

Louise McGowan with speakers and Chair of Governors

View of the Conference

Sharon Aninakwa

The Welsh Government is

making changes to the curriculum, and it could spell

disaster for Catholic schools

You may have seen in the news recently that the headteacher of every Catholic school in Wales wrote to the First Minister asking the Welsh Government to halt its plans to overhaul Religious Education.

The Welsh Government plans to expand the scope of traditional RE to ‘Religion, Values and Ethics’, removing the academic rigour of the subject and reducing it to an oversimplistic comparison exercise which fails to understand the fundamentals of faith and religion.

The proposals, which were published in May and are currently being rushed through the Senedd, specifically penalise Catholic schools, placing additional and unreasonable legal requirements on them that no other schools have to satisfy, specifically forcing them to teach two separate RE curriculums without any consideration of resourcing impactions this would have for schools.

Such was the strength of feeling among Catholic school leaders that they made the unprecedented decision to write a collective letter to the First Minister directly opposing his administration’s plans, even asking him if it was his intention to damage Catholic education in Wales.

In their letter, the headteachers state that the proposed changes to RE fail to recognise the heritage and deep connection Religious Education has within Catholic schools, and that the Welsh Government’s desire to create a so-called ‘neutral values’ curriculum risked moving towards a homogeneous education system which would no longer recognise children’s legal right to pursue a deep knowledge and spiritual understanding of their own faith as well as those of others.

RE in Catholic schools is grounded in the 2000-year-old theological tradition of the Catholic Church and gives pupils the opportunity to delve into the motivations behind faith, the ability to critically approach the ‘big questions’ of life and the skills needed to analyse the various ‘truth claims’ made by religion. It involves an

in-depth study of scripture, Church texts, and the work of some of history’s most prominent philosophers and theologians from St Augustine and St Thomas Aquinas to St John Henry Newman. This approach creates religiously literate pupils who can understand the language of religion and critically engage with their own faith and that of others.

In other schools, RE looks very different, with many taking a more sociological approach to faith and belief. These approaches tend to observe the practices of different religions from without, rather than engaging with the theological motivations within. This can result in the approach that religion is something that ‘those people over there’ do, with the student as an external observer, rather than a potential participant, engaging in the theological debate. It is therefore unsurprising that those who subscribe to this secular approach to RE want to lump ‘values and ethics’ in with religion, as they believe faith to be just another ‘worldview’.

As with all types of legislation the devil is in the detail, and whist Catholic schools would be allowed to continue to deliver Catholic RE, if a parent demanded their child receive the state-approved ‘Religion, Values and Ethics’ curriculum, the Catholic school would be bound by law to comply. This would be an arbitrary requirement and wouldn’t take into account the financial cost of resourcing two curriculums, the practical implications of how it would actually work, and the principle concerns of a ‘stateapproved’ version of Catholicism being taught in a Catholic school.

Moreover, this requirement to provide two curriculums is only being asked of VA Schools, all of which, bar a handful of Church in Wales schools, are Catholic schools. It is, therefore, no wonder why every single headteacher in Wales saw this legislation as a direct attack on their schools.

The other potentially damaging proposal is the usurpation of parents’ rights as the primary educators of their children, by removing parents’ right to withdraw their children from RE as well as Relationship and Sex Education (RSE).

by

Not only do these rights respect parents’ inalienable role in their child’s education and formation, especially when it comes to dealing with sensitive topics such as these. They have also proved a useful tool in ensuring that schools communicate and engage with parents on key aspects of the curriculum. Our belief in parental primacy means that Catholic schools will always engage with parents over the delivery of RSE, successfully resulting in no pupils being withdrawn from RSE in Welsh Catholic schools last year. But we believe this ‘conscience clause’ is important in other schools, too. Catholic provision in Wales is much smaller than it is in England and for many Welsh Catholics it is simply not possible to send their child to a Catholic school. Many parents of other faiths and none will also face a similar problem.

Hence, while we can be confident that RE and RSE can be delivered in accordance with Church teachings and parents’ wishes in Catholic schools, the same cannot be said for all schools. Therefore, it is essential that Catholic parents maintain the right to withdraw so that all schools must respect and engage with their pupils’ primary educators. This will enable a partnership to be forged to deliver these subjects in a way which takes into account parental concerns.

What can be done to stop these changes?

The Catholic Education Service has been working hard trying to explain to the Welsh Government how these proposals will negatively impact on our schools, but their ears seem to be closed to our concerns. The Welsh Government has also failed to understand the concerns of parents who (according to the Welsh Government’s own consultation report) overwhelmingly rejected many of these changes. Therefore, I urge readers in Wales to contact their local and regional MSs and let them know the strength of feeling there is against these proposals in the Catholic community.

For those reading in England please continue to pray for our brothers and sisters in Wales as they campaign against these potentially devastating changes to Catholic schools.

James Spencer, Communications Manager, Catholic Education Service

News from CATSC

Assoc. Prof. Lydon, IoE/EHSS presents at an international webinar of the World Union of Catholic Teachers on educating during the Covid-19 pandemic and for the future

Assoc. Prof. John Lydon is a member of the Executive of the World Union of Catholic Teachers (WUCT) which recently organised an English-speaking international Webinar on 12 June 2020 (convened by Flemish President Mr G. Bourdeau’hui) on the theme of ‘to educate in the time of the pandemic and beyond – comparative perspectives’. A French-speaking International Webinar also took place on 22 May 2020. In his welcoming address, he spoke of the disappointment of having to cancel the November 2020 General Congress of WUCT but continued with these positive sentiments:

In anticipation of this better world, UMECWUCT wants to walk, together with you, to ensure that all children acquire foundation skills. UMEC-WUCT wants to give you not only courage, but also wants to congratulate you sincerely for your endeavours. With your help, teachers can break learning barriers, enrich learning experiences, promote transferable skills that today’s children and young people need to become responsible global citizens.

Thanks are also expressed to Giovanni Perrone, Secretary General of WUCT, which was established after the Second World War to enhance international co-operation among teachers and is the only lay teacher body recognised by the Vatican. It also has consultative status with UNESCO.

It was a really interesting time midway through the pandemic to share both professional and deeply personal and reflective experiences of teaching and what it is like for schools during the Covid-19 Pandemic. Presentations were provided by Assoc. Prof. John Lydon, England; Assoc. Prof. John James, St Louis University, United States; Assoc. Prof. Richard Pazcouguin, University of Santo Tomas, The Philippines; Ms. M. Lappin, University of Glasgow, Scotland and Rev. Fr. Adrian Podar, National Theoretical College, Bucharest, Romania and Archbishop Vincent Dollmann, Archbishop of Cambrai and Ecclesiastical Advisor to the WUCT. Dr Caroline Healy, IoE of Education, Faculty of Education, Humanities and Social Sciences provided the plenary sessions.

Assoc. Prof. Lydon, Institute of Education/ Faculty of Education, Humanities and Social Sciences, began excellently demonstrating that there are resonances between ecclesiological and educational institutional challenges currently being experienced in England. He addressed three issues currently impacting our schools. These were that schools were closed and gradually re-opening; the impact of online learning and the challenges of home schooling for families. He concluded by speaking about Salesian schools and how they were celebrating the return of all students by highlighting and implementing the core Salesian values of respect (through the provision of quality education), understanding (behaviour and attitudes), affection (personal development) and humour (leadership and management) in practice.

Assoc. Prof. John James from the leading Jesuit St Louis University spoke of the

United States experience and how many Catholic schools, which are largely privately financed through payment of tuition fees, were having to close (as many as 46) due to the pandemic crisis. One principal remarked of Covid-19 and the impact on Catholic schools ‘I’ve seen pockets of greatness and real cracks in the system’. Middle class families can no longer afford to send their children to private schools due to redundancies and are having to visit food banks and James called for the need of adaptive leadership of schools at this time.

Ms. Mary Lappin from the University of Glasgow provided a thoughtful presentation in relation to now schools and place of collective worship are closed, it has provided opportunities for individuals to experience contemplative moments with quieter roads and evenings. There are also those suffering disadvantage with schools closed and schools’ provision of pastoral care via email and telephone is essential, as we experience feelings of loss: loss of certainty and daily routines and loss of companionship due to social isolation. Lappin ended by speaking of the need for resilience and of how this crisis is about how we respond to new changes and challenges in our lives, which is also significant for our spiritual wellbeing with ‘the loss of our assumptive world’.

Assoc. Prof. Richard Pazcouguin, University of Santo Tomas, The Philippines, discussed the significance of our teaching ministries ‘on the frontline’ during community quarantine (lockdown). There are economic challenges to online learning in The Philippines as internet access in remote locations may be poor or non-existent and data packages cost money which people often need to just eat and survive.

Pazcouguin spoke of the psychological challenges faced by his university students and the need for his compassionate counselling online which reminded him of how we are the significant daily presence of Christ in the lives of our students during the pandemic.

Dr Adrian Podar from National Theoretical College in Romania discussed how his institution was a pioneer in online learning. His school has been busy devising resource templates for the rest of Romania. He described the time of the pandemic as one where we can ‘re-connect’ teachers with their students and provide much-needed humour and hope for the future.

Archbishop Vincent Dollmann, Archbishop of Cambrai and Ecclesiastical Advisor to the WUCT discussed the digital divide and the need for all peoples to be integrated into the social media networks. He further spoke of the need to unite in solidarity in our response to the pandemic so social justice and the Common Good could be promoted for all humanity. He said:

A major fact should be emphasised during this pandemic period: economic life was stopped to save lives and doctors, caregivers were applauded like heroes. Our western societies, accustomed to give priority to economic success and profitability, have been able to cope with the crisis and honour the virtues of solidarity, particularly towards the frail and poor. Many people have worked hard to visit the sick or to keep relationships by phone, to help the homeless. Alongside these spontaneous actions, the state or church institutions have been very active. These solidarity efforts, which compete with creativity, are a sign of hope for humanity. It will be even more important to continue in the coming economic crisis period. The teaching of the Social Doctrine of the Church is still relevant and has to be encouraged. We find valuable support in the Pope’s Francis encyclical Laudato Si. The Pope reminds us that everything is linked: ecology, respect for all human life and social justice. These benchmarks appear to be the only valid and lasting answer for the survival and the good of humanity. As if to underline the urgency, the Pope has initiated formation projects, he thus addressed young economists and entrepreneurs to reflect on a more human economy in the spirit of Saint Francis of Assisi, ‘The economy of Francesco’.

Dr Caroline Healy, Secretary General of the Catholic Association of Teachers, Schools and Colleges (CATSC) and Senior Lecturer at St Mary’s University, provided

the plenary and spoke of how the pandemic had provided countries with many shared experiences that unite us all in the World Union of Catholic Teachers (WUCT). This includes the economic challenges for families, especially the disadvantaged ones and the changing behaviour of schools due

to social distancing so they can re-open.

She finished by saying that online learning presents challenges for both students and teachers, but also brings immense opportunities for uniting us all, more than ever before, as we work remotely.

The WUCT webinar in progress with Assoc. Professor Lydon with other international panellists

More panellists joined to deliver further papers including Archbishop of Cambrai, Vincent Dollmann, Mary Lappin, University of Glasgow and Dr Caroline Healy, St Mary’s University, London

Expansion of the MA in Catholic School Leadership across the British Isles

Fifth Cohort of Derry students enrol for Masters Degree in Catholic School Leadership and a new centre for Edinburgh

Derry Centre, Northern Ireland

The MA in Catholic School Leadership team at St Mary’s University was delighted that ten more students from Derry enrolled for the MA in Catholic School Leadership for the Academic Year 2019-2020. This outreach centre continues to go from strength to strength.

Last year, the first graduates from the Derry outreach centre based at St Mary’s College in Derry participated in a graduate ceremony at St Mary’s University, London. The degree is validated by the university, but is delivered in Derry face-to-face by St Mary’s University lecturers, which means it is very convenient for students living in Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland. This partnership began in 2014 and continues to be strongly supported by The Most Rev. Donal McKeown, Bishop of Derry (a former teacher and school leader) and appointed by Pope Francis, Therese Ferry, Diocesan Adviser for Primary Schools and Fr Paul Farren, Director of the Derry Diocesan Catechetical Centre and Professor Anna Lise Gordon, the Head of the Institute of Education, St Mary’s University. A further 30

students from Northern Ireland are currently enrolled on the MA in the Derry Centre, many travelling across from the Republic of Ireland, especially from County Donegal. The Most Rev. Donal McKeown, participated in making a video concerning the unique partnership between the Diocese of Derry and St Mary’s University Twickenham. The link to the video is: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=vMAzq8XWBAU&feature=youtu.be Students of the programme also spoke on the video, of the benefits of participating in the long-standing and highly regarded programme which has been running since 1997 in London and at outreach centres in England and Wales. Assoc. Prof. John Lydon, Director of the MA in Catholic School Leadership and CATSC Treasurer outlined the modules involved in the programme including: Catholic Education, Leadership and Management, Spiritual and Theological Foundations and Leadership for Learning.

New Centre in Edinburgh, Scotland

St Mary’s University has launched a new postgraduate campus in Edinburgh which will offer the taught MA in Catholic School Leadership. This was due to begin in the Academic Year 2020/21 but has been postponed until 2021/22 due to Covid-19.

This is a partnership with the Archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh which will open up postgraduate provision in leadership in Catholic education and Catholic theology in Edinburgh. The University and the Archdiocese have agreed arrangements for St Mary’s to occupy part of the Gillis Centre in Edinburgh. The Gillis Centre, located in central Edinburgh, was formerly St Margaret’s Convent and School. The partnership has also been much welcomed by the Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, the Most Reverend Leo Cushley. He said:

St Mary’s is the UK’s leading Catholic university so we’re delighted it has agreed to offer courses here. It’s an ideal location and is consistent with our Archdiocesan aim for the advancement of Catholic education. It will help support the Roman Catholic community and give people the opportunity to study a fascinating range of subjects. Also speaking of this new partnership, Chair of St Mary’s University Board of Governors, Bishop Richard Moth, said:

St Mary’s is very pleased to be working with the Archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh. Opening a postgraduate campus in Edinburgh is consistent with the mission of the University to promote higher education and to grow our postgraduate offering.

The Most. Rev. Bishop Donal McKeown, Bishop of Derry with Assoc. Professor John Lydon (centre) with new Derry students on the MA in Catholic School Leadership in March 2020 delivered St Mary’s College, Derry, Northern Ireland

St Mary’s University courses are open to students of all faiths and none. The flexible programmes at the Gillis Centre will create new opportunities for mature students, teachers and others across central Scotland. The postgraduate part-time MA courses will begin at the Strathearn Road campus from Autumn 2021 and information is available via the St Mary’s University website. St Mary’s University hosts the only faculties in the UK with the ability to offer ecclesiastical degrees, the Mater Ecclesiae College (dating back to 1614). Its long-standing and nationally recognised Education programme was recently re-confirmed as Ofsted ‘Outstanding’.

