Press Statement – 23 July 2013

“As the agencies of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales concerned with the education and welfare of children, we welcome yesterday’s announcements on increased online protection for children.

“We welcome the proposals to filters potentially harmful content unless an adult ‘opts-in’ following age verification and the steps further taken to make public Wi-Fi’s safer for children; namely the participation of the six companies which provide 90% of public Wi-Fi’s to introduce family friendly filters and adopt a ‘Family Friendly Wi-Fi’ symbol.

“We feel these are important steps in assisting parents to keep their children safe online, which should be complimented with education on online safety.

“At this point it is important to recognise that inappropriate online content is not solely limited to pornography. Websites containing extreme violence or promoting self-harm, suicide and eating disorders also present great risk to children. Governmental figures show that 13,231 childhood admissions to hospital last year with the primary diagnoses of deliberate self- harm and 1,141 childhood admission to hospital with the primary diagnosis of an eating disorder. 

“We hope these safeguards will work to ensure that children are protected from the dangers posed to their development, mental health, relationships and self-esteem from harmful and explicit online material.

“The Catholic Education Service and CSAN (Caritas Social Action Network) have been campaigning for greater online safety for children and we welcome these steps from the Government to increase protections for children.”

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The Catholic Education Service (CES) is an agency of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales (CBCEW).

CSAN (Caritas Social Action Network) is the social action arm of the Church in England and Wales. CSAN comprises 41 member charities who work with prisoners, homeless people, refugees, travellers, victims of trafficking and domestic abuse as well as with children living in poverty.

Press Statement – 18 June 2013

The Catholic Education Service and CSAN (Caritas Social Action Network) welcome the government’s focus on protecting children from harmful and explicit online content.

Today’s meeting at Downing Street chaired by Culture Sectary, Maria Miller provides an opportunity for the government to consider the impact that pornographic, violent or other harmful online content has on children’s’ development, mental health, relationships and self-esteem.

As the Catholic agencies with responsibility for education and welfare we hope that both the Government and internet service providers will take steps to allow children to explore the online world without fear of accessing adult or inappropriate content.  

Detailed research by the Children’s Commissioner shows that significant numbers of children are still exposed to pornography, despite efforts to increase online safety, through the removal of adult content on public Wi-Fi and the appointment of Claire Perry MP as the Online Safety Advisor.

Parents have a duty to educate their children about online safety. However, it is important to provide them with necessary support to help them in this role.  We support Baroness Howe of Idlicote’s Online Safety Bill as a means of providing this protection. The Bill proposes that Internet Service Providers and Mobile Phone Operators provide an opt-in service for adult content and we hope the government will offer support to the Bill and its proposals.

Ends

The Catholic Education Service (CES) is an agency of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales (CBCEW).

CSAN (Caritas Social Action Network) is the social action arm of the Church in England and Wales. CSAN comprises 41 member charities who work with prisoners, homeless people, refugees, travellers, victims of trafficking and domestic abuse as well as with children living in poverty.

Note to editors

Online Safety Bill, sponsored by Baroness Howe of Idlicote, makes provision for the promotion of online safety; to require internet service providers and mobile phone operators to provide a service that excludes pornographic images; and to require electronic device manufacturers to provide a means of filtering content. The Bill has completed second reading and it Committee stage.

The Children’s Commissioner for England - “Basically... porn is everywhere” A Rapid Evidence Assessment on the Effects that Access and Exposure to Pornography has on Children and Young People – highlights children’s exposure and access to pornography and  makes a series of recommendations to the government.

We welcome the announcement today by the Secretary of State for Education concerning the reform of qualifications at 16. It is clear that the government’s own consultation regarding examination reform showed broad consensus, accepting the need for reform yet rejecting the initial proposals for that reform. That the Secretary of State proposes to reform exams ‘with the help of school and university leaders’ is particularly welcome. Working closely with education professionals will help ensure that any reform will enjoy the widest possible support and confidence.

We are, however, disappointed that Religious Education remains effectively relegated to outside the ‘core’ under these proposals when it is at the very heart of the curriculum in every one of our more than 2000 schools in England. GCSE RE is a valuable and worthwhile subject, but it could be better, and we hope to be able to work with Ofqual and Examination Boards to ensure that it becomes so.

It remains to be seen, of course, how examination reform will now proceed. We are therefore unable to comment further until the detail becomes clear.

Mr Paul Barber, currently the Director of Education for the Diocese of Westminster has been appointed as the new Director of the Catholic Education Service.

Commenting on the appointment, Bishop Malcolm McMahon, Chairman of the Bishops’ Conference Department for Education and Formation, and the Chair of the Catholic Education Service, said: ‘I am delighted that Paul Barber has accepted the appointment of Director of the Catholic Education Service. He will bring to the post his considerable experience and a proven track record of commitment to the furtherance of the Church’s vision for Catholic education.’

