Everyone at CAFOD would like to say a huge thank you to children and young people in Catholic schools across England Wales for your support during Lent and across the year. We really appreciate everything that you do to bring our work to your school communities.
Last year, CAFOD asked schools to ‘Walk against hunger’ to help some of the 200 million children at risk of malnutrition. Children like Lombeh, who almost died as a baby but now is strong and healthy, after her mum was helped by sisters at a CAFOD-supported clinic. Schools came together and walked over 180,000 kilometres – more than four times around the world. An amazing achievement!
This Lent, we are asking schools to take on a challenge like no other
“But the Big Lent Walk feels different,” says Maria Liddy, Deputy Head at sacred Heart Catholic School in Roehampton.
“There’s a really great energy and I think our students are going to love walking to be part of global change. It’s putting their faith into action and involving the whole community in supporting them. I’m really glad we can be part of it this term.”
The Big Lent Walk is a fantastic way to inspire and engage
children and young people to put Catholic Social Teaching into action and work together for the common good. By taking part in the Big Lent Walk, pupils are invited to respond to the demands of Catholic Social Teaching, and the whole school community can walk in solidarity with families in extreme poverty around the world.
Excitement is building with dozens of groups and schools already signing up, “and we’re anticipating hundreds,” says Monica Conmee, CAFOD’s Head of Education. “We’ve seen a lot of energy building over the last couple of years for walking challenges, and the children and young people in many of the schools we speak to are just raring to go and walk to support their global family. It’s inspiring exciting to see!”
It’s easy to organise and run!
Simply choose a date over Lent and a distance and CAFOD will send you all you need to make it a day to remember. You can keep the walk simple and on site by doing laps of the playground or go on an all-out adventure by taking your class to the park or local countryside. Why not make it a weekend social and invite parents along? You can find out more at walk.cafod.org.uk
Why take part in the Big Lent Walk?
Lent CAFOD is supporting families with the skills and tools they need to fight the climate crisis as we see first-hand the damage to villages and communities caused by other extreme weather. In the spirit of the culture of encounter, we’ll be meeting 14-year-old Dristy, and her Mum, Rupali, from Bangladesh who are building seed beds and planting palm trees to protect their crops from flooding and cyclones.
However and wherever you walk, it’s all about getting out and about together and having fun –while showing the children they can make a positive difference. Will you join hundreds of schools this Lent to help families grow in strength to fight the climate crisis?
You can join CAFOD’s Big Lent Walk by signing up at walk.cafod.org.uk
Together, we can all make a difference.
As we journey towards the season of Lent, Nicola Blanchfield – Primary Schools CPD Coordinator at CAFOD – discusses CAFOD’s Lent national assembly and how we can stand together in solidarity for our global neighbours who are feeling the effects of the climate crisis.
CAFOD is the official aid agency of the Catholic Church in England and Wales; it is the way our Catholic community can support our global family in love, compassion and solidarity. This Lent, CAFOD is supporting families with the skills and tools they’ve asked for to fight the climate crisis.
At CAFOD, we ask everyone to get involved in three ways: give, act, pray. We ask you to give whatever you can spare. Every penny is appreciated! We ask you to act to make a difference. As a Catholic organisation, we also ask you to pray, in solidarity, for our global brothers and sisters around the world.
Above all, Lent is a season of prayer. Deepening our relationship with God during Lent gives meaning to our fasting and strengthens our call to almsgiving.
On Friday 3rd March CAFOD will be hosting our Lent national assembly for primary school children. Join us in a liturgical prayer to reach out with love to our brothers and sisters around the world.
Lent national assembly
Watch our live liturgy to meet Dristy and hear how her community are working together
to protect their plants, their homes and their lives against the impact of climate change.
Dristy lives in Bangladesh, one of the most at-risk countries from the effects of the climate crisis. Dristy says that cyclones and floods are becoming more frequent for the people there.
Dristy’s mum, Rupali, works side by side with her, teaching her how to plant lots of different crops; how to build seed beds that won’t get flooded, what trees to plant to protect the village from cyclones; and how to use discarded household items to grow saplings.
Rupali says, “It’s not right if I always have food on my table, yet my neighbour barely has anything to eat. I will stay well, I will keep my environment well, and I need to fight to help the people who are around me too. When they are all in a good place, the entire village will be in a good place.”
Thank you for your ongoing support! It has already made a difference, and your efforts this Lent will help families grow in strength to fight the climate crisis.
Join the assembly
on CAFOD’S YouTube channel from 9.30am on Friday 3rd March for primary school children to pray together in solidarity for our global neighbours who are feeling the effects of the climate crisis.
Here's a tweet to share: We're joining @CAFODSchools Lent assembly on Friday 3 March to pray together in solidarity for our global neighbours who are feeling the effects of the climate crisis.
Lent resources
Keep an eye on our website for resources to support your Lenten journey including our popular Lent calendar and resources to support liturgical prayer: cafod.org.uk/schools
Planning on holding a cake sale, or a ‘wear your own clothes’ day? Order stickers and envelopes from shop.cafod.org. uk to support your fundraising event.
OPPORTUNITIES WITH CAFOD
Book a Catholic Social Teaching school visit
Our team of school speakers are delighted to visit schools. This Lent they will be delivering assemblies to support The Big Lent Walk and workshops on Catholic Social Teaching. You can book yours by emailing schools@cafod.org.uk
Opportunity to be a LiveSimply Award Schools Assessor
SCHOOLS VOLUNTEERS
Looking for a new challenge?
Could you visit schools in your local area to deliver assemblies and workshops about CAFOD’s work and encourage children and young people to take action, fundraise and pray with CAFOD? No experience necessary. Full support, resources and regular training provided.
If you are interested please email schools@cafod.org.uk and we will connect you with your local CAFOD team.
The LiveSimply Award is presented to schools who can demonstrate they are living simply, living sustainably and living in solidarity with the world’s poorest communities. Rooted in the teachings of Jesus and Catholic Social Teaching it is a wonderful opportunity for Catholic schools to engage in an award that hears the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor, reflecting the words of Pope Francis in his letter to the world, Laudato Si’.
The recent Bishops’ Conference commended the LiveSimply Award as a response to Pope Francis’ invitation for us to “work with generosity and tenderness in protecting this world which God has entrusted to us”.
We are currently looking for additional LiveSimply School Assessors, this is a volunteer role and the assessments generally take place online. If you are passionate about the future of God’s creations, enjoy engaging with children and young people and are able to navigate and happy to hold online meetings this could be the perfect role for you.
The time commitment could range from a few hours each month to more, dependent on your availability.
To learn more about the award please visit www.cafod.org. uk/LiveSimplySchools. To enquire about the Assessor role please email schools@cafod.org.uk
Supplied to members of:
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.
How long should articles be?
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.
What is the submission procedure?
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
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 MBE
Patrons:
Bob Beardsworth, Peter Boylan, Carmel O’Malley, Kevin Quigley, Dr. Larry McHugh RIP (see obituary on page 20-21), Willie Slavin MBE, Fr John Baron
Editorial Contributors:
Professor Gerald Grace KSG, Research, Publication and Development in Catholic Education Visiting Professor of Catholic Education at St Mary’s University, Twickenham
CATSC - John Nish
CISC - Dr Maureen Glackin
SCES - Barbara Coupar
CAFOD - Lina Tabares
Editorial Office:
Networking (CET) Ltd
9 Elston Hall, Elston, Newark, Notts NG23 5NP
Email: editor@networkingcet.co.uk
Cover: A Primary School Teacher's Dream Science Laboratory for Her Students Comes True - See page 42
Designed by: 2co Limited 01925 654072 www.2-co.com
Individual Subscription (based on one personal copy) £15.00 p.a.
Institution Subscription (two copies per edition) £26.00 p.a.
Bonus Subscription (five copies per edition) £45.00 p.a.
Student rate for full time or part time on a course of higher education
OVERSEAS SUBSCRIPTIONS - (one copy per subscription)
£10.00 p.a.
Europe and Eire £18.00 US, Canada, Australia £26.00
How should manuscripts be submitted?
We prefer Microsoft Word files submitted via e-mail. Try to avoid complex formatting in the article. Charts, graphs, and photos should be submitted as separate PDFs. Electronic photos should not be embedded into a Word document as this reduces their quality.
Photographs and Illustrations which should relate to the article and not be used for advertising nor self-promotion, should be supplied electronically as high resolution TIFF (*.TIF) or JPEG (*.JPG) files). They should be sent in colour with a resolution of 300 dpi and a minimum size of 100 mm x 100 mm when printed (approx. 1200 pixels wide on-screen). Hard-copy photographs are acceptable provided they have good contrast and intensity, and are submitted as sharp, glossy copies or as 35 mm slides or as scanned high resolution digital images (eg. a 300 dpi 1800 x 1200 pixel *.JPG).
• Computer print-outs are not acceptable.
• Screen captures are not ideal as they are usually not very high quality.
Captions
Each photograph or illustration should have a selfexplanatory caption. If you do not supply images, you may be asked to submit suggestions and possible sources of non-copyright material.
Who owns copyright to the article?
You do, but Networking - Catholic Education Today owns copyright to our editing and the laidout 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 24 Issue 2 Spring Term 2023 Copy to Editor by 9th April 2023. Published to schools 10th May 2023
Stephen J. McKinney, Roger Edwards and Walter M. Humes
James Willsher
Marlynne
Dr Maureen Glackin
Neil McNichols
Willie Slavin MBE
Dr Sean Whittle
Willie Slavin
Willie Slavin
SUBSCRIBE NOW
The Education (Scotland) Act, 1872:
By Stephen J. McKinney, Roger Edwards and Walter M. Humes
In 2022 we commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Education (Scotland) Act 1872. This is the most important education Act in the introduction of the system of compulsory school education in Scotland. It is also regarded as a key Act in relation to the Education (Scotland) Act 1918. The 1918 Act provided the offer of state funding for the remaining denominational schools that had not transferred to the national system of board schools as a result of the 1872 Act. This article explores the aims of the 1872 Act for Scottish education and the consequences of the Act for the Scottish society that was emerging in the late 19th century and early 20th century.
A wide and bewildering variety of schools existed in Scotland prior to the 1872 Act. These schools were mostly for the elementary (now referred to as primary) stage and included ragged schools, adventure schools and four main types of Christian denominational schools: Church of Scotland Schools (of different models) Free Church Schools, Catholic schools and Episcopalian schools. There was limited provision for post elementary level education within some elementary schools for boys who continued their schooling. A small number of Higher-Class schools (some of the established Academies and Grammar schools) had a focus on post-elementary schooling, though these were socially exclusive. There were also some endowed schools with the same focus that had been assumed into the care of the Burgh Councils. The dominant form of Post-Reformation schooling was the parish school, and the aim
of these schools was to provide local school education which was open to children of all Christian denominations. The Church of Scotland had a strong control on the parish schools in a number of ways. Masters in the school had to belong to the Established Church and were supervised by the local presbytery. Further, they were paid by the heritors, the landowners in each parish who had the responsibility for the upkeep of the Church and the graveyard until the 1920s and also for poor relief and education till the late 19th century.
Denominational schooling had diversified considerably by the time of the 1872 Act. In 1843, the ‘disruption’ led to 474 ministers and about half of the laity leaving the Church of Scotland to establish the Free Church of Scotland. Within a short period of time, the Free Church had set up an ambitious educational scheme that would be catering for approximately 700,000 children through 700 schools. The Free Church had also founded a Normal Seminary for the preparation of teachers in Cowcaddens in Glasgow, situated not far from the Normal Seminary that David Stow had helped to establish in 1837. Stow joined the Free Church and he and the vast majority of the staff of the original Normal Seminary transferred to the Free Church Normal Seminary in 1845.
There were a few small Catholic schools established in Edinburgh, 1788, Glenlivet, 1790 and Aberdeen, 1791. The increase in the Catholic population in the West of Scotland precipitated the establishment of Catholic
schools in Paisley in 1816 and the foundation of the Catholic Schools Society in Glasgow in 1817. By 1851 the number of Catholic schools in Scotland had grown to over thirty and this number would increase especially in the West of Scotland, as Irish Catholic families arrived in Scotland fleeing the series of famines. It is well documented that religious orders and congregations from France, Belgium, Ireland and England, who were committed to teaching established Catholic schools of high quality. The Ursulines of Jesus, Franciscan sisters, Sisters of Mercy, the Jesuits and the Marists arrived before 1872. Other religious - the Sisters of the Cross and Passion, the Faithful Companions of Jesus, the Sisters of St Joseph of Cluny and the Sisters of Notre Dame started teaching in Scotland after 1872.
The history of the small number of Episcopal schools is less well known yet they had an important role to play in the retention of a distinctive (if evolving) Episcopal Church identity in the 19th century. Different types of Episcopal Schools had been founded in Scotland. These included a small number of schools that had been modelled on the English public school, for example, Glenalmond in Crieff (1847). A good number of the schools were opened in the nineteenth century as an outreach to the lapsed and poorer members of the Episcopal Church, many of whom were migrants from Ireland who had settled in the industrial areas such as the West of Scotland and Dundee. Some of the schools were initially part of a mission which later established a
chapel and school or a combined chapel school. St Mary’s in the Cowcaddens area in Glasgow provides a good example of a mission that developed into a chapel school.
Romantic notions of Scottish schooling were often epitomised in the idealised ‘Lad o’ Pairts’, the boy from a poor background who demonstrated ability at the parish school and was able to access a university education and enter the professions. In reality, there were few concrete examples of this success. Jane McDermid, among other historians, points out that this equal opportunity did not apply to girls who were barred from this route from parish school to university. Attachment to romantic notions could not mask the serious issues that were emerging for school education in the mid 19th century. Parish schools were envisioned for rural settings, in the era before the massive and rapid urban expansion in Scotland. The poorer families in the cities and larger industrial towns struggled to pay the school fees and often required children to leave school as soon as possible to work and augment the family income. Further, there was limited capacity in the parish schools to prepare pupils in advanced subjects for post-elementary schooling and to expand the curriculum to incorporate the subjects required for the ‘scientific and technological revolutions that were impending’ (Paterson, 2021).
Prior to the 1872 Act, there were several failed attempts to introduce a new Education bill that would create some form of national compulsory school system. Some saw this as an opportunity to free schooling of denominational interests. Nevertheless, one of the prominent and heated debating points was the proposed status of religious instruction and religious observance in any new system.
The Church of Scotland sought to preserve the teaching of the Bible and the Shorter Catechism as a legal requirement in any new system. However, the dissenting churches could not agree on this issue. Mallon (2021) argues that there were three main positions. One position was similar to the stance of the Church of Scotland and favoured a legal requirement for the Bible and Shorter Catechism to be used in the schools. The second position was that there should be no state legislation on this issue and that it should be for the denomination and the parents to decide. The third position advocated a complete separation of schooling and religion.
The Education Scotland Act 1872 would attempt to navigate a path through these very different positions espoused by the Presbyterian Churches and attempt to accommodate the other Christian churches. The new school system would establish non-denominational board (or public) schools that were to be open to children of all denominations. In the preparation for the Act in parliamentary debates, there were different views on the best way forward. Mr E. S. Gordon, a Conservative MP, advocated that religious instruction should be secured by law in the schools through the new Act (Stevenson, 2021). Others, particularly Dr Lyon Playfair, were opposed to any form of legislation on religious instruction and observance located in the Act. This was based on a perception that legislation in such a strong Christian country was unnecessary. There were also anxieties that any form of prescriptive legislation would be potentially highly problematic for the Roman Catholic and Episcopal churches (McKinney and Humes, 2021).
In the end, great care was taken to avoid the inclusion of legislative protection for religious instruction
in the new public schools in the 1872 Act. However, there was some concession in the preamble to the Act, inserted by Lord Advocate George Young:
And whereas it has been the custom in the public schools in Scotland to give instruction in religion to children whose parents did not object to the instruction so given, but with liberty to parents, without forfeiting any of the other advantages of the schools, to elect that their children should not receive such instruction, and it is expedient that the managers of public schools shall be at liberty to continue the said custom.
There are two very important points to this part of the preamble. In the first point, parents had the right to withdraw their children from religious instruction and observance without disadvantage to their instruction in the secular subjects. This was described as the ‘conscience clause’. Withdrawing children under the conscience clause was to be facilitated, as laid out in Section 68 of the Act, by religious instruction and observance being timetabled at the beginning or the end of the school day or at both the beginning and the end of the day. In the second point it was affirmed that there was the right to continue accepted practice. This was understood to mean that the practice would continue according to ‘use and wont’ (though these words are never used in the Act) and in the case of Church of Scotland this meant continuing to use the Bible and the Shorter Catechism.
The reassurances in the Act about ‘use and wont’ were acceptable to the Church of Scotland. Nevertheless, the initial stages of the transference of the Church of Scotland schools to the local boards was more challenging than is sometimes assumed (Stevenson,
2021). There were residual anxieties within the Church of Scotland about the continuation of religious instruction in the new board schools. By 1878 the Church of Scotland’s education committee was satisfied that religious instruction was continuing in most places according to the idea of ‘use and wont’. Further, the Church of Scotland was very active in ensuring that it preserved its influence on school education by being represented on the local school boards, often represented by the local minister. Despite disagreement within the dissenting churches in the lead up to the Act, the inclusion of ‘use and wont’ appeased the Free Churches and the conscience clause and the assurance that religious instruction would not be funded through parliamentary grants was acceptable to the United Presbyterians (Mallon, 2021). It is worth noting that a small number of Church of Scotland and Free Church of Scotland schools survived until the Education (Scotland) Act 1918.
The accommodations of the Act did not appeal to all of the Christian denominations. There were a number of fundamental concerns with the conditions of the Act that led the Catholic Church to reject the idea of transferring their schools to the new board school system (McKinney and Edwards, 2021). First, there was concern that the application of ‘use and wont’ in the new board schools would effectively mean that many board schools would continue as Church of Scotland schools. Second, there was strong opposition to the timetabling of religious instruction and observance at the beginning and end of the day or at both the beginning and the end. The leading members of the Catholic church believed that religion should be integral to the whole school day and not confined to certain points in the day. Third, there was also strong opposition to the conscience
clause. Fourth, the conditions of the transfer of the schools as presented in sections 38 and 39 of the Act were unacceptable. The transfer of any denominational or voluntary school included the school building, the teacher’s house and any land attached to the school, but the conditions did not allow for any financial compensation to be awarded to the denomination or voluntary body that transferred their schools. Later this would be a crucial part of the Education (Scotland) Act 1918 when the Catholic and Episcopal churches would start to transfer their schools to the state system by leasing or selling them. This new and improved arrangement for schools that transferred under the 1918 Act was a major source of contention for the Church of Scotland because there had been no compensation for their schools under the 1872 Act.
