CES News (156)
Statement on the re-opening of Catholic Schools
Paul Barber, Director of the Catholic Education Service commented: “Catholic schools have a particular care for the poorest and most vulnerable in society, and are rightly concerned about the effects of a prolonged absence from school for these and other children. Many Catholic schools are therefore already planning for opening in a safe and sustainable manner as soon as conditions allow it.
“The COVID-19 crisis has presented schools with an unprecedented challenge and in Catholic schools, school leaders, teachers and support staff have gone above and beyond the call of duty. Any phased reopening must place the safety, health and well-being of pupils and staff as its number one priority and should be done in close collaboration with dioceses and local authorities.
“In this respect, schools must be provided with clear information, proper support and enough time to plan and make thorough risk assessments, before they make the final decision to re-open. The CES remains committed to working with the Government to ensure that these key elements of support are put in place for dioceses and governing bodies.
“With pupils having missed a significant part of the school year, parents need to know that, as we slowly return to some semblance of normality, Catholic schools will be able to provide the pastoral, educational and spiritual support that are so needed in these challenging times.”
ENDS
Message from the Rt Rev Marcus Stock, Bishop of Leeds and Chairman of the Catholic Education Service
To all teachers, parents, support staff, governors and pupils in Catholic schools
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
In what has been arguably one of the most challenging periods of time in a generation, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to all who are working in Catholic education.
True to their vocation, the leaders, teachers and support staff in our Catholic schools and colleges have worked selflessly and outstandingly, often at great personal cost and with potential risks to themselves and their families. By keeping schools and colleges open for vulnerable pupils and children of key workers, providing home-learning resources, teaching lessons remotely, maintaining the spiritual and pastoral care of pupils, keeping in touch with families and so much more, our education workforce have rendered a great service both to the nation and to their communities in this time of need.
We should pay tribute also to the parents of pupils who, along with all of the day to day challenges they have had to face during this pandemic crisis, have exercised their role as the first educators of their children within their homes. Nevertheless, many parents are worried about the amount of school-time their children have missed and how this will impact on their development and their future.
We know too, that this crisis is disproportionately affecting the disadvantaged. Our Catholic schools have a special mission to care for the poorest and most vulnerable children and young people in society, and they have significantly more pupils from the most deprived backgrounds than other schools. It is critical therefore that every effort is made to enable more pupils to resume their education in school as soon as it is safe to do so.
Recently, the Government announced that it has commenced the very slow process of gradually lifting the restrictions which were implemented to protect the lives of all of our country’s citizens. To assist headteachers and governing bodies with their planning on how to re-admit more of their pupils back to the school premises once conditions allow, the Catholic Education Service has sought to work closely with the Government to ensure that proper support and clear information is given to dioceses, religious orders, multi-academy trusts and schools. Ultimately though, the safety, health and wellbeing of both pupils and staff must be our foremost priority.
Our society will have to live with the legacy of this crisis for many months and years to come but the fortitude and resolve demonstrated by our Catholic schools’ sector during this emergency has been extraordinary and is something of which we can be rightly proud.
As we face the challenges ahead of us, please do continue to pray for our schools and colleges, their leaders, teachers, parents and pupils.
With the assurance of my prayers and every blessing, I remain
Yours in the Lord
+ Marcus
The Right Reverend Marcus Stock
Chairman of the Catholic Education Service
Bishop of Leeds
21st May 2020
Lent Resources
Lent Resources
Catholic Education Service
Suggested reflections for Lent
The God Who Speaks
CAFOD
Lent calendar for children - https://cafod.org.uk/content/download/47780/577402/version/3/CAFOD%20Primary%20Lent%20calendar%202020.pptx
Lent calendar for young people - https://cafod.org.uk/content/download/50643/640647/version/1/Lent%2020%20Calendar%20YP.pptx
Lent 2020 fundraising and prayer resources for primary schools - https://cafod.org.uk/Education/Primary-teaching-resources/Lent
Lent 2020 fundraising and prayer resources for young people - https://cafod.org.uk/Education/Secondary-and-youth-resources/Lent
Missio
Lent resources (secondary) - https://missio.org.uk/lent-and-eastertide/
Lent resources (primary through Mission Together) - https://missiontogether.org.uk/lent/
Loyola Press
Lenten resources for children https://www.loyolapress.com/our-catholic-faith/liturgical-year/lent/activities-and-resources
Aid to the Church in Need
https://acnuk.org/resource/lent-hero-countdown/
Wednesday Word
http://wednesdayword.org/school/index.htm
Pax Christi
http://paxchristi.org.uk/product-category/lent-and-easter/
Youtube video interviewing children from a Catholic school in America on what Lent means to them
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mAYIFMK8Kw
Liturgy Office
Catholic Education Service Criticises Welsh Government RSE Announcement
The Catholic Education Service has today criticised the Welsh Government’s decision to remove the parental right of withdrawal for Religious Education and Relationships and Sexuality Education, as well as the proposed name change of Religious Education.
