The present discussion regarding the dismissal of the headmaster of St Albert the Great College raised several issues which transported my mind to my experiences of working in Catholic schools in London between 1970 and 1989.
My first full-time job was at a two-form entry secondary school for boys which was originally a foundation by the Redemptorist Fathers. I was appointed head of religious education and sociology and it was made clear to me that I will be allowed to take whatever decisions were needed, always within the parameters of the Catholic ethos of the school.
Of course, the Redemptorist Fathers chaired the governing body, which included priests from the school’s catchment area of parishes. Once I established myself, I was given all the assistance I needed to carry out my role and I had no interference whatsoever. I worked hand in hand with the headmaster and I hardly needed any input from the governing body until one day a problem cropped up.
A head of department decided to invite a controversial group to discuss religious issues at an evening meeting with the public. When some members of staff heard about the group, they contacted me as head of religious education and asked me to stop the meeting as, after all, the building hosting the evening event was owned by a religious order.
I involved the headmaster and I advised him to speak to the chairman of the governing body. The decision taken was that the meeting would only be allowed to take place if a priest appointed by the chairman would be present at the meeting to be able to correct any unorthodox views that may be expressed by the panel. Problem solved and the meeting went ahead with no difficulties at all.
Direct and unfettered communication between the chairman of the governing board, the headmaster and his colleagues are essential for the smooth running of a school of whatever kind. That is fundamental.
Things became even more complicated when, in 1975, my two-form entry school joined another religious order and was changed into a five-form entry school for boys within the national comprehensive educational system.
Schools by their very nature are complicated institutions to manage- Salvu Felice Pace
I retained the same position as before. But it was a different ball game. The school was to be a diocesan enterprise ‒ a huge school that included a thriving sixth form now recruiting children from the whole of the south London area, which included immigrants from all continents, some only nominally Catholic.
I was directly accountable to the governing body, as religious education in denominational schools in the UK was not subject to Her Majesty’s inspectors. I was given direction by the governing body regarding the ethos of a Catholic school in a multiracial metropolitan area and I was given the space to run the department without any interference whatsoever.
When the matter of appointing year chaplains came up, they entrusted me with interviewing them and the appointed priests were specifically told they were accountable to me. The governing body, of which I later became a non-voting member when I was promoted to head of studies and then deputy headmaster, expected accountability from me and my colleagues but never ever involved themselves in the management and day-to-day running of the school.
Together with another deputy head and the headmaster, we were always prepared to answer all questions addressed to us at the monthly governors’ board, which consisted of a number of priests, parents’ representatives and a member of the local education area inspectorate.
The matter of extra-curricular activities that occurred in the same building in the evenings had to be approved by the governors and when I suggested a revolutionary idea – I’m talking late 1970s – to involve parents in the sexual education of their children, the governors gave me the go-ahead. I took the opportunity to organise activities for parents in the evening to discuss their views.
Schools by their very nature are complicated institutions to manage. There has to be a structured bottom-up line of communication involving the staff, teachers and support teams.
Salvu Felice Pace is a retired assistant headmaster.