Members of The Episcopal Church shared many of the anxieties of the Catholic Church that are outlined above. There was a resistance to the Episcopal schools being subsumed into the new system and losing their unique identity. Additionally, there was scepticism about the ambiguous nature of religious instruction and observance as outlined in the Act and a sense that Episcopal schools would be needed to provide a religious and moral education for the children.
The Catholic and Episcopal churches continued to rely primarily on funding from their own resources to maintain their schools until the Education (Scotland) Act, 1918. There was the additional complication that schooling had been made compulsory under the Act for all children aged 5 to 13 and this increased the school rolls. There were some very uncomfortable comparisons made between these remaining denominational schools and the well-funded and well-equipped board schools.
The teachers in both the Catholic and Episcopal schools were more likely to be working with large numbers of pupils in classes in less well-appointed school accommodation and were paid less than their counterparts in the board system. They were often serving a very poor section of the population in Scotland and the schools experienced high levels of absenteeism. It was often very difficult to collect the small school fees. The continuation of these schools required an extraordinary commitment, sacrifice and resilience over a period of fortysix years until the Education Act (Scotland), 1918.
References
This article draws on the articles by Jane McDermid, Ryan Mallon, Lindsay Paterson, John Stevenson, McKinney and Humes and McKinney and Edwards, published in: ‘150 Years of State Provision: Re-assessing the Education (Scotland) Act of 1872’, special edition of the Scottish Educational Review, 53 (2) edited by Stephen J. McKinney and Walter Humes (2021). This is available online open access at: https://brill.com/ view/journals/ser/ser-overview. xml?contents=journaltoc
Stephen J. McKinney is a professor in the University of Glasgow. Roger Edwards is a researcher and member of Scottish Episcopal Church Historians’ group. Walter M. Humes is an honorary professor at the University of Stirling.
This article first appeared in Open House an independent Scottish Catholic journal of comment, opinion and reflection rooted in the reforms of the Second Vatican Council. The article is printed with the permission of both the author and the publisher.
by James Willsher CES Partnership and Communications Manager
For the ninth year running the return rate has been 100%, meaning the data remains the most accurate and reliable depiction of the 2,090 English Catholic schools and academies and 85 Welsh Catholic schools.
Key findings of the 2022 census data for England include:
• 820,994 pupils are educated in English Catholic schools and academies, up 836 from last year.
• Catholic schools and academies make up 9% of the state-funded sector.
• 60% of pupils at state-funded Catholic schools and academies are Catholic.
• 47,662 teachers are employed, 47.5% of whom are Catholic.
• 44% of pupils are from an ethnic minority background, compared with a 36% national average.
• 19.4% of pupils in state-funded Catholic primaries are from the most deprived backgrounds, compared with a 12.9% national average.
• 17.4% of pupils in state-funded Catholic secondaries are from the deprived backgrounds, compared with an 11.6% national average.
Additional research has revealed that Catholic schools and academies have above-average Ofsted ratings, with 89.3% graded as good or outstanding, compared with an 88%
CES 2022 Census
The Catholic Education Service has published the 2022 Catholic Schools’ Census digests for
England and
for
Wales.
national average. Catholic schools and academies also outperform national GCSE English and Maths averages by five percentage points.
Key findings of the 2022 census data for Wales include:
• 28,176 pupils are educated in state-funded Catholic schools in Wales, down 420 from last year.
• Catholic schools make up 6% of the state-funded sector.
• 50.3% of pupils at state-funded Catholic schools are Catholic.
• 1,644 teachers are employed, 43.6% of whom are Catholic.
• 30% of pupils are from ethnic minorities, compared to 12.5% for all Welsh state schools.
• 73.4% of pupils in Welsh Catholic schools are Christians, and 80% are from a faith background.
Another recent development is that the Catholic Schools Inspectorate (CSI), which brings together the diocesan school inspectors of England and Wales into one body, began its inaugural work of inspecting Catholic schools in the autumn. It acts under the new National Inspection Framework agreed by the Bishops earlier this year.
The CSI and National Inspection Framework have been developed with the support of the Catholic Education Service and the National Board of Religious Inspectors and Advisors.
Catholic schools have been subject to inspection frameworks set by the Bishops ever since the Catholic dioceses were first restored in 1848. The CSI and new National Inspection Framework aim to improve the rigour, consistency, objectivity, oversight, and accountability of inspections.
The CSI logo takes as its logo the bishop's crosier, which is a symbol of his pastoral office. Inspection is one of the ways the bishop acts as a 'good shepherd' to his schools. The different parts of the crosier have traditionally been interpreted in ways that reflect the ways this care will be evident in the inspection process. The curve of the crosier directs the straying back onto the right path; the pointy end prods those who are stuck and prompts them to get moving; and the bar between the two supports all the rest.
Pupils, parents, teachers, inspectors, and generations to come will benefit from the CSI and the new framework which advance the Catholic mission of Catholic schools.
Faith in Phonics Bringing the Christian Faith to Children’s Literacy
How did you learn to read? A few children, like Roald Dahl’s Matilda, learn simply by encountering sufficient books. Sadly, this isn’t the case for many. Picture the scene. A tearful mum, a 7 year old who still can’t read or write and a teacher trying to sound reassuring that all will be well. The child has been described as ‘severely dyslexic’ by an Educational Psychologist. That situation was not uncommon early in my teaching career in the 1990s. It’s why all children in England are now taught to read by systematic synthetic phonics (SSP). Redemptorist Publications has a vision to communicate the joy of the gospel and their mission is to inspire and educate: hence the publication of the Faith in Phonics Series of decodable Bible stories.
Aimed at children in Reception and Year 1, these books are unique and a totally new concept in Bible stories. Their purpose is two-fold: to enable children to read Bible stories for themselves, perhaps for the first time, and to support the development of their reading in line with the most recent research.
What was going wrong in the 1990s? The requirement to teach phonics in the 1992 National Curriculum was being ignored by around half of schools. The National Literacy Strategy (1998) was recommending a ‘Searchlights strategy’ with its mixed methods for deriving meaning from print. Philosophically, many teachers were still wedded to a ‘whole language’ approach to the teaching of reading.
However, an important longitudinal study was underway. Marlynne Grant, an Educational
Psychologist, was frequently encountering the same ‘dyslexia’ problem. Not one to accept the status quo, she had been examining all the available research on how children acquire basic literacy skills.
The Clackmannanshire studies (1998, 2005) had shown synthetic phonics to be superior to analytic phonics in teaching children to read. Jolly Phonics was making an impact in some schools. Armed with her research findings, Marlynne devised a lively, multisensory, interactive teaching structure called the Snappy Lesson®. She deliberately chose her phonic progression (the order of teaching letter-sound correspondences) to be as simple as possible for both teachers and children. Backed by her Local Authority, she set up an 8 year research study with over 700 pupils in a large primary school to see whether her own synthetic phonics programme (Sound Discovery®) was effective.
The results, first published in 2004, were impressive. No child, regardless of learning difficulty, was excluded from the study1. Marlynne showed that, taught in this way, diagnoses of dyslexia ceased. Sound Discovery® raised standards in both reading and spelling for whole classes of children, including potentially vulnerable groups such as boys, children with summer birthdays, those whose first language was not English, the socially disadvantaged and those with special educational needs.
Fortunately for my pupils and me, I met Marlynne in 2000.
by Dr Marlynne Grant
by Jackie Day
Disillusioned by the teaching methods I had been using for junior struggling readers, I began teaching synthetic phonics using Sound Discovery®.
Meanwhile, there were moves afoot in government to improve children’s literacy. Sir Jim Rose had this to say about schools observed for his national review of teaching children to read in 2005/6:
“We spent a huge amount of time observing practice and noting the spectacular success of systematic synthetic phonics when we found it, sometimes in classes where a significant number of beginners were learning English as an additional language”.
A key feature of the Rose review (2006) was that the ‘Searchlights model’ was replaced by the Simple View of Reading (Gough and Tunmer, 1986). The reading process was simplified into two components: word reading (or decoding) and language comprehension, with major implications for how reading is taught. Word reading is taught through systematic synthetic
phonics. Language comprehension is taught initially through spoken language, story time, poems and rhymes. But once a child can read effortlessly, their vocabulary and understanding improves through further reading.
There is now overwhelming evidence that synthetic phonics is the most effective way of teaching all children to read. It involves teaching children to recognise letters (graphemes) and their associated sounds (phonemes). However, evidence for the efficacy of synthetic phonics is not limited to England. Further evidence comes from national studies in the USA2 and Australia3. Children are taught the 42+ sounds of the English language (as well as alternative spellings of these sounds) and then to blend the sounds together to read words. Some common (‘tricky’) words (such as the, you, come) are not easily sounded out and are best taught by identifying the ‘tricky’ part, learning it, then sounding out and blending as usual. A book that includes only words containing the letter-sounds a child has learnt so far, plus a few tricky words, is called a decodable text.
The Phonics Screening Check was introduced in June 2012 to assess children’s progress. The 2014 National Curriculum made synthetic phonics statutory for all state-maintained schools. Then in July 2021, a government policy paper was published incorporating the latest research and advice about teaching the foundations of literacy. Entitled ‘The reading framework’, it shows how synthetic phonics is a crucial part of an effective literacy curriculum. There are now many SSP programmes for schools to choose from and in July 2022, an updated list of those validated by the Department for Education was published.
Back to the early days at the school where I taught: a Year 3 class teacher couldn’t find a
suitable reading book for a child who had just started Snappy Lesson® sessions. Few decodable books had been published, so I had a go at writing one myself. The child was delighted to be able to read a book – even though it was rather homemade! It was my introduction to writing decodable text.
Historically, Christians have been quick to promote literacy – in the medieval monasteries and later in the establishment of church schools. Of course, literacy affects life chances. Believing that all are made in the image of God and deserve an equal chance in life has fuelled the passion Marlynne and I share for enabling all children to learn to read.
So when Redemptorist
Publications approached Marlynne about the possibility of producing a set of decodable Bible stories, we were very excited. Marlynne had been involved before as a Language Consultant with phonics-based children’s books. We had worked together professionally for many years and I had written decodable texts for the Sound Discovery® programme. The proposed Faith in Phonics project seemed to weave together the various threads of our lives in a way that felt divinely inspired, providing a unique opportunity to combine our Christian faith with teaching young children to read in the best possible way. We realised the books would be the first of their kind, filling a gap in the market. Unreservedly, we both agreed to take part in the project.
Faith in Phonics consists of two sets of twelve books which aim to complement a school’s existing reading scheme. The stories are selected from both Old and New Testaments. The phonics used meets the expectations for England of the government policy paper, ‘The reading framework, Teaching the Foundations of
Literacy’ (2021), the Ofsted Inspection Framework (2021), the National Curriculum (2014) and the Phonics Screening Check (2012).
Each of the many phonic programmes has a slightly different phonic progression. The Faith in Phonics books are based mainly on the progression with which the author (Jackie Day) and phonics consultant (Marlynne Grant) are most familiar (i.e. in Sound Discovery®, validated 2022). This made it easier to ensure the books were thorough and internally consistent. With just 24 books, we had to group sounds together rather than introduce them more slowly. The groupings were chosen to be logical and easy for teachers to follow. We tried to make the phonics used as ‘generic’ as possible. Each book has the phonic focus clearly displayed and any new tricky words are explained. The books have been beautifully illustrated which enhances their appeal.
The Bible is a sacred book – the story of God’s love for mankind over the millennia and full of practical wisdom. With adult support, the reflections and questions following each Faith in Phonics story will help children to apply the stories, and their Christian virtues, to their lives, thus reinforcing the school ethos and helping schools to achieve an outstanding RE Curriculum and Section 48 Inspection. The Bible is also part of our cultural heritage, underpinning much of our great art, literature and music. It is our hope that the value of these books would be recognised more widely than just in church schools.
The greatest gift we can give a child is the ability to read and we cannot introduce them to a more important book than the Bible.
Relationships of Hope and Love Sustaining spiritual capital in Catholic independent schools
In the last edition of Networking, I shared elements of my ongoing research into the spiritual capital of Catholic independent schools in the UK. The research is the outcome of a series of semi-structured conversations with a number of Heads whose schools were founded by religious congregations. Designed to follow the structure of the work of Professor Gerald Grace published in Mission, Markets and Morality (2002), which focused on schools in the maintained sector, I am asking Heads the same questions that Grace posed in order to explore the extent to which ‘spiritual capital’ is similarly impactful on Catholic independent schools in the UK, today. Of course much has changed in twenty years, not least with regard to the percentage of Catholic pupils and teachers in schools across the sectors, and the decreasing numbers in religious congregations. And these changes and, indeed, challenges form the focus for this article which explores responses to two related questions:
• What is the nature of the relationship and the extent of collaboration between the school and the founding religious order? and
• What formation programmes are in place for staff in relation to the charism? How are they impactful?
In their responses, Heads are realistic but hopeful, candid and faith-filled. Their words articulate in a unique way, the lived experience of contemporary Catholic schooling and the personal and professional
characteristics that inform their leadership of such a ‘sacred space’.
What is the nature of the relationship and the extent of collaboration between the school and the founding religious order?
by Dr Maureen Glackin
Answers to this question elicited a broad range of responses with some Heads enjoying extremely positive and close relationships with their Order and others less so. Where a good relationship existed it was often because the Order still had a visible presence in the school, usually living nearby and contributing to areas of chaplaincy and governance. However, the relationship is not merely operational: and this sense of the tradition of the Order manifest in the visible presence and witness one of its remaining members is a potent symbol for the schools who still have this experience. As one Head put it: ‘So one of the religious sisters is on our governing body: she’s very kind and calm…. and listens. And she’s very wise and just links us to our past and our mission..as a Catholic school.’ And this is cherished by the Heads as it links them to their wider community of schools: ‘…it ties you up with something that is infinitely bigger.. it doesn’t matter how big we are as a Catholic school or how big we are in terms of our locale or professional organisations….you’re also actually part of where people share the values without having to be one type of school’. Of course, this can also be said of Catholic schools more widely, however the sense of collegiality that this commitment to the founding Order
advice from and she won’t give you advice but you leave feeling better and having made a decision. And I think that’s a great skill.. But that support and working with the Order has always been really important’. Other Heads said: ‘I don’t feel that I can’t take everyday things to them. I don’t ever feel things are “off limits”…it depends on personalities, doesn’t it?’ and where the Order ‘genuinely see lay people as equal partners in mission’.
However, other Heads shared a more dislocated relationship with their Order largely due to historical or legacy issues. Some of these are as a consequence of the sexual abuse scandal that has devastated the lives of some former pupils and their families: ‘One of the
really difficult things that I’ve had to deal with over the years but it’s beginning to settle down now.. is dealing with historic abuse. So quite a lot of my dealings with the Order has been over those sorts of issues which has been pretty difficult… we’re trying to make sure that we are keeping as many connections as we can but they are quite difficult…’. Other challenges are found within the areas of finance and assets where current Heads have inherited a legacy from previous generations which can make the relationship with the Order rather exacting, largely due to the manner in which different Orders have negotiated a withdrawal from their schools in the last number of years. As one Head put it: ‘…it was pretty acrimonious at the time because it was all to do with money….surprise, surprise!…I think it’s probably fair to say..I wouldn’t say the relationship’s informal….informal is probably too “not enough”…So we have those links. I wouldn’t say that on a daily basis they’re really kind of strong’.
All Heads agreed that relationships with their Orders were very much in transition but they viewed this with optimism, if not a certain inevitability, with one Head describing it as being ‘… mostly for the good really. …it’s a transition away from operations and control and….you know…’landlording’, that type of relationship…and it’s into a new relationship which is working collaboratively at the eve of formation’. Increasingly schools are where the contemporary mission lies for many Orders, due to the diminishing number of vocations and the increasing age of Order members. One Head said: ‘They’re realists. They haven’t got any young members, in England anyway, so the only way that the charism is going to continue is through the schools and therefore they support the school in all they can. All 3 of them believe that the school is the vehicle for their charism. And I think that’s the joy for me…’. Another Head expressed the transition as a shift of ‘the “power balance”, if you like,
towards the school’. Therefore the responsibility of the School in forming staff who can understand and inhabit the charism becomes ever more critical if it is to remain vital and dynamic.
What formation programmes are in place for staff in relation to the charism? How are they impactful?
All Heads had some formation programmes in place, particularly in terms of the induction of new staff to the school, however some were more extensive and embedded than others. One Head, with an extensive programme of formation, highlighted the commitment, in terms of time and resource that is willingly given to this: ‘I’ve got 21 teachers who have been involved in our formation programme. So I take 21 teachers, including members of my team, off timetable for the whole of Tuesday morning for 12 weeks….that’s what we’ve done. And the school hasn’t fallen apart’. The Head goes on to say: ‘I believe the assumption that your mission plan simply will not work if you’re not forming your staff’.
Not all Heads gave this level of resource to formation but all agreed with the essential need for it. Many called upon members of their religious congregation to lead INSET. Some schools also offered the opportunity, and in the context of the appointment to senior leadership, the requirement to ‘walk in the footsteps’ of the founder, paying for staff to go on retreat to a place of significance. One of the challenges Heads expressed was ensuring that formation had integrity in terms of the Catholic faith but was also inclusive of all staff. One Head captured this: ‘…for staff coming in, many of them come in ‘unchurched’ with no concept or understanding of Catholic schools…That has been a journey and the staff have made tremendous progress on that. Because it’s been about giving them the confidence to see how what they’re doing and what is important to them is actually
reflecting the values of the school, even if they’re not Catholic’.
The interplay between sustaining the ethos with an ever-decreasing number of Catholic staff and making the charism understandable and relevant to all staff is something that preoccupies Heads.
Notwithstanding this, all Heads feel that their schools are enriched by the diversity of their staff and their generosity of spirit in engaging with their charisms. They also identify that forming staff within the charism of the school, does not necessarily mean that they are formed in the context of the Church. One Head articulated this: ‘I think that in the main…they’re committed and are drawn to the charism of the school but are not drawn to the Roman Catholic Church. There’s a lot of that’. Another Head commented: ‘…if you said the word “Gospel values” to my average member of staff they’d probably freak and go “I don’t know what you mean” but if you said the word “[the Order’]’s values” they’d reel them off..’.
In this, as in all aspects of school life, the Heads skilfully root the tradition of the charism in the daily workings of the lives of their schools but they acknowledge that the work of formation is never completed. ‘It’s in place but you can never stop’ is how one Head puts it. The Head goes on to say, ‘I suppose that’s where a lot of the staff are… with that level of commitment, which is good, but the level of understanding is not quite there’. The commitment of Heads in ensuring that this understanding is developed in their staff exemplifies their resilience in confronting the challenge of ‘keeping the faith’ in contemporary Catholic education. And what sustains them is their dedication to the values of their charism and their joy in their colleagues. ‘It is because you know it’s coming from a good place and you know that this teacher models the charism, what we’re doing…and that gives me hope. And how do we engender hope if it’s not via love?’ Amen to that.