Mr Barber will take over after Easter 2013 from Monsignor Marcus Stock who has been the Acting‐Director of the Catholic Education Service since November 2011.

ENDS

Short Biography:

Paul Barber MA (Cantab), MA (Canon Law), JCL

Paul Barber is the Director of Education for the Diocese of Westminster, a post he has held since 2003.

Paul read Law at Jesus College, Cambridge, won an Exhibition to the Middle Temple and was called to the Bar in 1992. He taught law at Sussex University, King’s College, London and Westminster University, where he was also a Visiting Fellow. He has studied canon law at Cardiff, Heythrop College (MA with distinction) and Louvain (JCL summa cum laude) where he is currently undertaking a doctorate on temporal goods in the Church in England and Wales.

Paul served as the national Legal Officer for the Catholic Education Service for five years before moving to the Diocese of Westminster. He is a committee member both of the Canon Law Society of Great Britain and Ireland and the Ecclesiastical Law Society, and a member of the Editorial Board of the Christian Law Review “Law and Justice”. He is frequently involved in legislation policy at national and European level, and is a member of the Legal Affairs Commission of the Commission of Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union. His current research interests include the canon law of education, jurisdiction and comparative canon law.

Today the Catholic Education Service launched its Digest of 2012 Census Data for Schools and Colleges. The data shows the prominent role of Catholic education in England and Wales with 2257 Catholic schools and colleges educating 838,756 pupils and employing 52,436 Teachers and 39,102 support staff.

The finding build upon previous year’s census which asks all Catholic schools and colleges in England and Wales to provide data on the number, Catholicity and social background of their pupils and teachers.

The data shows a number of positives:

•20 % of pupils at Catholic secondary schools live in the most deprived areas (17% nationally).

•Catholic schools are more ethnically diverse than national averages (33.5% of Catholic primary school pupils are from ethnic minority backgrounds compared with 27.6% nationally.)

•The Catholicity of both the pupil and teacher population has risen slightly from previous years with 71% of pupils and 55.6% of teachers at Catholic schools stated as Catholic.

Additional research into school performance continues to show that Catholic schools and colleges are outperforming national averages. 

•74.7% of Catholic primary schools have Ofsted grades of good or outstanding (64% nationally)

•At age 11, Catholic schools outperform national average English and Maths SATs scores by 6%

•At GCSE, Catholic schools outperform the national average by 4.9%

Bishop Malcolm McMahon OP, Chairman of the Catholic Education Service said “We are very pleased to welcome these figures which show the enormous and important contribution that Catholic education makes to the common good of our society. The strength of our Catholic sector is based upon the respect for the individual, as a Child of God. Our Catholic schools continue to be a reflection of the diverse communities which we serve.”

Ends

Further data on Catholic education can be found in CES’s Digest of 2012 Census Data for Schools and Colleges available at www.catholiceducation.org.uk. (The Census return rate from Catholic schools and colleges was 98%).  

Performance statics for Catholic Education can be found in the Key Facts 2012 available at www.catholiceducation.org.uk

This month marks the start of the Catholic Education Service‘s (CES) campaign for the inclusion of Religious Education in new reforms to Key Stage 4 public examinations. CES is keen to promote Religious Education as an academic subject which is at the heart of the curriculum in Catholic Schools and therefore deserves recognition in the proposed reforms. The statement below outlines the reasoning behind CES’s campaign, which will run till the end of the consultation period on 10th December 2012.

It is the view of the Catholic Church that good quality, well taught Religious Education is always and everywhere beneficial to pupils and therefore to society as a whole. Critical reflection upon the nature and content of religious belief can only contribute positively to the education of the whole person.

However, in Catholic schools Religious Education has a privileged place. The first principle of Catholic education is that parents must be able to exercise genuine choice in their children’s education. This principle has been consistently affirmed in the teaching of the Church and is enshrined in Canon Law.

It is a matter of justice, then, that Catholic parents be free to choose authentically Catholic schools for their children. As Pope Blessed John Paul II wrote in his Apostolic Exhortation Catechesi Tradendae, “The special character of the Catholic school, the underlying reason for it, the reason why Catholic parents should prefer it, is precisely the quality of the religious instruction integrated into the education of the pupils.” 

Religious Education is not just an important facet of the curriculum of the Catholic school, it is the very core of the whole curriculum and entire ethos of that school. For this reason more than any other, the current proposals for the English Baccalaureate Certificate (which seem to exclude Religious Education from the core curriculum) are profoundly troubling.

In our view, current GCSEs in Religious Studies would benefit from reform. Pupils already benefit enormously from their study of GCSE RS, and it is a subject which, given the chance, can more than hold its own in a reformed system of examinations. Allowing Catholic schools to place Religious Education at the heart of the curriculum through an enriched English Baccalaureate is one way to achieve this.