About St Mary’s, Archdiocese

of St Andrews & Edinburgh and the Gillis Centre, Edinburgh

St Mary’s University, Twickenham was established in 1850, to train Catholic teachers and school leaders and continues this tradition today with 6000 students approximately. The Catholic Archdiocese of St Andrews & Edinburgh is comprised of the Metropolitan Cathedral City of Edinburgh, the counties of Berwickshire, Fife (south of the River Eden), East Lothian, Midlothian, Peeblesshire, Selkirkshire, Roxburghshire, Stirlingshire (except the parishes of Baldernock and East Kilpatrick) and West Lothian. The estimated Catholic population of the Archdiocese is 115,000. The Gillis Centre in Edinburgh is named after Bishop James Gillis and was home to the first postReformation convent in Scotland. For over 150 years it was St Margaret’s Convent and School before operating as a seminary from 1986 to 1993. The Centre currently houses the offices for the Archdiocese. These will be unaffected by the new St Mary’s presence.

About the Programme Director in the MA in Catholic School Leadership

Assoc. Prof. John Lydon holds degrees in education and theology from the Universities of Durham, Liverpool and Surrey. His doctorate focused on teaching as a vocation for lay teachers in a contemporary context. As well as teaching at the University of Notre Dame, London Global Gateway, he is the Director of the MA in Catholic School Leadership Programme, Associate Director of the Centre for Research and Development in Catholic Education and Associate Editor of the leading International Studies in Catholic Education journal, St Mary’s University, London.

Significant areas of Lydon’s scholarship and research focus on spiritual capital, Catholic school leadership, the maintenance of distinctive religious charisms and the relationship between these and competing school paradigms in the 21st century which focus on the marketization of education and school effectiveness in the UK. He is a doctoral supervisor and mentor to post-doctoral researchers from Africa who are enhancing their research capability in the area of Catholic education. Lydon is a sought after speaker and regularly delivers lectures in the United States, especially at NCEA, but also in Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. Most recently he gave keynote addresses on Christian Humanism at the University of Jaffna, Sri Lanka and on The English Education System: An Overview, at St Louis University.

Lydon was recently appointed Multidisciplinary Expert of the CatholicInspired NGO Forum for education working in partnership with the Vatican Secretariat of State. He is a member of the Executives of the World Union of Catholic Teachers, the Catholic Association of Teachers, Schools and Colleges of England & Wales and the Catholic Union of Great Britain. He is also a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. His key publications include:

Contemporary Perspectives on Catholic Education (2018, Gracewing Publishing).

Getting Embedded Together: New Partnerships for Twentieth-Century Catholic Education, Chapter 15, pp. 191-202. In S. Whittle, S, (ed.), Researching Catholic Education (2018, Springer).

Teaching Religious Education in Catholic Schools in England and Wales. In M. Yuen

(ed.) ‘Teaching Catholic Social Ethics and Civic Education’, Hong Kong Journal of Catholic Studies, No. 8, January 2018, pp. 92-122 (2018, Chinese University of Hong Kong).

Initial and Ongoing Formation of Catholic School teachers and Leaders – a perspective from the UK pp. 60-69. In: The Formation of Formators/La formazione dei formatori (2017, Congregation for Catholic Education, The Vatican).

The Contemporary Catholic Teacher: A Reappraisal of the Concept of Teaching as a Vocation (2011, Lambert Publishing).

‘Transmission of a Charism’, International Studies in Catholic Education (2009, TaylorFrancis).

If you are from Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, England, Wales or Scotland and are interested in completing the Masters in Catholic School Leadership Programme, please contact Dr John Lydon: john.lydon@stmarys.ac.uk or Dr Caroline.Healy@stmarys.ac.uk.

You may be entitled to exemptions from previous postgraduate or professional qualifications and if you are an alumni of St Mary’s University Twickenham, reduced fees are applicable.

Recent graduates from the Spring 2019 MA Graduation in Catholic School Leadership, St Mary’s University, Twickenham, London together with Most Rev. Bishop Donal McKeown, Bishop of Derry and staff on the MA teaching faculty

Visiting Scholars from Africa join Assoc. Prof. John Lydon, CATSC Executive, for Research Mentoring at St Mary’s University in the area of Catholic Education as part of a pilot project in the academic year 2019/20 to establish the Catholic Education Research in Africa Network (CERIAN)

This article outlines the successes, challenges and aspirations of the exciting pilot African Visiting Scholars project that took place during the Academic Year 2019/20 which was initiated by Honorary Prof. Gerald Grace, Centre for Education, Research and Development (CRDCE) at St Mary’s University, London. The university received a substantial sum of money from an anonymous source to host and support the scholars for three months in London.

How it all began: initial communication with Africa from St Mary’s University

A list of universities in East Africa was provided for us to use in sending the advertisement for the project to support African scholars in developing their research skills and knowledge in the area of Catholic education. Eleven universities from South Sudan, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Zambia, Uganda and Malawi were sent emails with details of the programme. There were eight (8) applications in total with four from Kenya and four from Zimbabwe. Four candidates were interviewed: two from Kenya and two from Zimbabwe. The interview teams brought together two of the three UK mentors, Assoc. Professor John Lydon and Professor Anthony Towey and the Project Lead, Dr Christine Edwards-Leis and the Associate Lead, Dr Caroline Healy (CATSC General Secretary). All interviews were conducted via Skype.

The three successful candidates and their topics for research were:

Sr Dr Kinikonda Okemasisi Namagoya: Tangaza University College, Kenya

Postdoctoral research in Catholic Education in Africa: perspective of the Catholic social teaching on the care of the environment in Catholic secondary schools in Nairobi County-Kenya

Dr Ann Rita Njageh: Catholic University of Eastern Africa, Kenya

Pastoral Care Programmes for Youth in Catholic Secondary Schools in Kenya

Dr Meshack Muderedzwa: Catholic University of Zimbabwe

Assess how Catholic Education is Perceived by Different Groups of People from different Catholic Schools in Zimbabwe

Evaluation of Applications

The four selected for interview were all most worthy of inclusion in the programme. Following successful application for Tier 5 Visas, two out of the three scholars were able to travel to St Mary’s University and the third scholar hoped to join them but the Covid-19 pandemic prevented him from travelling.

Research Development Programme

While the visiting scholars were here, a full programme of research activities were engaged in relating to Catholic Education.

A schedule of research activities were created prior to the scholars’ arrival in the UK on Monday 3rd February 2020. All involved worked hard to design a schedule of events that provided:

• Sessions for professional development and learning in research and writing skills;

• Academic seminars from peers;

• Reading groups;

• Visits to external events such as conferences and religious services;

• Individual tutor time;

• Doctoral programme teaching events; and,

• Recreational activity.

It was important to have a balance in each day for the scholars so that they felt comfortable with the timetable and were also able to pursue individual events that were of interest to them. Each had a personal schedule of tutorials with their mentor and counsellor from the chaplaincy.

The programme was appropriate and contained a workable balance between sessions, conferences, recreation and individual study. Much key training was provided.

Mentoring

A period of orientation at St Mary’s Campus was required when the scholars arrived on Monday 3rd February 2020. Their accommodation was directly across the road from the campus so travel was a short walk making dining at the university’s refectory very convenient. Dr Healy and Dr Edwards-Leis undertook administrative procedures such as accessing staff cards, meal plans, library and internet access, and general tours of campus facilities to ease the transition and culture shock. Weekly meetings with Dr Edwards-Leis followed and Dr Healy was the tour guide for most visits off campus.

Each scholar was appointed a St Mary’s University mentor with whom to work as shown below:

Professor Gerald Grace

Dr Meshack Muderedzwa: Catholic University of Zimbabwe

Assess how Catholic Education is Perceived by Different Groups of People from different Catholic Schools in Zimbabwe

Associate Professor John Lydon

Dr Ann Rita Njageh: Catholic University of Eastern Africa, Kenya

Pastoral Care Programmes for Youth in Catholic Secondary Schools in Kenya

Professor Anthony Towey

Sr Dr Kinikonda Okemasisi Namagoya: Tangaza University College, Kenya

Postdoctoral research in Catholic Education in Africa: perspective of the Catholic social teaching on the care of the environment in Catholic secondary schools in Nairobi County-Kenya

The visiting scholars, Dr Ann Rita and Sr Kinikonda meet Bishop Alan Williams, the Bishop of the Diocese of Brentwood who was a keynote speaker at the inaugural conference of the Association of Teachers of Catholic Religious Education (ATCRE) held at 8th February 2020

The visiting scholars, Dr Ann Rita Njageh and Sr Dr Kinikonda Okemasisi together with Associate Prof. John Lydon were welcomed by the His Eminence Archbishop Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of England and Wales at the very special 150th Anniversary Celebrations

The scholars worked with their home mentors with much success. They also commenced remote mentoring through Skype and email with their UK mentors with continued success following the Covid-19 pandemic when they had to return home to Africa unexpectedly. UK mentors guided their data collection efforts and reading in preparation for the accumulation of research material necessary for the completion of their projects.

The scholars commenced their data collection in their home countries which presented some unforeseen challenges primarily to do with funding. Travel to remote communities and access to participants were reported as the major challenges. However, each scholar arrived in the UK with data to work on with their mentor. Prof. Grace continued to work with Dr Muderedzwa remotely.

Some observations from one of the UK Mentors concerning the project. Associate Professor John Lydon mentored Dr Ann Rita Njageh and remarked:

‘Following the completion of an outline proposal in her native Kenya, Dr Ann Rita embarked upon her research project enthusiastically almost from the moment she landed in the UK…She was especially grateful that I was able to share my extensive personal collection of resources including the gifting of some books.

In a wider ecclesial context it was a privilege to accompany Ann Rita and Sister Kinikonda, alongside Dr Caroline Healy, to two significant events. The 150th Anniversary of the founding of the Catholic Union was marked by the celebration of Mass at the Church of the Immaculate Conception Farm Street, London after which the principal concelebrant and Chancellor of St Mary’s University Cardinal Nichols welcomed our post-doctoral scholars enthusiastically, showing a keen interest in their research and asking pertinent questions. The Conference on Catholic Social Teaching at the Convent of Jesus and Mary Language College proved also to be an enriching experience for both scholars who engaged enthusiastically with academics, teachers and students.

Research Outputs by the African Visiting Scholars

Research Proposals Submitted

All three scholars submitted proposals for research that outlined projects that met the criteria of the programme robustly. Some refinement of each proposal was undertaken with the correspondence between mentors and scholars. It would seem that all three scholars worked very hard to fulfil their research goals.

Presentations

The Visiting Scholars were scheduled to present their work to a variety of audiences on:

• Saturday 21st March 2020 to the doctoral students on the Professional Doctorate programme and the PhD students attending the writing retreat.

While the scholars were assigned a personal mentor they also had opportunities to meet with other on-campus mentors such as Prof Stephen Bullivant and Prof Peter Tyler. The scholars were also assigned a mentor from Chaplaincy.

This visit would allow the scholars to:

• Complete their researcher development programme;

• Present their work at two seminars/ conferences;

• Make a contribution to the academic community at St Mary’s through reading and discussion groups and seminar attendance;

• Complete the school visits organized for 2020; and,

• Work with the project leads, Dr Christine Edwards-Leis and Dr Caroline Healy, and other UK tutors to plan the future activities of CERIAN: Catholic Education Research in Africa Network.

Finally, an evaluation of the whole project will be conducted by Dr Christine EdwardsLeis and Dr Caroline Healy with a view to publication of the findings.

• Tuesday 21st April 2020 to the attendees at the Porticus Celebration Event which hosted invitees from our community who contributed to the programme including accommodation hosts, school leaders, religious leaders, colleagues, and students. Unfortunately, neither of these events went ahead due to the coronavirus.

Therefore, it is recommended that the visiting scholars return to the UK for a period of six weeks from early February 2021 so as to complete their programme and present their work. A third presentation could also be made at a relevant conference that may be being hosted in the UK at that time. Financial constraints seem to be quite restrictive of the scholars’ ability to travel to other parts of the world, without the adequate funding, in order to present the results of their research.

Research Articles for Publication

All three scholars continue to work on producing the co-authored research article. Reports from their UK mentors outline the progress they have made toward publication of this article in an appropriate journal. Prof Grace has expressed his opinion that the articles being developed are worthy of publication in the International Studies in Catholic Education which he edits. There is a possibility of a special themed edition that hosts all three articles from these scholars.

The Future of the Project

It is hoped that given the untimely interruption to a successful pilot year, that the three scholars should return to St Mary’s for a six-week period from early February to mid-March 2021.

More about the new Network

CERIAN: Catholic Education Research in Africa Network

This network will be established with inaugural membership from the first Post-Doctoral Research Development Programme 2019/2020.

Initial members will include: UK Mentors African Scholars African Mentors Programme Investigators

Mission:

CERIAN is a global research group whose purpose is to work collaboratively to nurture postdoctoral research with the aim of improving the provision of Catholic education in Africa.

Goals:

Catholic Education in Africa is an underresearched area and the first step to enhance the wellbeing of children, is to understand the current context. CERIAN will provide mentoring for early postdoctoral scholars in research projects in home countries that aim to understand better the successes and challenges faced by Catholic schools, colleges, and universities. Each scholar who passes successfully through the programme, will become a CERIAN member thereby making a contribution to a global network to advance scholarship, research, publication, and dissemination of new understandings.

Background Pic: Visiting Scholar Sr Dr Kinikonda Okemasisi and Dr Ann Rita Njageh with Dr Caroline Healy, Associate Project Leader and Mentor, Associate Prof. John Lydon

Update on the new Prayer and Liturgy Directory for Catholic schools

Two Departments of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales are collaborating in the writing of a Prayer and Liturgy Directory for Catholic schools. The aim is for the Directory to be published for September 2021. The Department of Christian Life and Worship as well as the Department for Education and Formation have come together to work on guidance that will support Catholic schools.

The Directory will set out clearly the principles and norms for Catholic prayer and liturgy and their application in the specific context of schools. It will be based upon the wider principles and norms for Catholic prayer and liturgy used in the Church. The

Directory is intended in the first place for all who are directly involved in overseeing and facilitating prayer and liturgy in their schools. It has also been written as a tool for formation and is intended as a resource for all who support those on the ‘front line’.

To support the writing of the Directory an online survey was distributed to those in Catholic education through emails from NBRIA (National Board of Religious Inspectors and Advisors), ATCRE (Association of Teachers of Catholic Religious Education) and ACCE (Association of Catholic Chaplains in Education). The online survey was available for 21 days (3 weeks), from 28th February 2020 to 20th

March 2020. The combined response from 352 respondents resulted in a total of 23,080 words. The writing group for the Prayer and Liturgy Directory was very grateful to all those that took the time to respond to the online survey.