A Point to Ponder with Fr Neil McNicholas
How Safe is 'Safeguarding'?
I am not a paedophile, nor am I a murderer, or a thief, or an embezzler, or an adulterer, but the reality is that I can’t actually prove it. All that can be known for sure is that to-date I haven’t been caught committing any of those offences. The current DBS safeguarding process offers no guarantee at all that a person being cleared by that system isn’t a paedophile, all it says is that they haven’t been caught. Indeed it might encourage people to be more trusting of someone who has been DBS cleared and therefore be less vigilant, whereas the person should actually be trusted no more or no less than anyone else.
Sadly this is going to be just as true of clergy as of anybody else. The only real hope of identifying potential abusers is to have a thoroughgoing process of psychological testing and observation in place within the seminary system so that hopefully they can be identified long before ordination. Even that may not be fool-proof given that paedophiles can be very devious, but every effort must be made nonetheless.
A DBS check isn’t going to raise any red flags – only people being alert to signs and symptoms will do that. An abuser will have no concerns about being DBS checked if there is nothing already on record. The only obvious indicator, coupled with a sufficiently rigorous proof of identity, would be whether or not the person’s name is on the Sex Offenders Register.
The administrative process itself would be greatly aided by the proposal made some years ago, but yet to be implemented, of assigning a number to every applicant once and for all, thus making any future repetition of the process - and the time and cost involved on each occasion –unnecessary. Someone applying for a position requiring DBS clearance would either have to go through the required system if they hadn’t already, or would simply provide their number if they already had one and the DBS would confirm that they were registered and still cleared. At present every application for a position requiring a DBS check also requires a repeat of the clearance process. And so, for example, at one time I had three concurrent clearances – one as a priest of the diocese, and one for each of two schools (one diocesan, one private) where I was involved. Such multiple checks are simply a waste of administrative time and expense.
Just as a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, so no matter how many clearances a person may hold all it says that is that they haven’t been caught, but it can’t possibly identify deviancy. The reality is that children are no safer with a DBS cleared adult than with one that hasn’t been. The current system works on the principle that a paedophile probably wouldn’t submit themselves to a check in the first place, but if it’s not known that they are a paedophile why wouldn’t they if they want to
have access to children? The fact that an institution or organisation has fulfilled the current DBS requirements may well offer them protection in the event of future litigation, but realistically what protection does it offer to children?
I have also never really understood the “vulnerable adults” component of DBS clearance. For example, parishes are required to have all ministers of holy communion who visit the housebound DBS checked, and yet almost every case of the abuse of vulnerable adults that has come to light in the media has involved either workers in care homes, or those providing home care. I can’t recall an instance of a minister of holy communion being accused of abuse, and so why is DBS clearance required supposedly in response to a risk that hasn’t been shown to exist? And, once again, DBS clearance doesn’t offer any actual protection to vulnerable adults anyway.
The historic abuse of children by members of the clergy has put the rest of us in a position of having to repeatedly demonstrate contrition on behalf of our erring brethren, and having to go to extraordinary lengths to receive absolution for a sin that we didn’t personally commit. Notwithstanding what I have just said about the DBS system, if we have proved our innocence to the satisfaction of
Fr Neil McNicholas was ordained in 1993 and is a priest of the Diocese of Middlesbrough. Whilst serving in various parishes, he has been a member of the religious broadcasting team on local radio; worked as a prison chaplain; a port chaplain; and is currently a parish priest.
that system, surely that should be the end of it and we should be allowed to get on with exercising our ministry without this “Sword of Damocles” hanging over us. We are not responsible for it being there in the first place, so why should we be constantly under its shadow? The rule of law states that a person is presumed innocent until he or she is proven guilty, but the on-going requirement to keep jumping through the hoops of the DBS process to supposedly prove our innocence goes completely against that basic principle.
I think it’s fair to say that clergy in this country, and certainly here in our diocese, have gone “above and beyond” in our efforts to comply with each new safeguarding requirement, but society doesn’t seem to recognise the fact that the incidents of child abuse are no more prevalent amongst members of the clergy than in any other segment of society. Priests may well be in a specific position of trust, but then so are a lot of other people and none more so than a child’s own parents and yet how many tragic cases of abuse in the home have also come to light? And yet no one is suggesting DBS checks for parents and that’s because the vast majority are not abusers, but then neither are the vast majority of priests or other adults working with children. The only real safeguards, whatever the segment of society, are education (so people are more aware) and vigilance (so potential situations of risk are avoided in the first place or can be identified very quickly).
As priests we can’t erase what has gone before, nor would it be realistic to expect that further cases of abuse won’t come to light. In addition to our concern for the victims of historic abuse, we should surely also be concerned for the damage that has been caused to the reputation
of the priesthood (and of the Church itself). It doesn’t deserve to be under the constant attack it is currently under as a result of the, albeit horrendous, actions of a deviant minority, and from a personal point of view it makes me very angry that they have caused, and continue to cause, so many problems for the rest of us who are simply trying to get on with the ministry to which God has called us.
The clergy can’t ever afford to return to how unguarded - we might even say naïve – we might have been in the past in our contact with children (even my use of that word could be misunderstood - that’s how paranoid we have become). We are now advised to avoid any physical contact with children and also situations that could be compromising. So, for example, the door shouldn’t be closed when we are in the sacristy with altar servers, and it is recommended that our confessional doors (which do have to be closed) should be fitted with a window so that, whether the penitent is a child or an adult, it’s always theoretically possible for someone to look in, and we need to assess every situation we are in that involves children – even, as I say, to the point of paranoia. From a pastoral point of view, none of this helps a child to experience their priest as being as friendly and welcoming as they should find him and as he might prefer to be, but sadly it’s all part of the collateral damage that has been caused to the priesthood by the scandal of the abuse of children and how things now have to be as a result.
It brings to mind Jeremiah’s prophecy about the children’s teeth no longer being set on edge when their fathers had eaten unripe grapes (31 v 29-30). We have surely done as much as we can to put our house in order. Just as there should be (and as there
is in some countries) a statute of limitations on when historic cases can be brought, so there should also be a limit to how long we have to go on apologising for something the vast majority of the clergy didn’t do and weren’t responsible for. Yes there will be scars from the past, but they will never fully heal if we passively accept a system that requires us to keep picking at them all the time. Institutionally we’ve said we are sorry, we have done our penance, and we have put systems in place to try to ensure that we do better in the future. We now need to be able to get on with exercising our priesthood without being shackled by and to the past in this way.
If in all honesty what is currently being done (DBS-wise) isn’t going to offer any real guarantees, then why do it, particularly if it’s a waste of time and effort not to mention the cost involved. The DBS procedures may well be what we are being asked to implement at the moment - though the goalposts are constantly being moved - but the reality is that they offer no real guarantees for the essential safety of children.
Sadly the reality of child abuse isn’t going to go away – it seems to be, for whatever reasons, a sickness within our society. It’s the “dirty old men in raincoats” syndrome that’s always been around, except that in recent years it has been given a name: paedophilia. The Church would surely do better directing its efforts at effectively identifying potential abusers long before they are in a position where they can do any harm to children. The current DBS process doesn’t do that and can’t, all it can do is say that the last time a check was made there wasn’t a problem, but is that good enough?
Let us Dream The importance of hope & collective imagining for a better future
There is a growing awareness in the Church community, as well as the wider global population, of the Climate and Ecological emergency, social inequality, mass migration, war, polarising politics and injustice. This is leading to mental health and eco-anxiety in schools nationally.
Messages of hope, on the other hand, open up the mind to creative solutions. It is young people who often have the greatest capacity for creativity and for cutting through to share the message. Collective imagining brings people together to dream for a better future.
Pope Francis encourages us to dream: "We can start to discern, to see new possibilities, at least in the little things that surround us, or that we do each day. And then, as we commit to those small things we start to imagine another way of living together, of servicing our fellow beloved creatures. We can begin to dream of real change, change that is possible. "
Catholic Social Teaching, can help young people to navigate the crises of our modern times, by providing a theology-based values lens through which to look at problems of the day. Catholic Social Teaching has been known as the church’s ‘best kept secret’, but is now central to the schools’ new inspection framework and RE curriculum.
Caritas Westminster and the Diocese of Westminster Education Service launched a new collective imagining programme in
September 2022 called Imagining Futures. The programme uses Catholic Social Teaching to encourage audacious collective imagining in schools, to create ambitious visions for the future, and small steps for personal and
by Meriel Woodward
Assistant Director
creative in portraying their ideal futures through art, models and written work. It has given them the opportunity to really think about how we can make our world a better place.
society change and activism, through heads, hearts and minds. It pulls everything together in a way that is integral to the schools’ objectives, rather than being an extra burden.
St Michaels Primary School in Ashford, which opened up the project to the whole of KS2, report that ‘ The children have found the Imagining Futures Project very beneficial. They have been
The children have understood and used the Catholic Social Teaching Principles to think about their ideal futures and what they can do as a school to help those in need. It has made them think about the small steps they can take towards an ideal future.’
Pupils at St Michael’s Catholic Primary School have been expressing their hopes using poetry and prose, artwork, lego and craft:
Their Caritas Ambassadors even shared some of their ideal future projects and what they would like Ashford to look like in 10 years time with Kwasi Kwarteng.
Caritas Westminster
Holy Rood Catholic Primary School in Watford worked in groups around planning sheets:
Their children have loved getting together in groups to dream about a better future. Thinking about their local areas, they have called for ‘ more people to come together in community’, for ‘more trees to be planted’, ‘less cars being used on the road’, and a caution that ‘we should not allow animals to become extinct’. They have suggested that people should respect, be kind and care for each other. ‘People could help the poor and bring more peace to the world.. we could also give more dignity to workers’ One group wrote, ‘No matter what someone’s religion is we should care about them’, and also requested ‘lots more swings and happy people.’
The school were impressed with the structured teaching resources, with lesson plans and powerpoints to help teachers’ workload. Their children ‘enjoyed speaking passionately about our call to protect our world and to impact the world to be a place everyone is proud of and where all feel valued and loved. This project has facilitated them to be able to verbalise this more clearly but also to share their specific
wishes for our future world. It has also been a great opportunity to revisit and refocus on Catholic Social Teaching. The way the project is designed has enabled our pupils to make direct links between actions and Catholic Social Teaching as well as to spend time reflecting on how this action might look different for adults and children. ‘It is a project that has real relevance and importance to them and they are able to directly link it to their own lives which is how pupils often learn best.’
Caritas Westminster has over five years’ experience accompanying schools in Catholic Social Teaching, through its Love in Action and Caritas Ambassador programmes. There are currently more than twenty groups of students receiving formation in six Catholic Social Teaching themes of Human Dignity, Community & Participation, Care for Creation, Dignity in Work, Option for the Poor and Solidarity & Peace as part of their Caritas Ambassador Programme.
If you are interested to find out more, please contact Caritas Westminster by email caritaswestminster@rcdow.org. uk
Imagining Futures is a new project for primary schools to celebrate Caritas Westminster’s tenth anniversary. This two-part project encourages students to have a positive, hopeful view of the future through collective imaginings, the creative arts, and social action.
Part 1: Imagining a Future gives students a space to exercise their collective imaginations and envision a hopeful view of their local community in ten years’ time. The students will express that vision through the creative arts, whether that be traditional artwork, sculpture, poetry, prose, playwriting, or any other medium that the students and their teacher see fit.
Part 2: Help for the Here and Now allows students to take small, meaningful, impactful steps towards the vision they created in Part 1 by planning and enacting a social action project in their local community. In seeing the impact they can have, students will learn that the vision they imagined is not only possible but one they can (and should) have a hand in working towards.
Created to enhance the Catholic life of the schools that take part, expand the students’ understanding of Catholic Social Teaching, and connect schools to their local communities, the Imagining Futures project started in September 2022 and is still open to more schools, in parallel with its Caritas Ambassador programme.
If you are interested to find out more about either programme, please contact Caritas Westminster by email caritaswestminster@
rcdow.org.uk
St Michael's Catholic School Caritas Ambassadors sharing what they would like Ashford to look like in 10 years time with Kwasi Kwarteng
Dr Larry McHugh
An appreciation for a dear friend and colleague
Obituary for Dr Larry McHugh
In the company of the family, friends and former colleagues, I was privileged to take part in the Mass that celebrated the life and prayed with confidence for the eternal rest of our good friend, and Networking stalwart, Dr Larry McHugh. In an object lesson on how to imbue a liturgy with the inherent characteristics of the deceased, this was a Mass that, in its music, readings, homily and eulogy, enshrined in the ambient love of a grieving family, spoke of the deep and abiding faith a man whose lifelong commitment was to the Church and its educational mission.
Larry’s academic pathway, from a BSc at St Andrews University, studying Chemistry, Biology, Microbiology, Physics and Physiology, was followed by postgraduate study at Liverpool University and culminated in a PhD at Cambridge University, having been awarded a Junior Research Fellowship by St Edmund’s College.
Whilst at Cambridge he began to teach undergraduates and later, whilst working as a research scientist at the Radio Chemical Centre in Buckinghamshire, he taught part time for the Open University, the catalyst to his gradual realisation that teaching was his true vocation. He went on to serve as Head of Chemistry at St John Rigby RC High School in Blackburn and later became Director of Studies before moving into school management, first as Deputy Headteacher and later Headteacher at Brownedge St
Mary’s RC High School in Bamber Bridge, a post which he held for nineteen years until his retirement. As a measure of the breadth and depth of Larry’s commitment to education, one only has to examine the value of his contribution to a number of exam boards as an Examiner and Team Leader in Chemistry, Biology and Human biology. Add in how his commitment to teaching RE throughout his whole teaching career led to his appointment as National Assistant Principal Examiner for Religious Education for one exam board and as Chair the AQA National Religious Education Committee. Unsurprisingly he was one of the first recipients of the government sponsored National Award for Services to Education.
Larry’s faith, as one would expect from a Cambridge science graduate, witnessed to a hard won conviction that the Catholic Church, for all its flaws, was worthy of his lifelong dedication and service. Larry’s was a living faith that had transcended the belief system and become as much a part of his life as breathing.
Kevin Quigley, in his eulogy, recalled how he and Larry spent many a long journey in which the conversation swung from passionate discourse about the Church accompanied by Larry’s capacity for illuminating fierce debate with his perceptively chosen quotes from either The Tablet or from the latest issue of Private Eye. His sharp eye for the absurdities of faith and
life sat comfortably alongside a keen intelligence and an eye for detail that enhanced much of the research that he and Kevin, with the support of Larry’s wife Gilly, engaged in, to the great benefit of Catholic education.
When Larry joined the ‘Networking’ team following his retirement from Headship, he became a valued member of a group of retired Catholic educators with a range of personalities that could be described as lying somewhere between the eclectic and the eccentric, with a sprinkling of sanity – which could perhaps be a fitting description of the personality range of any group dominated by former Catholic Headteachers. While it was not difficult, given that commendation, Larry stood out as the beacon of sanity, good sense and clarity of thinking. As a passionate lover of cricket, Larry, in his best Dickie Bird manner, offered many a measured, seriously considered and definitive judgement to draw a debate, in which varying opinions were dominant, to a sensible conclusion.
Kevin went on to recall the influential pieces of research that he and Larry conducted on a number of aspects of Catholic education at a time before our now partner in the Network of Researchers in Catholic Education (NRCE) was even a pipe dream. Unlike NRCE, their’s was a bottom up approach based upon their experience of leadership in Catholic schools and Colleges
by Willie Slavin with acknowledgement to Kevin Quigley
and their abiding regret that supportive and reliable research was not available to inform their judgement and practice. He added: “Larry and I being the researchers in the field, as it were, bringing back to Gilly our findings, our scribbled notes of the face to face group interviews with groups of Secondary school pupils, which Gilly deftly Professionalised into a format suitable for publication, on a par with any published research.”
The partnership took particular delight in one project in which they engaged with the Xaverian Community in Coatbridge, outside Glasgow, who took on the role of chaplaincy provision to six special schools that had been bereft of such provision prior to their investigation. “On a subsequent visit to Coatbridge to see the
progress of this provision, we were privileged to see one of these schools having an away day at the Xavierian centre with one of the activities being a living scripture play performed by some of the community members - it was the story of the arrest of John the Baptist for criticising Herod for having designs upon his brothers’ wife, Herodias, and she persuaded her daughter, having danced for Herod at his Birthday party, to ask for the head of John the Baptist. In true pantomime style when the narrator turned to his audience asking what should be done with John the Baptist, a little voice shouted out in a rich Glaswegian accent, ”Aff wi’ his heid!”
A distinctive feature of our Networking editorial meetings at chez McHugh was the cordon
bleu lunch provided by Gilly in which Larry played the mine host role with alacrity in their most hospitable of homes. Fittingly, the post funeral gathering at Samlesbury Hall, the venue for Larry and Gilly’s wedding, brought a wonderful symmetry to an occasion that began with sacramental hospitality in Church and was rounded off in a setting full of sacramental memory for Gilly, her sons, their spouses, families and friends.
In Kevin’s final words:
“Larry lived his rich life to the full; may he now enjoy the fulness of life, seeing the face of God, reserved for a good and faithful servant who graced so many of us in his lifetime. May he rest in peace.”
Dr Larry McHugh
Leading Catholic Schools
Some reflections based on the theology of leadership
Getting educational leadership ‘right’ has become a central priority that is no longer questioned. Finding and supporting visionary and skilled leaders for our Catholic schools and colleges has become a central pre-occupation. The quest for current and future education leaders has grown from a pressing anxiety to become, arguably, the biggest problem facing the education sector across contemporary society. It is well over three decades since the ‘school effectiveness and school improvement’ research agenda put the spotlight firmly on the importance of leadership in all education settings. Leading Catholic schools brings additional challenges.
This is because Catholic education aspires to offer not just an alternative vision of schooling and education, one capable of standing alongside other providers. Instead, it aspires to offer something substantially different - fundamentally a richer and more enhanced way of educating children and young people. This is because of the distinctive theologies and philosophies that underpin Catholic education.
As a result of this underpinning there is a widely held perception that additional demands and concerns are placed on the leaders of Catholic education, and because of this there are important senses in which getting leadership right is even more important in Catholic education settings. There are other debates beyond how best to improve educational standards and attainment. For example, do
the leaders of Catholic schools need to be practising or church going Catholic Christians? This sort of issue brings into focus other questions about what exactly is different or distinctive about leading a Catholic school or college? In offering answers to these questions, almost inevitably the nature and purpose of Catholic education will come to the foreground.
