A historic conference for CESEW

Last week, as the Public Affairs Intern for the Catholic Education Service for England and Wales (CESEW), I attended the joint CESEW  / CATSC (Catholic Association of Teachers, Schools and Colleges) National Catholic Secondary School Conference at Hotel Russell in central London. This conference formed part of the Year of Catholic Education.

It was a two day conference, to which we were welcomed by Bishop Malcolm McMahon, who is the Chairman of the Catholic Education Service as well as Bishop of Nottingham. Father Jim O’Keefe who has a wealth of experience working in education and with Cafod gave a passionate speech reminding the conference of the theological context of their work.

Lord Hill, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State from the Department for Education (DfE) addressed the conference offering the perspective from the DfE. He spoke about our shared purpose in seeking to promote the Common Good. He also said that “Catholic schools have a long and proud tradition of transforming lives” and that Catholic schools do a “fantastic job”. I spoke to his private secretary who sent me Lord Hill’s full speech, so you can read it here.

His main responsibility at the DfE is academies. He spoke at length about the Government’s innovative plans for academies. He made it clear that he is keen that faith schools should be free to become to academies but he also emphasised that he has “no wish to undermine the special status, values, freedoms, assets or anything else that is part of being a Catholic school”.

Bishop Malcolm at the Big Assembly

The Children’s Commissioner, Maggie Atkinson, also addressed the conference with a fervent speech urging the attendees, many of whom were headteachers or deputy headteachers of Catholic secondary schools or colleges as well as diocesan education representatives amongst others, of the need to consider the human rights of children in everything they do.

The final part of the conference involved two former headteachers as they explored the theme of the conference “Stewards of the Common Good”. They showed how excellent leadership of Catholic schools contributes to the common good in their communities.

The moment the conference had all been waiting for finally came when Chief Executive and Director of CESEW, my boss, Oona Stannard took to the stage. She started off by talking about the rapid pace of political change that is taking place in the area of education. There are a number of challenges and opportunities arising for the Catholic education sector as a result of Michael Gove’s frenetic activity in the DfE.  Many of the attendees expressed their dismay that RE hadn’t been included as a Humanity subject in the new English Baccalaureate. However, when she read out Bishop McMahon’s statement about academies there was an audible gasp and a tangible sense of excitement in the room. The announcement could plausibly change the shape of Catholic education provision for years to come. The statement, which opened the way for Catholic schools to become academies, reflected the work of most of my CESEW colleagues in recent months in preparing the ground for this decision.

I enjoyed attending this conference, it was fascinating to meet some very interesting and inspiring people who are leading Catholic schools into the future as well as learning a lot about education in general.

Naomi Brandon

Public Affairs Intern at CESEW

Catholic Parliamentary Interns 2010-2011

Andrew Duncan

I'm very much looking forward to the CPI. After the election it's an interesting time to be working in Westminster in a period of transition. I'm keen to see the process of law-making in action and learn how politicians work together, elements perhaps not always picked up in the press. To continue living in a student environment at Newman House and study at Heythrop College is very much welcomed too, this perhaps will release me gently into the "real world"!

Chris Morillon

Having known past interns, to various degrees, I witnessed first hand how the experience of the CPI helped them to develop themselves spiritually, personally and professionally. As a fresh-graduate everyone is on the look out for as inspiring a position to kick-start their post-uni career as possible; after much research into various graduate schemes, I believe this is the best one out there (and I'm not just saying that!). This year I'll be working in the European Parliament in Brussels with a French MEP; I'm expecting to learn more about economics and I look forward to gaining familiarity with how it is applied in practice, particularly to help the disadvantaged. Time to get stuck in!

Daniel Howard

I’m very excited to be on the CPI scheme this year. Having previously studied Politics and International Relations at University, it is a great honour and privilege to immerse oneself in the mother of all Parliaments, working for a Conservative MP after 13 years on the opposition benches shall surely prove a unique and exciting experience.
The CPI scheme incorporates so many elements of both public and religious life, and studying at Heythrop College will surely add to this education. In addition, I am eagerly anticipating life in Newman House; living in London for the first time, in a friendly and communal environment will not only help the transition from university to work, but also help foster a strong friendship between all of this year’s interns.
I am greatly looking forward to playing my part in helping my MP in her duty of public service, whilst applying Catholic principles to the everyday business of government.

Jo-Anne Rowney

I'm very excited to finally be started the internship, especially since I'll be based at Archbishop's House, working with the Public Affairs Office. I recently graduated from the University of Hertfordshire, after reading English Literature, Journalism and New Media Publishing for the past three years - so it'll be great to put my training into practice! I start work just before the Papal Visit so I plan to fully immerse myself in the excitement and media bubble. With working in the PA Office, studying at Heythrop and living at Newman House I'm sure we'll all be very busy!

Naomi Brandon

I'm incredibly excited about working as a Catholic Parliamentary Intern for the Catholic Education Service. I was absolutely thrilled to be selected and I can't wait to start. I think the multidimensional quality of this internship, combining the political work placement, spirituality and academic study, makes this internship really special and unique. I have just graduated from Manchester University having studied Politics and International Relations, so I am looking forward to putting my politics and my faith into action and to getting a grip on the complex and fascinating policy area of Catholic education. This year is going to be busy, challenging and lots of fun and I can't wait for it to begin!

Nick Keilty

I've been excited about coming London to start the Catholic Parliamentary Internship, so now it's actually happened I can't quite believe it! I'm working in Parliament for Simon Hughes MP, who is currently deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Commons. The first few weeks have been really intense with the coalition government's comprehensive spending review providing all of us who are working in Portcullis House with a varied but very busy time!

I'm looking forward to incorporating elements of my faith such as Catholic social teaching and spirituality into my everyday work and then taking a retrospective look at how this affects my decision making. This will hopefully be propagated by living in community at Newman House and by the education we are receiving via our MA in Contemporary Ethics at Heythrop College.