To access a summary report on the online survey, go to https://www.atcre.co.uk/ consultations

Some thoughts on the new Prayer and Liturgy Directory

The above recent communication on the new Prayer and Liturgy Directory, is welcome news for Catholic education. I sincerely believe that the guidelines will be a useful tool to those planning and preparing prayer and liturgy in Catholic schools. It will draw upon existing liturgical sources and present the relevant norms for Catholic schools. The notion of norms can be an unfamiliar; liturgical norms are in a sense the normal ways of doing things. Norms can be for the universal Church (all Catholics) and at a national level (Catholics in England and Wales).

I was tasked with analysing the results of the online survey, mentioned above. After reading all the submissions, I was convinced that there was a strong case for a directory. The survey asked respondents to anticipate possible frequently asked questions (FAQ); this produced a wide range of questions that reveal potential anxieties about what is expected. In other words, the FAQ indicated issues of concern about the norms, hence the need for greater clarity.

A key theme that emerged from the survey was the request for guidance in supporting staff who are non-Catholics. This is not an unexpected finding as this mirrors the

Zoom in for our Virtual Conference

5th October - 8th October 2020

Eight sessions spread over four days

Two sessions per day at 4.30pm and 5.00pm (25 minutes long)

Monday 5th October

4.30pm Update on the new RE Curriculum Directory to be published September 2021

Philip Robinson, CES RE Advisor

Update on the new Prayer and Liturgy Directory to be published September 2021

Matthew Dell, Chair of ATCRE

5.00pm Using Scripture Key Stage Three

Marianne Lane, Head of RE, St George’s Weybridge, Surrey

Tuesday 6th October

4.30pm Creativity in RE: Using (popular) music to enhance religious literacy & Catholic Social Teaching

Elaine Arundell, Primary RE Advisor for Westminster Diocese

5.00pm A Level delivery and recruitment

Dave Legrand, Head of RE, Salesians School, Chertsey, Surrey

challenge overall for Catholic education. Catholic schools depend on staff from outside the tradition to make Catholic education work. A challenge for the Prayer and Liturgy Directory will be to provide resources that will support those who work in our Catholic schools who are not Catholics.

I hope that the Directory will become a source for liturgical renewal. I think that the new Prayer and Liturgy Directory will provide a catalyst for the development of resources for schools that will impact on pupils’ experiences.

Wednesday 7th October

4.30pm Serving the spiritual needs of young people today – a 21st Century Catholic RE Curriculum

Hannah Fogell, Head of RE, St Peter’s Catholic School, Guildford, Surrey

5.00pm Virtues: Formation in Values

Chris Devanny, RE Advisor Leeds Diocese

Thursday 8th October

4.30pm The Paradoxes of RE in Catholic Perspective

Anthony Towey, Aquinas Research Centre, St Mary’s University

5.00pm Post-Synodal Apostoplic Exhortation, Christus Vivit

Fr Dominic Howarth, Priest of Brentwood Diocese, on Christus Vivit

To register for this series of free seminars go to our website –https://www.atcre.co.uk

By Matthew Dell, Senior Lecturer in Secondary PGCE RE and MA in Education at St Mary’s University, Twickenham, London and Chair of ATCRE

ATCRE Teacher Consultation Group - Religious Education Curriculum Directory (Third Edition)

ATCRE agreed to work with Philip Robinson, RE Advisor at the CES, to help review and provide teacher input into the revised edition RECD, due out in 2021. So far, three zoom meetings have taken place for each of the three areas of focus - primary, Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 5. This is still very much a work in progress, but a number of participants wanted to share their thoughts:

I feel very privileged to be part of the consultation group involved in establishing the new RECD. Religious Education has played a central role in my life, and I try to live each day with Christ at the centre. Our purpose on Earth is to seek and know God more fully and more closely, and so I wanted to be involved in helping our children to seek and know God.

So far, our consultations have helped me to reflect even more on my own faith and understanding, and, in trying to see how to develop and nurture the children’s faith and understanding too.

I think the focused progressive nature of the new RECD and constant building on knowledge through the year groups and units, is a brilliant way to ensure children have the ‘building blocks’ of understanding. The new use of knowledge elements helps to focus the standards of AT1, AT2 and AT3 in each area of learning. This engaging RECD creates a meaningful approach to the teaching and learning of our children, and supports them on their spiritual journey in the world we live in today.

Sinead Valente Assistant Headteacher/RE leader St. Augustine’s Catholic Primary School, Coventry

Being a part of the RECD consultation group has been a fantastic opportunity. It is exciting to feel that I am part of shaping the future curriculum and it is refreshing to hear so many ideas and such enthusiasm from a range of excellent practitioners.

David Legrand Head of RE Salesian College, Surrey ATCRE Treasurer

I became involved in the new RECD when I saw an advertisement for ATCRE members to apply to be part of the consultation group. I was delighted to be selected to contribute. Although the planned face-toface meetings were not able to go ahead, I attended an initial Zoom meeting which gave the background to the project and then a much smaller meeting to discuss the specific content. It is wonderful to be part of this group, I have been on the Primary Working party in my diocese for the last few years so I am able to bring to the discussions ideas and views formed as a result of collaboration with colleagues. I feel very privileged to be part of a group that will help shape the teaching of Religious Education in our schools. When that task is complete, I know that we will all feel very proud of what we have achieved.

McDuff RE Lead St Vincent’s Catholic Primary School, Altrincham

As I approach 20 years in teaching, I wanted to be able to use my experience to help develop the Catholic RE curriculum for possibly the next 20 years! Being an Associate Inspector I have been privileged to see the most outstanding RE delivered in the classroom, so when the opportunity arose to form part of a consultation group on the new RECD I felt a duty to be a part of it! It has been a real privilege to remotely explore and discuss the proposals for the new RECD with other Religious Education professionals. To have an insight into how the concepts, strands and themes are evolving as a result of our own professional experience will hopefully give this document a ‘life’ and relevance. I really hope it ‘speaks’ to our colleagues in a way that supports and empowers them, as well as excites them to extend the thinking and reflection of their pupils and students. I cannot wait to get back to my own school and support my department in its implementation, as well as seeing how our colleagues in primary, secondary and Sixth Form colleges have brought the document to life.

Alison Berwick Assistant Headteacher Saint John Henry Newman Catholic School, Stevenage

Resource Sharing under Lockdown

When the lockdown and school closures were announced in March 2020, we knew that ATCRE may not be fully set up to assist every teacher of Catholic RE, but we felt we could try our best. Some organisations had the ability to begin remote learning resource creation, but given the fact the ATCRE executive all have full time work commitments, we knew this would be impossible. So we set about trying to collect and collate the best resources we could find and share these weekly. It was fantastic to have many charities, organisations and individuals share their contributions and creations with us, so we could circulate them more widely both through our email and social media channels. It was genuinely humbling to get many thank you emails from schools, dioceses, and of course individual teachers. We hope that we can continue to share the best resources, CPD, events and other information to help improve Catholic RE - whatever might happen next academic year!

Please send through any information to communications.atcre@gmail.com

Andy Lewis, Deputy Headteacher (Catholic Life) St Bonaventure’s School, East London ATCRE Communications Officer

ATCRE Virtual Conference - 5th -8th October 2020

In furthering ATCRE’s aim of promoting professional development, we have planned a free virtual conference for our members that is spread over four days. On each day there will be two sessions, 25 minutes long, on a variety of themes. There is a range of speakers from lead RE practitioners to RE advisers. Hopefully there is something for everyone. The sessions will be recorded and available after the event on our website. To register for this event and receive the links for the webinars, please go to our newly revamped website.

We plan to begin resending our regular email bulletin and social media updates to our 700+ members from September. Please make sure you follow us on Facebook, Twitter and are signed up to our email membership list - all information is on www.atcre.co.uk

Debbie

Matthew Dell Chair of ATCRE

CISC NEWS

Learning to live and love like Jesus Catholic

Independent Schools and the Common Good

Catholic education is never about ‘just one thing’. Its very nature embodies a vision in which academic learning is achieved within a context where all are brought to an awareness of the world and a deep respect for the person as a reflection of God through the witness and values of Christ. This distinctive pedagogy is experienced not merely through didactic education but through inference, implication, intent, atmosphere and ethos. Charism, perhaps, best describes this: ‘a gift from God for the church and the world, given as different ways of living out the Gospel……. [in] the spirit of the community’ (Klapheke, 2018:1).

The community within Catholic schools is an inclusive and diverse one. The annual census of Catholic schools by the Catholic Education Service of England and Wales (CES, 2019) attests to this, showing an increasing number of pupils of other faiths and life perspectives choosing to be educated within this distinctive charism year on year. This is most evident in Catholic Independent Schools where the percentage of Catholic pupils is 33.6% (CES, 2019:17). With this in mind, the charism of the school becomes ever more important as a signifier of its commitment to nurture pupils in this vision. For some this is rooted in a life of faith, for all it is rooted in the charism of the school and realised through a vibrant and integrated curriculum which allows pupils not only to achieve their academic potential but also develop a keen awareness of and commitment to social responsibility. The latter, is at the foundation of Catholic Social Teaching in the concept of the ‘Common Good’, ‘the sum total of social conditions which allow people, either as groups or individuals, to reach their fulfilment more fully and more easily’ (Gaudium et Spes, 1965:n26). Therefore, working towards the Common Good means striving to attain the greatest good for all people. Within Catholic schools, the imperative for this is borne from the Gospel commandment

that we love our neighbours as ourself (Mk, 12:31; Matt, 22:39) and is epitomised in the way that every person in the school community interacts with each other: ‘Tolerance, respect and love are taught by celebrating differences in language, religion and culture as well as the way in which we speak to each other. Daily, we come together in prayer to thank God for the opportunities we have and to ask for his forgiveness. Charitable deeds are encouraged, whether simple acts of kindness towards one another or giving up time in the service of others or raising funds for good causes’ (SR). This being the case, how is it realised? How is it evidenced? What is its impact?

by Dr Maureen Glackin

In order to find answers to these questions and to come to a fuller understanding of how this call to service in the service of others is realised within Catholic independent schools, a survey was prepared by Reed Brand Communication and sent to all member schools of the Catholic Independent Schools’ Conference (CISC). In total there are 123 member schools, including a number of associate international schools, and non-maintained special schools. 27 schools responded, a 22% return rate, of which 13 were Senior Schools and Colleges (including 1 international school), hereafter referred to collectively as Senior Schools, 10 were Prep Schools (Primary), and 4 were ‘All Through’ Schools, including 2 Special Schools.

The survey posed the following questions:

1. What charitable causes has your school supported in the last year?

2. How much money has been raised for these causes in year or others over the last three?

3. Do you work with maintained schools?

4. Do you support local business?

Fund) and Secours Catholicque. The other single named charities that reap significant levels of commitment from the schools are: Mary’s Meals (10 schools: 37%); HCPT Pilgrimage Trust (9 schools: 33%); The British Legion (8 schools: 30%). Beyond this, it is, perhaps, more helpful to cluster charities thematically in order to understand what charitable causes the schools support.

5. Does your school take part in any other socially responsible enterprises?

6. How are the values of your school epitomised in action?

7. What is the contribution of your school to the common good and its impact?

What follows is an exploration of the collective and individual contributions that Catholic Independent Schools make in the call to serve the Common Good, with each section focusing upon a particular question or group of questions. What emerges is a vibrant narrative in which the schools speak

The largest single group to benefit from the support of CISC schools is local charities. 66 local charities – approximately 2.5 per school – are supported on an ongoing basis by the school within their local community. The nature of these charities is very broad but they mostly address a specific medical or social issue within the local landscape, for example Merton Young Carers, St Mary’s Church House Group, Surrey and Sussex Air Ambulance and local food banks. Following on from this, charities linked with the schools’ founding order or mission and serving local parishes are the next largest thematic group with 37 different initiatives actively supported by schools. Many of these have an international link and are long-term projects focusing on educational and healthcare needs of communities with which the schools have links. These are substantial and ongoing commitments

which are supported both through fundraising and practical engagement from staff 4 and pupils at the school, for example: Rosminian Lesotho, Jesuit Missions, Jesuit Refugees, The Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament Charity, St Joseph’s African Aid, Sisters of Charity AIDS Hospice, Congregation of Jesus Zimbabwe Mbizo School Project. The support given to these charitable endeavours is significant, not only in financial capital but also in spiritual capital. The relationships that exist between the communities, united by a shared mission and charism, build a tangible union that spreads far beyond the walls of the schools, rooting the school communities within the Kingdom of God as much as that of any temporal realm.

This strong commitment and connection with charities that are overtly Catholic or Christian, or those that have been inspired by a Catholic/ Christian impulse, extends further beyond those that have a ‘family’ connection, to coin a phrase, with charities like The Cardinal Hume Centre, Saint Vincent de Paul Society, LEPRA and Emmaus being regular recipients of the schools’ commitment.

Moving beyond the more obviously faith-centred or faith founded charities, the next largest thematic groupings are medically focussed. With one in two people contracting cancer, no school is spared the effects of the disease. Therefore it is, perhaps, not surprising that 28 cancer charities receive support from the schools as well as 11 hospices, providing palliative care for the terminally ill. Additionally, the schools also support a large number of individual charities that focus on various aspects of health, disability and well-being. In total this accounts for 24 different charities, Riding for the Disabled, Guide Dogs Association, Operation Smile, BLISS, Anthony Nolan, CRUSE, MIND, Alzheimer’s Society and British Dyslexia Association, to name a few.

It is evident that the schools are an important source of support for a wide range of charities. However, how much do they raise for their charities and what is the wider impact of this on the pupils? How meaningful is the engagement?

How much money has been raised for these causes over the last three years?

In total, the 27 schools have raised almost £1 million pounds over the last three years for their charitable causes. The exact total is £953,500, with an average annual fundraising total of £317,833.

Individual school contributions over the three years ranged from £3000 - £100,000 with the largest sum, perhaps surprisingly, being raised by a prep school.

The sums of money involved are not inconsiderable, and it is interesting to reflect upon the extent to which certain charities are reliant on this income stream in order to sustain their work. However, what is of equal importance is that the commitment

to these charities extends beyond the financial and into the practical and spiritual, becoming embedded in the life of the school as an integrated and authentic commitment.

How are the values of your school epitomised in action? What is the contribution of your school to the Common Good and its impact?

