Governing Catholic schools: an English case study

Abstract

This paper argues that recent legislation in England has created a culture in schools that is at odds with that required by the Catholic Church. It reports the results of a 2004 survey of almost 100 governors and six diocesan directors of education which examined the extent to which school governors were aware of consequential tensions and, if so, how they were seeking to resolve them. The survey confirmed the findings of Grace that the ‘spiritual capital’ that had defined the ethos of Catholic schools in the past was weakening and not being renewed. The schools were therefore beginning to lose their distinctive character.

Keywords:

• school governor
• bishop
• diocesan director
• local (education) authority
• state
• spiritual capital

Notes

1. Primary schools cater for four+ to 11+ year olds, secondary schools 11+ to 19 year olds.

2. Each diocese in England and Wales has an official who has oversight, on behalf of the bishop, of the Catholic schools. A few are priests; the majority are lay persons with substantial experience of education. The job title varies. Some are directors of education; others are directors of schools; yet others schools commissioners.

3. A foundation governor is defined in English law as ‘a person appointed to be a member of the school's governing body other than by a local education authority who:(a) where the school has a particular religious character, as appointed for the purpose of securing that that character is preserved and developed; and (b) where the school has a trust deed is appointed for the purpose of securing that the school is conducted in accordance with it…’

4. Various activities of bishops and religious orders, the establishment of schools among them, are regulated by a legal document known as the trust deed. Those who are accountable for the proper conduct of the trust deed are therefore known as trustees.

5. This refers to the government of Margaret Thatcher, which first came to power in 1979. She was a strong advocate of reducing the power of the state (though many would argue that, under her leadership, state control, particularly over public sector activities, sharply increased), free markets and entrepreneurism.

6. Local Education Authorities are the subordinate bodies set up by Parliament to establish and maintain the majority of schools that are publicly funded.

7. There are a number of categories of maintained school in England and Wales. Community schools are established and owned by local authorities and receive all their funding from the state. Aided schools are established and owned by trustees (see the preceding note) – in the main religious bodies – and have to provide a small amount of funding themselves.

8. Following the revival of this ancient office by the Second Vatican Council, by 2005 there were more than 800 permanent deacons in England and Wales, with many more in training (Siedlecka 2005). Permanent deacons have a general remit to assist bishops in their work, but this notion does not yet seem to have extended to educational matters.

9. The Catholic Education Service statistics for 2007 show that 32% of teachers in Catholic primary, and 53% in secondary schools were not Catholic.

10. In 2006, four diocesan directors were priests, and one a religious sister. The position in three dioceses was unclear.

11. Ofsted (Office for Standards in Education) is the body charged by Parliament with the inspection and evaluation of schools.

12. R v Trustees of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Southwark ex p. Kemmis-Betty (1990) in The Universe, 13 January 1991, 2; and R v Trustees of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster ex p. Mars (1987) in Local Government Reports, Vol. 86, 507–523, Croydon: Chapman and Hall.