WESTMINSTER DIOCESE EDUCATION SERVICE
cc: Head
Teachers
Enclosed is the first Draft School Organisation Plan produced by the
Archdiocese of Westminster. It is intended to be a tool for the strategic
planning of school places within the diocese. The intention is to revise the
plan on an annual basis, adding and updating data so that it will become more
useful as time goes on.
As well as schools, the Draft is being circulated to LEAs, LSCs and
our other statutory partners in addition to neighbouring dioceses, Deans and
Parish Priests. You are warmly invited to take part in this consultation
process, as a result of which our plan will be all the more effective.
Responses should reach the Department of Schools by the extended deadline of Monday
13th January 2003. The Education Board will consider the results
of the consultation and adopt a final Plan for the year 2003 at its January
meeting.
(Responses – in writing, please - to Paul Barber, e-mail: paulbarber@rcdow.org.uk)
The Education Board is delighted to announce the appointment of Liz
Duffy to the Department of Schools.
Liz is an experienced Head Teacher from the
secondary sector and her background complements well that of the other officers
in the Department. Liz will take up her
post on 28th October and, together with Maureen Roe, will undertake
a broad range of school management support duties. Further details will be issued later on in the term but in the
mean time, if you call the Department of Schools, please, state your name and
outline the nature of the call and its urgency to the secretary who answers the
telephone. This will enable your call to be directed to the officer who will be
best placed to help you.
We thank colleagues for their forbearance whilst
the Department of Schools has been under strength and look forward to serving
you with renewed vigour in the future.
(Liz Duffy: 020 7798 9005 or e-mail: elizabethduffy@rcdow.org.uk)
The Education Act 2002 provides for each LEA to
establish, from 1st January 2003, a statutory body called a “Schools
Forum” (not to be confused with the Admission Forum, which will also become
statutory). The purpose of a Schools Forum is to advise the LEA on matters
relating to the authority’s schools’ budget. Each LEA decides on the precise
constitution of its Schools Forum in accordance with regulations.
The view of this diocese is that it is essential
that each Schools Forum contains adequate representation from voluntary aided
schools. This may be achieved by having a guaranteed proportion of
representatives from voluntary aided schools, by having diocesan
representation, or a combination of both. In authorities where diocesan
representation is given, we intend to nominate head teachers or governors from
Catholic schools in the authority to sit on the forums.
We would like to hear from any head teachers or
governors (particularly those with experience of school funding) who would be
willing to be nominated for their local Schools Forum.
(Nominations to Paul Barber 020 7798 9005, e-mail:
paulbarber@rcdow.org.uk)
All diocesan e-mail addresses end
@rcdow.org.uk The format has slightly
changed and they are all now in the common format of firstname+surname e.g. paulbarber@rcdow.org.uk Please change your email address book
appropriately as the older style email addresses will no longer work after
Christmas.
(Contact Anthony Clark 0n 020 8202 3611 or by
e-mail: anthonyclark@rcdow.org.uk)
The next study day for the CCRS is on Saturday 18 January 2003 at
Vaughan House, starting at 10am. The topic is the New Testament. Extra
tutorials centres have been set up, one in East London and one in West London.
Participants can register on the day but prior registration is appreciated.
(Contact Moira Wilson on 020 8202 3611 or by e-mail moirawilson@rcdow.org.uk )
Consultation Group for Head Teachers of Church Schools in the London
Area.
Please
find enclosed (for headteachers) a flier advertising an opportunity for an
ecumenical group of headteachers of Church schools in London to reflect on
their role and on the way their own spiritual experience informs their task.
(Further information from Jane Reed , Institute of Education 020
7612 6344)
14 –1 9 Practical Partnerships for Catholic Schools: a one-day
conference.
The
Dioceses of Westminster, Northampton, Brentwood and East Anglia have arranged a
joint conference on the challenges and opportunities affecting Catholic
education in the 14 – 19 age group. The conference will be held at Vaughan
House on Thursday 14 November 2002. This conference was advertised in the July
Bulletin and a flyer was circulated to all secondary schools and sixth form
colleges just before half term. A further copy is enclosed for secondary
headteachers only. The booking slip should be returned to Vaughan House.