Responses to the questions of how the schools’ values are epitomised in action and the impact of their contribution to the Common Good, not only identify the significance of the wider effect of such fundraising efforts but also the manner in which its very nature is an essential aspect of the life of a Catholic school informing all aspects of its being - curricular, liturgical, spiritual and pastoral. One senior school ensures an integrated approach by linking collective worship thematically with their charitable initiatives: ‘All fundraising is linked to Gospel values in the publicity material and backed up by assemblies, making an explicit link between faith and Action’(SR). Another senior school elucidates it more fully, perhaps speaking for many other schools when it says: ‘Part of the ethos of [our school] and [its founding order] is to be committed to charitable giving and action. Central to this is educating the whole community to an appreciation of the differing social and economic circumstances in the world, and an engagement in the ways and means of supporting those in some way disadvantaged. In doing so the [school] seeks to fulfil its aim as a Roman Catholic institution whose intention is to share, “ an experience of Christian community in which all may grow in faith through worship, mutual support and by responding to the needs of the community at large”’ (SR).

Therefore, it is clear that the fundraising is not an end in itself: ‘the intention is to both raise funds and awareness, and to be actively involved in direct support of chosen charities so that charitable action is a lived aspect of the principles of responding to need. In this way “we expect each student to develop his own particular talents in pursuit of his God-given vocation…. and readiness to be of service to society”’(SR). How is this achieved? In addition to the thematic collective worship and liturgies previously referred to, the core purpose for the fundraising is ‘embedded into the taught curriculum and reinforced with [an] ‘enrichment’ curriculum’’(SR)in many schools. In terms of the latter this means ‘not just giving money but our time and help when possible’ (SR). Therefore schools engage in a range of activities within and beyond the gates to ‘develop each and every child’s individual awareness of authentic Gospel values’ (SR). For example: ‘Laudato Si’ days with no paper or electricity; Family Fast Day, the Simple Meal and hunger lunches; systematic programmes for visiting care homes; pen pals to care home residents; helpers on HCPT pilgrimages to Lourdes; sleep outs in support of homeless charities. In addition,

the Jesuit schools Arrupe Programme facilitates 10 week placements in a range of settings such as hospices, nursing homes, charities, schools and centres for asylum seekers. At the end of each week students complete a journal, detailing their experiences and reflecting on how this helps them to recognise God’s presence in their lives. In addition, pupils are encouraged by schools to select the charitable causes they wish to support and create and contribute to assemblies and days of reflection alongside this. In this way, schools’ ‘action in the community and for charity is not only a dutiful and faithful response to the Gospel but also develops within pupils and staff the Christian call to service, especially towards those less fortunate than ourselves’ (SR).

Beyond external charitable causes, bursaries and scholarships are also an important way in which Catholic independent schools offer opportunity. Whilst not a detailed focus of this survey, all schools had a programme of pupil support with bursaries for up to 100% of fees and special schools educating a high proportion of state-funded pupils, providing specialist provision unavailable in their areas. In addition, as is evident from the engagement with charities, schools also make a distinct contribution to their local communities both financially and pastorally.

Do you support local business? Does your school take part in any other socially responsible enterprises?

This question regarding local business support received positive responses from 18 schools (67%), of which 5 (28%) were Prep, 10 (55%) Senior and 3 (17%) ‘All Through’. In looking at the responses there are three main ways in which schools directly support local businesses and the local economy. Firstly, employing people on site such as teachers, administrators, facilities support staff; secondly,

St Benedicts School Ealing, Pupils

sourcing consumables and services, for example books, flowers, food, uniforms, printing, building contractors, stationery. And finally, inviting local businesses to take stalls at Christmas and Summer fairs and allowing them and the community free use of the facilities for local events. Whilst the majority of schools did not attach a figure to their support of the local economy, one senior school stated that in terms of employment and outsourcing it sustains 374 jobs. This is a significant figure and is all the more credible when set alongside the findings of the Independent Schools’ Council (ISC) report The Impact of Independent Schools on the UK Economy which states that independent schools contributed £11.6 billion to the UK economy in 2017, generating £3.5 billion of annual tax revenues and supporting 257,000 jobs (ISC, 2018:4-5). In terms of facilities’ use, examples include schools with pools allowing local swimming clubs to use them and allowing local sports clubs free loan of equipment to prevent them having to hire it. However, the extent to which schools share their facilities more broadly can, perhaps, best be seen through their engagement with local maintained schools which is explored below.

With reference to socially responsible enterprise, 23 schools (85%) said that they did engage in such activities, with the biggest single area of engagement centring upon ecological initiatives. 14 schools (61%) gave examples of the type of activities they lead and participate in, which include: tree planting; recycling and local litter campaigns; plastic-free schools; organic farming; school eco clubs; vintage clothing; Fairtrade tuck shops and catering products. The Pope Francis “effect” in terms of Laudato Si with its call to interior conversion and a renewal of our relationship with God and each other through a renewal of our relationship with the created world, cannot be underestimated here. It is a perfect example of the integrated approach to education that the schools seek to nurture in their pupils and staff – doing the right deed for the right reason, morally, socially, rationally and spiritually. Its impact and influence can be seen in the fact that, excepting The Holy Bible, it is the most referenced Church document in responses from schools.

In addition to issues regarding climate change and the environment, engagement with socially responsible enterprise in many cases provides schools with opportunities to contribute to existing national charitable infrastructures such as the St Vincent de Paul Society and the Salvation Army. Local engagement centres upon care homes, schools and food banks with one school collecting a record 1.4 tonnes of items for two local food banks. Uniquely, this school also supports the organisation of a half-marathon charity event (8.000 runners), with 100 staff and pupils packing and sorting medals the day before and distributing water, t-shirts and medals on the day itself. The currency of the volunteer is of high worth to all of these initiatives

but in addition, they give opportunity for schools to express their values and faith in action. As one school stated: ‘[o]ur values of politesse, douceur, inclusiveness, hospitality and collaboration are strongly evident in our acts of service to charities, our relationships with local schools, and the broader community’. It is this engagement with the broader community, namely the broader educational community, to which I shall finally turn.

Do you work with maintained schools?

In responding to this question, 21 schools (78%) said that they did, consisting of 6 Prep (29%), 11 Senior (52%) and 4 ‘All Through’ (19%). Again, there were three main areas of engagement, namely: chaplaincy, charity and outreach, academic and facilities. Facilities is, perhaps, the most obvious source of collaboration between schools and much of this centres around PE and sport where grounds and facilities are used for training, lessons and events in a diverse number of sports including swimming and National Pool and Lifeguard Qualification training, hockey, netball, football, rugby, karate and canoeing. In addition, many schools offer free use of their sites and facilities for larger sporting events such as inter-school championships and competitions. This notion of the school as a hub for collaborative endeavours provides much variety, with one school partnering with local schools and the community as a locus for the Combined Cadet Force (CCF), others offering schools the opportunity to visit their organic farms and others opening their grounds and chapels for the use of day retreats. In addition, some schools offer free use of their mini-buses, and drivers. It should be noted that not every school enjoys the type of facilities outlined above: many Prep and Senior schools, particularly those in urban areas, have much more modest estates. However it is evident that where schools are fortunate enough to have such settings, there is a firm desire, indeed an imperative, to share them as much as possible with local partner schools.

This generosity of spirit is founded upon the distinctive, signifying feature of all CISC schools –their Catholic identity. Therefore it not a surprise to find that this aspect of their very nature provides another range of opportunities for ‘building the Kingdom’ with other Catholic schools. These ‘mission’ collaborations, many of them based around diocesan and deanery networks, take a variety of forms, among them joint chaplaincy initiatives, cross-school strategic planning on mission and the development of resources, being a ‘Mother’ school for the Building the Kingdom programme as well as many senior staff being on the Governing Bodies of local Catholic voluntary aided schools. These are examples of locally embedded Catholic educational networks. A more national, and indeed international example is that of the Arrupe outreach programme, previously cited (p.6). This Jesuit initiative engages schools in

a broad range of activities, which involve sustained and ongoing collaborations with maintained schools, both Catholic and non-Catholic. In addition, what I find particularly significant about Arrupe is that the imperative to participate is a unifying factor across all Jesuit schools, whether maintained or independent. It is the Jesuit charism which brings all schools into community and this overrides any perceived differences between schools based upon their status as independent or maintained. The strength of this unifying approach across the sectors provides a vision for Catholic education we should all be striving for: one that is, on balance, more bound together by its Catholic identity than separated by the nature of its schools. The strength of this collaboration will allow us to build the Kingdom together, within the life-giving tradition of Catholic education. As one school stated: ‘There are many preconceptions about both independent schools, Catholic schools and the families who attend them. We are trying, by ensuring we have a positive presence in the local community, to dispel those myths. When there is so much vitriol in the media towards independent schools at present, it is very important to show our local communities that our school is incredibly diverse and that we can be a force for good’ (SR).

This desire to be a force for good in society is further realised in some very creative, life enhancing and enriching academic collaborations between independent and maintained schools.

The academic partnerships that exist between independent and maintained schools are exciting examples of the reciprocity of spirit upon which the most effective pedagogies thrive. Grounds being shared for Forest Schools and schools sharing INSET provision and CPD opportunities across the curriculum are mentioned in all responses. The subject areas specifically mentioned in terms of sharing good practice, resources and support are PE – referenced above – Music, Art, Drama, Science and Maths, with collaborations realised through a variety of means. For example, one music project sees a Head of Music ‘upskilling’ non-specialist music teachers in local schools which do not have a music specialist. Of particular interest are the responses from the special schools, whose specialist expertise with reference to specific learning challenges is a valuable source of professional wisdom for local schools. In addition to these subject-led collaborations, there are many other means through which schools engage in meaningful collaborations: one school works in partnership with local maintained schools on delivery of and engagement with the National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH); another supports a local primary school which received an inadequate Ofsted report, working in conjunction to support improvements. One school has entered into a formal partnership with a maintained school for the provision of A level subjects where low uptake had made these subjects

marginal and unviable in both schools. Pupils now have the opportunity to study Politics, Sociology, Photography and Music across the schools with minibuses transporting students and staff to and fro and SENDCOs working together to support pupils’ individual needs. The heads comment that ‘this arrangement which capitalises on our existing supportive relationship allows us to offer subjects to our respective students which would not otherwise be available and thus mutually benefits both schools’ (SR). Likewise, this school, and several others, offer mentoring and preparation for Oxbridge entry and forums for students intending to study medicine and STEM subjects at university.

These local partnerships expose a rich mosaic of provision that supports meaningful and authentic learning opportunities, enhancing and enriching the educational environment for pupils and colleagues alike. Underlying this is a reciprocity and generosity of spirit which compels CISC schools to ‘work towards the greatest good for all persons’ (SR) in their community, not as an ‘optional extra’, but as an integral part of their founding educational imperative. In so doing, it shows that schools across the sector have more in common then divides them, becoming places where, in the words of one school, ‘compassionate service is lived out according to [our] motto of ‘Cor ad Cor Loquitur’ –heart speaking to heart’.

Conclusion

In ‘Big Yellow Taxi’, Joni Mitchell sang: ‘Don’t it always seem to go That you don’t know what you’ve got ‘Till it’s gone…’

In contrast, this research seeks to bring us to knowledge of what we have while we have it, and to acknowledge and celebrate the incredible contribution that CISC schools make to the Common Good. In so doing, what emerges are schools which completely espouse the Gospel imperative that Jesus has come that we may have life and have it to the full (cf. John10:10), in the understanding that this means supporting pupils and all in our communities to flourish in mind, body and spirit, ‘learning to live and love like Jesus’, in what we think, what we say and what we do. The ‘impact [of this] is felt not just by those we help, but also in our own school communities, where the desire to serve others is developed’ (SR). These are life-changing opportunities for all involved: one school noted that the number of alumnae who continue or seriously take up charity work and social action after leaving school has increased, with a large number in the last few years becoming involved in social entrepreneurship projects after leaving school/university’ (SR). In raising awareness through actions and engagement, all come to ‘understand that we have a responsibility to help others’ (SR) and ‘are called to leave the world a

better place than we found it’ (SR). In loving God and neighbour in this way, this act of service in the service of others ‘becomes part of our DNA, calling us to work towards the Common Good: giving gratitude for the whole of creation, having an openness to charitable giving...bringing unifying peace to society, commitment to justice generating equality, and overall dignity in life itself’ (SR). Starting with the ‘every day kindnesses shown to one another’ (SR), CISC schools empower their pupils to make a difference now and ‘in the world that lies ahead of them, by using their God given talents and educational achievements in the professions they undertake, for the betterment and good of society’ (SR). Amen to that..

“Let education be a place of encounter and communal endeavour where we learn to be society and where society learns to be a supportive society. We have to learn new ways to build the human city.”

Pope Francis

References

Catholic Education Service, 2019 Digest of 2019 Census Data for Schools and Colleges in England

Chesterton, G. K., 1959 ‘The Revival of Philosophy: Why?’ In The Common Man, London, Sheed and Ward Independent Schools’ Council, 2018 The Impact of Independent Schools on the UK Economy

https://www.isc.co.uk/media/5423/isc_report_2018_web_26-112018.pdf

Klapheke, A., 2018 What is Charism?

http://www.catholiccincinnati.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/ What-is-Charism.pdf

Mitchell, Joni 1970 ‘Big Yellow Taxi’ from the album Ladies of the Canyon, Reprise Records, USA

Pope Francis, 2015 Laudato Si, Encyclical Letter of the Holy Father on Care for our Common Home

http://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/ documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.html

Vatican Council II, 1965 Gaudium et Spes, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World

http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/ documents/vat-ii_const_19651207_ gaudium-et-spes_en.html

Child Poverty and COVID 19 One Community’s Response

by Willie Slavin and Suzanne Wilson

Like every other area of the country, West Cumbria is experiencing the full effects of the COVID 19 pandemic but none more so than the children and families of our community who are already disadvantaged by the longterm effects of living in poverty.

In response to this potentially devastating crisis, the West Cumbria Child Poverty Forum with the support and expertise of the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) has published an interim report which sought to support those addressing the problem with the clearest possible picture of the emerging advice, information and data at both local and national level.

Informed by accounts provided by international literature and local data and experience, it offered a number of recommendations to mitigate harm to the most vulnerable children and young people in its community and inform the recovery effort.

The report emphasises that the evidence of the effects of austerity across all public services, highlighted in a recent report, has made the challenging task of responding to the demands of COVID-19, all the more difficult. The stark UK wide fact is that, prior to the lockdown, 70% of families in poverty were working families (Child Poverty Action Group, 2019).

In a snapshot of the most relevant literature we note:

• Children in poverty are expected to suffer disproportionality from economic and social impacts of the measures needed to contain the pandemic (Save the Children, 2020).

• households with children and households with lower levels of education are the most likely to fall into poverty as a

consequence of COVID-19 (OECD, 2020).

• “Children are not the face of this pandemic. But they risk being among its biggest victims”.

• Universal Credit claims jumped by almost 1 million with benefit applications 10 times the normal UK level as people lost jobs under coronavirus lockdown (Financial Times, 1st April 2020).

