Freelance Work 2023/24
On 1 April 2023, with the support of the trustees of Caritas Social Action Network (my day job since I left education in 2021), I went from full-time to 0.8, to give me one day a week for freelance work. Since then, the freelance work has taken off and I’ve filled most of my freelance days with an interesting range of work, mostly for Catholic schools and multi academy trusts, with some work for Catholic deaneries.
The work has taken me all over England and Wales, as well as trips to Glasgow, Dublin and Rome. One highlight among many was speaking at the La Salle European Assembly in Rome in February 2024. I shared some reflections with the delegates on the dynamics of network organisations, the benefits and pitfalls and some of the challenges for leadership in network roles.
For the most part, my freelance work has been speaking at INSET days in Catholic schools and multi academy trusts. CMATS, as they are often referred to, or Catholic Multi Academy Trusts, are probably the most significant development in Catholic education in England since the Butler Act in 1944. Over the next five years, I’d say, the growth of these CMATs will be our biggest challenge and opportunity.
It has led to a new phenomenon: the CMAT conference. This year I’ve spoken at several, like the John Paul II academy trust conference at Bishop Walsh school in Birmingham. More than 500 staff gathered in the school’s sports hall for the conference. It’s clear to me that there is a real opportunity here to create a sense of shared vision, to form staff in the vision and values of Catholic education, and to thank them for what they do, day in and day out.
I’ve been asked to speak about one thing more than any other: Catholic Social Teaching. This is undoubtedly due to the new Catholic Inspection Framework which looks to see CST embedded in the school. In the criteria for Outstanding, the framework states that “pupils take a leading role in responding to Catholic Social Teaching and are pre-active in finding ways of responding locally, nationally and globally.” For this to be a reality, the staff need to be comfortable themselves with the principles of Catholic Social Teaching.
When I speak to staff groups about CST, there is often a sense of relief that it’s as accessible as it is. Staff who are not from a Catholic background may come to a session on “Catholic Social Teaching” with some trepidation, but when they hear that this social doctrine, as it’s also called, is rooted in principles such as the dignity of the human person, the common good and solidarity, they are often surprised to find it so accessible and engaging.
The next phase of the challenge facing Catholic schools is how to embed Catholic Social Teaching in the governance, curriculum and outreach of the school. How are the decisions taken at a board of governors meeting, or a departmental meeting, related to the principles of CST? How can your Maths curriculum, for example, be in conversation with social justice? How can your social outreach programme form the pupils as agents of change? These are some of the questions I’ve been thinking through with schools and CMATs over the last year, with some inspiring outcomes.
If you want to make an enquiry about booking me for an INSET day, or a sequence of work over a few days, please get in touch via my website, at: https://www.raymondfriel.com/contact