Governors of Catholic Schools in the Diocese of Portsmouth

The Instruments of Government for Catholic Voluntary Aided schools which are in the trusteeship of the Diocese of Portsmouth contain the following Ethos Statement, which is a requirement of the 1998 Schools Standards and Framework Act:

"The school was founded by and is part of the Catholic Church. The school is to be conducted as a Catholic school in accordance with Canon Law and teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, and in accordance with the Trust Deed of the Diocese of Portsmouth* and in particular

a. religious education is to be in accordance with the teachings, doctrines, discipline and general and particular norms of the Catholic Church;

b. religious worship is to be in accordance with the rites, practices, discipline and liturgical norms of the Catholic Church;

and at all times the school is to serve as a witness to the Catholic faith in Our Lord Jesus Christ."

(*For schools in the trusteeship of a religious order the name of the religious order rather than the diocese will appear here. For schools in joint trusteeship the names of both diocese and religious order will appear here.)

Most Trust Deeds for Catholic Schools state that the school is provided “for the maintenance and advancement of the Roman Catholic religion”.

The provisions of Canon Law form part of the trust deed.

In addition to what is required of governing bodies of all schools, the governing body of a Catholic school is charged with ensuring that the school is conducted according to the relevant Trust Deed and Ethos Statement.

The Instruments of Government for Catholic Voluntary Aided schools also specify that Foundation Governors, ie those governors appointed by the Bishop of the Diocese and /or the Provincial of the relevant Religious Order, must be in a majority of two over all other governors, ie LA appointed governors, parent elected and staff elected governors and the headteacher. (In most cases the headteacher is also a governor.)

Foundation Governors have a particular role to play, as representatives of the Bishop/Religious Order. The Diocese describes their work as a ministry in the Church.

In his appointment letter to Foundation Governors Bishop Crispian describes their role as follows:

“Foundation Governors form the majority on the Governing Body in a voluntary aided school and have a particular role to play as my representatives. In this respect they have a responsibility to ensure that:

• they give clear witness, as individuals and as a team, to the Gospel message and that at all times the school serves as a witness to the Catholic faith in Our Lord Jesus Christ
• religious education is in accordance with the teachings, doctrines, discipline and general and particular norms of the Catholic Church (the policy for this Diocese is based on the Curriculum Directory of the Bishops’ Conference for England and Wales)
• religious worship is in accordance with the rites, practices, discipline and liturgical norms of the Catholic Church;
• the admission of pupils, employment of staff and the secular and religious education curriculum are in accordance with the Trust Deed
• they consider not only the interests of the school where they are a Foundation Governor, but have regard for the interests of other Catholic schools and the Catholic community as a whole throughout the Diocese.”

Foundation Governors have, therefore, an important part to play in ensuring the Catholic character of our schools and in building the community of Catholic schools throughout the Diocese.

There is an established process for the recruitment and appointment of foundation governors in the Diocese. This is summarised in the flowchart below:

Download foundation governor application form.

Governors have the opportunity to meet governors of other schools and diocesan officers at termly briefing meetings in five different locations throughout the diocese. The meetings are an important means of communication between the Diocesan Department for Schools and school governors and provide the opportunity to discuss and reflect upon current issues in education, both national and diocesan, which impact on our Catholic schools.

The Department for Schools organises training courses for governors which include an induction course for new governors and other courses addressing various aspects of governorship in Catholic schools in the current national educational framework.

Click here for details of Courses for Governors

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