• Whilst impacting on every child in the country, COVID-19 is likely to have a particularly pernicious impact on the estimated four million children and young people already living in poverty in the UK. Furthermore, we estimate that 1.7 million children aged 10-17 are living in a household with problem debt and an estimated 2.1 million children of the same age are living in a household where there has been difficulty paying the bills. (The Children’s Society, 2020).

• Children who are particularly vulnerable to the secondary impacts of COVID-19 are those who live in families under increased pressure (children whose parents suffer mental ill health, young carers and children with SEND), children at risk of suffering harm, children in care and children who are at risk of falling behind in education. (The Children’s Commissioner, 2020).

• 700 million days of education will be lost between now and summer in the UK, which will widen the educational attainment gap. There are also national concerns regarding the physical and emotional health of children and young people, due to the isolating nature of lockdown and strains on health and social care services. (Unicef, 2020).

While the primary impact of COVID-19 has to be around its implications for health directly related to the virus, the importance of the secondary impacts for vulnerable children and young

By Willie Slavin

people, including the socio-economic, educational, and emotional effects, are likely to be of longer-term importance.

Evidence provided from a number of sources suggest that a majority of children and young people in West Cumbria are coping well, showing remarkable resilience and creativity in how they are adapting to a new way of living. However, there are also groups for whom COVID-19 has presented many challenges, and it is these children who remained the focus of this report.

Accounts from the police and Children’s Services reveal that there has been a reduction in reports or referrals to all safeguarding services, a reduction that is raising concerns about families who are currently unable to ask for help and are physically and psychologically at risk. Indeed, domestic abuse cases referred into one of our local Councils have decreased by a very worrying 80%.

Youthwork practitioners have expressed concerns about increased levels of anxiety and loneliness, along with increased drug and alcohol use. These have been most marked in vulnerable groups, such as those in supported accommodation or in the care system. Furthermore, survey data shows that some young people with existing mental health issues felt that lockdown prevented them using their usual coping strategies, which adversely affected their wellbeing. Young people with anxiety disorders express particular concern about the health of their respective families.

A loss of structure, through the closure of schools, is impacting on sleep patterns. Accounts from children and young people themselves, and from youthworkers show that many are staying up late gaming, which is impacting on their ability to function during the day.

Accounts from children and young people reveal that the worst thing about lockdown

is missing their friends. Survey data reveals that many respondents reported this factor, with 44.4% reporting that the pandemic had had a negative effect on their mental state, largely due to issues such as loneliness caused by social distancing and separation, rather than by concerns about the coronavirus itself.

Practitioners are concerned that the reduction in safeguarding and mental health referrals indicates a hidden vulnerability that will begin to emerge when children and young people return to education. These concerns relate to neglect, abuse and emotional wellbeing. Specifically, practitioners are concerned about bereavement and trauma, the impacts of a loss of connection with their social networks and a worrying increase in substance abuse.

Access to the internet is a challenge facing Cumbria and disproportionately affects families living with poverty and those in rural areas. This is particularly important when education is being delivered virtually. This form of teaching assumes that all children and young people have access to adequate IT equipment at home, while accounts from schools and community groups reveal that this is simply not the case for many families in West Cumbria.

Teachers have expressed concern that some of the more vulnerable students do not have the family and support networks to develop these skills, resulting in the gap in learning being likely to increase.

“The school has historically acted as a link to see “another way of living and existing” and this experience is vital for those living in environments of poverty and neglect”

Survey data from young people revealed that the workload being set by schools was higher than usual and it was hard to cope with especially when, due to the pandemic, they were having to look after younger siblings. There were also concerns of students with ADHD who struggled to focus by themselves, and some who struggled to teach themselves the content and saying that video lessons would be better.

One Citizens Advice Office has seen the need for their service not only initially increase but the issues people are requiring

help with have also changed. There has been a sharp increase in advice and support regarding benefits, employment and requests for food vouchers and assistance to top up energy prepayment meters due to reduced, and in some cases, no current income. An 81% increase compared to 67% nationally. A second Office recorded a 500% increase in queries around employment.

Among the most encouraging signs emerging across the board is a desire for a collective vision and plan for children and families for the purpose of identifying gaps in provision and to enable collaborative working. Matched by a culture of neighbourliness and reciprocity within communities, alongside people developing new businesses and innovative solutions to the challenges presented. Ultimately, success will be dependent upon the effective implementation, on a long-term basis, of the encouraging multi-agency, cross sector approach demonstrated already witnessed across the area. This will, by necessity, include statutory services working alongside and utilising the uniquely valuable contribution of the voluntary and community-sector.

Those experienced in the field testify to the necessity of work on de-stigmatising poverty for people experiencing its trauma and vulnerabilities for the first time, an effect that must not be underestimated. Those involved must be encouraged to seek the help and support they are entitled to and which is freely available. Building emotional wellbeing and resilience in these families must be seen as an essential ingredient of effective support. Even in the early stages of the crisis, it has been obvious that among the lessons learnt, the following stand out:

• The effects of austerity have created a particularly vulnerable group of families whose situation has been immeasurably exacerbated.

• Developing organisational collaboration is an essential ingredient for the alleviation of child poverty.

• While the primary impact of COVID-19 has to be around its implications for health, the importance of the secondary impacts for vulnerable children and young people, including the socio-

economic, educational, and emotional effects, are likely to be of longer-term importance.

• All barriers between services, communities and individuals must be removed in an effort to build strong, respectful relationships as the county hopes to move into the recovery stage of the crisis.

• Recognition of the value of everyone’s contribution to the network of services is crucial for recovery.

• Research into the effectiveness of IT supported learning during the lockdown has the potential to identify innovative practices that can supplement traditional methods.

• Building emotional wellbeing and resilience for all ages must be seen as an essential ingredient of effective support.

• National and local government must critically reflect on their policies and review these to ensure that the welfare of our most vulnerable families is protected, as a priority.

• We would encourage schools to use this experience to further strengthen home school relationships with these vulnerable families, helped by a supportive network of services built around schools.

• The eventual reconstruction of our society, post-COVID-19, must engage with the generation whose future depends most upon the outcomes. Their close involvement is the surest way of ensuring the emergence of resilient, engaging and empowered citizens committed to a more sustainable and equitable society.

Suzanne Wilson is Research Fellow in Social Inclusion and Community Development, University of Central Lancashire (UCLan)

Copies of the report Child Poverty: The impact of families in West Cumbria available from willieslavin@aol.com

Willie Slavin is Chair of the West Cumbria Child Poverty Forum

News from Scotland

We’re

looking for young people with a passion for

If you have enthusiastic Caritas students who are hungry for the chance to use their gifts to help build a more just world, we’d love to hear from them.

There are lots of ways for Caritas students to get involved with SCIAF’s life-changing work, either in their school, feeder primaries or parish. We’ll provide training and resources so that students are confident and clear about what is being asked of them.

Students can:

· lead WEE BOX talks and workshops in their school and feeder primaries

· promote and sell Real Gifts in their parish

· run the Talented Fundraisers enterprise project and bring the Parable of the Talents to life

· hold a SCIAF evening in their parish to raise awareness of SCIAF’s work

· deliver Lent talks in their parish

· write articles/prayers for SCIAF that we can use throughout the year

Pope Francis Faith Award

We can offer a variety of class talks and workshops that will help cover points within the different ‘Gifts’. Sessions are creative and interactive and will encourage pupils to put their faith into action.

Examples of ‘Faith Actions’ that can be referenced to SCIAF activities are:

find out about someone your age living in a poorer country and compare your lives

contribute to charity with your own time

respect creation and offer prayers of thanks for the gifts of creation

global justice. Faith in action can change lives

Emma Boyle

It comes as a bit of a surprise to think that it has been over a year since we were chosen by our school and Missio Scotland to take part in a missionary trip to Uganda.

Understandably, it was a trip that required a great deal of fundraising and preparation. With regard to the former, we received overwhelming support from our parishes and schools via coffee mornings, bag-packing, fundraising nights, bingo evenings and so much more. The fundraising events were held not merely to fund our trip, but also to ensure that

we would be in a position to give donations to the projects and schools which we would visit while in Uganda. That wouldn’t have been possible without the generosity of our parishes, schools, families and friends. As well as events with a fundraising focus, Holy Cross High School also ran a stationary and clothes appeal and St John Ogilvie High School donated stationary towards our trip. These generous donations were packed into 15 large holdalls and distributed to the various schools and projects we went to. We hope that these materials will have helped to contribute, in some way, to the education of the people in Uganda.

Prior to embarking on the trip, it was made clear to us that this was going to be a mutually beneficial experience. I’m sure that many of you will have heard of people visiting African nations and maybe seen photos or videos of people physically handing over donations and cheques. We didn’t do this. We gave each project our donations discretely and respectfully, making no great shows of it because we are all equal and we were grateful to them for opening their homes and schools to us.

Into Africa

Before we left for Uganda, none of us really knew what to expect—we were all anxious, excited and overwhelmed all at the same time. From the moment we arrived at the airport, the contrast between the developed and developing worlds was very evident. We travelled an hour from the airport on dirt tracks to where we were staying that night and it was a big shock at how different people’s lives were there. Many people were selling crops at the side of the road to earn a living. Children had to walk a total distance of around six miles to and from school in their bare feet. However, in spite of what we would perceive as their daily hardships, everywhere we went people seemed happy and motivated. We were always welcomed with open arms and people gave us so much even though they had so little. The trip has made all of us appreciate our lives here in Scotland even more than we did and not to take them for granted.

Our missionary experience provided us with an insight into the lives of others—they are so different to our lives here in Scotland.

During our trip we visited various parishes within Uganda and were able to see at firsthand the values and complexities of this African nation, which is rich in tradition and faith. We were guided through long term projects designed to improve the health and education of the people in Uganda.

Our first night in Uganda was spent at St Augustine’s Institute in Kampala. The following morning we travelled 410 miles to a village in the south of Uganda called Kabale, which took us six hours by bus. We stayed for six nights. Each day we visited primary and secondary schools and different projects within this small village.

Our visits to schools in Uganda—of which there were four in total—were really eye opening to all of us, as it was such a different environment and atmosphere to our schools in Scotland. The poverty within the schools was evident. That being said, every child I had the privilege to meet and play with was filled with joy and happiness, despite the challenges they clearly faced.

Life-changing experience

The highlight of the trip for me was the Mulago School for the Deaf. This school is home to 198 pupils who, prior to its existence, would have received no education as children with disabilities in Uganda—as in many African countries—are often seen as a burden and kept hidden from view. It was heart-warming to see that the pupils were so happy and confidently using signs to communicate. A moment that will stay with me forever occurred when we walked in the school gates. A little girl ran up to me, wrapped her arms around me and didn’t leave my side for the duration of our visit. She was so full of joy and laughter as she took me round the school. Credit has to go to the Spiritan Fathers, who established the school, continue to run it and have helped bring this joy to life.

I cannot stress just how much this trip was a life-changing experience that will stay with me forever. During my time in Uganda, I was afforded the opportunity to experience a different culture, a different way of life and the chance to meet so many humble and inspirational people. This is what made the experience unforgettable. This mission trip allowed me to see my faith in action in a different environment, where the Catholic communities play a major role in young people’s lives and education. It is clear that the Catholic Church is a source for good and I was able to witness how faith in action can change lives.

The Catholic School as a Health Centre of the Spirit

St Thomas Aquinas said that metaphor is the heart of religious language. It’s not the only language we use and it’s not sufficient in itself. We also use analogical assertions to speak about God, as in God is good. For Aquinas, though, imaginative language was at the heart of what he saw as God’s activity in teaching us in and through scripture. He believed that images preserved us from idolatry, for mistaking the image for God, or as Herbert McCabe puts it, “from thinking of God as subject to the limitations of our imagery.”

Our images have served us well and provided generations of believers with encouraging, comforting and inspiring metaphors of God: our fortress, our rock, a still small voice, a mother eagle. The church has also used imagery to describe itself, a tradition that was re-discovered by Vatican II. Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, reverted to expansive biblical imagery, rather than the more technical and abstract definitions, with the church described as the sheepfold, the estate or field of God, the holy temple and our mother (LG, 6).

Pope Francis, who has shown a natural flair for figurative language, developed this approach in one of his first interviews as pope in September 2013. Reflecting on how he saw the church he said, “the thing the church needs most today is the ability to heal wounds and to warm the hearts of the faithful; it needs nearness, proximity. I see the church as a field hospital after battle.” This powerful image suggests a church which is in the thick of the ‘battles’ of contemporary life and is there to welcome the broken, heal and restore them to health.

Tomas Halik, a Czech priest and theologian who was ordained in secret and ministered in the underground church during the Communist era, expanded Pope Francis’ field hospital metaphor in an article written during the pandemic lockdown. The church,

he wrote, should not remain in splendid isolation but should give help where people are afflicted. A field hospital has a “diagnostic” role to play in identifying the “signs of times” – discerning the movement of the Spirit in contemporary life – as well as a “preventative” role, creating an “immune system” in a society “where the malignant viruses of fear, hatred, populism and nationalism are rife” and a “convalescent” role, helping to overcome the traumas of the past through forgiveness.

In Catholic schools, I don’t think we make enough use of the language of metaphor to describe and explore our work, our mission. And yet metaphorical language could serve the ‘story’ of our school very well, in images that could be expanded and explored in other media. Consider, for example, the possibilities of the metaphor of the garden, or the field, to use the image from Lumen Gentium. However, in this present historical moment, in the middle of a global pandemic which has caused so much harm and anxiety, I’d like to propose an image for our Catholic schools inspired by Pope Francis: the Catholic school as a health centre of the human spirit.

I think I first heard of this image from my friend and long-standing inspirer of Catholic education, Kevin Quigley. It seems an apt image for what we’re dealing with now. At the beginning of term we welcomed back our pupils, some of whom we hadn’t seen in real life for going on for six months, some from communities badly affected by Covid-19, some from a long period of social and digital isolation. Many no doubt came back with the resilience we associate with the young but many came back with real anxiety in their hearts, perhaps burdened by the notion (not from the educational community) that they were now very far “behind” where they should be and had a lot of catching up to do.

A recent report from the Children’s Society, Life on Hold: Children’s well-being and Covid-19 found that 1 in 5 young people who were surveyed scored below mid-point for Life Satisfaction, a higher proportion than in their previous surveys going back to 2010. What they missed most was not

by Raymond Friel

being able to see their friends and a lack of choice, hardly surprising during lockdown. The decline in children’s well-being predates the pandemic, but there is strong evidence that the experience of recent months has hastened the decline. As the report states, “Too many children live in insecure housing, too many children live in poverty, and too many children are unhappy with their lives. Life was already difficult for too many children and Coronavirus has made their lives even harder.”

The report also notes – and our experience in school will confirm this – that the experience of lockdown was not entirely negative for young people. Many reported the satisfaction in discovering new hobbies, or having more time for existing hobbies, spending time with family and enjoying being outdoors. Sadly, many also reported relief from physical bullying (although online bullying persisted with much less pastoral support from school) and exam stress.