Given the wide consensus over the past thirty years about how much leadership matters in education, increasing attention has been paid to leadership studies, in particular in relation to alternative types of leadership. Goleman’s (2000) analysis of leadership ‘that gets results’ involves recognising and drawing on the different types of leadership. These range from coercive, affiliative and democratic to pace setting leadership types. As these ideas have percolated into educational settings there has been a desire to work out which leadership type is the most appropriate to being a school leader. There has been a desire to distil the best framing metaphor for school leadership. Although one popular contender is ‘transformational leadership’, amongst advocates of Catholic education there is a stronger preference for ‘servant leadership’.
One of the reasons why the latter framing metaphor suits Catholic education is because it resonates well with what might be described as the theology of leadership. In basic terms this is the typical theological reflection on aspects of leadership and being a leader. The theology of leadership tends to be embedded within central theological disciplines
such as Christology, Ecclesiology and wider Biblical studies. For example, it is on teasing out the way Jesus worked with and led the disciples and engaged with the religious and political leaders of his time that a theology of leadership unfolds. Similarly, in ecclesiology one of the most fundamental titles for the pope is the ‘servant of the servants of God’. To be the leader is to serve the most. Within the theology of leadership, the emphasis is on selfless service of others, with a focus in including those who are on the margins. Christian theology depicts the leadership of Jesus as fundamentally different from the typical norms of society. Jesus leads through service of others; he engages in an emptying out (kenosis) of divine authority to be a spiritual messiah (rather than a political leader) who as a ‘goodshepherd’ achieves his victory through dying on the cross. The numerous paradoxes at play demonstrate that a theology of leadership brings into focus a starkly different understanding of the way that typical Catholic school leaders are depicted. This is the stereotype of the charismatic individual, the ‘great’ man or woman who is sturdy enough to turn a school around.
Christ the King?
The paradoxes at play in the theology of leadership are given an intriguing focus each November, when it is the focus for a festival day within Catholic liturgy. This feast day is dedicated to ‘Christ the King’ and a central
by Dr Sean Whittle Research Associate at the CRDCE with Professor Gerald Grace
focus is reflecting on how Jesus’ kingship (and thus his leadership) is radically different from the normal depictions of this sort of leadership. The message behind this feast day is that Jesus’ leadership is radically different and directly related to sacrificial service of others.
How best to draw on the theology of leadership?
the more fundamental aims or purposes of a Catholic school or university.
The difficult task is how best to translate the themes within the theology of leadership into education practice and the specifics of leading a Catholic school or university on a daily basis. Typically, the standard approach is to treat these themes as spiritual platitudes or inspiring slogans, which have the potential to motivate or inspire someone to lead a Catholic school. In an attempt to go beyond this more superficial approach, some advocates of Catholic education have sought to filter the theology of leadership around a more specific theological metaphor, such as ‘vocation’ (Lydon 2011) or ‘mission’ (Grace 2002). As such the Catholic school leader has a vocation to play a leading role in achieving the mission of Catholic education. This way of aligning leadership with the mission or aim of Catholic education is intuitively appealing because it links the leader’s role with bringing about
However, whilst this makes sound sense, it ends up being a problematic alignment because there is not a clear consensus over what the mission or aims or theory of Catholic education actually is or ought to be. It is possible to distinguish two broad but very different ways of construing the primary aims or mission of Catholic education. The first way is expressed in the papal encyclical Divini Illius Magistri (1929) and reaffirmed in Vatican II’s declaration Gravissimum Educationis (1965), about the primary goal of Catholic education being to support parental rights to be able to bring up their children in accord with their faith and religious belief. This is an overtly confessional approach to Catholic education because it is seeking to support the intention and desire of parents to bring up their children as Catholic Christians. The second way is affirmed in the guidance document The Catholic school issued in 1977 (by the Congregation for Catholic Education, Rome). This document explains how the Catholic school is primarily for those who are poor and marginalised. It exists as a service, primarily directed at the poor. These different ways of understanding the primary
mission of Catholic education filters the theology of leadership in markedly different ways. In the former approach, the leadership is primarily framed in spiritual terms, where headteacher is the leader of a faith nurturing community. Attending to the faith development of all students, especially those who are Catholic, is the priority. This makes protecting the place of Religious Education and providing explicit and implicit opportunities for faith development important practical priorities. In contrast, if a Catholic education is framed in terms of primarily being a service to the poor and marginalised, the theology of leadership is filtered in terms of a loving service which seeks to transform (or liberate) the students from the disadvantages of poverty. The service of the poor, through educational opportunities, becomes the key priority over and above any faith and religious development.
There are thus two distinct ways for Catholic school leaders to draw on the theology of leadership. However, the challenge of determining which is the better approach is a moot point and comes down to clarifying further the philosophy or theory of Catholic education. What is it exactly, that we are trying to achieve in providing a Catholic education.
News from CATSC
Catholic Inspired NGO Forum - Villa Aurelia Rome
2nd - 3rd December 2022
Professor John Lydon (St Mary’s University Twickenham and University of Notre Dame Indiana) acted as Moderator of the Thematic Group on Education for the Forum of International Catholic-inspired NGOs in Rome supported by the Holy See’s Secretariat of State
John acted as the Moderator of the Thematic Group on Education at the Fifth Forum of International Lay Catholic inspired Organisations, which was held at Villa Aurelia, Rome, 2nd-3rd December 2022. He was representing the major international Catholic NGO, the World Union of Catholic Teachers (WUCT) which advocates for Catholic teachers across the globe and has consultative status with UNESCO. The theme of the Forum 2022 was Mission and Responsibilities in a more just and fraternal world.
The extent of the support of the Vatican for this Forum was evidenced by the presence of His Excellency Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State, who delivered the opening Address, alongside three other senior Vatican officials:
H.E. Fortunatus Nwachukwu
Apostolic Nuncio to the United Nations, Geneva
Rev. Mons. Marco Ganci
Permanent Mission of the Holy See to the Council of Europe
Rev. Mons. Fernando Chica Arella Permanent Mission of the Holy See to the FAO , IFAD , PAM
Cardinal Parolin began by expressing his appreciating of the work of the Forum since its inception in 2007. He described the Forum as providing a space for exchange and
collaboration which continues to grow stronger, that wants to be an ecclesial reality of communion and of participation in the evangelising mission of the Church, in particular by giving a voice to Catholics within international and intergovernmental institutions. The Secretary of State went on to describe the Forum’s mission as one that the Second Vatican Council already supports, when in Gaudium et Spes it qualifies it as an 'excellent form' of apostolate:
[…] various Catholic associations on an international level […] can contribute in many ways to the building up of a peaceful and fraternal community of nations. These […] associations contribute much to the development of a universal outlook - something certainly appropriate for Catholics. They also help to form an awareness of genuine universal solidarity and responsibility.” (GS 90).
Cardinal Parolin went on, however, to sound a word of warning about the current situation in regard to inter-governmental organisation:
As you know, the vast field of international and intergovernmental bodies is currently experiencing a crisis characterised by a lost sense of purpose for the functions which they were conceived for, namely: to maintain peace and international solidarity between various peoples, and develop cooperation with respect for fundamental human rights and considering the dignity of all human persons. Often these international forums have
become places for advancing, or rather, imposing ideologies, and no longer forums for discussion and listening. I experienced this lack of mutual listening during my recent trip to New York for the UN High Level Week, where speeches were received in too often empty halls.
Turning more specifically to the Forum, the Secretary of State elicited three core themes which are interconnected:
• Peace
• Integral Human Development
• Safeguarding Creation
The Cardinal reflected on the significant challenges posed by the current war in Ukraine. In the context of education, he insisted that care for creation and our Common Home is also necessary alongside the promotion of integral human development. He insisted that the Holy See believes in the synergy between fundamental human rights and a healthy environment, based on the concept of integral ecology, which also includes the centrality of the spiritual values inherent in people. Through this dialogue, it is necessary to involve local populations, including indigenous peoples in both the reflection and decision-making processes. In this regard, education in responsibility and care is of great importance, which also involves promoting the common cultural heritage and safeguarding the religious dimension as a fundamental component of cultural identity.
Cardinal Parolin referenced Pope Francis, who articulated on various occasions and most recently, on his
trip to Bahrain, that education is a friend, a resource for development:
Provided that it is an education truly befitting men and women as dynamic and relational beings. An education that is not rigid and monolithic, but open to challenges and sensitive to cultural changes; not self-referential and isolating, but attentive to the history and culture of others; not stagnant, but inquisitive and open to embracing different and essential aspects of the one human family to which we belong. In that way, it can enter into the heart of problems without claiming to have easy answers to resolve complex issues, but willing instead to embrace a crisis without seeing it in terms of conflict.
The Thematic Group on Education met several times during the Forum and recognised that there are “no easy answers to resolve complex issues.”. The following represents a summary of the group’s discussions:
• How technology has narrowed the boundaries but, conversely, young people have been denied the social aspects of life “locked in their rooms” so there should be a renewed focus on a holistic perspective
• Had a deleterious effect also beyond Europe, for example in Africa where there is a great fear of going back to school
• It was agreed that education cannot be simply digital
• The pandemic created tensions within families, for example regarding access to technology
• The issue of deficit in learning at a variety of levels was discussed
• Many parents are no longer communicating effectively with their children who rely increasingly on social media communication
Mediterranean Network of Second Chance Schools
• This network aims to enable children who have “dropped out” to recover their commitment to being educated
• Children experience this programme for a limited time before being reintegrated
• See: ufmsecretariat.org/project/ mednc/
Impact of culture on education
• Books are being superseded by digital technology
• Leads to a lacuna in terms of sharing of core values
• Focusing on the WHY of their education mission
• What do we mean by the ubiquitous term Gospel values?
• Individual learning Account – to improve lifelong learning and employability: ec.europa.eu/social/ main. jsp?langId=en&catId=1223& furtherNews=yes&newsId=10118
• European Year of Skills 2023: epr.eu/2023-will-be-the-europeanyear-of-skills/#:~:text=The%20 European%20Commission%20 adopted%20the,new%20skills%20 of%20the%20workforce.
Pope Francis’ Global Compact on Education
In his video message of 15-10-2020 (see attachment no.1), Pope Francis calls for a new era of educational commitment involving all members of society. For this reason, he invites families, communities, schools, universities, institutions, religions, rulers, men and women of culture, science, sport, artists, media professionals, i.e. the whole of humanity to sign a compact on education by committing themselves personally to take up the following seven commitments:
Thematic Group on Education
• The group began by discussing the New Paradigm, outlined by Pope Francis in The Global Compact (see end of article)
• It was, however, noted that paradigms such as the Salesian education vision were perennial and more relevant than ever
Several colleagues spoke about the adverse effects of the pandemic
• Any new paradigm should include education in values
• The centrality of modelling such values by teachers was alluded to
• A renewed focus on collaborative ministry was acknowledged
• There is a renewed imperative to focus on the dignity of the individual child
Teacher Education
• Spiritual leadership
1.) To make human persons the centre. To make human persons the centre of every educational programme, in order to foster their distinctiveness and their capacity for relationship with others against the spread of the throwaway culture.
2.) To listen to the voices of children and young people. To listen to the voices of children and young people in order to build together a future of justice, peace and a dignified life for every person.
The Thematic Group on Education, representing all continents, led by Professor John Lydon.
3.) To advance the women. To encourage the full participation of girls and young women in education.
4.) To empower the family. To consider the family as the first and essential place of education.
5.) To welcome. To educate and be educated on the need for acceptance and in particular, openness to the most vulnerable and marginalized.
6.) To find new ways of understanding economy and politics. To be committed to finding new ways of understanding the economy, politics, growth, and progress that can truly stand at the service of the human person and the entire human family, within the context of an integral ecology.
7.) To safeguard our common home. To safeguard and cultivate our common home, protecting it from the exploitation of its resources and to adopt a more sober lifestyle marked by the use of renewable energy sources and respect for the natural and human environment.
In a future article for Networking, making human persons the centre and empowering the family will be explored in greater depth.
World Union of Catholic Teachers General Assembly,
Rome, Fri 11thSun 13th November
Three members of the CATSC Executive Council attended the World Union of Catholic Teachers General Assembly held in Rome recently: President John P. Nish, Treasurer Professor John Lydon and General Secretary Dr Caroline Healy. The theme of the conference was ‘To Understand and Share Today’s Educational Challenges’. There were a number of highlights of this conference, the first being a very special private audience with His Holiness Pope Francis for the WUCT delegation on 12th November which included representatives from Africa, North and South America, Asia and Europe. Pope Francis in his address, highlighted the value of WUCT for cooperation among teachers and for their witness to Gospel values in schools and universities around the world. He said:
Your Union aims to encourage and motivate all these teachers so that they may be fully aware of their important mission as educators and witnesses of the faith, individually or within groups of colleagues. To this end you envision yourselves
as a professional network, as brothers and sisters in the faith who, in a spirit of friendship, acceptance, mutual acquaintance and shared spiritual growth, place yourselves at the service of all Catholic teachers, to help them preserve their identity and carry out their mission. I would say that in this task you are 'collaborators of the Pope': in fact, the mission of the Successor of Peter is precisely that of confirming and sustaining the brethren in the faith (cf. Lk 22:32). In this way, you make present in the academic world, the Church's service of supporting Catholic teachers in the faith, so that they can carry out their work and bear witness in the best way possible, in situations that are often complex on the relational and institutional levels...
The presence of Christian educators in school communities is vitally important. And the ‘style’ they choose to adopt is likewise crucial. Indeed, Christian educators ae called to be at once both fully human and fully Christian. They must not be spiritualistic and ‘other-worldly’. They must be rooted in the present, in their own time and culture…
Dear brothers and sisters, I encourage you to look forward with hope and to give new impetus to the Union of Catholic Teachers. A noble task and an important mission await you in the world of education and schooling. May Our Lady and all the saints who themselves were educators accompany and inspire you. I too am at your side in this challenge.
Further, he thanked Prof. John Lydon and other members of the outgoing WUCT Executive Committee (Guy
A private audiance with his holiness, Pope Francis in Consistory Hall, The Vatican, for the international WUCT Delegation, 12th November 2022
Bourdeaud'hui from Belgium and Giovanni Perrone from Italy) for eight years of service:
‘I express my gratitude to the members of the outgoing President's Committee for their faithful and generous service over many years, in the certainty that the work they have done - selflessly and with great passion - will bear fruit in the future: work to bear fruit’.
New Statutes were agreed for the Association and a new Executive Committee was also elected and Dr Caroline Healy, CATSC and St Mary’s University, Twickenham now holds the role of Treasurer alongside new President Jan de Groof, Professor at the University of Antwerp, Belgium and the General Secretary, Dr Giuseppe Desideri, AIMC’s National President, Italy. The Ecclesiastical Advisor remains the Archbishop of Cambrai, France, Vincent Dollmann. The new Secretary of the Dicastery for Culture and Education, Archbishop Giovanni Pagazzi also addressed the assembly on the topic of ‘Educating in Reality to Live the Universal Fraternity’ and met with the new Executive Committee. In his speech, he said:
…because of your dedication to favour personal, holistic development, I should like to make a suggestion, by examining the importance for education of one of the four principles indicated by Pope Francis in his Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium. I am referring to the third principle: “realities are more important than ideas” (EG 231233). In the papal document, the four principles are a kind of constellation that should direct the behaviour of every Christian, every pastor, and their fundamentally missionary character. I believe that these principles contribute to forming a correct mens, a deportment and way of behaving that long for justice, which is the only
terrain where peace takes root, in the world and among the mysterious aspects of each person’s totality. I shall consider these decisive criteria from the point of view of education, with a view to both content and strategy.
The principle of Evangelii Gaudium is also strategically important, since it starts off from a common experience. I believe that the attention to that common – inasmuch as it is shared by every human being, Christian or not, believer or not, of every culture and age, of every social level – is one of the most promising seeds of Pope Francis’ magisterium. We saw it made explicit especially in his encyclicals Laudato Si’, with reference to our common home, and Fratelli Tutti, a wonderful reminder of the common origin which binds all humanity in fraternity. The contact with things gives us a common basis.
Everything is like the witness of a community of men and women who have worked to help us… The World Union of Catholic Teachers is an association, a community at the service of the great educational mission of the Church. Have no fear of the struggles, the moments of tiredness, the failures, as both individuals and as an association.
Dear friends, we are faced with such a difficult and yet such an enlivening challenge. Therefore, using the words of the Letter to the Hebrews, let us run the race that lies ahead, in cooperation with all men and women of good will.
The Prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, His Eminence Cardinal Kevin Farrell held a meeting with the new Executive Committee. Overall, the conference was a huge success in terms of international
solidarity around Catholic education. The next General Assembly is expected to take place in Chile in 2023 and discussions are underway to prepare for the 60th Anniversary of the Second Vatican Council’s Gravissimum Educationis (Declaration on Christian Education) in 2025.
Congratulations to Dr João Carlos Do Prado, FMS!
Our warmest congratulations to Br Dr João Carlos Do Prado, FMS who was recently awarded his PhD by St Mary’s University in the Autumn Term 2022 on the topic of Revitalizing the Prophetic and Collaborative Global Leadership and the Charism of the Institute of the Marist Brothers: Challenges and Opportunities.
L to R: Dr Caroline Healy, Dr Jacob Phillips, Prof. John Lydon, Dr João Carlos Do Prado, FMS and Rev. Dr Martin Poulsom, SDB
This was especially delightful as much of the research had to be conducted during the Covid 19 pandemic. However, this period had some positives for Dr Do Prado as normally he travels widely internationally in his role and instead had time to write at his desk! As a member of the General Council of the Institute of the Marist Brothers
of Champagnat, based in Rome but originally from Brazil, Dr Do Prado brought a wealth of experience and knowledge to his dissertation.
Rev. Dr Martin Poulsom SDB, acted as External Examiner, who is currently Programme Convenor for both the BA degree in Philosophy, Religion and Ethics and MA degree in Theology, Ecology and Ethics, Roehampton University, South West London. He is an experienced and expert examiner in the disciplinary areas of Catholic education and youth work, religious congregations that work in the area of education, systematic theology and philosophy and is esteemed in his publishing. He has examined over 10 PhDs and brought considerable expertise to the viva panel in both the subject and the methodological approach presented in Do Prado’s thesis.
Dr Jacob Phillips acted as Internal Examiner and is currently the Director of the Institute of Theology and Liberal Arts at St Mary’s University. He has specialist knowledge in the area of Christian contemplation within the Catholic theological tradition and is also an experienced PhD examiner. He has supervised various PhD theses which engage with aspects of the religious life. He is also involved in an innovative Responsible Leadership project which seeks to apply principles of virtue theory to the challenges of the modern-day workplace.
