Speaking
Do you need a speaker with front line experience of leadership in Catholic education and the charity sector to inspire and re-energise your staff and volunteers at an INSET day, MAT conference, retreat day or diocesan conference?
I want to help those who work in Catholic settings to recover their purpose and recover themselves. Many people at the moment are facing burn out and exhaustion. I will help you to step back, take a look from the balcony and re-discover the energy for mission. I’m more than happy to work with other faiths and those in the corporate sector who are looking to deepen a values-led approach to the mission.
Six Exemplars of popular themes I am asked to speak about
When I’m approached by an event organiser, I always take time to find out about the context of the organisation and what their expectations are for the event. My talks and workshops are always bespoke for each occasion. These six exemplars are really just a guide to the kind of things I’ve talked about in the past. I enjoy creative dialogue and shaping a session to meet the needs of a community. My approach in these sessions is always to ensure that there is good mix of direct input and interactive discussion and feedback. My presentation style is friendly, engaging and inclusive, but still able to deliver challenging and stimulating messages.
The Catholic Life and Mission of the School
With the new Catholic Schools Inspection framework there is a renewed focus on the Catholic life and mission of the school. What is our purpose, what is the ‘why’ of Catholic schools? With reference to the teaching of the Church, the Catholic Schools Inspection framework and, of course my own experience and the experience of the participants, we go back to the foundations of the mission of the Catholic school as part of the mission of the Church, conscious that not all the staff are Catholic, so keeping it inclusive and accessible.
Catholic Social Teaching: an introduction for staff
This session is aimed at staff and volunteers in parishes, schools or charities who are committed to working in a Catholic setting and supportive of the ethos, but might not know too much about Catholic Social Teaching. With interactive discussion and space for questions, I take the participants through the ‘permanent principles’ of Catholic Social Teaching and what they might look like in the leadership, curriculum and outreach of the school. The new Catholic Schools Inspection framework makes a lot of reference to Catholic Social Teaching, so versions of this session are becoming more popular.
The Ten Habits of Gospel-Inspired Servant Leaders
A lot of my work is with leaders and aspiring leaders in a Catholic setting in schools, the charity sector and, most recently with Caritas leadership in Europe. Leadership is demanding at the best of times, but leadership in a Catholic setting should be distinctive, rooted in the Gospel, while still able to function in the real world of delivery and accountability. In this session I present a new framework, which draws on the “Seven Habits” approach of Steven Covey and the Church’s teaching on the virtues, combined with my own practical experience of twenty years in leadership roles. I’m determined that anything I explore on servant leadership should work on a Monday morning, not just sound good at the conference on a Friday afternoon. The Ten Habits will give leaders a useable framework for growth, grounded in the Catholic tradition.
Catholic multi academy trusts: leadership and governance
With my experience as the CEO of two Catholic MATS, I understand what a multi academy trust looks like when it’s working for the benefit of its pupils and I understand how it can go wrong. I firmly believe that the multi academy trust is the best way not just to preserve Catholic education but for it to flourish in ways we have only just begun to imagine. Catholic MATs will have a lot in common with the MAT down the road that professes no religion, but it also has to be distinctively Catholic. With Gospel-inspired leadership, CMATs can be forces of transformation in their communities, forming young men and women to be agents of change, builders of God’s Kingdom of justice, peace and love.
Spiritual retreat for staff and governors
More and more schools, CMATs, charities and dioceses are offering retreat days, or residential retreats, for their staff and volunteers. There are plenty of places to go for the updates on Ofsted, safeguarding and fundraising – and these are all very important – but at the heart of a Catholic organisation is a spiritual vision, which we ask our leadership to embody and our staff to support. No matter what their role, people today are hungry for spiritual wisdom and nourishment, more spaces where they can step back and breathe, visit the wells of emotional and spiritual nourishment. The content of a day, or days, like this, will be worked out with the organisers depending on the need and context of the group.
The Vision, Values and Mission of a Catholic School in the 21st Century
This is the topic of my most recent book from Redemptorist Publications. The book includes a chapter which offers a model for understanding the difference between vision, values and mission, and how virtues and the principles of Catholic Social Teaching can be incorporated. I’m currently working with a number of Catholic multi academy trusts on reviewing their vision, values and mission, or working with them on how to make what they already have better understood and evident. I’d be happy to create with you a workshop or a day on reviewing your vision, values and mission statement.
Selected recent keynotes
Main topics: Catholic Social Teaching, life and mission of a Catholic school, spiritual retreat and leadership (in person unless otherwise indicated)
July 2025 - St Joseph Catholic multi academy trust, mission day, Liverpool
July 2025 - Ursuline Academy Ilford, staff retreat day at Walsingham House, Abbotswick
June 2025 - Blessed Christopher Wharton MAT, governance conference, Bradford
May 2025 - Hexham and Newcastle Diocese, leadership study day, Durham
April 2025 - Painsley Catholic Academy, Spiritual Life day, Staffordshire Showground
April 2025 - Archdiocese of Birmingham, Renew Course, St Mary’s Oscott
March 2025 - St Andrew’s Foundation, University of Glasgow, theology seminar (online)
December 2024 - St Mary’s University, Twickenham, diaconate formation programme
November 2024 - North West Dioceses, Leadership Programme, Wrightington
October 2024 - The Tablet annual lecture, CCLA, London
September 2024 - Corpus Christi primary school, social justice conference, Bournemouth
June 2024 - MANCEP Heads and Principals conference, Manchester
June 2024 - Gidea Park, Brentwood Diocese, Catholic Social Teaching study day
April 2024 - Bellerive FCJ Catholic College, Liverpool
March 2024 - St John Paul II Academy Trust, leadership conference, Birmingham
March 2024 - ATCRE (Association of Teachers of Catholic RE), annual conference, London
February 2024 - La Salle RELEM European and Mediterranean Assembly, Rome
January 2024 - Westminster Diocese Catholic Life and Mission Conference, London
November 2023 - CHAPS (Catholic Headteachers Association Primary Schools), Glasgow
November 2023 - South East Formatio Middle Leaders Programme launch, London
July 2023 - St Charles Catholic Sixth Form College, London
June 2023 - Shrewsbury Catholic Heads Association conference, Conwy
April 2023 - Mater Dei Centre for Catholic Education, DCU, Dublin, podcast series launch
March 2023 - La Salle Education IGBM Chaplains and Heads of RE conference, Kintbury
February 2023 - Holy Family Catholic MAT, governors conference, Ellesmere Port
January 2023 - Leeds Diocese Headteachers conference, Leeds