The answers you get of course will depend on the questions you ask. In 2010, the Children’s Society developed The Good Childhood Index to ‘measure’ the happiness and well-being of young people. It consists of an initial overall question, “How happy are you with your life as a whole?” It is an index of subjective wellbeing, so there will inevitably be a wide range of understanding of what constitutes happiness. However, the rest of the index reveals a mind-set which could broadly be described as post-Enlightenment modern liberal. The assumptions are that having choice and having things are good. It does ask how happy the respondent is with their relationships, but also with the “things” they have, like money and what they own, how much choice they have and about their appearance. There is no mention of spiritual life or contact with the natural world.

Raymond Friel is interim CEO of the Diocese of Westminster Academy Trust. He is a speaker and writer of a number of books on Catholic education, including Gospel Values: A Practical Guide and How to Survive in Leadership in a Catholic School, both from Redemptorist Publications.

A Catholic school should also be asking a whole other set of questions. If the Catholic school is a health centre for the human spirit then what is our vision for human health? What do we mean by human flourishing and happiness? We have a long tradition to draw upon to help us, although we have increasingly abandoned its language. Central to a Catholic understanding of the human being, human anthropology, is the notion of original sin, one of the effects of which is concupiscence. In terms which would resonate with our pupils, this essentially means that we are born with a disposition (disorder, in the old language) to look for happiness in the wrong places, like physical enjoyment, possessions, power over others.

We’ve heard a lot recently about happiness as defined in Greek classical philosophy, Aristotle’s eudaimonia. This happiness involves an education in the habit of virtue, or excellence, in achieving the ‘golden mean’ between extremes of behaviour. This has great merit and has served many generations well in the pursuit of a virtuous , responsible, civic life, but it doesn’t entirely converge with the Judeo-Christian vision of happiness, which has more to do with the dynamics of right relations and ultimately a trust or faith in a power greater than ourselves. Pope Francis refers to this in Laudato Si, when he says, “Disregard for the duty to cultivate and maintain a proper relationship with my neighbour, for whose care and custody I am responsible, ruins my relationship with my own self, with others, with God and with the earth. When all these relationships are neglected, when justice no longer dwells in the land, the Bible tells us that life is endangered.” (LS, 70)

It is certainly the case that the Wisdom Literature of Judaism offers extended reflections on virtue and vice which parallel in some respects the insights of classical culture and we have in common an understanding of what we call the “cardinal” (moral) virtues, but in the Jewish and Christian tradition there is more besides. As Angela Tilby has pointed out our understanding of wisdom “differs from classical wisdom in that trust in God, prayer, and alms-giving are regarded as the foundations of the virtuous life.” For Aristotle, happiness depends on ourselves. For the Christian, happiness depends on trust in God, being reconciled to God in Christ, the gratuity of his grace by which we find ourselves stepping out of the enclosure of self-absorption and pride (original sin)

into a life for others.

This is reflected in what the Church teaches about the purpose of education in a Catholic school. It’s not about finding “happiness” in wealth, esteem and personal autonomy. The Catholic School (1977) document states that “Knowledge is not to be considered as a means of material prosperity and success, but as a call to serve and to be responsible for others.” (TCS, 56)

In the Catholic tradition, then, we are “well” (“saved” or “justified”) when we are in ‘right relationship’ with God, our neighbour (always especially our vulnerable neighbour) and creation. When we give each of these their due, by the grace of God, then we will be at one with our very self. To be out of kilter with any one of these means that we are out of kilter. So therein lies the thinking that may help us to develop an understanding of human health and the Catholic school as a health centre of the human spirit.

It was widely noted, in fact, that each of these four core relationships were revived or rediscovered during lockdown. In spite of the prohibition on visiting church, many people (many more people than went to church) found themselves looking for services online or looking for spiritual meaning or nourishment in their lives. There was attention to our neighbour, as many people re-discovered a sense of community and looked out for the most vulnerable. There was a new appreciation of birdsong in our quiet towns and cities, an awareness that nature was almost taking a breath as the road and skies emptied of traffic. And there was an attention to individual wellbeing tied up with the first three.

One other principle is worth considering before we look at some practical suggestions for how our schools could be health centres in the ongoing pandemic. In Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis’ landmark encyclical, the first principle for progress in building a people is: “time is greater than space” (EG, 221). This principle, says Francis, “enables us to work slowly but surely, without being obsessed with immediate results” (EG, 222). In lockdown, many people on social media reflected on time and how they experienced it in a different way. For some, lockdown was a nightmare, for others an experience of continual anxiety, for others an opportunity to experience time not as a bully but as a friend and ally. When I was a headteacher I

was the one who shortened the lunch break to reduce the possibilities of bad behaviour. I was afraid of time. Movement between lessons had to be quick, lessons had to have pace, staff needed an appointment to see me. I’m sure there were good intentions behind this approach, but I think now is the time to consider time in schools in a different way.

So, as we begin an academic year like no other, here are some practical suggestions for how the Catholic school might be a health centre for the spirit of our pupils:

• Allow time for pupils to re-establish friendships. Think creatively about the school day, with perhaps ‘collapsed’ sessions with a focus on encounter and conversation.

• How are you? Get to know the pupils again. Many of our teachers and leaders got to see where their pupils lived when they delivered food parcels to houses during lockdown. Encourage the pupils to tell you about their lockdown experience: new hobbies learned, concerns about learning, and of course, from a safeguarding point of view, is there anything they want to talk to an adult about? Think about constructing a ‘well-being’ survey which asks some additional questions to the ones available.

• Who are you? Or, as Pope Benedict XVI asked the young people of Britain in 2010, “What kind of person would you really like to be?” Has the experience of lockdown changed the way the pupils see themselves and what they might want to do with their “one wild and precious life”?

• Make time for prayer and liturgy, encounters with the divine. Ask the pupils to write their own prayers and plan their own collective worship – a “liturgy of friendship” for example. Consider introducing Christian meditation, as opposed to mindfulness. See: Meditation with Children by Noel Keating.

• Allow time in lessons. Give teachers ‘permission’ to allow questions and reflections to develop and deepen, even off-topic. Discourage any sense of panic, as if the only thing that matters is ‘catching up’. There will be more than enough time to catch up.

• Who is my neighbour – in school? Allow time for the school community

to look again at the Catholic view of a ‘spirituality of communion’ when, as John Paul II said, we see the face of the Trinity in our brothers and sisters. Use the Covid-19 restrictions as an opportunity to consider the importance of consideration for others. Plan a new behaviour policy together (it should be consulted on anyway). See: John Paul II, Novo Millennio Ineunte, 43

• Who is my neighbour – in the community? Allow time for the school community to get to know its community in a deeper way, the way we started to do in lockdown – the local, national and global community. Where is the power? Who does the important jobs? Who are the vulnerable? What can we do to enable the flourishing of the marginal?

• What is our curriculum? Schools will be adapting and adjusting the curriculum throughout 2020/21, an ideal opportunity

to consider how we integrate Gospel values and Catholic Social Teaching into our lessons. Our RSHE programmes will also play a key role in the well-being agenda.

• What is our mission for the care of our common home? An opportunity to re-commit to the climate agenda and put Laudato Si at the heart of the curriculum, not just as a worthy project to save the planet but as a radical call to conversion of lifestyle, a vision of the Christian call to live simply and in harmony with God, self, neighbour and creation. See: https://cafod.org.uk/Campaign/ Climate

• What is our mission? Is our understanding of a Catholic school the same now as it was before Covid-19 and lockdown? What is our vision for human health, human flourishing and well-being? We might not end up with

What is researching Catholic education all about?

The field of Catholic Education Studies is now an established and growing arena of scholarship and research. Over the past two decades much has changed and now the number of serving Headteachers who have a doctorate in Catholic education is steadily growing. An ever increasing number of those seeking promotion in a Catholic school have an MA in Catholic school leadership. There is a growing appetite and interest in research about Catholic education. However, for some of us there is still a little uncertainty about what the field of Catholic Education Studies actually involves. This article aims to give a quick overview of what researchers in Catholic education are typically involved in exploring.

Less than two decades ago the Springer International Handbook of Catholic

Education (Grace & O’Keefe 2007) contained a combined total of just four contributions from Ireland and Britain. However, the amount of research into Catholic education and schools in these countries has now risen to such a level that there is in 2020 a genuine abundance of accessible and relevant scholarship.

There are many reasons for this abundance, but perhaps the biggest driver is the increased academic interest into researching Catholic education at many universities. For example, in Ireland two centres of excellence stand out as places where research into Catholic education is heavily promoted and celebrated. The first is the pivotal role played by the Mater Dei Centre for Catholic Education, Dublin City University. A team of leading experts under the helm of Dr Gareth Byrne, has built on the legacy of Dr Dermot Lane and brought to fruition a plethora of doctoral level research into Religious Education in Catholic schools and broader issues in Catholic education and faith development. Second is the Irish Institute for Catholic Studies, at Mary Immaculate College,

a new mission, but we may well come up with a deeper understanding of our mission. Had we got into a rut when it was all about results and beating the local opposition? The Church has always believed in academic excellence, but as a fundamental part of a mission of service to humanity, not for personal advancement.

Catholic schools will already be engaged with these issues. The most important thing I believe is to make time for discussion, reflection and discernment, with staff, pupils, parents and governors. There has been much talk a ‘new normal’. The old normal has been shaken. It has revealed a society which is sick, out of kilter, stressed, insecure, unequal, aggressive, looking for happiness in the wrong places. As Catholic schools, we should be at the forefront of the recovery and the building up of a caring, compassionate and just society that more resembles the kingdom of God.

Limerick. Here another strong team of researchers in Catholic education work under the leadership of Dr Patricia Kieran. Both these centres have successfully enabled and opened up rich seams of research and scholarship in the central areas of Catholic Education Studies. In Britain, Glasgow University under the oversight of Professor Stephen McKinney, has maintained its leading role in researching Catholic education. South of the Scottish boarder, Liverpool Hope University, Newman University and St Mary’s University (Twickenham) have continued to foster and support scholarship into Catholic education. Particular praise should go to the ongoing success of the Masters Level course operated by St Mary’s which specialises in Catholic Education Leadership: Principles and Practices. This popular MA was originally devised by Professor John Sullivan over two decades ago and as such, has provided an ongoing way of opening up

Sean Whittle Research Associate at the CRDCE with Professor Gerald Grace

the relevance of research into Catholic education to a significant number of those who aspire to lead Catholic schools. St Mary’s has now become a centre which specialises in supporting Catholic school leadership.

Another important development has been the emergence of the Network for Researchers in Catholic Education (NfRCE). Originally established under the auspices of Heythrop College, University of London, in 2016, this Network has been an active forum for bringing together British and Irish researchers in Catholic education. The annual conferences have quickly become a firm fixture. Crucially these conferences have been an important catalyst in allowing a wide range of researchers to share or discuss their current projects with each other. More importantly, these and other regular gatherings of members of the NfRCE have made possible and nurtured an emerging research community which is actively working in the field of Catholic Education Studies. Researchers from Ireland and Britain are now regularly collaborating and together sparking off fresh lines of enquiry about research into Catholic education.

The Complex Nature of Catholic Education

There are now many facets to the field of Catholic Educations Studies, compared with just three or four decades ago. In the earlier days of research and scholarship into Catholic education the emphasis was on more general matters. In large part this is because of the issues marked out nearly a century ago by the only papal encyclical devoted to Catholic education, promulgated in 1929 by Pius XI, Divini Illius Magistri. This encyclical on the Christian Education of the Youth is a firm assertion of the right and prerogatives of the Catholic community to be involved in the provision of state education. As such this papal teaching was marking out one of the key foundational issues for scholarship in Catholic education – namely about the justification of Catholic education in terms of the provision of Catholic schools in the context of state education. The debate at play has rumbled on under various guises in more recent decades, couched in terms of the ‘faith school debate’. The political issues at stake have pivoted on assumptions about what the goals of Catholic education are or ought to be. Thus for almost a century, the foundational issues for Catholic education research have been around the aims, goals and justifications of Catholic schooling within a largely secular state.

However, over the past two decades attention has been able to move onto more distinct areas or issues within the broader field of research about Catholic education. There is an emerging consensus that alongside the more foundational questions about the aims or even the legitimacy of Catholic education, there are other overlapping but distinct matters that now need to be researched. These are threefold.

First, questions about identity have crystalised as a central issue within Catholic Education scholarship. These can range from teasing out what is the Catholic’s schools relationship to fostering a Catholic identity, to including the varying ways of constructing the history of Catholic education. Part of the research into identity matters is being attentive to the voice of both students and teachers who belong to Catholic schools. In recent decades the proportion of those involved in Catholic schools, both staff and students, who are not baptised Catholic Christians has increased substantially. In the not so distant past it would have been taken as a given or defining characteristic of Catholic schools in the UK that the overwhelming majority of students and staff would be Catholic Christians. However, socio-political changes in the second half of the twentieth century have resulted in changes in the religious make-up of our Catholic schools. This changing composition of Catholic schools is triggering fresh questions about identity issues in relation to Catholic education. In the past in Britain it used to be assumed that the overwhelming majority of both students and staff at Catholic schools were Catholic Christians. Inevitably this fuelled an unexamined set of correlations between creating a child’s Catholic identity, belonging to a Catholic school, the staffing of Catholic schools and what are often taken to be the primary aims of Catholic education. Examining the overlapping assumptions at play has become an increasingly important part of research into Catholic education.

The second area which has fallen into sharper focus is around the leadership of Catholic schools. Much of this is rooted in the pioneering research undertaken over two decades ago by Gerald Grace (2002), which listened attentively to the concerns of serving headteachers in Catholic schools in England. The pressures of ‘market values’ in education settings is causing mission drift and triggering worries about the loss of spiritual capital particularly amongst the leaders and managers of Catholic schools. These issues have continued to dominate the unique challenges faced by the leaders of Catholic schools. In many respects

they have helped to fuel the self-fulfilling prophecy that there is a serious shortfall in suitable candidates willing and able to take on the mantle of leading Catholic schools. Addressing this practical matter has emerged as a dominant issue for researchers of Catholic education.