Assoc. Prof. Michelle Paull, Course Lead in MA London Theatre & MA Playwriting, St Mary’s University, acted as independent chair. Prof. John Lydon and Dr Caroline Healy were Dr Do Prado’s supervisors. His research represents an exploration of the constituent elements for the Institute of the Marist Brothers to be able to form prophetic and collaborative leaders who contribute to the vitality and continuity of the Marist charism. It considers the essential elements of the formation of prophetic and collaborative global leaders who can contribute
to the vitality and continuity of the charism of the Institute of the Marist Brothers. The study aimed to examine the global leadership role that the General Council of the Institute of the Marist Brothers plays in ensuring the formation of prophetic and collaborative leaders. At the same time, the study identified current strengths, challenges and opportunities in Marist leaders’ formation processes that enable those leaders to contribute to the Institute’s capacity to ensure the continuity and vitality of the Marist charism in the contemporary world.
The literature review’s key themes include the charism and leadership of Marcellin Champagnat in the foundation of the Institute of the Marist Brothers (which was commended by the examiners for its originality); the Marist Charism and concepts and formation of prophetic and collaborative global leadership.
The study employed a mixed methods approach and used various data collection and analysis processes, both quantitative and qualitative, to gather different perspectives. The research relied on a quantitative and qualitative online questionnaire, answered by 57 participants (Brothers and lay Marists) representing 26 Administrative Units across five continents and the Marist Secretariat of Laity of the Institute of the Marist Brothers. In addition, eight members of the General Council of the Marist Institute participated in semi-structured face-to-face interviews. Based on the analysis of the quantitative and qualitative responses from the online questionnaire and the face-to-face semi-structured interviews, it was possible to identify the essential elements for the formation of prophetic and collaborative global leaders for the vitality of the Marist charism.
The research findings identify the key role of the General Council as a promoter and facilitator of the
formation of leaders at the global level, as well as the strengths, challenges and windows of opportunity faced by the Marist Institute in ensuring the future of the Marist charism. The study determines that although progress has been made, considerable effort is still needed on the part of the Institute for the formation of current and future Marist leaders. The study also confirms the need to reinforce further shared knowledge, vision and direction for the future of the Marist charism among leaders, and especially laypeople, as well as to ensure the spiritual care, accompaniment and strengthening of their formation processes. The study espouses the urgency for defining and implementing global institutional policies and guidelines for the formation of current leaders and for the attraction and preparation of new leaders. The study concludes by advocating for facilitating the formation of prophetic and collaborative global leaders through strengthening the communion and co-responsibility of Brothers and laity for the Marist charism, as well as the need to define their place and role in the Marist life and mission. All this will require further articulation and considerable commitment from Brothers and lay Marists engaged in the Marist life and mission at all levels and institutional segments.
The examiners commended Dr Do Prado on his exemplary work and we look forward to celebrating with him, his religious community and family at a formal graduation ceremony in 2023.
SHEPHERDING TALENT MAURITUS AUTUMN 2022
Since the beginning of the Autumn Term 2022, we have been working in partnership with Dr Gilberte Chung Kim Chung, Director of the Catholic Diocesan Education Service in Mauritius and Deputy
Director and Head of Training, Dr Pascal Nadal, to run Shepherding Talent online to nearly 100 educators and leaders working in Catholic schools in Mauritius. This has been fully supported by His Eminence, Cardinal of Port Louis, Maurice E. Piat, CSSp and the Vice-Chancellor of St Mary’s University, Anthony McClaran and Head of the Institute of Education, Dr Jane Chambers.
Shepherding Talent is a pioneering informal formation programme in which teachers identified as having potential for leadership are challenged to explore their vocation to lead. The content of the programme is based around the imperative for all Catholic schools to maintain a balance between school improvement and Catholic distinctiveness. The integrity of vocation and profession in the context of discipleship figures prominently and defines the nature of the seminars. Through workshops, the mission of the Catholic educator is elucidated alongside a consideration of personal disposition and values, inviting a critically reflective response to leadership. This interplay and its impact will be discussed during the seminars and the next stages to more formal and lifelong opportunities for formation through
the Master’s degree in Catholic School Leadership at St Mary’s University, Twickenham.
Five aspects of ethos and leadership are engaged:
The Catholicity of Leadership
This seminar includes an exploration of the characteristics of Catholic distinctiveness, the distinctive nature of the Christian leader and the integrity of academic standards and Catholic distinctiveness.
Evaluating a Catholic School
This seminar outlines the history of Section 48 inspections, the nature of the Section 48 programme and the new national Catholic Inspection System. State evaluations and the interplay with denominational inspections are discussed in a comparative context.
Aspiring Catholic Leadership for the 21st Century – Servant and Christ-Centred Leadership
This seminar describes the changing demographic being experienced by Catholic schools both in terms of staff and students. Mission Integrity is defined and the centrality of servant leadership is discussed alongside contemporary challenges.
Professional Paradigm
This seminar focuses on Values, Skills and Knowledge in the context of the DfE Teaching Standards. The mutually enriching relationship between Catholic distinctiveness and the teaching standards is explored in some depth.
Revisiting the nature of Catholic Identity and the Professional Paradigm
The implications of the statement that “there is no distinction between having a vocation and being a professional” is reflected upon, signposting the belief that all teachers, irrespective of religious affiliation, can commit to the principles of Catholic identity because of their inclusive and holistic perspective underpinned by a profound belief in the dignity of
every person made in the image and likeness of God.
It is hoped that the rolling out of the Shepherding Talent in Mauritius will enhance the outreach of the PGCert/PGDip/MA in Catholic School Leadership programme and its impact of the formation of current and aspiring Catholic school leaders in Mauritius. There were many positive comments about this CPD and interest in further study.
The programme represents a pathway to the PGCert/PGDip/ MA in Catholic School Leadership programmes and can be considered as Accredited Prior Learning in respect of one Module (30 credits) of that programme following the completion of an assignment. Further information and booking links can be found at: stmarys.ac.uk/ education/cpd/shepherding-talent.aspx If you are from Northern Ireland, Colleagues interested in completing Shepherding Talent or the Masters in Catholic School Leadership Programme, please contact Course Lead Dr Caroline Healy Caroline. Healy@stmarys.ac.uk or Prof. John Lydon john.lydon@stmarys.ac.uk, who lead on the Shepherding Talent. You may be entitled to exemptions from previous postgraduate or professional qualifications and, if you are an alumnus of St Mary’s University Twickenham, reduced fees are applicable.
The Forum of Catholic Inspired Organizations – The Key Role of LSM
Laudato Si’ Movement has recently participated in the 5th Forum of Catholic Inspired Organizations, held in Rome on 2nd and 3rd December 2022, with the theme “Mission and Responsibilities in a more Just and Fraternal World”.
Almost 100 International Catholic Inspired Organizations attended,
His Eminence Cardinal Maurice E. Piat, St Louis, Mauritius
together with the Secretariat of State of the Holy See and the Vatican dicasteries for Promoting Integral Human Development and for Laity, Family and Life. The goal of the forum was to share best practices and find other ways to work together for a just, responsive and inclusive society.
The fundamental assumption of the forum is that Catholic organizations, like NGOs, play an active role in the civil society at various levels (local, national and international), contributing to the implementation of human rights and the promotion of social justice.
The values of Laudato Si represented the leitmotif of the two days of the forum: social and ecological justice should animate each organization in its own particular place and mission. The meeting was opened by H.E. Msgr. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of the Holy
the values of the Catholic social teaching, from human dignity, solidarity to subsidiarity.
Along with the founders of the forum, participants were divided in four groups: Climate Change, Emerging Vulnerabilities, Marginalization of Human Dignity and Multilateral vs. National Priorities. LSM participated in the Climate Change working group by presenting the following paper: “Divestment: an Important Call to Action,” which argues that Catholic Institutions should join the global movement in divesting from fossil fuels.
The appeal to stand and care for our common home and the poorest of our brothers and sisters, who are suffering the worst impacts of the climate crisis, was heard and welcomed by the group’s participants, who remarked how challenging it can be in countries where the economic interests of oil production are high and
In this sense, Laudato Si’ Movement is considered as successful in raising the voice of the poor and marginalized, via its various programmes and activities, including the Advocacy campaigns and petitions implemented in the course of the years. The film trailer for The Letter was also screened and received applause from participants as an instrument for raising awareness and promoting action for one global humanity and one creation.
See. He emphasized the role of Catholic organizations in promoting unscrupulous.
Representatives of over 100 Catholic based organizations gather in Rome to discuss their role in civil society and social justice.
Participants in the Climate Change discussion group view a trailer of The Letter.
by John Harris
Catholic Schools Who are they for?
As the dust settles after the trauma and upheaval of Covid-19, and school life returns to its normal frantic pace, perhaps the time has come to reconsider that nagging question about Catholic schools: who are they for? It is important to keep in mind the anomalies and contradictions implicit in Catholic school admissions in England and Wales. There is a popular belief or notion that Catholic schools have a bias towards the poor. However, there is evidence that challenges this. It is possible to point to overwhelming evidence that the admissions policies used in too many of our schools have the effect, (no doubt unintended), of creating barriers for those who are disadvantaged.
The bishops of England and Wales continue to adhere to a narrow interpretation of canon law, insisting on the supposed right of Catholic parents to have priority of access to Catholic schools. Globally this is a unique position; there are very few countries around the world which allow schools to pick pupils on the basis of their faith. One has to take seriously the argument that it is discriminatory to do so. The historical settlement which has been in place for nearly seventy years, whereby schools have been nationally funded and locally governed, has been slowly eroded by the government policy of conversion to academy status. Many have questioned the wisdom of Catholic schools taking this step, arguing that it is not conducive to the promotion of the common good. Meanwhile, the evidence of the precipitous
decline in religious identity and observance over the last few decades gathers pace, and is revealed in the most recent census data. It is a trend which is unlikely to be reversed, given that it particularly affects the young. Yet there appears to be little current thinking about how it might affect the future of our school system.
What are the Roots of this Situation? The Historical Context
As late as the 1970s, only about 2% of children in Catholic schools were not themselves Catholics. It was a simpler world, in which Catholic children were expected to attend their local Catholic schools, and where places could reliably be allocated to them. Those same children could be found in the pews of churches on Sunday mornings, and, for those with longer journeys to their schools, there was free or subsidised transport provided by the Local Authorities.
This is no longer the case. The most recent figures show that, on average, around two fifths of children in Catholic schools are not themselves Catholic. This ranges from those schools in which all children are baptised Catholics to those where the proportion may be less than a quarter. There are notable regional variations: in Inner London and the North West, where there are the highest number of Catholics in the population. There is also a far greater proportion of Catholic pupils in Catholic schools than in (for example) the South West. Overall, the proportion of Catholic children in our schools shows a clear downward trend (CES 2021).
There are other far-reaching changes, too. We hardly need reminding that Catholic schools were originally set up to provide education for the poor. But now, in national comparisons with other schools, our children are poor no longer. In particular, they have lower levels of disadvantage (that is, entitlement to free school meals) and fewer children with special educational needs, or with disabilities (ibid).
Recent Demographics
There are a few simple reasons why Catholic schools have fewer disadvantaged children on their rolls. A recent survey (sponsored by the Church of England and the Evangelical Alliance, 2013) indicated that English practising Christians (of all denominations) tend to be middle class (for example, 81% have a university degree compared with 44% of the population as a whole). Another recent survey (Mapping Practising Christians, 2017) records that 65% of (all) Christians are classified as social grade A, B or C1, whereas the figure for the population as a whole is 54%. The survey also records that around a quarter of the population of Great Britain who identify themselves as Christians are Catholics, a smaller proportion than Anglicans, but only slightly so.
The government report An Anatomy of Economic Inequality in the UK offers further fascinating glimpses into the relationship between religious affiliation and socio-economic status. The data trace the variations in economic advantage among different religious groups. They show, for example, that the
Muslim community is the most deprived religious group, and that Christians are among the most affluent. As an example, the median total wealth of those who profess no religion is 38% lower than for Christians (Hills, 2010). An investigation in the British Educational Research Journal explores the reasons why schools with a religious character have pupil intakes that are of a higher social background and ability than their secular counterparts. Combining data from the National Pupil Database and the Longitudinal Survey of Young People in England, it found that parents with a religious affiliation are themselves more likely to be better educated, have a higher occupational class and a greater household income than other groups. Well-off religious parents were also more likely to have a child at a faith school than lower income religious families, a factor that held true across all regions in England (Allen and West, 2013).
Choice and Diversity
The Sutton Trust research report Caught out found that primary schools that have the most socially selective intake “tend to use lengthy and more complex oversubscription criteria to decide who is allocated a place”. These criteria can be difficult for parents to navigate, which has the effect of excluding the less confident or knowledgeable. It is mainly faith schools that impose this kind of barrier, even though it might be unintentional (Allen, 2016).
Geoffrey Walford has argued convincingly that diversity of school choice will always create an “individualistic and inequitable education system”. He points out that in most areas there are informal hierarchies of schools that guide parents’ preferences. Privileged parents who know how to work the system are able to influence the selection of their children by those schools at the top of the hierarchy. This skews
the social and ability profile of the children who are admitted, which then boosts the results and standing of the schools concerned (Walford, 1995). As a result, children from the most affluent backgrounds are twice as likely to go to a school rated as outstanding as children from the poorest backgrounds (Greany and Higham, 2018).
The Runnymede Trust, in its report Right to divide, points out that “allowing faith to be a criterion for school selection would appear to contradict [the] mission to provide education for the most disadvantaged”. It goes on to comment that “when challenged on [these] data, faith school providers seem to be more keen in their public announcements to discuss statistical validity than engage with a mission to serve the most disadvantaged” (Berkeley, 2008).
These comments allude to the Catholic Education Service’s consistent failure to acknowledge the true socio-economic profile of Catholic schools. There are indeed Catholic schools that have a higher than average proportion of disadvantaged and vulnerable pupils, but this is manifestly not true of the sector as a whole. The statistical evidence that children in Catholic schools are relatively affluent is unarguable. It has become a political embarrassment, not to say a serious ethical issue, that the Catholic sector still fails to recognise.
The Theos report More than an Educated Guess observes that “for Christian schools in particular, there are strong reasons to reassess policies around pupil selection, to avoid what looks like a degree of indirect socioeconomic sorting, especially given their historic ethic of concern for the poorest in society.” “Supporters of faith schools”, it warns, “should move away from a justification based on academic
outcomes and instead develop a stronger understanding and articulation of the value of an education in a school with a religious character, possibly in relation to ethos, a more holistic approach and development of character” (Oldfield et al, 2016).
Catholic Priority and Canon Law
The bishops of England and Wales continue to adhere to a narrow interpretation of canon law, insisting on the supposed right of Catholic parents to have priority of access to Catholic schools. Any interference, they argue, is tantamount to turning away Catholics by ‘capping’ their numbers. They have therefore refused to open new free schools until the law is changed.
This reading of canon 797 is perplexing since it implies that a ‘Catholic test’ is the international norm. In fact, it is unique to England and Wales. In most other European nations, for example, Catholic schools tend to be feepaying, though these fees may be heavily subsidised by the state. But schools do not have (and do not claim) the right to give priority of access to Catholic children. Faith schools are generally required to adhere to open enrolment policies as a condition of subsidy from the public purse. Catholic schools therefore welcome all children equally, Catholic and nonCatholic alike – without, it seems, transgressing canon law.
Linda Woodhead has suggested that “there is, in fact, no such canon” since a fundamentalist interpretation cannot be derived from the text. Rather, she argues that “it’s the subtlety and openness of canon law on this matter which allows the Catholic Church across the world to operate in a wide variety of educational and legal situations with maximum flexibility” (London School of Economics, September 2016).
In a lively exchange of letters to
The Tablet, Michael Pyke is highly critical of the claim that religious selection is a “right”. Catholics, he notes, because they pay taxes, assume that they “are entitled to a privileged position within the public education system, whereby Catholic children can be free to attend any school their parents choose for them while Catholic schools must be free to reject non-Catholics if they wish”. Such a position, he contends, is “contrary to natural justice” (The Tablet, 7 April 2018).
The March of Academisation
For nearly seventy years, schools in England have been nationally funded and locally governed, a democratic arrangement which has served us well. It is now being gradually eroded by the government policy of conversion to academy status. Since 2010, Catholic schools have been actively courted by the government in its push to convert all schools into academy chains. However, many have questioned the wisdom of Catholic schools taking this step, for legal as well as for ethical reasons (Buck, 2020; Newsam, 2013).
In an article for the Catholic Herald (February 2011), Secretary of State Michael Gove suggested that Catholic schools could use academy conversion to exert influence over teacher unions and “other parts of the education establishment”. “By becoming an academy”, he claimed, “a Catholic school can place itself permanently out of range of … unsympathetic meddling and so ensure that it can remain true to its Catholic traditions.”
Gove didn’t say what he thought such traditions might be. It seems that his invitation explicitly encouraged Catholic schools to seek insulation from the system as a whole. To a degree, that is exactly what has happened. Local groups of Catholic schools, banded together in their multi-
academy trusts, have strengthened their links with one another, in most cases to their undoubted mutual advantage. But Catholic academies are now less likely to be involved in common professional activity with other schools in their localities. As the formal mechanisms for working with neighbouring schools – often through the Local Authorities –have withered, many Catholic schools have become increasingly detached from their wider communities. The loosening of these bonds is unlikely to be to the public benefit of the school system as a whole. Indeed, it is a negation of the inclusiveness symbolised by the 1944 settlement.
There are other aspects of the new school settlement which ought to cause some discomfort among Catholics. For those Catholic schools which have become academies, there is no longer a requirement to meet any building maintenance costs. Under the 1944 agreement this was a quid pro quo for the right to control admissions. It has now become a significant financial bonus, a cost which is borne by other schools in the system.
The Decline in Religious Affiliation
The complex question of access to Catholic schools plays out against the background of Britain’s longterm decline in religious affiliation. Stealthily but inexorably, the majority of the British population now identifies itself as having no religion. Some of this decline is due to a loss of faith or to disillusionment, but most is simply caused by the march of time, as older, more religious generations are replaced by younger, less religious ones. This represents a significant cultural shift.
Even more telling is the fact that these younger generations are choosing not to bring up their own children in a religious tradition. For an increasing number, this is because parents themselves do
not share a religious identity or belief with each other. So, each generation is less likely than its predecessor to be born into practising religious families, and this lack of commitment or identity remains with them as they get older (Voas and Bruce, 2019).
Catholics have been more resilient than other Christian denominations (and they also have a younger age profile). This is largely a cultural issue – the tendency to identify as Catholic even though they no longer practice. It is further bolstered by the religious profile of immigrants, especially those from eastern Europe. But overall this provides little consolation. The decline remains nonetheless: it is a clear trend, and it looks likely to be irreversible.
What is also certain is that the sway held by the Church over the Catholic faithful has loosened. People who identify as religious have attitudes increasingly like those of their less religious neighbours. They are, for example, more likely to be guided on questions of personal morality by their own reason, judgment, intuition or feelings. They are less responsive to the traditional application of Church teachings, and significantly less likely to be influenced by their parish priest (Clements and Bullivant, 2021; Woodhead, 2013).