The CES expressed dismay with the decision referring to is as a ‘regressive step’ which would undermine ‘parent’s fundamental and inalienable role as the primary educators of their children’.
Hundreds of Catholics parents and teachers responded to the consultation as well as contacted their local Assembly Member about this issue. For the CES, today’s decision represents a complete disregard for the opinions of the Catholic community in Wales.
Full statement below.
Paul Barber, Director of the Catholic Education Service commented: “Today’s announcement from the Welsh Government represents a regressive step in the relationship between parents, schools and the State.
“By removing the parental right of withdrawal, these proposals risk undermining parents’ fundamental and inalienable role as the primary educators of their children.
“Many hundreds of Catholics made representations during the consultation. However, it is clear from today’s announcement that the Welsh Government is content with ignoring the views of the Catholic community.
“The proposed name change of Religious Education is also a step in the wrong direction. It is an unnecessary change which does nothing to improve the academic integrity of RE, but represents a dumbing down of the subject and a weakening of the whole school’s responsibility for instilling values and ethics in its pupils.”
ENDS
Why Catholic Schools matter at this General Election
As a religious community we value our partnership with the government in the provision of Catholic education. It is a partnership which has flourished over the last 170 years. The fruit of this partnership is the network of more than 2,200 Catholic schools across England and Wales, making the Church the second-largest provider of education in the country.
This relationship has been a resounding success on a secular as well as a pastoral and spiritual level. Not only are Catholic schools some of the highest achieving in the country, they are also considerably more ethnically diverse and take in significantly more pupils from the poorest households than the national average.
With this profile and record, the future existence of Catholic schools should be uncontroversial. However, we know this is not the case. Nationally, there are a number of organisations campaigning either to end the provision of schools in England which have a religious character or to transform the curriculum in such a way that it would remove the ability of Catholic schools to maintain their specific ethos. It is this ethos which makes our Catholic schools so unique and successful.
So now, more than ever before, we cannot take the future of Catholic schools for granted. With the general election imminent and when political parties are canvassing for our support, it is important that we ask about a political party’s commitment to our community’s precious schools.
It is still vital to remember that whoever forms the next government, whether comprised of a single party or a coalition, will implement a legislative agenda which could have a direct impact on both Catholic education and the curriculum that is taught in Catholic schools. We must be conscious too that some political parties, while holding favourable views on schools with a religious character generally, also hold policies that could damage Catholic education specifically. Therefore, it is vital you get answers on where a political party stands on the following issues.
Core principles It is not sufficient for a Catholic school just to be called “Catholic”. There are core principles which protect their ethos and the distinctive education they provide. Among these are the ability to give priority in the school’s admissions criteria to Catholic children, the bishop’s right to appoint the majority of the school’s governors, the right to reserve the school’s senior leadership posts for Catholics; and the right to teach and inspect Catholic Religious Education.
Religious Education Religious Education lies at the centre of the core curriculum in Catholic schools. Ten per cent of school time is dedicated to the subject and it is an academically rigorous theological discipline. Recently we have seen calls to abolish this and rename it “Worldviews” with a nationally set curriculum. Not only would this change the nature of the subject and reduce its importance, it could also result in the state determining how and what the Church teaches about the Catholic faith in Catholic schools – something that would be totally unacceptable.
Support for school leaders, teachers and staff Our school leaders, teachers and support staff are outstanding in the work they do. We need to ensure that political parties are committed to supporting teachers and the vocation of teaching. We hope that any future government will continue to provide support for the formation of Catholic teachers through continuing professional development and teacher training.
Relationships and Sex Education Catholic education is based on the formation of the whole child. Well-taught and age-appropriate Relationship and Sex Education (RSE) is an important part of this. However, even more important is the right of parents, as the primary educators of their children, to be fully consulted and to maintain their ability to withdraw their children from these lessons. While we are confident that the model curriculum in Catholic schools delivers RSE in accordance with the teachings of the Church and the wishes of parents, the same cannot be said for other schools. Hence for Catholic parents who do not have the option to send their child to a Catholic school, it is vital that this parental right remains in place.
New Catholic schools Since 2010, the Church has had to find space for an additional 50,000 pupils without being able to open new schools. As a community, we need to make sure that political parties remain committed to supporting the opening of new Catholic schools without a restriction on the proportion of Catholic children that they are free to admit.
As a Catholic community, we have provided our schools as part of our commitment to the common good of society and the education of young people in our country. For many years these schools have flourished. Now it is time to speak up for them and do our civic and Catholic duty to ensure that they can continue to flourish for many years to come.