(Further
information from Maureen Roe: 020 7798 9005,e-mail: maureenroe@rcdow.org.uk)
Governor Training: The Governors’ Role in the Mission of the Church –
Jan 25 2003
This
one day Induction Course for newly appointed governors was advertised on the
July Bulletin .It would also be an appropriate course for other governors who
would welcome an update or refresher course. Please see the attached flyer for
details of booking.
There
has been a good response from the previous bulletin about other governor
training and this is being followed up with individual governing bodies as
appropriate. Where clusters are possible these will be advertised/notified
locally by the host school.
(For
all Governor Training needs please contact Maureen Roe 020 7798 9005 or e-mail maureenroe@rcdow.org.uk)
Professional Bursaries for Teachers in their Fourth and Fifth Years of
Teaching*
All teachers in their fourth and fifth years of
teaching are entitled to a professional bursary of £500, funded and
administered by the DfES. Since March only 2% have taken up this opportunity.
Please encourage all your eligible teachers to take advantage of this scheme.
For more details visit the bursaries website at www.teachernet.gov.uk/bursaries
or telephone the bursaries enquiry line on 0845 039 0208.
Connexions: Guidance on Professional Practice*
Personal Advisers (PAs) working in Catholic
secondary schools and colleges must operate wholly and at all time within the
ethos and mission of the school or college. This will be emphasised in the Guidance
on Professional Practice, due to be published early next year. In the
interim, the Connexions Service Business Planning Guidance of October
2001 is the current document. The CES has published a useful guide to the
pertinent parts of that document, this is available on the CES web site: www.cesew.org.uk.
In the near
future, all secondary schools and colleges will be invited to enter into a
“partnership agreement” defining the work of PAs in the particular school or
college. It is essential that these legal agreements between the governing body
and the connexions service include clauses which guarantee that the work of PAs
is carried out in accordance with the values and ethos of a Catholic school.
More detailed advice on these agreements will be given once early drafts
emerge. Schools are requested to alert the Department of Schools with details
of proposals which are put to them.
(For more detailed advice, contact Paul Barber: 020 7798 9005, e-mail: paulbarber@rcdow.org.uk)
CES Census 2002
There are still a few schools that have not yet
returned the 2002 CES Census form. This may be due to the revised format of the
form this year, which was unfamiliar to schools, as was the new requirement to
send a copy both to the CES and to the diocese. The data collected from
the CES census is vital for the planning of school places in the diocese (see
School Organisation Plan, above). If you haven’t yet sent us your 2002 return,
please send it to us as soon as possible. If you are not sure, please ring
Greeny Longville (020 7798 9005) or send us a copy anyway!
Good News Slot
·
Paul Enright (St Mark’s, Hounslow) and Sr
Brenda Wallace (Gumley House, Twickenham) who were also amongst a group of head
teachers of outstanding schools
invited to Highgrove to share their experiences with HRH the Prince of Wales in
addition to those mentioned in the July Bulletin. We are delighted to
congratulate these schools and apologise for their delayed appearance in this
slot.
·
John F Kennedy
School won the “Secondary Whole School Site” category in the Becta / Guardian
UK Education Web Site Awards 2002 for their school website – visit it at www.jfk.herts.sch.uk. The school also
won a Youth in the Environment Award from Herts Groundwork Trust for the
students’ work on the school environment.
Congratulations to all
of these schools. If you have any more good news, please share it with us.
Newly Appointed Head Teachers
Our
prayers and good wishes are extended to the following, who commenced headships
this term.
Primary
Sacred Heart, Islington: Mr
John Lane
Convent of Jesus & Mary Infants, Willesden Green: Mrs Teresa O’ Higgins
St Catherine’s, Hillingdon: Mrs Sara Benn
Our Lady of Lourdes , Enfield: Miss
Mairead Devery
Servite, Kensington: Ms Kathleen Mary Gale
St John Fisher, St Albans: Miss Mary Nagle
St Teresa’s First and Middle, Harrow: Mrs
Jane Faint
St Edmund’s, Tower Hamlets: Ms
Gail O’ Flaherty
Westminster Cathedral Choir School: Mr John Browne
St Christina’s, NW8: Mrs Natalie Clyne Wilson
St Thomas More , Chelsea:
Mr
Gerard Connolly
Sion-Manning, Kensington: Mrs
Christina Leach
St Edmund’s College, Ware: Dr
Mark Loughlin
St Catherine’s, Twickenham: Mrs
Zelma Braganza
St Charles Sixth Form College: Mr
Paul O’Shea