The equation ‘Catholic schools for Catholic children’ is therefore no longer tenable. Yet our Catholic schools continue to operate on the assumption that there is an unchanging reserve of eligible Catholic recruits, even though, as every year goes by, the pool is becoming shallower. If there is a strategy, it is to use Catholic schools to shore up the practice of the faith, even though it can clearly be seen that it is not working.
Meeting the Challenge
Most of the population are
tolerant of the existence of faith schools – not notably in favour but not strongly opposed either. By contrast, giving priority access to faith schools is unpopular; it is simply seen as unfair. A recent poll, conducted by the market research company Populus, shows that 72% of the public are opposed to any religious selection to schools, compared to just 15% supporting it. More than two thirds (68%) of Christian respondents are also opposed to religious selection, including 63% of all Catholic respondents. These are worrying indicators for our school sector, which urgently need a response.
In his address to the plenary assembly of the Congregation for Catholic Education, held in February 2017, Pope Francis outlined “the direction of future efforts”. Describing Catholic schools worldwide as “a most valuable resource for the evangelisation of culture”, he stressed the need to “humanise education”, especially where “situations challenge us to greater creativity in our search for suitable methods”.
Pope Francis exhorted his audience to “to help the young to be builders of a more fraternal and peaceful world”. This necessitates a “culture of dialogue”, since “our world has become a global village with multiple processes of interaction, where every person belongs to humanity and shares in the hope of a better future with the entire family of peoples.” Catholic schools are called “to put into practice the grammar of dialogue which educates in encounter and in the appreciation of cultural and religious diversities”.
Echoing this theme, Cardinal Vincent Nichols has hinted at a similar reorientation of the purposes of Catholic schools. The provision of education, he argues, is an important part of how religion contributes to wider society. It is a means through which “our
religious beliefs become open to public scrutiny and accountability” (The Tablet, 3 March 2018).
This vision is a long way from the conceptual framework which informs current policy and practice. If the purpose of a Catholic education is to engage in “fraternal dialogue”, it has to be questioned why we should want to fill our schools with Catholic children, rather than encompassing all comers (and therefore becoming ‘catholic’ in a wider sense). It is in this spirit that Sean Whittle has proposed that attendance at a Catholic school should be offered as “a gift for the world”, providing “an impressive sign that the Catholic Church in England and Wales remains serious about serving the common good” (Letter to The Tablet, 25 January 2018).
New Directions
The Vatican document Educating today and tomorrow: a renewing passion (2014) expands this argument, stating that “Catholic schools must engage in … global debates about inclusive education”. Stressing the importance of the common good, it declares that “the kind of education that is promoted by Catholic schools is not aimed at establishing an elitist meritocracy”. Rather, “students need to be respected as integral persons and be helped to develop … skills that enrich the human person, such as creativity, imagination, the ability to take on responsibilities, to love the world, to cherish justice and compassion”.
In an official paper circulated at the Council of Europe in 2016, the Catholic International Education Office (OIEC) – the umbrella body for over 100 national Catholic education organisations, including the CES – stated that a “Catholic school is an inclusive school, founded in intercultural and inter-religious dialogue, a non-discriminatory school, open to all, especially the poorest”.
“If it is to continue its mission”, the declaration concludes, it may encompass “mainly, or even exclusively” pupils of other faiths and none.
Further details were outlined in the following year (September 2017). Introducing the document Educating to fraternal humanism, Cardinal Giuseppe Versaldi reminded his audience that Christ’s offer of salvation is open to all people. This means that Catholic schools should be agents for “globalising hope”, not simply for protecting the interests of the faithful. “Humanising education” was about helping students to develop their talents “while understanding that [they] … are designed to be at the service of the community and … of the common good of all”.
Church doctrine in this area could hardly be clearer. It is, the guidance states, nothing less than “the need to look after the good of others as if it were one’s own” as “a clear priority for the political agenda of our civil systems”. Yet the CES has shown no sign of modifying its approach to bring it into line with worldwide developments in Catholic teaching.
Justin Welby, the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury, recently addressed the Lambeth Conference with these words: “A key mark of declining institutions or companies or countries – and Churches – is that they may have a vision of what they should do, they may even have a clear strategy: they just can’t turn their strategy into action” (Welby, 2022). Is that the space that we currently inhabit? Are we locked into inaction by the interplay of conflicting interests, or by the uncertain future that might follow a re-orientation towards the poorer members of our society? And, if so, what is the mechanism for escape?
by Prof Gerald Grace
In 2020 an important conference was convened by the Congregation for Catholic Education and the University of Notre Dame (USA) on ‘Cross National Lessons from Catholic Schools’. The conference was held in London. Presentations were made on the following items;
1. Contemporary opportunities and challenges facing Catholic Schools.
2. Contextualizing Catholic Education.
3. The mission of Catholic Education in a secularizing age.
4. Freedom, autonomy and accountability in Catholic Education.
5. Forming Catholic school teachers and leaders as ‘missionary disciples’.
6. Faith and character forming in Catholic Schools .
7. Conclusions.
Reports were invited from a range of speakers representing the USA, England and Wales and Ireland.
I was invited to present a conclusion , with special reference to item 3 above. ‘The mission of Catholic Education in a secularizing age’.
All of the presentations were published by the Congregation for Catholic Education in their journal ‘Educatico Catholic’ in a large volume of 287 pages. As I was asked to write the overall summary and concluding chapter, I have, on the invitation of the editor of Networking, made it available to readers of this journal. For further information I can be contacted by email at patrick. gracephorme13@gmail.com
Introduction
The collection of essays in this volume responds to the need for
educatio catholica
further international collaboration aimed at enhancing the vitality of Catholic schools at a time when the forces of secularization are powerful in all countries. This volume, and the conference programme which initiated it, is a model for Comparative Studies in Catholic Education,[1] as it attempts to discern and to discuss the challenges now facing Catholic schools and to consider what practical policies and programmes must be implemented to respond effectively to those challenges. This effort is an act of inspired leadership in the now-growing academic and professional field of Catholic Education Studies (CES). We need more collaboration in research and policymaking than we have had in the past. While all of the various challenges presented in this volume - regarding secularizing forces, policy environments, teacher and leadership formation, and faith and character formation - are clearly important issues for Catholic schools, the dominating one (and symbolically placed at the forefront of this issue) is the challenge of secularization and of its more aggressive modem form, secularism, now permeating some international cultures and propagated by the writings of the group known as 'The New Atheists,' including Richard Dawkins, A C. Grayling, and Christopher Hitchens.[2]
Secularization and Secularism
The development of secularization in the modern world from the (socalled) Enlightenment to the present day presents the agencies of sacred culture (including Catholic schools) with a serious challenge. Secularization represents the denial of the validity of the sacred and of its associated culture and its replacement by dominant empirical and 'scientific' cultures in which the notion of the transcendent has no place. Peter Berger, in his influential study The Social Reality of Religion, refers to this development as the secularization of consciousness:' the modem West has produced an
increasing number of individuals who look upon the world and their own lives without the benefit of religious interpretations.'[3]
What, unfortunately, received less attention was the deeper and more aggressive development (ideologically in the UK and Ireland and politically in other contexts of secularism. This is a more recent challenge. Whereas secularization presents the challenge of indifference and a lack of interest in religious ideas, what I call secularism presents an explicit attack on the validity and existence of religious agencies, such as faith-based schools, in 'secular' society. It may be that the agencies of secularism are most active at present in the UK in the form of the Secular Society and the Humanist Association, but it can be expected that attempts to abolish faith based schools (including Catholic schools) will spread to other contexts, sometimes under the cover of political arguments. It is perhaps significant that Seamus Mulconry, from the vantage point of contemporary Ireland, reports that they 'find [them]selves in a situation where the State is aggressively secular.'[4] The State can be an agency for secularism, and its presence now in the formerly strong Catholic society of Ireland is a warning for us all.
What is to be done?
Faced with the two challenges from secularization (i.e. indifference to and ignorance of religion) and of secularism (i.e. hostility to the existence of Catholic and other faith-based schools), the agencies of sacred culture have to 'read the signs of the times' and to discern what is to be done to maintain what Bryk, Lee, and Holland called 'the inspirational ethos' of Catholic schools.[5] When I was researching the responses of sixty Catholic school leaders to their demanding role in English inner-city secondary schools, I encountered evidence of a deep vocational commitment. These headteachers were clearly drawing upon
KSG,KHS. FSES.
a spiritual and religious resource that empowered them and which gave them a sustained sense of mission, purpose, and hope in their educational mission. I called this factor 'Spiritual Capital,' and in 2002 in the book Catholic Schools, Mission, Markets and Morality, I defined it as: 'resources of faith and values arising from commitment to a religious tradition' - in this case the Catholic tradition. [6] Spiritual Capital can be a dynamic resource in all major religious faiths. Later, in 2010 in the journal International Studies in Catholic Education, I wrote the article 'Renewing Spiritual Capital: An urgent priority for the future of Catholic education internationally.' [7] Here, I developed a much more detailed explanation of this new concept (which was derived from the writings of the French social theorist, Pierre Bourdieu[8], including the following:[9]
• 'a source of personal vocational empowerment because it provides a transcendent awareness that can guide judgement and action in the mundane world so that those whose own formation has involved the acquisition of spiritual capital do not act in education simply as professionals but as professionals and witnesses.'
• 'a form of spirituality which has been the animating, inspirational and dynamic spirit which has empowered the mission of Catholic education in the past especially by the Religious Congregations.'
• 'a form of spirituality which needs to be reconstituted in lay school leaders and teachers by formation programmes which help them to be Catholic witnesses for Christ and not simply professional deliverers of knowledge and skills as required by the secular state and the secular market.'
The answer to the question 'what is to be done' for the spiritual and religious future of Catholic education as a counter-cultural force against the growing influence of secularization and secularism is clear. Lay Catholic school leaders and teachers need professional spiritual formation programmes on a regular basis just as much as they need continuing professional development focussed on knowledge and teaching
skills. Without this, the 'inspirational ethos' of their schools will weaken over time, with consequent effects upon their students.
The Conferences of Catholic Bishops internationally who have responsibility for the mission integrity of Catholic schools in each country should place the renewal of spiritual capital as their top priority for education and should give leadership in encouraging (and even requiring) formation programmes to be created by various agencies such as religious congregations and Catholic universities and colleges. This will be 'the New Evangelization'[10] applied to schools in a crucial way.
The formation of formators
In his article for International Studies in Catholic Education in October 2018, the Prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education emphasized the central importance of this procedure as part of the 'New Evangelization' to be applied to schools, colleges, and universities, in these terms:
As was pointed out at the World Congress organized by the Congregation for Catholic Education in 2015, the formation of formators is important... to grow their Christian spirit and to verify their understanding of their faith.[11] As the 'New Atheism,' using all the contemporary forms of mass and social media, increases its attack on the very existence of faith-based educational institutions across the world, the need is urgent for Catholic education to renew its resources of spiritual capital. This could be done by regular provision of spiritual and religious 'formation of the formators' as Cardinal G. Versaldi urges, for all Catholic teachers. Failure to do so will mean that the 'New Evangelization' will remain at the level of exhortation and theory and not at the level of lived practice in our schools and colleges.
In conclusion, may I express on behalf of all contributors to this volume our gratitude to the Congregation for Catholic Education for giving much needed leadership in facing these international challenges outlined in this text.
Notes
[1] See T . J. D’Agostino, P. Carozza, 'Extending the research orientation and agenda for international and comparative studies in Catholic education, ‘International studies in Catholic Education 11/2-2019.
[2] See R. Dawkins, The God Delusion, Bantam Press, London 2006; A.C. Grayling Against all Gods, Oberon Books, Ottawa 2007; and C. Hitchens, God is not Great, Atlantic Books, London 2008
[3] P Berger The social reality of religion, Doubleday, Garden City, NY 1973 p113.
[4] See S. Mulconry "Freedom, autonomy, and accountability in Catholic education: A view from Ireland' in this volume
[5] A. Bryk et al, Catholic Schools and the common good, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA 1993. All serious students and researchers in the field of Catholic Education Studies need to read this classic study by Anthony Bryk, Valerie Lee, and Peter Holland for its brilliant use of both quantitative and qualitative methods of data gathering and its perceptive understanding of ‘the inspirational ethos’ that can (and should) be generated in Catholic schools..
[6] G Grace Catholic schools Mission, markets and morality, Routledge Falmer, London 2002
[7] G. Grace Renewing Spiritual Capital: An urgent priority for the future of Catholic Education internationally, ”International Studies in Catholic Education2 / 2 -2010.pp.117-128
[8] See especially T. Rey, Bourdieu on religion: imposing faith and legitimacy, Acumen Publishing, Durham, NC 2007.
[9] Grace 2010. For the full description of Spiritual Capital see p.125
[10] The new Evangelization refers to a renewing of the missionary spirit for proclaiming the Gospel. As Pope Benedict XVI explains, ‘the New Evangelization' is 'new' not in its content but in its inner thrust, open to the grace of the Holy Spirit which constitutes the force of the new law of the Gospel that always renews the Church; 'new' in ways that correspond with the power of the Holy Spirit and which are suited to the times and situations; ‘new' because of being necessary even in countries that have already received the proclamation of the Gospel,"(BENEDICT XVI, "Homily of First Vespers on the Solemnity of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul,” 28 June 2010).
[11] Cardinal G Versaldi “Evangelical pedagogy as a guide to school pastoral care,” International Studies in Catholic Education 10/2-2018. P.12
New Research Centre on Persecution of Christians Launched
We are delighted to announce the formal launch of The Lindisfarne Centre for the Study of Christian Persecution. The Lindisfarne Centre is focused particularly on Christian minorities in the Islamic world, some of whom, such as those in parts of Nigeria, are currently being subjected to crimes against humanity and quite literally at risk of genocide.
We aim to produce research that is both accessible to any serious reader, but also sufficiently academically valid as to be admissible as expert evidence in legal cases, as well as being seen as credible by governments and international bodies. We will produce country profiles - that will provide journalists and others with a quick and easily accessible authoritative source of information on the persecution of Christians in individual countries.
We are a specialist research centre, rather than an aid agency. Until the 1980s Communism was the major driving forced behind the global persecution of Christians - now it is radical Islam. This is not just jihadist groups but also the spread of increasingly draconian shari'a enforcement by Islamic governments, in well known examples like Iran and also in some popular tourist resorts like the Maldives. What is also extraordinary is that despite a host of parliaments and even the US State department declaring in 2016 that Christians in Iraq and Syria were facing genocide, the persecution of Christians has also completely dropped off the radar of some well respected secular human rights organisations - and even the UN. For example, a major UN report on human rights under the Taliban published four months ago - failed to even mention Afghan Christians, despite the fact that there are
several thousand Christians there facing execution under Islamic apostasy laws if they are discovered by the Taliban.
The Lindisfarne centre aims not just to describe WHAT is happening, but also explain WHY it is happening, as well as seeking to predict WHERE it is likely to spread to." - "The Lindisfarne Centre for the Study of Christian Persecution exists to help governments, international bodies, the legal system and media - as well as other Christian organisations, understand both the nature and the causes of the persecution of Christian minorities in the Islamic world. Because only when we understand why persecution is happening, can we see how it is likely to spread - and what can be done to stop it, or at least reduce its impact.
The name 'Lindisfarne' is used to highlight the crisis of church life and theology precipitated by the 793 AD Viking attack on the monastery at Lindisfarne, which was immediately followed by attacks on other monasteries and churches across Britain and Ireland - which according to the 12th century Church historian Symeon of Durham almost totally eradicated Christianity in parts of northern England. In particular, the name is used to highlight the similar attempts at religious cleansing in locations such as northern Nigeria, parts of Egypt and recently in Syria and Iraq, which similarly put the whole existence of the church there at risk.
How we measure Freedom of Religion
We will assess the statue of Freedom of religion (FOR) in individual countries not just in relation to the general statement of Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), but also more specifically in relation to 10 aspects of freedom of religion which developed
over centuries in what is now the UK and other countries of the English-speaking world:
1. Freedom of the church from state interference. including freedom to interpret scripture without government interference Freedom of the church from state interference, including freedom to interpret scripture without government interference.
The 1559 Elizabethan Church State settlement defined separate spheres for church and state. These are still set out in the 39 articles of the Church of England (article 37 “We give not to our princes the ministering of God’s word or the sacraments”). In Scotland the 1592 General Assembly Act stated that the Church “has power and jurisdiction in their own congregations in matters ecclesiastical”. The freedom of the church from government interference is a defining feature of free democratic countries.
2. Freedom to translate and own scripture in the vernacular and read it publicly. Although a few translations of the Bible took place in medieval times in 1408 the church sought to ban the English Bible translation made in the time of John Wycliffe and decreed anyone who even read aloud from it should be burnt at the stake. However, shortly after William Tyndale had been burnt at the stake on the continent in 1536, for secretly translating the New Testament into English, Thomas Cromwell and Archbishop Thomas Cranmer persuaded Henry VIII to legally approve the publication of the Bible in English. This freedom is seriously restricted in some Islamic countries, such as the Maldives, where it is a criminal offence to even own a copy of the Bible.
by Dr Martin Parsons
former Teacher and Aid Worker.
Academic Expert on Christianity, freedom of religion or belief and radical Islam.
3. Freedom of worship. This developed in several stages. The Elizabethan Church was a deliberately broad church which allowed both catholic and reformed worship within it, but persecuted both anyone who worshipped outside it, which included both Protestant Separatists and Catholics. The 1689 Toleration Act allowed Protestant dissenters to have their own places of worship for the first time. This freedom was extended to Catholics in 1791 and later to those holding other beliefs. More extreme Islamic countries such as Saudi Arabia either ban Christian worship completely or, as in the case of Iran, only allow ethnic minorities who have historically been Christian to attend church.
4. Freedom from being required to act against one's beliefs. From Elizabethan times everyone was required to attend worship in their parish church and could be fined for not attending. The 1689 Toleration Act gave people greater freedom where they worshipped and in the nineteenth century the legal requirement for compulsory worship was repealed.
5. Freedom to establish places of worship. In Scotland the period before 1689 had seen what was probably the bloodiest time of persecution anywhere in British history. The attempt of the Stuart kings to impose an episcopal church on Scotland had been followed by laws making it a capital offence to preach or meet for worship other than in an episcopal church. In England, anyone worshipping anywhere other than a place of worship faced fines, imprisonment or in some instances execution. The accession of William and Mary brought in a new era of toleration. In England, the 1689 Toleration Act allowed Protestant dissenters to have their own places of worship, a freedom which was later extended to others. Christian minorities in many Islamic countries struggle to get permission for church buildings because the Islamic concept of dhimmitude, which is part of shari’a (Islamic law), prohibits the building of new churches or even the repair of existing ones.