The third facet of research into Catholic education involves issues connected with Religious Education. At one level, the place of Religious Education goes back to the foundational questions about what is at the heart of Catholic education. There has been a deep-seated tendency to regard Religious Education as the defining characteristic of Catholic education. This has made issues about the nature, scope, content and pedagogy of Religious Education in Catholic schools be regarded as somehow central to the whole endeavour or project of Catholic education. One line of argument is to equate the notion of a specific Catholic curriculum with Religious Education. In effect this is to emphasise the significance of this one subject within the entire curriculum of a Catholic school. Often this involves asserting that Religious Education is the heart or the core of the entire curriculum in a Catholic school. This is, of course, a bold and controversial assertion which stands in need of a solid and coherent set of supporting arguments. Unfortunately these have yet to be articulated – or perhaps even to be devised. This is an issue which stands in need of further research. At another level, a strong case can be made for putting the focus primarily on Catholic education as a whole, rather than on one subject within the curriculum of a Catholic school. Within the field of Catholic education scholarship, one of the dominant tensions that has opened up is around the place and significance of Religious Education. An ongoing and increasingly polarised debate has now opened up about just how important Religious Education ought to be to the entire enterprise of a Catholic school. This area of research is potentially very important for school leaders, because it could inform many practical matters about the timetabling and staffing of Religious Education in our schools.

To sum up, the field of Catholic Education studies can now be divided into four distinct but overlapping sections that can be categorised into Foundations, Identity, Catholic school Leadership and issues in Religious Education in Catholic schools. Research into each of these four parts of the field has mushroomed in recent years. Perhaps the challenge now is to draw on this growing abundance of research in order to inform and guide our practice in Catholic schools.

By Willie Slavin

News Roundup

Religious Studies

A-level entries compare well against other humanities

The number of Religious Studies A-level exam entries has declined at a lower rate than other humanities in 2020, performing better than some subjects despite a backdrop of overall declining entries and changes to the examination system.

15,692 RS A-level entries were recorded in England and Wales this year, compared with 17,490 in 2019. Although this represents a decline of 11.5%, it compares favourably with Geography (down 16.2%) and History (down 15.1%).

The overall number of A-Level entries in England and Wales fell this year by 2.6% from 768,217 in 2019 to 748,905 in 2020. The reduction reflects both a smaller cohort of 18 year olds (599,393 in 2020 compared with 618,873 in 2019 [Office for National Statistics]) and changes to the assessment of A level and AS examinations that had an effect in 2018, when the majority of schools changed their policies to recommending three A-levels, versus four in previous years. The number of AS exam entries also declined by 24.6% following AS and A-level reforms.

Professor Trevor Cooling, Chair, Religious Education Council of England and Wales (REC), said: “The figures are encouraging. Despite the context of a declining cohort of 18 year olds, the reduction in A-level entries, and the knock on effect of some schools’ failure to provide Religious Studies at Key Stage 4, the subject is proving its popularity at this level.

Wales: Catholic school heads unite to oppose RE changes

The headteacher of every Catholic school in Wales has written to the First Minister asking him to rethink his Government’s proposed changes to Religious Education. The headteachers of more than 80 Welsh Catholic schools have

signed a joint letter asking the Rt Hon Mark Drakeford MS, to stop the proposed legislation surrounding RE which specifically targets the Catholic ethos of their schools.

With the plans uniquely affecting their schools, the headteachers have taken the unprecedented step of collectively asking for reassurance that it is not the Government’s specific intention to damage Catholic schools.

The Welsh Government plans to expand the scope of traditional RE to ‘Religion Values and Ethics’, removing the academic rigor of the subject and reducing it to an over-simplistic comparison exercise which fails to understand the fundamentals of faith and religion.

The new proposals, published in May, specifically penalise Catholic schools, placing additional and unreasonable legal requirements on them that no other schools have to satisfy, specifically forcing them to teach two separate RE curriculums without any consideration of resourcing impactions this would have for schools.

In their letter, the headteachers state that the proposed changes to RE fail to recognise the heritage and deep connection Religious Education has within church schools, including Catholic schools, which dedicate 10% of curriculum time to the subject.

They go on to say the Welsh Government’s desire to create a so-called ‘neutral values’ curriculum risks moving towards a homogeneous education system which would no longer recognise children’s legal right to pursue a deep knowledge and spiritual understanding of their own faith as well as those of others.Prior to the proposed legislation, a majority of respondents to the Government’s consultation said they were against the name change of RE and that they supported the continuation of parents’ rights to withdraw their children from RE. On both of these, the Welsh Government have ignored popular opinion.

Paul Barber, Director of the Catholic Education Service, which represents Catholic schools in Wales, commented: “I hope this letter from all of the headteachers makes the Welsh Government realise the overwhelming strength of feeling against these proposals to the Catholic

community. They strike at the very identity of Catholic schools and at the heart of the principle that that parents, and not the State, are the primary and principal educators of their children.”

Norwich Catholic high school launches virtual art exhibition

An impressive and uplifting virtual art exhibition has been launched to showcase the creative hard work of students at Notre Dame Catholic High School in Norwich, reports Alex Savage.

A highlight of the year at the school has always been the Summer Art Exhibition. GCSE and A Level students showcase their work to the public. However, due to Coronavirus restrictions it was feared that this long held tradition would not take place this year.

Meanwhile, at home, students of all ages were getting creative during the lockdown. This resulted in an amazing selection of artworks being sent in by email.

Debbie McShane, Head of Art, was so moved by what the students had produced that she was inspired to find a way for an even larger audience than usual to enjoy what they had produced.

“It has been the first time in 26 years that I haven’t been able to have a public Art Exhibition to celebrate the brilliant work of our students,” she said. “However, this has motivated us to create an online ‘virtual tour’ that everyone is invited to explore and appreciate.”

To explore Notre Dame’s online gallery, with a surprise around every corner. copy one of the links below.

Key Stage 3/4 Exhibition - www.artsteps. com/view/5efb3f1cf055726197068ae1

GCSE and A Level Exhibition - www.artsteps. com/view/5f04866cd5db3b3b9d5c1af0

Newman College joins local partners to help community through crisis

During the Covid-19 pandemic, staff at Newman Catholic College in Brent have been working to support the extended school community at a time of increased hardship. Daniel Patrick Coyle, Head teacher at Newman Catholic College, offers the following account explaining how the success of this endeavour has been made possible thanks to the school’s partnerships with local groups and charities.

The wellbeing of the Newman Catholic College community has always been a key feature of the work of our school, but in recent months this focus has sharpened. We are motivated by Pope Francis’ comment: ‘I want a church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out to the streets, rather than a church which is unhealthy from being confined and clinging to its own security.’ It is a defining characteristic of NCC that we seek to pursue the ‘Common Good’. We are a ‘UNICEF Rights Respecting school’, a ‘Refugee welcome school’ and a ‘School of Sanctuary’, so I know what to prepare for them’, was all she asked. Several months later this arrangement is still going strong.

New Vice-Chancellor appointed by Leeds Trinity University

Professor Charles Egbu has been appointed Vice-Chancellor of Leeds Trinity University.

Professor Egbu will return to Leeds, a city in which he studied and taught, to begin his new role on 1 November 2020. He will take over from Professor Margaret A House OBE who will step down after seven years as ViceChancellor.

The Professor said: “I am honoured to be joining Leeds Trinity; a University whose values and ethos around widening participation, offering a personalised approach and encouraging all students to achieve their best, align with my own. The University has an impressive track record in learning, teaching and employability, and I am looking forward to building on the strong foundations established under the leadership of Professor House.

“I have already been impressed by the sense of community at Leeds Trinity and I am looking forward to engaging with students, colleagues and alumni as we shape the future strategy of the institution. I am also looking forward to returning to Leeds; the city in which I spent much of my early academic life.”

With more than 25 years’ experience in higher education, Professor Egbu was previously Pro Vice-Chancellor for Education and Experience at the University of East London, where he was responsible for student experience, student success, student retention, quality assurance and enhancement, the Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, and the Students’ Union. He is also a member of various external bodies, including the Advance HE Pro Vice-Chancellor Network and QAA Panel of Experts.

Rt Reverend Marcus Stock, Bishop of Leeds and Ex-Officio Chair of the Board of Governors, added: “Since gaining University status in 2013, Leeds Trinity has gone from strength to strength as one of the three Catholic higher education institutions in the UK. I have no doubt that, under Professor Egbu’s vision and leadership, the Catholic foundation and identity of the University will continue to provide inspiration for its future development and success.”

Ealing: St Benedict’s School makes PPE for frontline NHS workers

Staff and students at St Benedict’s School in Ealing, west London have made over

1,000 protective visors for frontline NHS staff, carers and key workers, in London and beyond.

St Benedict’s DT teacher Mauricio Mendes, assisted by a team of sixth form volunteers, has been producing and distributing this essential PPE to hospitals, care homes and doctors’ surgeries since mid-March.

The school has received many requests for the visors, from hospitals, care homes and surgeries in west London, including West Middlesex University Hospital, Georgian House Nursing Home and Florence Road Surgery, Ealing. The visors have also been distributed further afield, to care homes in Hertfordshire, Warwickshire and even North Wales.

In addition to providing PPE, St Benedict’s also donated its science lab protective equipment, such as goggles, gloves and sanitisers to local hospitals.

“I have designed the visor to be made of one whole strip of polypropylene that goes around the head and holds a protective shield made of clear acetate”, said Mauricio. “We have a fair amount of polypropylene in the Art and Design department, for our school projects, and we had a few dozen acetate sheets. After two days we had used all the acetate available in school, having produced nearly 150 visors. After that, St Benedict’s staff came together to donate more acetate and, over the Easter weekend we received enough acetate sheets to produce almost 2000 visors and counting.”

Andrew Johnson, Headmaster of St Benedict’s, said: “I am very pleased that we have been able to make a contribution, in support of the courageous work being done by NHS and care workers.”

On the Sacredness of Conscience

Professor Gerald Grace invites all readers of Networking, both teachers and students, to read this statement and to think about how it should be used in Catholic Schools. It offers the often neglected issue of ‘What is Conscience?‘ and how an informed conscience should operate in education, society and politics as well as in religious life and everyday life. Its relevance to the life and death of St. Thomas More is obvious. If you have any thoughts about this, please send them to;

Professor Gerald Grace, Professor of Catholic Education, St Mary’s University, crdce@stmarys.ac.uk

Statement of Joseph Ratzinger (now Benedict XV1) when acting as theological adviser to the Second Vatican Council -

‘Over the Pope as expression of the binding claim of Ecclesiastical Authority, there stands one’s own conscience, which must be obeyed before all else, even if necessary against the requirement of Ecclesiastical Authority. This emphasis on the individual, whose conscience confronts him with a supreme and ultimate tribunal, and one which in the last resort is beyond the claim of external social groups, even the official church, also establishes a principle in opposition to increasing totalitarianism.’

Joseph Ratzinger in: Commentary on the Documents of Vatican II. Vol V. p 134 (Ed) H. Vorgrimler, New York Herder and Herder, 1967

Staff at Georgian House Care Home Ealing, wearing St Benedict’s PPE

R&D Editor of Networking, Professor Gerald Grace KSG.

Book&Media Review

Renewing the ChurchState Partnership for Catholic Education. Engaging with the Challenge of Academisation,

By Dr Margaret Buck

Publication Date: February 2020

Publisher: Peter Lang £55

This book by Dr Margaret Buck is timely and makes a welcome contribution to understanding the perilous state currently faced by Catholic education and schools in England and Wales, when viewed in terms of Church and State relationship. There have been profound changes in education policy, through the introduction of Academies, that have significantly altered the arrangements established by the 1944 Butler Education Act. On the whole the settlement established in that Act (between the Catholic Church and the State) worked well and has often been couched in terms of partnership,

rather than simply a practical arrangement or accommodation. With the drive towards turning schools into Academies (which are funded directly via the Secretary of State for Education rather than through Local Education Authorities) the relationship is fast becoming very different. Dr Buck’s book is focusing on this shifting relationship and putting the spotlight on the new one that is emerging into shape. The concern is that this new Church and State relationship in matters of education has the potential to have a profound, and potentially negative effect. At this stage it is just not clear that the move towards Academisation will be benign for the Catholic community which has invested heavily, both strategically and financially, towards developing an extensive educational provision in England and Wales. The analysis that Dr Buck’s book presents deserves a careful consideration by all who have an interest in Catholic education.

This book draws heavily on the doctoral thesis that Dr Buck defended at Newman University. The finished text has come together very well. It is accessible and straightforward to read, with the issues presented in an engaging way. The author draws on her substantial experience as someone who has worked successfully in many different roles in Catholic education in the U.K. As such, the author is able to add an authoritative tone to her work. This adds a further reason why the book deserves to be carefully read by all those who care about Catholic education.

There is a multidisciplinary aspect to the underpinning scholarship of this book. It draws heavily on Catholic theology, educational history and political analysis. In combining these three areas of scholarship together in an accessible way, the author has performed an important service that helps to take further theological reflection on the nature of the Church and State relationship, when viewed through the lens of Catholic education. It also provides insight into how Academisation has unfolded in relation to Catholic education. The text weaves together a sustained narrative that underpins the work as a whole. The author has a good writing style and as a whole it is a well written text with plenty of scaffolding throughout,

By Willie Slavin

especially at the start and end of chapters, all of which enable the argument in each of the chapters to have a narrative unity.

At the heart of Dr Buck’s book is the educational policy of the ‘Academisation’ of schools, which has dominated the English educational landscape for a decade. Originally the idea of an ‘Academy’ as a state funded school outside Local Authority control, was developed by a Labour Government to improve educational standards in underperforming secondary schools. However, under the auspices of the Coalition Government (May 2010), the Secretary of State for Education, Michael Gove, took the concept of Academisation in a new all-embracing way, promoting it as a better way of funding all state schools. It soon became possible for groups of schools to opt-out of Local Authority control and come together as Multi-Academy Trust Companies. For four years Gove was at the forefront of promoting Academisation. Interestingly more recently, various political events (most notably the paralysis caused by Brexit) and Gove’s moves to other posts within the Government have caused a significant reappraisal of the drive for all schools to become Academies. Nevertheless, Academies are now a significant part of the contemporary educational landscape in England and Wales, and there is now an altered relationship through them between the Church and the State.

In the opening chapter Dr Buck explains why the Church-State relationship needs to be critically evaluated and reappraised. This is to ensure that the Church continues to serve the needs of the Church, Catholic schools, and also the Common Good. Chapter Two offers an historical analysis of the relationship between the Church and the State from 1870 to present times. In Dr Buck’s reading of the history of the relationship it is largely positive.

The book argues that the Catholic Church is at its most effective when the circumstances of the day and the political skill of its leaders come together to ensure internal division is not allowed to interfere with what is important to the mission of both the Church and serving the Common Good. Dr Buck praises the political skill of Cardinals Wiseman and Griffin in earlier times, and perhaps implicitly

draws a negative contrast with current episcopal leadership in matters of Catholic education. With the Academies Act of 2010, a new funding system has been made central to national educational policy. This shift in funding actually brings into play a new relationship, which is markedly different to the partnership model of the 1944 Act.

