Stewardship: To What Extent Do Governors Of Catholic Schools Understand Their Role As Stewards Of The School’s Mission?

Foundation governors in Catholic schools are representatives of the trustee, normally the local bishop, and are appointed to be stewards of the school’s mission. For many years, this responsibility for maintaining the Catholic ethos of the school lay, in practice, with the head teacher and parish priest. However, the Education Reform Act of 1988 was a watershed which transformed the management of schools. Several sources studied during the literature review agreed that governing bodies turned to the local authority (LA) for training in the requirements of the new legislation; secular issues became the priority and dioceses stepped back, allowing other training providers to take the initiative. During this unprecedented period of change in education, the number of practising Catholics fell dramatically. Catholic colleges closed, divorce became common place and the number of vocations declined. Teachers and governors conversant with Catholic tradition became few and far between. This dissertation seeks to consider whether foundation governors today understand their responsibilities as stewards of the school’s mission. Governors from three Catholic primary schools in different dioceses were invited to complete a questionnaire; additional information was gathered from the diocesan websites and OfSTED reports. The three sources of information were analysed and compared. From the results, an example of good practice has been highlighted, together with recommendations for training to support future members of governing bodies.