6. Freedom to preach and try to convince others of the truth of one's
beliefs. This was one of the most significant freedoms to develop. In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries many Lollards i.e. those following similar beliefs to John Wycliffe, were executed for seeking to persuade others about the teaching of the Bible. While in the following century both Protestants and Catholics were at different times executed. In 1660 John Bunyan, author of Pilgrims Progress, was arrested for open air preaching. Refusing to stop, he spent the next 12 years in prison where he wrote of living in fear of execution. However, the 1689 Toleration Act which allowed non-Anglican chapels created the space for this freedom to develop. By the twentieth century this was of such importance that when the text of Universal Declaration of Human Rights was being negotiated, the UK submitted a draft text which included the freedom to seek to persuade other persons of the truth of one’s beliefs. Although this was not finally included due to objections from a number of Islamic and Communist countries.
7. Freedom to choose or change one's faith. The freedom to choose or change one’s faith originally developed alongside the freedom to seek to persuade others, and was initially the freedom to convert to another form of Christianity. When the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was negotiated in 1948, it was finally agreed to include this in the text of what became UDHR article 18. Although even then, a number of Islamic countries refused to endorse it, as they saw it as conflicting with shari’a.
8. Freedom from being required to affirm a particular worldview i.e. religious or philosophical beliefs, in order to hold public office, enter various professions or study at university (absence of 'Test Acts'). Although the 1689 Toleration Act allowed people to worship outside the established church, there were still ‘Test Acts’ which excluded people from holding public office, such as being MPs or mayors, various professions such as school teachers and lawyers or attending English universities, unless they publicly affirmed the beliefs of the established church. Between 1719 and 1871 these laws were repealed and in 1888 the
Oaths Act allowed even Atheists to become MPs. The abolition of the Test Acts was so significant that countries which became self-governing at this time such as the USA and Australia included clauses in their constitutions prohibiting any future governments from introducing a test of belief. Today, Islamic countries are almost the only countries to still have ‘Test Acts’.
9. Freedom of parents to educate children according to their own beliefs. Until 1719, only the established church was allowed to run schools in England and only Anglicans were allowed to be school teachers. When this ‘Test Act’ was repealed the SolicitorGeneral told parliament that parents had a “natural right” to educate their children according to their own beliefs.
10. Freedom to criticise the religious or philosophical beliefs of others (absence of blasphemy laws etc.).
Although in medieval times both blasphemy and heresy carried the death penalty, the penalties were gradually reduced, so that by the early twentieth century, case law had reduced the offence of blasphemy to things that that were deliberately intended to be so insulting that they could provoke a breach of the peace.[3] In practice it ceased to exist in Ireland and Wales when the church was disestablished there and was formally abolished in England in 2008 and Scotland in 2021. Blasphemy laws have been extended in Islamic countries such as Pakistan and are increasingly used particularly, though by no means exclusively, against non-Muslim minorities, who can face the death penalty for alleged Islamic blasphemy.
We believe that using these 10 aspects of freedom of religion to assess individual countries, not only gives a much clearer picture of Freedom of Religion in that country, than merely relying on the general statement of UDHR article 18, it also tells governments what specific areas they need to improve on. However, we believe it also has the potential to remind politicians and policymakers in the West of what freedom of religion has historically meant in our own countries.
By Willie Slavin MBE
News Roundup
Caritas St Joseph's celebrates 45 years
Caritas St Joseph's celebrated their 45th birthday on Monday. The anniversary was marked with a celebration Mass at Westminster Cathedral on Saturday 8 October.
St Joseph's is Caritas Westminster's service for adults and children with intellectual disabilities and their families, although it pre-dates the existence of Caritas Westminster by some 35 years.
Opened in 1977 by Cardinal Basil Hume, St Joseph's Pastoral Centre in Hendon was established by Fr David Wilson, to realise his vision that those with intellectual disabilities can access their faith through symbols instead of verbal or written language. Fr Wilson and his team developed a method of faith development appropriate to children with learning disabilities.
Subsequent directors introduced workshops for adults with learning disabilities. This grew to be the main activity at the centre in Hendon, now a Lifelong Learning Centre, as well as at two hubs in Feltham and Hounslow.
The training of symbolic catechesis is no less important, with hundreds of volunteers across the diocese able to help young people with intellectual disabilities to develop in their faith. In addition, there is outreach into parishes such as the support of Saturday Clubs, and support of carers and parents as they navigate the world of disability benefits and entitlements.
Bishop Paul McAleenan, who presided at the celebration Mass said in his homily: "St Joseph's isn't just a place in Hendon, it is a way of looking at the World as Jesus looked at the world. It is a way of looking at the world so that everyone can reach their potential and be the person God intended them to be."
Leeds Trinity University gains new building
Leeds Trinity University is set to establish a city centre location at 1 Trevelyan Square, Leeds, to complement its campus in Horsforth as part of its strategy for growth. The University has secured a lease on the 57,000 square foot building, which is located just off Boar Lane in the heart of the city, subject to a 'change of use' planning application.
It is anticipated that new students will use the facility during the 2024/25 Academic Year.
The plan to establish a city centre base is part of Leeds Trinity University's growth ambitions, set out in its Strategic Plan 2021-26, which is underpinned by increasing engagement in the Leeds City Region.
A city base to complement its existing campus in Horsforth will enable the University to work more closely with key partners and employers to bring new opportunities for its students, contribute to the continued growth of Leeds city centre and support demand for skills.
In addition, by refurbishing an existing building, the University is seeking to contribute to sustainable development in the city centre.
Leeds Trinity's campus in Horsforth, located just six miles from Leeds, will continue to be central to its offerincluding new programmes in Nursing and Biomedical Science, which are being designed to respond to key public sector workforce needs in the City Region.
This comes as Leeds Trinity University has been ranked top for student experience in Yorkshire and the Humber and second for teaching quality in the region, in The Times and Sunday Times Good Universities Guide 2023.
Nationally, the institution was placed 18th in the UK for student experience and joint 24th for teaching quality, reflecting high rates of student satisfaction in the latest National Student Survey (NSS).
Professor Charles Egbu, ViceChancellor at Leeds Trinity University, said: "I am delighted to confirm that we are at the early stages of establishing a city centre location at 1 Trevelyan Square, Leeds, to complement our campus in Horsforth.
"Colleagues involved in this process have been hugely impressed by the potential of the building, the opportunities it will provide for our future students, and our ability to align with city-based partners and businesses as a career-led University.
"Leeds Trinity remains fully committed to Horsforth, which will continue to offer students a supportive and engaging experience. Overall, this is a significant investment by the University, which will support our strategic ambitions to drive growth."
Rigorous new Inspection Framework takes effect in Catholic schools
The Catholic Schools Inspectorate (CSI), which brings together the diocesan school inspectors of England and Wales into one body, recently started its inaugural work of inspecting Catholic schools. It acts under the new National Inspection Framework which was agreed by the Bishops earlier this year.
The CSI and National Inspection Framework have been developed with the support of the Catholic Education Service (CES) and the National Board of Religious Inspectors and Advisors (NBRIA).
Catholic schools have been subject to inspection frameworks set by
the Bishops ever since the Catholic dioceses were first restored in 1848. The CSI and new National Inspection Framework aim to improve the rigour, consistency, objectivity, oversight, and accountability of inspections.
The CSI logo takes as its logo the bishop's crosier, which is a symbol of his pastoral office. Inspection is one of the ways the bishop acts as a 'good shepherd' to his schools. The different parts of the crosier have traditionally been interpreted in ways that reflect the ways this care will be evident in the inspection process. The curve of the crosier directs the straying back onto the right path; the pointy end prods those who are stuck and prompts them to get moving; and the bar between the two supports all the rest.
Pupils, parents, teachers, inspectors, and generations to come will benefit from the CSI and the new framework which advance the Catholic mission of Catholic schools.
Durham University Centre for Catholic Studies launches
FCJ Bicentenary Scholarship Fund
The Centre for Catholic Studies (CCS) at Durham University has launched a £400,000 postgraduate scholarship fund in partnership with the Faithful Companions of Jesus (FCJ) to mark the 200th anniversary of the founding of the FCJ Society.
Funded over the next four years, the Sisters want to enhance their apostolic outreach and to support ministries which are aligned with the FCJ charism, ethos and the calls of their 2019 General Chapter.
The partnership with the CCS continues the Sisters' dedication to education and chimes with one of the CCS's stated aims, to form outstanding theologians and scholars of Catholicism who will shape the future from the richness of Catholic
tradition in the church, academy, and public life.
Sr Bríd Liston FCJ, Area Leader, commented: "it is good to be able to support the development of students in the CCS, Durham University, given the commitment of the FCJ Society to education in the North East of England, particularly in Middlesbrough and Hartlepool, for over one hundred and fifty years."
Scholarship applications are open to all (subject to usual Durham University eligibility criteria), and encouraged among those hoping to pursue postgraduate research across broad themes aligned to the FCJ Chapter calls: 'Compassionate Action', and 'Care for Our Common Home'. Applications are particularly encouraged from among women in the North East of England.
Founded in 2007, the CCS at Durham University represents a creative partnership between academy and church: a centre within the pluralist, public academy for critically constructive Catholic studies of the highest academic standing. The CCS offers a wide-range of scholarships and bursaries funded by a number of partner congregations, organisations and individuals.
For more information and contact details please visit: www.durham. ac.uk/research/institutes-and-centres/ catholic-studies/facilities/funding-/
Leeds Trinity University offers Warm Space for local community
Leeds Trinity University is making its Library, the Andrew Kean Learning Centre (AKLC), available to members of the local community as a Warm Space during the autumn, winter and spring of 2022/23, in order to support those who may be struggling with the cost of living. The Warm Space will be available during the Library's core opening hours, which are normally
8.30am to 7.00pm Monday to Thursday, and 8.30am to 6.00pm on Friday (or 9.00am to 4.45pm Monday to Friday during off-peak opening).
During these periods, members of the public will now be able to access the AKLC without a card. It is open to anyone aged 18 or over who lives or works in the areas of Leeds, Bradford, Harrogate, Wakefield, the City of York and Selby.
Community members will be invited to use all open areas of the Library, including the open plan study spaces and seating adjacent to the Library café. The café is open during term time from 8am to 2.30pm, serving a variety of hot and cold drinks, snacks and sandwiches. Outside of these hours, vending machines are available, along with water fountains to top up water bottles.
The AKLC is located just off the main entrance of the University's campus in Horsforth on Brownberrie Lane.
Leeds Trinity was established in Horsforth as two Catholic teacher training colleges in 1966 and achieved full University status in 2012.
Nick Goodfellow, Director of Library & Learning Resources at Leeds Trinity University, said: "We are delighted to be able to offer the Andrew Kean Learning Centre on our campus as a Warm Space for members of our local community to use over the coming months. We are very proud to be a member of the Horsforth community and want to do everything we can to support those who may be struggling. We hope that our Library space and facilities provide support at a time of real need during the cost of living crisis."
Professor Malcolm Todd, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, added: "We hope the provision of a Warm Space in our Library will help anyone who needs it in our community during this challenging time. As a University, we promote the principles of dignity, respect, social justice, equity and inclusion, and we take our civic responsibilities very seriously. We
are very keen to do as much as we can to help and engage with our local community, and to support the work of Horsforth Town Council and Leeds City Council with initiatives like the Warm Spaces network. I am very pleased we are able to offer this space and know my colleagues in the Andrew Kean Learning Centre will welcome all who wish to use it."
The Choir of Angels Signs the Way Towards
Inclusion of Deaf People
This festive season, a ‘Choir of Angels’ from Sacred Heart & St. Francis parish, Gorton, Manchester, is being celebrated for learning sign language and using drums to help include a deaf member of their church, Minna Moffatt-Feldman (pictured front left). Minna nominated the children for a ‘Luke 5 Award’ for disability inclusion from charity Through the Roof (throughtheroof. org). Minna said, “I am deaf. I use both British Sign Language (BSL) and English. Although I can read the lyrics, I cannot follow hymns or music during Mass … This group of children aged 7–16 have taken it upon themselves to incorporate signing into their songs so I can be included.”
As a result, Minna says she has truly “felt included and become more interested in the sung words and their meanings. Before, I missed out on this part of worship and at times felt sad… It is wonderful how the choir have encouraged the whole parish to be involved and opened awareness even more – indeed the choir have been the role model.”
The Choir of Angels was stunned to receive the award – Minna had kept it a surprise! The children shared some amazing wisdom about why it’s important everyone is included:
Michelle, age 11 – It gives our choir a different touch and makes it better. And if any other deaf people join,
they will feel even more welcome and special. I can't wait to learn more. Deborah, age 10 – I feel happy when I sign, especially with others. I think it is really cool that we are helping individuals in our parish, as well as doing something that we love. I am really surprised at how the language has grown and how it has become a normal thing in our parish over time. Isabella, age 7 – Singing whilst signing is good because the deaf will feel included and know what we're singing to praise God. Also, people will know a bit of sign language; that good skill will make people proud of themselves.
Joseph, age 12 – I feel happy that sign language has been introduced to our parish because it helped us learn a new way to help people with a disability (deaf people). Sign language will also help us in the future because we might find more deaf people and they might not be able to lip-read.
Samuella, age 7 – I like signing while singing because it helps people who have hearing problems know what you are saying. I also like it because it will teach people a bit of sign language.
Hope, age 17 – Thank you, God, for showing a different way of getting your Word to be spread to everybody. For truly you are for everyone, and you accept anyone to be in your ever-growing family.
Minna is proud of the choir and is grateful that they have become so aware of barriers faced by deaf people, especially those who use BSL. This whole experience has really encouraged the parish, who are now askingto learn some sign language. It’s the plan now to teach them all, and the children’s choir have really led the way.
Annette Stuart from Through the Roof said: “Many hearing people are nervous about how to communicate with deaf people, so if that is you, watch our Deaf Awareness video –and share it with your local church.
A primary school teacher’s dream of creating a Science laboratory for her pupils has come true!
Nashim Prabatani has always wanted to provide pupils at St Edward’s Catholic Voluntary Academy, in Swadlincote, with a purpose built facility dedicated to Science to enhance their learning.
Her vision has finally become a reality as the school has opened its own ‘Phiz Lab’, with support from local businesses and the Ogden Trust, which works with schools to promote physics.
The school received a grant of £2,500 from the Ogden Trust, support from electronics company Integrex, logistics company Clipper along with Acorn Home and Garden Services, all based in Swadlincote.
Together they transformed an under-utilised area of the school into a ‘Phiz Lab’, complete with an area for children to complete their investigations using dedicated Science equipment. There is also a comprehensive library relating to Science and microscopes for the children to use to extend their learning opportunities within their lessons.
Clipper provided the school with an eye catching large-scale space inspired mural.
Nashim, class teacher and Science Lead at St Edward’s, said she was inspired by her love of science to create a dedicated space for the children. She said: “It feels surreal. To be able to inspire the same love of Science that I had as a young child among our children is incredible. It would be wonderful even if one child became a scientist or went on to study Science at A-Level or University.
The school also received funding from the Worshipful Glass Sellers Company of London, to buy six telescopes and six pairs of binoculars, which offer children the chance to explore the night sky on a regular basis.
“It’s quite unique for a primary school to have this kind of facility and this has happened because we are part of the Ogden Trust. To have the funding and space to be able to do this is amazing. It is our vision for this to be a space allowing our children to become enthusiastic scientists, with pupils from other schools in the partnership taking advantage of this dedicated facility and for it to be a community hub.”
A pupil from Year 6 said she loved the Science lab: “It’s a really good learning environment and it’s great that it’s a room that is just for Science. I look forward to my lessons in here; it is one of my favourite rooms in school.”
amazing space in school: “It’s good, there is lots of equipment in the lab and we’ve got Science books in the library. The whole place is really colourful and I enjoy learning in it. It’s my favourite classroom and I love having lessons in here.”
Jayne McQuillan, Headteacher at St Edward’s, which is part of the St Ralph Sherwin Catholic Multi Academy Trust, said that pupils would benefit hugely from the new lab, that has created a buzz around school: “I want to thank everyone who has been involved in creating the Phiz Lab. The children love it and staff can come in here and know that all of the equipment they need is to hand. It will allow our pupils to explore and be hands-on with materials, it generates interest and an enthusiasm for Science and provides opportunities that you just can’t get in a classroom. We have also had some great feedback from parents about it.”
A pupil from Year 3 said she felt that pupils were lucky to have such an
Pete Dowsett, East Midlands representative for the Ogden Trust, said they were pleased to have been able to support St Edward’s. He said: “The lab is a brilliant space. It’s great to see the children in their lab coats and they can come here and use this facility which raises the profile of Science, and that’s the whole purpose.”
News from Scotland
First Day.
This article will explore the spiritual, and professional, journey of Louise Elliott, the newly appointed Education Adviser at the Scottish Catholic Education Service (SCES) in her first three months of the role.
As a teacher, my first day back at school this year was a bit different. The feelings and emotions were pretty much the same; ‘have I remembered how to do this?’, ‘Will it be just like everyone said it would’? ‘What if they don’t like me’? ‘How will I support them’? The difference was, Mrs Elliott; Teacher of Religious Education, was now Louise Elliott; Education Adviser.
My first few months working at the Scottish Catholic Education Service (SCES) have surpassed every possible expectation. From the exhilarated screams when I received the call offering me the job, to the touchdown at Glasgow Airport from my most recent international conference (in the words of Anton Colella, Global Entrepreneur and Chief Executive of SCES, ‘an RE teacher, can you believe it?!’); it has been a rollercoaster ride.
I had grown up in a family business; finance, operations, marketing; they were all second nature to me. Teaching business as a subject was a natural progression, a comfortable shift in career. Once enrolled, I was able to ‘add-on’ the Catholic Teaching Certificate, I saw it as opportunity to connect with my faith on another level and to share my faith on a different platform. And so my goal was to become a Teacher of Business Education qualified to teach in a Catholic school.
I was invited to observe my first RE lesson during my student placement at St Aiden’s High School, Wishaw. It
was then that both of my passions were truly realised; I felt called to teach, and Christ needed to be, first and foremost, at the centre of every lesson. I finished my PGDE and began the MA Catholic School Leadership at St Mary’s University Twickenham and became a full time Teacher of Religious Education. I often feel that during my career so far, I am travelling along an unending rope, with God at the other end, pulling me along and drawing me closer, often in a tug-of-war. With each knot that I achieve he quickly pulls, reminding me to keep going; not to be complacent, not to become stagnant, to be vigilant for the next encounter.
It is this pull, or Call, that guided me to my new role as Education Adviser, with fresh challenges, a deeper insight, and an abundance of blessings.