Every Catholic school in England and Wales has been invited to begin the forthcoming Year of Faith by having a week of prayer and service inspired by a young saint.

The joint initiative of the Bishops’ Department for Education and Formation, and also Evangelisation and Catechesis, is called ‘Little Way Week’ and is being run from 6 - 12 October. It aims to encourage everyone in the school community to pray and to serve one another and their local communities doing at least one activity, every day for a week. The initiative is inspired by the example and spiritual teaching of of St Thérèse of Lisieux, a French Carmelite nun who died when she was just 24 years old. Thérèse came to understand that everyone can grow in holiness and witness to God’s love by doing little things for love of Him and others every day.

Bishop Malcolm McMahon, Chair of the Department of Education and Formation of the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales said: “I am delighted to commend the ‘Little Way Week’ and I hope very much that all of our schools will use it as an opportunity to follow the example of St Thérèse of Lisieux in undertaking simple acts of loving witness. Following her ‘Little Way’ teaches us to do the ordinary things of life with extraordinary love. At the heart of this is our faith that Jesus is the power for love and goodness in our lives, and so the Little Way Week will provide the best possible start to our celebration of the Year of Faith in our schools and communities.”

Meanwhile Bishop Kieran Conry, Chair of the Department for Evangelisation and Catechesis of the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales said: “Little Way Week is a wonderful initiative that the whole school community can participate in to witness to God’s love through service. Let us imitate St Thérèse as someone who found deep and lasting joy and happiness in doing little things for Jesus and those around her.”

The Week will coincide with the opening of the Year of Faith on 11 October which Pope Benedict XVI has initiated. The Year marks the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council, the twentieth anniversary of the publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and also coincides with a gathering of bishops from across the world in Rome for a synod themed, ‘The New Evangelisation for the Transmission of the Christian Faith’. One of the key emphases of the Year of Faith is to know better the Catholic Faith. Everyone is invited to participate in this year of celebration and mission, mindful that faith is not meant to be private, but professed and shared.

Free downloadable resources for schools include: lesson plans, teachers’ leaflets, scripture reflections, videos, assembly formats and there is also a national art competition being offered in partnership with Premier Christian Radio. The materials are available from: http://www.catholicnews.org.uk/little-way-week Information about the art competition is available from: http://www.premier.org.uk/littleway

The Week is being coordinated by the Bishops’ Conference Home Mission Desk, in partnership with the Catholic Education Service.

Today the Catholic Education Service (CES) welcomed the OFSTED review of Pupil Premiums as an opportunity for the Government to ensure disadvantaged children receive the additional support. 

Currently Pupil Premiums are calculated using the number of children receiving Free School Meals.  Annual census data from Catholic schools in England show that the number of children receiving Free School Meals does not reflect the proportion of children from deprived areas highlighted by the Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI). 

IDACI data provided by the Department for Education highlights that despite a lower than average take-up of Free School Meals in Catholic schools, 19% of Catholic Pupil (compared with 14% nationally) come from the most deprived 10% of areas. Likewise the data shows that Catholic schools have consistently smaller proportions of pupils from least deprived areas.

The CES is keen to promote a pupil premium calculated from a number of indicators which take into consideration addition indicators including Free Schools Meals and IDACI. 

Greg Pope, Deputy Director of CES said “We support the government’s aim to ensure that funding for children from disadvantaged families is available to support them in their education.  This review provides the Department for Education with the opportunity to evaluate how Pupil Premiums are calculated to ensure that all children from disadvantaged backgrounds will receive this support. A basket of indicators is preferable as our evidence highlights that there are many children from deprived areas who, for whatever reason, do not take up Free School Meals.” 

Responding to Michael Gove’s education reforms, the Catholic Education Service (CES) has called for Religious Education (RE) to remain a priority in schools.

The reforms suggest that greater focus is required in ‘the core academic subjects of English, mathematics, sciences, history, geography and languages.’ The CES will continue to work with the Department for Education to ensure RE is not excluded from this new model, and that standards and rigour applied to examinations in core subjects will be extended to RE.

Father Tim Gardner OP, CES’s RE advisor said “RE lies at the heart of the curriculum in Catholic schools, and is an essential part of the curriculum in all schools. We will work with the Government and other faith groups to ensure that good quality RE remains a priority. We agree that the current RE GCSE requires reform to raise academic standards and the EBacc offers us the opportunity to ensure that RE is a rigorous and academic subject which stimulates and enriches children’s education. We will continue to promote RE as a core academic subject, which should take its rightful place among other humanities such as History and Geography.”

The Department for Education’s consultation on “Reforming Key Stage 4 Qualifications” offers the CES and other education stakeholders the opportunity to respond to the Government’s proposals.

Twenty new Catholic Voluntary Academies opened on 1 July 2012, bringing the total number of Catholic academies now open to 110.