The Rt Rev Marcus Stock
Bishop of Leeds
Chairman of the Catholic Education Service
Protecting the rights of Welsh parents in their children’s education
CES Director to speak at the UK’s Largest Education Policy Event
CES Director, Paul Barber will be speaking at this year’s Schools and Academies show in Birmingham.
Paul will be taking part in a seminar titled Lessons in Collaborative Operational Leadership which takes place at 12:50pm on the 14th November – the second day of the conference.
The Schools & Academies Show takes place bi-annually in April at the ExCeL, London and in November at the NEC, Birmingham. Collectively both shows attract over 8,000 attendees from Schools, MATs, Local Authorities, Central Government and the wider education sector.
The Shows are designed to connect senior decision makers and budget holders from schools with the UK’s leading education suppliers.
Through a combination of pioneering speakers, policy makers, interactive roundtables, innovative features, best-practice case-studies and much more, the Shows aim to provide senior leadership teams with practical advice and solutions to overcome their school’s biggest challenges.
More information about the show can be found here: https://schoolsandacademiesshowbirmingham.co.uk/
Statement from the Catholic Education Service on the consultation on RE and RSE in Wales
High quality Religious Education is essential for producing well rounded, religiously literate young people. In a similar respect, well taught Relationship and Sex Education plays a vital role in preparing children for life in modern Wales as well as keeping them safe.
Therefore, Catholic schools already teach high quality RE and RSE, and they teach it well. In fact, our model RSE curriculum is widely recognised as best practice, not just for Catholic schools but for secular schools as well.
Nevertheless, parents are the primary educators of their children and schools exist to support, not replace them. This is particularly important when dealing with sensitive and deeply personal topics such as faith and RSE. To remove the right of withdrawal would, therefore, be huge erosion of parental rights and represent regressive step in the relationship between parents and the state.
The parental right of withdrawal is an essential principle which incentivises a constructive dialogue between schools and parents. This is what Catholic schools already do, and in 2018 no pupils were withdrawn from RSE in Catholic schools. We see this as a mark of success and not as an excuse to remove this right.
We are also deeply concerned about the proposed name change of RE to include ‘worldviews’ as this would represent a dumbing down of RE. By including a range of non-religious ‘worldviews’ into, what is in Catholic schools, an academically rigorous theological discipline, would water down RE and reduce it to an over-simplistic comparison exercise which fails to understand the deep fundamentals of faith and religion.
Notes to Editors
There are 85 Catholic schools in Wales educating more than 28,000 young people and employing almost 3,000 members of staff.
The Catholic Church and the Church in Wales are the only non-state providers of schools in Wales.
The belief that parents are the primary educators of their children is enshrined in Canon Law (the law of the Catholic Church)
RSE in Catholic schools is faithful to the Church's vision of human wholeness whilst recognising the contemporary context in which we live today.
Links to the Catholic model RSE curriculum can be found here: http://www.catholiceducation.org.uk/schools/relationship-sex-education
RE in Catholic schools is at the core of the core curriculum and accounts for 10% of the timetable. Whilst predominately focused on the Catholic theological tradition, it covers all the major world faiths as well as the atheist critique of religion.
ENDS
Bishop of Salford Addresses Conservative Party Conference
The Bishop of Salford addressed a well-attended fringe event at the Conservative Party Conference yesterday.
The reception, organised by the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales, The Catholic Education Service, and the Catholic Herald, celebrated the work of the Church in public life.
More than 70 MPs, local councillors and party members attended the event to hear from the Bishop of Salford, the Rt Rev. John Arnold.
Bishop John paid tribute to the work of Catholics in public life, thanking them for their vocation to serve the common good.
In his speech he also stressed the need for more kindness in the country’s political discourse as well as the desire for all political parties to prioritise measures to tackle the climate emergency.
Bishop Marcus Stock named new Chairman of the Catholic Education Service
The Rt Rev Marcus Stock, Bishop of Leeds, has been elected as the new Chairman of the Catholic Education Service.
He was elected at the Bishops’ spring plenary held at the Royal English College in Valladolid, Spain and succeeds the Most Rev, Malcolm McMahon, Archbishop of Liverpool.
Archbishop McMahon, who has chaired the CES since 2009, was elected as the Vice President of the Bishops’ Conference.
Bishop Stock was Director of Schools for the Archdiocese of Birmingham between 1999 – 2009 and Acting Director of the CES between 2011 – 13. He has been a member of the Management Committee of the CES since 2015.
Bishop Stock commented: “The Catholic Education Service provides vital support and guidance for dioceses and schools throughout England and Wales, and I look forward as its new Chairman to working with the CES in the years ahead.
“I would like to thank Archbishop McMahon for the dedicated and faithful service he has given to the CES over the last ten years and assure him of our prayers for his new role.”