So far, it’s been a bit like parenthood; nothing prepares you for it. During an induction meeting I asked Barbara, the SCES Director, what it would be like in a typical day in my role as Education Adviser. A few weeks later whilst driving back to the Craigpark office from the Bishops Conference of Scotland in Airdrie, I was able to laugh at the absurdity of my question. Scotland was in the midst of Storm Arwen; floods everywhere, traffic chaos; and here I was driving along Coatdyke with the car window down for air; face scarlet, perspiring profusely and reciting the Rosary trying to regulate my heartbeat; with a car full of This Is Our Faith textbooks. The irony. One of my workstreams involves delivering Career Long Professional Learning for Catholic educators across Scotland. I work with Suzanne (SCES administrator and master of all things logistics) to ensure that learning materials are packaged and posted to all who sign up for courses. The modest SCES office does not have storage space, and so on this ‘typical day’ I was hauling boxes from the basement of the Bishops Conference, into my car boot, across the city, and up the stairs to our office above the Our Lady of Good Council Parish Hall.
Teaching, as the saying goes, is the only job where you have to work before
you get to work, so you have work to do at work. It goes without saying, this role is different, the same but different.
Previously I was Caritas Coordinator in my school; my first outing at SCES was to the Caritas Coordinators annual conference. I had been in the job four weeks, having left school less than months earlier. I was now standing in front of 50 of my peers from across the country, including my recent line manager, outlining the importance of their role. Luckily the room was filled with warmth and support and so my first experience of public speaking, and leading professional dialogue in a new environment was a success.
48 hours turnaround and the next hurdle, same but different, was the Pope Francis Faith Award Coordinators annual conference. The difference was I was not primary trained, had never delivered the award, and knew no one in the room. At times I felt as though I was back in the classroom putting on a BAFTA worthy performance of someone who knew what they were talking about. But mostly; I enjoyed the feeling that we were all there working and learning together.
Next stop, the UCAS Coordinators conference organised by the Recruitment Working Group to support the recruitment of Catholic student teachers. This was an opportunity to work with RE advisers from the Archdiocese of Glasgow and the Diocese of Motherwell; to learn from their rich experience of hosting CLPL, public speaking, and to gain an insight into their subject knowledge. But most importantly, as a novice, to lean on their confidence. During the planning for this I was introduced to some of the political themes in our education system, that as a class teacher, I never knew existed. I quickly witnessed the role of SCES unfolding and again was in awe of the magnitude of the role, and the responsibility of the Director, Barbara, as custodian of Catholic Education in Scotland.
I began this week of events apprehensive that I may need to tread water; meeting previous colleagues
for the first time in my new role, I then explored RERC alongside primary teachers, and I learned of the outliers surrounding a decline in the number for Catholic teachers in Scotland. The Spiritus retreat the following week was therefore a much needed encounter with God; a chance to check-in, and reflect on my discipleship. Event planning, public speaking, and uncovering new passions, can be overwhelming. I understand the criticality of staying grounded. My devotion to the preferential option for the poor is absolute, and so the Spiritus programme was an experience of Divine Providence.
faith awards, writing materials for schools and parishes to use during Catholic Education Week and engaging with external agencies, before my next trip. This time it was international, on my own, and I was off to the Consilium Conferentiarum Episcoporum Europe (CCEE) Symposium on the Youth, in Krakow. Another ‘Anton moment’, (‘me, an RE teacher, can you believe it?!’).
This pilgrimage was an incredible professional opportunity to represent the Bishops Conference of Scotland, and a blessing for any Catholic to encounter the magnificence of both the John Paul II Sanctuary and the Shrine of the Divine Mercy, in Krakow. I met colleagues from the Bishops Conference of England and Wales and learned quickly that, in this vocation, your colleagues become family. The bonds of faith intertwined in our roles deepen our understanding of one another, and create relationships that are unique and aligned with our formation. We worked in international groups to discern Christus Vivit; to translate the content into working practice. We contemplated four key areas throughout our discussions:
Developed by the Australian Catholic University’s (ACU’s) La Salle Academy, the Spiritus programme is designed to train and certify leaders in the Catholic Leaders Formation Network (CLFN) and Catholic Schools Youth Ministry International (CSYMI) Programmes. And so as I packed my bag for two nights in Edinburgh, away from husband and three kids, for the first time ever, I felt the familiar imposter syndrome creeping in; something akin to how I perceive an outer-bodyexperience. Looking in the mirror and seeing the teacher in me looking back puzzled, saying ‘you, an RE teacher?’. Off I went equipped with my rosary and 15 Prayers of St Bridget to encounter a renewal of faith. I listened intently, starstruck, to speakers such as Professor Br David Hall, and Archbishop Leo Cushley, sharing their witness to evangelisation and youth ministry. I took great inspiration from the dedication of the delegates participating from across the UK and Ireland, and found solace from my earlier doubts in their companionship and in our mutual, pragmatic view of the role of a secondary teacher in Scotland. As an Education Adviser, this experience empowered me to do more to encourage and support the freedom of prayer for young people.
Having spent a few days in the presence of God, focusing on my spiritual wellbeing, I was keen to take this encounter with me as I accepted my first official invite to speak at the Cluster Prayer Service for one of our Secondary Schools. It’s no surprise then that the Road to Emmaus Lk 24:13-45, featured prominently in my insert.
It was now October, I joined SCES on 18th August, and already my diary was filling up until Christmas. I had a week of office-based work; preparing monthly-updates for coordinators; revisiting the verification process of
1. The wrong attitude of the Church: instead of being willing to listen to them in depth, there is sometimes a tendency to provide pre-packaged answers and ready-made recipes, without letting the youthful questions emerge in their novelty and catching their provocation. (Christus vivit 65)
Less than 24 hours after arriving home from my 4 day trip, I was delivering an in-service talk to 70 secondary teachers on RERC in the 8 curricular areas. Complete with knocking knees and trepidation; sharing with teachers of all specialisms, in the current political climate, how they could be embedding RERC themes and TIOF benchmarks, in their lessons. With my eyes on God, and my ears with St Pius X, I embraced my task; encourage teachers to return to the Gospel Values, keeping Christ in their classrooms, keeping in mind the proposed strike action against existing working cultures and absolutely not wanting to ask teachers to do more, but rather to give some of what they are doing, to God. I am developing the artform of public speaking in contentious situations.
On the same week SCES were facilitating the first sessions of the Good Shepherd Online Leadership sessions. I would support the pathway for senior leadership teams and researched reading materials focused on developing relational leaders in advance. Having participated in the programme for aspiring leaders the year before, this was familiar territory and notably less nerve-racking than the most recent tasks, although of equal priority in supporting sustainable Catholic education in Scotland.
2. Social problems of the youth: Young people are ideologised, exploited and used (Christus vivit 73). Young people suffering forms of marginalisation and social exclusion (Christus vivit 74).
Young people wounded by losses in their own history, frustrated desires, discrimination, and injustice suffered (Christus vivit 83). Young migrants (Christus vivit 91).
3. The digital environment: Digital spaces blind us to the fragility of the other and prevent us from introspection. Problems such as pornography distort young people’s perception of human sexuality. The technology used in this way creates a deceptive parallel reality that ignores human dignity (Christus vivit 86).
After this short few weeks, I began to see the fruits of networking as SCES, together with SCIAF and Justice and Peace Scotland, hosted the first annual Laudato Si’ Learning Festival. We were joined on the day by Dr Ben Wilson, and received video input internationally from Vatican representative and Director of the Global Laudato Si’ Action Platform, John Mundell, and Dr Lorna Gold, author and Chair of the Laudato Si’ Global Movement. I was starstruck, again I was in the presence of global names, in the words of Fr Nick Wells, ‘Professional Catholics’ who were pioneers in their fields, and actively working in the hearts of billions of people across the globe.
4. Young people far from the Church: In some young people we recognise a desire for God, although not with all the marks of the revealed God. In others we can glimpse a dream of fraternity, which is no small thing (Christus vivit 84)
There is no such thing as a ‘typical day’ in most professions, least of all teaching. But in this role, I have certainty, and peace of mind, that every task I undertake, and with every decision I discern, I have the opportunity to contribute to the spiritual dimension of one of the most highly acclaimed education systems in the world. As Isaac Newton once said, "if I have seen further [than others], it is by standing on the shoulders of giants."
By Willie Slavin MBE
Lights for the Path
By John Sullivan Veritas Publications
ISBN: 978-1800970267
It is a very good idea! We all have our heroes! John Sullivan has selected eight, all heroes of education, each with something to say about the subject. Not all are well known as educationalists. Some are surprising! Elizabeth Jennings, for instance, and Etienne Gilson. Each one highlights a particular aspect of education.
For example, Paulo Freire exemplifies dialogical teaching. This is the opposite of authoritarian teaching where knowledge is poured into students like milk bottles. Dialogue means you listen to, and learn from, your pupils. You are changed by them, as they are changed by you! For Edith Stein education is for the individual person. Other heroes are Maximus the Confessor, Hildegard of Bingen, Bonaventure, Marshall McLuhan, Walter Org, Etienne Gilson.
These could well surprise you. They could stimulate you to make your own litany of saints. John Sullivan
Book&Media Review
hints at Bernard Lonergan, Jacques Maritain, John Henry Newman, Maurice Blondel. He has written about these elsewhere.
There is a brief biography of each hero, and aspects of their thinking which are relevant to the classroom today are discussed. The main thrust of the thinking is to achieve and to pass on to the pupils the wider view of life and the world. Each of the heroes has a wider view than the strict worksheet, question and answer method of study, common in schools.
However in the interests of brevity he has sacrificed clarity. You have to read his writing several times to get the gist of what he is saying. He is not an easy read, but inspirational if he prompts you to choose your own legion of honour!
There is a danger in the bold insistence on a catholic education. It can be seen as revisionism, an attempt to create a catholic zeitgeist, a world view, in which to place the education system the book is proposing.
A stark contrast is drawn between secular society and Catholicism. But that is no longer true. Catholicism, and Christianity in general, have moved towards secular society, especially with the synodal process. And the Secular society, with mindfulness and interiority dominant features, has moved towards religion. The world of education has many lights, secular and religious.
The Oxford University Logo, is a book with seven markers, the trivium, (Grammar, Logic, Rhetoric); the quadrivium, (Arithmetic, Geometry,
Music, Astronomy) ) the three crowns above the book, are Theology, Physics, Law. In the middle is the inscription from the psalms, Dominus illuminatio mea, the Bible, in the middle, the aim of all education.
This was the medieval world view. It brought together secular and religious learning. The enlightenment of the eighteenth century forced them apart, but modern thinking is bringing the two spheres of learning together again. John Sullivan’s book is part of that process.
Review by John Baron.
God is not a Man in the Sky
By Elizabeth Peck
The Franciscan Publishing Company
ISBN: 978-1915198006
Religion and Science are not polar opposites.
I think as educators, we can all agree that it is of utmost importance in the formation of our young people that the consonance between the insights of science and those of faith is made clear. One person who has taken this principle to heart is Elizabeth Peck, an Oxford educated
and highly experienced Catholic RE teacher living in East Anglia diocese. Her book, God is not a Man in the Sky is a unique contribution to this educational challenge.
Nicholas King SJ states, “Lizzy Peck has written the book we have all been waiting for.” The renowned New Testament scholar goes on to write; “Those of us who have to do with the education of the young have heard all too often from them that religion… has been disproved by ‘science’. This is simply not the case; indeed Christianity, and especially Catholicism has played an immensely important role in the development of science; it was, of course, a Catholic priest who first drew our attention to the ‘Big Bang’, and the Church has always been in the forefront of scientific achievement, Galileo or not. This is a marvellous book, admirably directed at quite young children, with a really intelligent commentary for their long-suffering parents and teachers… and it should be widely read by those who care about this extraordinary ‘disconnect’ in our society between science and religion.” Dom Henry Wansbrough comments on the way the book presents science and religion too, saying, ‘The history of evolution up to the beginning of life is…very attractive and persuasive. I think this sort of thing should open up a world of philosophical and religious thought for intelligent young people.’ I decided to contact Lizzy directly to find out more about her project.
often heard the idea that religion and science were incompatible. For pupils who believed this, since the claims of science were usually taken as a given, religious faith was automatically ruled out. (‘I don’t believe in God because I believe in the Big Bang!’) I fought hard in RE lessons to clarify the idea that you could believe in the Big Bang, evolution, and God, but it was a theme that would crop up again and again over the years. Other recurrent misconceptions became apparent over time, and in the end the book addresses 13 of them directly – but this general situation was the backdrop to the project.
It also often struck me over this period that overwriting a misconception is very, very difficult. Some beliefs are incredibly fixed. Prevention is better than cure, especially when it seemed the ‘cure’ (i.e. secondary-school level teaching) didn’t always work, so I started to think that I wanted to create something that could help children from a younger age, so that these particular misconceptions never arose in the first place.
than four years. Because of this, and because in general we talk a lot about God and theological and philosophical ideas at home, I think by the time she read the final book at age 6, there wasn’t a huge amount in there that was new to her! Nevertheless, I had tried to keep much of the artwork hidden from her so that it would be more of a surprise, and she really did love it, and happily spent a long time looking at each page as we read it together, working out the swirling words of scripture, identifying characters, and so on. Over time, we have revisited the book together of course, and we’re finding it very helpful as she prepares to receive her First Holy Communion next year, but she has also enjoyed reading it independently a few times.
What was your inspiration for this project?
The background to the development of the book, and what planted the seed of the idea in my mind even though I didn’t realise it at the time, is that in my teaching over the last ten years or so, I’ve come across numerous common misconceptions about Christianity/Catholicism and God, and they can have quite significant negative effects on a person’s faith and relationship with God. Some of them close people off to faith entirely. For example, I quite
The catalyst for actually creating the book though, was the birth of my daughter. I remember thinking, when she was very young, that I wanted a book to help her learn the faith in combination with scientific truth, so that this major misconception would never have a chance of forming for her. Although I could find many beautiful children’s Bibles and prayer books, and many wonderful science books for children, I couldn’t find anything at all that combined the two perspectives; so that made me think I should give it a go myself.
What's been your experience of using the book with your own child?
My experience of reading and discussing the book with my daughter for the first time is probably quite different to many other people’s, because she was there during the process of producing it – a process which spanned more
One of the things that I’d hoped for, and have found to be true in my own reading of the book with my daughter, is that while it does work as a narrative that can be read from beginning to end – which takes about 20 minutes – it also lends itself to a more meditative reading. There is so much to talk about on each page, not least all the ideas covered in the Companion Guide, and so much to find in the artwork, that it works well as a book to read over a period of time; maybe one or two pages each night at bedtime, for example. (A reader said that she had enjoyed doing exactly this with her son.)
Now that my daughter is very familiar with the children’s book and she’s understood the explanations I’ve given as we’ve read it together, she is actually keen to try and read the Companion Guide because she says she wants to know all the details! While she won’t be able to read that independently for quite some time yet, it’s been really wonderful to see how again, the text can work as I’d hoped: it encourages the reader (whether the child or the adult) to delve into the ideas on deeper and deeper levels.
How /why did you go about producing the companion to the book for parents and teachers?
The why first: I wrote the narrative of the children’s book and showed it to some of my family. They were encouraging in their feedback, but asked what I too had wondered as I wrote it, which was, would the parent/catechist/teacher necessarily be able to explain all of the ideas to the child(ren) to whom they were reading? The answer wasn’t definitely ‘yes’. It was this realisation that gave me the idea of writing a commentary, which ultimately became the Companion Guide.
And the how? In short, with help! I am truly blessed to have been raised by, and taught throughout my life, by numerous people who are excellent, sometimes world-class, theologians and/or wonderful catechists; and fundamentally the children’s narrative and the Companion Guide are both a result of this. Given that the book is expressing Christian/Catholic teaching, there is little-to-nothing in there that is ‘mine,’ in this sense.
In practice, what I did was to write a first draft of a commentary from my own knowledge, drawing as I say on all that I had learnt and studied over the years, and then three theologians in particular very kindly gave me constructive criticism. I also owe a huge amount to the family and friends who read the book as nontheologians, because their feedback was indicative of how the typical reader may feel about the book.
I’m using a digital copy of the book so that the whole class can see it as we read it together, along with worksheets, notes, tasks, quizzes, assessments, and so on, that connect to the key ideas in the book, in the order that they arise. For example, the first few sentences express the belief that God is Love, Truth, Beauty, and Goodness, so we spent some time examining Catholic/Christian definitions of these concepts, and seeing how they relate to each other, and how God can be all of them at once. The next few pages express the belief in the Holy Trinity. It has been wonderful to see how key ideas are already starting to connect for pupils, from a study of only the first few pages; for example, as we read p4, which talks of the Logos being reason, order, and harmony, one of the pupils called out, ‘Like consonantia [harmony]!’ which we had discussed in relation to the nature of Beauty.
What can you tell us about your plans to develop your RE teaching for Year 7 students based on the book?
At the moment, I’m using the book to structure my own Y7 teaching and I believe it’s going very well.
book in depth, and understand how all of the ideas connect together. When all the resources are made, they would be available to schools either as an entire set, or on a ‘pick and mix’ basis.
Conclusion
God is not a Man in the Sky aligns well with a large proportion of the Religious Education Curriculum Directory [RECD] There are of course other excellent resources for educators that also respond to the challenge of teaching the relationship between science and religion. I recommend the following websites especially;
My hope is to create, in the fulness of time, resources to accompany every page of the book, and to make them available to other schools too. There is far too much to cover in one year in this way though. The way I envisage it being used by schools is therefore as a framework for the majority of KS3 RE, to help solidify an understanding of the Faith over time. For example, Y7 might do a deep dive into p1-5 on the nature of God, and then read p7-19 (which are about the creation of the universe) quite swiftly, before diving back in again on p22-25 for a more in-depth study of human nature and sin, and so on. When the same pupils come to Y8, they could then re-read p1-5 and spend only a short time recalling what they learnt in Y7, before examining the topic of science and religion in depth, which p7-19 naturally lend themselves to, but which they only skimmed over in Y7. In this way, by the end of Y9, pupils could have covered the whole
The Society of Catholic Scientists www.catholicscientists.org their ‘Common Questions’ section is invaluable https://catholicscientists. org/common-questions/ The Catholics and Science Facebook page is an invaluable facebook. com/CatholicsandScience and worth following on Twitter @ ChurchNScience for their high-quality images. Then there’s the Catholic Knowledge Network Posters ctsbooks.org/product-category/ other/posters/ produced by Fr. Andrew Pinsent, Research Director of the Ian Ramsey Centre for Science and Religion, at the University of Oxford and the Catholic Truth Society. Finally there is Science meets Faith sciencemeetsfaith.wordpress. com which is also on Twitter @SciMeetsFaith These are just a few of the good examples out there on what Pope Benedict XVI once called ‘the digital continent’.
Review by Edmund P Adamus, Education Consultant with fertileheart.org.uk and Recruitment Director at emmausleadership.me