In the third chapter the analysis shifts onto a review of official Church teachings on Catholic education’s relationship with the State, in being a partner in providing education. Dr Buck laments the way many who are involved in Catholic education are unaware of the wealth of insights within these official Church teachings. In contrast, the documents produced by the Bishops Conference of England and Wales are judged to lack vision, other than the 1997 guidance document The Common Good in Education. In chapter 4 the work of four British researchers of Catholic education are presented - Arthur, Grace, Storr and Sullivan. It is particularly pleasing that the work of Dr Storr is being drawn upon, because insufficient attention has been afforded to his important research about the governors’ role. His analysis describes the extremely difficult challenge Catholic school governors face as part of their vital but often under appreciated voluntary work. Whilst it is of little surprise that Arthur, Grace and Sullivan should be drawn upon, it is intriguing that no attempt was made by the author to pull out the inter-relations and reactions between these three. It was largely the negative reaction against Arthur’s stark analysis in The Ebbing Tide (1995) that spurred the work of both Sullivan and Grace, in large part to make clear the serious flaws in the conclusions drawn in his book.

In Chapter 5 attention shifts to the importance of theology, in particular the methodology of practical theology. This opens up the way for arguing in favour of public theology which is able to guide and illuminate dialogue in the public arena, between diocesan officers, school leaders, governors, politicians, local government officers and civil servants, about the distinctive character of Catholic education. In so many respects the Catholic school provides an apt context for public theology. It involves a creative dialogue in which the religious character of the Catholic school should not be marginalised by a disproportionate demand for improvement, measurement and effectiveness. It is important to avoid playing off religion and standards as if they are polar opposites.

In Chapter 6 the events that unfolded after the 2010 Academies Act are scrutinised as being part of a period of ‘continuous disruption’ to the Church and State partnership in matters of education. However, when the new ‘partnership’ between the dioceses and central government was introduced along with Academisation, the publication of the Memorandum of Understanding from the

Department for Education in 2016, signalled a very different kind of relationship that needed to be expressed in terms of contractural arrangements.

Chapter 7 presents a reflection of the political and educational landscape in 2019. Given the fact that there has been a gradually softening of the approach to Academisation since May 2016 attention needs to be focused on the future, and how the Church and its constituent diocese should respond to the changed relationship with the State. An important part of this is reflecting on why the outcomes of the work done in the recent years to advance the cause of Catholic leadership and school improvement have not generated the good fruits that it ought to have. Despite various initiatives, none have taken firm hold. Dr Buck argues that there is a need to investigate why the potentially fruitful projects have failed to take root, and generate regular harvests, so as to inform what will work.

Chapter 8 presents a fresh reading of the current educational landscape in order to explain why the time is right for the Catholic Church to adopt a new position, confidently and assertively, in its relationship with the State over matters of education. Of course the twofold separate bodies – the Church and the State – claim autonomy over specific aims, purposes, knowledge and expertise, and control different parts of the process of forming the entity and experience that is Catholic education. They separately pass decisions, directives and documentation down to the school that has to bring them together in the living reality that is Catholic education. Dr Buck cogently argues that school can be caught between the competing theology of the Church and the ideology of the State, which must be reconciled within the school’s understanding of what a Catholic education involves. However, until diocesan directors, school leaders and governors are better prepared for constructive dialogue with each other, and together with the State, in some dioceses all parties may be left suffering the frustrations of unresolved tensions.

It is interesting to observe an affinity between Dr Buck and James Arthur in presenting an argument which points to the shortcomings in the leadership of the bishops of England and Wales when it comes to Catholic education. It must however be immediately noted that this is without the polemical tone that marks Arthur’s analysis (1995). Perhaps the reservations and criticisms raised by Dr Buck are in many respects more serious because they stem from the insight of someone who has had a close working relationship both collectively with all the bishops through the CES and with individual bishops in England and Wales.

One of the interesting features of the theological analysis in Dr Buck’s book is that it is heavily dependent upon Dulles’ classic text Models of

the Church (1977). Central to the ecclesiology in Dulles’ work is the recognition that all the models he describes are actually present in the Church to some degree. However, the real difficulty comes when trying to argue that one particular model (with its corresponding relationship with the State) is the definitive way of being the Church. Holding these models or ways of being the Church together is the challenge of being a Catholic Christian. Given that there is always a range of legitimate ways of being Church, the onus is on explaining why one is actually the preferred one at this given time in the life of the community called Church. It gains further complexity when trying to unpack the relationship between the Catholic school and the Church. It is not clear that Dr Buck has drawn sufficient attention to this issue. Moreover, there is a tacit tendency to conflate the Church with the leadership of the Catholic Church. Perhaps this is rooted in the decision not to sufficiently explore the sociology of Catholic education over the past seventy years. The focus in the book is firmly on the ebb and flow of party politics in relation to educational policies. It is fascinating to consider the way education is now a central facet of government strategy. When Margaret Thatcher was Education Secretary it was a junior role, when New Labour came to power it had become a highly influential post. In more recent years Gove demonstrated that a way to make yourself a highly influential politician is through being Education Secretary. However, alongside these political shifts there have been significant sociological ones, particularly amongst Catholics living in Britain. The drift towards the adoption of middle class values and attitudes, that Hornsby-Smith drew attention to four decades ago (1978) has continued apace. An important part of this are educational assumptions that now operate amongst the parents of Catholic children. The annual CES census data shows over many years that for increasing proportions of the Catholic community, choosing a Catholic school is no longer the default position. A consideration of the sociological issues at play here would have been a useful addition to the analysis in Dr Buck’s book. Not least because these parents and children are also part of the Church. There may well be a dissonance between what the leadership of the Church and the parents who belong to the Church think about Catholic education. There is an intriguing overlap between the sociological issues and ecclesiology that deserve careful teasing out. It may well be that the issue here is another indicator that there is a lack of consensus around what is the purpose of a Catholic school and a Catholic education. Working out the theory or philosophy of Catholic education is a challenging task, and it is perhaps this which is needed in order to better inform what the relationship between the Church and the State ought to be.

Dr Buck’s book offers an important analysis of how the shifting politics of education in England and

Wales is leading to a new relationship between the Church and the State. It is an argument that is warning advocates of Catholic education to be very attentive to the subtle but significant changes that are taking place. This book helps to take further theological reflection on the nature of the Church and State relationship. It deserves to be widely read and used to inform the way forward for Catholic education in England and Wales.

References

Arthur, J. (1995) The ebbing tide: policy and principles of catholic education. Herefordshire, UK: Gracewing.

Dulles, A. (1974). Models of the Church. Dublin: Gill and MacMillan.

Hornsby-Smith, M. (1978). Catholic Education: the unobtrusive partner. London: Sheed and Ward. Storr, C. (2011). Serving two masters? Leominster: Gracewing

Reviewer: Sean Whittle

Dr Sean Whittle Visiting Research Fellow, St Mary’s University. Research Associate with Professor Gerald Grace at the CRDCE

not, but also the hierarchy of responsibilities from the Diocesan Trustees, their Bishops and their agents (namely, members of the Catholic Education Service) through to Multi-Academy Trusts, and the education officers of the Religious Orders which are responsible for so many of the schools. However, in the lasting political debates about the overall responsibilities for state-funded education, the book provides a most valuable insight into the complicated legal relationship (past, present and possible future) between State and Church – and does so with a clarity very much needed.

The above book was also reviewed by Richard Pring

Renewing the ChurchState Partnership for Catholic Education. Engaging with the Challenge of Academisation,

By Dr Margaret Buck

Publication Date: February 2020

Publisher: Peter Lang £55

This is a most important book which should be read by, and available to, all those who in their different ways, and at their different levels, are responsible for the governance and management of Catholic schools in England and Wales. I have in mind here not only the head teachers and governing bodies of those schools, whether Academies or

Catholic schools are part of the State System, that is, they are funded by the State and in return are subject to certain conditions concerning the content and quality of the educational provision. But from the time of Cardinal Wiseman onwards (who, in responding particularly to the influx of immigrants during the Irish famine, insisted upon priority to building schools before building churches) such schools were able to develop a distinctively Catholic approach to education, though at a price, namely, making a considerable contribution to the cost of building. Variations there have inevitably been in the legal and administrative relationship between Church and Local and National Government, especially following the 1944 Education Act in which legal distinctions were made between Voluntary Aided, Voluntary Controlled and Community Schools, thereby preserving the relative independence of Catholic Schools which elected for Voluntary Aided status. But such variations have not affected the responsibility of the Church to maintain its distinctively Catholic culture – despite increasing pressure otherwise from within a secular society.

This history is given in valuable detail by the author, revealing details of the changing relationship between local authority, central authority, diocesan trustees and parishes, which would be invaluable

for the constantly circulating members of the Governing Bodies. (The writer of this Review would have benefited much from such an account when he became a Governor of a school within the Archdiocese of Birmingham). But its prime importance arises from the legal and administrative changes which have transformed the possible status and governance of schools in recent times, in particular the opportunity for schools or groups of schools to adopt Academy or Free Schools status, independent of Local Education Authority influence and beholden directly to the Department for Education. However, such changes had been anticipated in the 1888 Education Act’s introduction of Local Management of Schools and Grant Maintained Status, a matter objected to by Cardinal Basil Hume, as head of the Catholic Church in England, because it diminished the right of the Catholic trustees to veto a governor’s proposal to adopt GM status. Hume, in defending the right, declared that ‘he would rather go to prison than put his name to a scheme he believed would damage Catholic education in his diocese’. It removed the bishop’s right under Canon Law.

The book gives an excellent introduction to the subsequent status of Academies and Free Schools, to the political explanations of why they were introduced, and, in particular, to the effect and problems which all this creates for the ‘dual system’ of Local Authority and Church schools within the State system. Possibly more so than in any other Act since 1944, the Academies Act of 2010 challenged the authority (canonical and otherwise) of the Diocese and their bishops over the nature of the Catholic schools within the State system.

The book also provides an excellent and lengthy synopsis of the many documents published by the Church on the aims of Catholic education, and also. in the light of these, the way forward in the future.

As the author states

‘This book provides food for thought for local government officers and civil servants of the state with a responsibility for the future of the partnership between the church and the state; they must better understand the philosophy and rationale that underpins the contribution of Christian schools to the common good.’

Reviewer: Richard Pring

MISSION TOGETHER

HELPING CHILDREN AROUND THE WORLD TO LEARN

The Impact of Lockdown on Children

As pupils emerge from four months of lockdown and a six - week summer break, staff have been working hard to ensure pupils’ safety when schools re-open in September.

Research continues but it is apparent that children have been more affected by the negative impact of lockdown than by the COVID 19 virus itself. The change in routine – or no routine at all, prolonged isolation, lack of physical space, food poverty and anxiety, are thought to have had far wider reaching and longer lasting effects on children than had been envisaged initially.

The Impact Overseas

Lockdown for those children living in poverty overseas and who were already struggling has been harder still. Missionaries have told us how those families living hand to mouth with no savings and no Government safety net have seen their income disappear overnight,

leaving them destitute and susceptible to loan sharks. Reports of domestic abuse and in some parts of the world, a rise in teenage pregnancies, reveal how adults’ hopelessness and anger have escalated in those families that were already under pressure from hunger, unemployment, and inadequate housing.

During the pandemic, and thanks to Missio supporters, Missio’s Emergency Fund has brought relief in the form of food, toiletries, and masks and helped broadcast safety advice through the local Catholic radio station. Fr. John Paul MHM, a missionary working in the Philippines said, ‘It was quite challenging when we got repeated calls requesting help and we had none to give them. Missio has made us know that God does not fail and that the Church is really Mother and reaches out to her children in times of distress.’

Mission Together’s Children’s Projects

If lockdown has shown us anything it is what teachers have known all along - that

education cannot be separated from the formation of the individual. More than this, Catholic teachers recognise that when Christ is put at the centre of school life then the school’s focus cannot help but be directed to the promotion of each person’s human dignity, the common good and the flourishing of society.

This is something that missionary priests and sisters in dioceses around the world know and is why, for over 175 years, Missio’s Mission Together, has enabled the world’s poorest and most vulnerable children to receive an education; regain their God given dignity and ‘to have life and have it to the full’ John 10:10

Missio’s children’s projects offer a lifeline out of poverty and give children hope for a better future. Sometimes, it may be affordable schooling or a day care centre for children whose parents had no choice but to leave them alone and vulnerable, while they worked for little money. Help may take the form of a feeding programme in the local school for children who previously had to earn money for food. Missio backed

The Sisters care for the children

orphanages ensure children have a place of safety, and a routine that includes time for homework, play and just to be children again.

Together in Myanmar

Every year Mission Together tells the story of a child who is supported in one of these many Church run projects. This year we are focusing on Nu Moe, who lives in a remote part of Myanmar where there is no electricity, nor running water. Her nearest school is a 3½ hour walk away, over paths that are impassable during the rainy season.

Thanks to Missio, Nu Moe is able to stay in a parish boarding house near the school. The boarding house provides board and lodging for 70 children from poor families of all ethnic backgrounds and religious beliefs, who live in remote villages across Myanmar. The children are supported by a team of staff, including Religious Sisters.

Now Nu Moe attends school every day, has new friends and feels part of a community where everyone is valued and loved. The Sisters look after the children and encourage them to study. They tell them that they belong to God’s family and that they are remembered by children living thousands of miles away. Knowing that they are not forgotten, brings comfort and hope to Nu Moe and her classmates.

Helping Children live out their Faith

Mission Together helps children in England and Wales to discover more about their faith. All our resources have an abridged piece of Scripture with an explanation, giving pupils the opportunity to consider how they can live out what they have heard, and stand in solidarity with other children around the world, through prayer and sharing.

ages to do. These resources are available to download from the Mission Together website: missiontogether.org.uk/schoolclosures-home-activities/

Nu Moe’s story and our other Together in Myanmar campaign resources can be used to support the RE curriculum under topics such as the Universal Church, Mission, the Common Good, Neighbours and much more. Please visit the Mission together website to download these resources: missiontogether. org.uk/together-incampaigns/

During lockdown children remained faithful to Mission Together’s motto: ‘children helping children’ by following our homeschooling activities. These are still available for schools to download and may be used to support the R.E., Geography, Maths and English curriculum. They remind children that although they may be apart from each other, they remain members of God’s family.

Activities around Catholic character education, based on virtues such as respect, fairness and gratitude tell pupils the story of a missionary or a child whom Mission Together helps and invites pupils to see how these virtues promote the common good. The weekly Sunday Activity Sheets include an abridged Gospel reading supported by fun activities. Crossword puzzles, word searches and a cartoon to colour in mean that there is something for children of all

This year, as children follow Mission Together’s assemblies, liturgies, and activities, they are reminded that through their prayers and actions, they are joined with children around the world in love and friendship. Whatever the outcome of the next year, whether they are at school or at home, children everywhere still have a role to play as God’s own missionaries - bringing God’s joy, hope, love and peace into the world, in whatever way they can and wherever they may be.

Sheila Isaac: Education Coordinator, Missio