Since the election of the new coalition Government in May 2010 we have seen rapid changes to the education landscape. As well as the Academies Act 2010, the Government published just this week another sizeable Education Bill containing far-reaching reforms.
Let me begin by acknowledging the tremendous amount of work done on Academies by the Catholic Education Service for England & Wales (CESEW) on behalf of the Bishops. Our starting point has been one of caution given that the current system of Voluntary Aided (VA) schools has served the Catholic community and wider civil society well since the 1940s. The CESEW has engaged in painstaking negotiations with Ministers and officials, held symposia involving our Bishops and Diocesan officers, established an Academies Working Group and worked on the templates which form the basis of a Supplemental Agreement and thereby a national Catholic model for conversion to Academies. At the beginning of the process we asked the twin questions: could Catholic schools become Academies and, if so, should they do so?
There have been significant changes to Government policy over the past few months on sensitive areas such as land and the rights of trustees, achieved in no small part by the diligent work of CESEW staff. I would like to express the thanks of the Bishops to those staff and also to Ministers and officials in the Department for Education who have been of such help. It is now our view that Catholic schools could become academies, subject to further discussion with Ministers. A more difficult question is: should they do so?
In arriving at a conclusion to that question we have reflected at length on Catholic social teaching and our responsibilities to the wider community and the poor; we are not in favour of a free-for-all in which some institutions flourish whilst others wither, for our schools are not just lone institutions, they are part of a family both of Catholic schools and the wider landscape of schools. We do not seek to turn our schools into businesses. We are also aware of the legislative safeguards that have applied to our schools for many years; we have therefore sought parity with those safeguards and protection for our assets in the foundation documents and Instruments of Governance of Academies. We are feeling more confident that this can be achieved and we expect that each Catholic Academy be entitled a ‘Catholic Voluntary Academy’, a reflection of the distinctive nature of our sector, its history and what it brings.
We are under no illusion about both the direction and pace of Government policy and we are taking a hard-headed look at the world as we find it. Our conclusion is that we should make conversion to Academies a ready possibility for Catholic schools, subject to the wishes of their Bishop, Trustees and Governing Body. We expect that the establishment of federations of schools may be a stepping stone on the route to Academy status, or form the basis of an Academy trust. One of the areas which we want to explore in more detail with the Government is the diverse Academy Trusts structure which may suit different local circumstances e.g. having an umbrella Trust or cluster of schools forming an Academy Trust.
The landscape is changing rapidly and we must be prepared to innovate and adapt with it, wherever appropriate to fulfil our mission in Catholic education. Our support for the Voluntary Aided sector will continue. Appropriate arrangements will be made to meet local situations, including protecting the right of schools to remain Voluntary Aided, become part of a Federation or become an Academy. We remember that the primary purpose of Catholic schools is the promotion of the Common Good through the education of children.
To these ends I have asked the CESEW to lead the development of a national strategy for Catholic education which meets the challenges which I have outlined above.
ENDS
The Right Reverend Malcolm McMahon OP
Chairman
Catholic Education Service for England and Wales
