Section 48
From the Autumn Term of 2022, Under the direction of the Bishop, Section 48 Diocese of Salford Inspections of our schools will be carried out under a revised Framework for Self-Evaluation. The traditional 5Ws now underpins the new framework.
The New inspection framework will consider Leadership, provision and outcomes and grade the school on three areas:
- The Catholic Life and Mission
- Religious Education
- Collective Worship
Mr McCabe, Mrs Pepperday (Shepherd of the Catholic Life), Mrs Sneyd (Head of RE) supported by the extensive mission team are responsible for evaluating the school’s provision and are accountable to the Student Support Governor Committee.
The Catholic School’s Inspection team visited for a full two day inspection on 22nd and 23rd March. We are delighted that they judged the school to be good in every category. The inspection team looked at the Catholic life and mission of the whole school. This includes how we teach young people to behave in a way that lives out the Gospel values. They also looked at Religious Education and the quality of the planned and taught curriculum, including outcomes. In addition, they inspected Collective Worship, including the quality and range of experiences provided by the school for young people to engage in liturgy and prayer. We are pleased that the report notes, “The school’s distinctive Catholic mission helps create a happy and inclusive environment in which each individual student is highly valued by committed staff. Through good leadership and focused teaching, students achieve well in religious education. The school offers a wide variety of enrichment opportunities to develop students’ moral and spiritual formation.”
We know that living a good Christian life sometimes feels countercultural and the challenge is that the values our young people are exposed to in the wider world often appear more appealing to young people in the short term. The inspection team identified three development areas that are consistent with our vision for improving the school. More than ever before we know we need to demonstrate to each young person that they are of value and accepted by God. We will do this by developing the consistency of the variety of prayer and worship in form time and show how this can support positive mental health. We believe that every subject area in our school is a ‘search for truth.’ We will be intentional in making sure staff are explicit in reflecting and teaching the values that are important to parents and carers (and the reason they chose St Joseph’s for their child.) We will do this by working to increase the confidence of staff in naturally delivering social, moral, cultural and spiritual education across all subjects. We have been developing our student leadership in school. We have a vision for our students to co-lead the Catholic life of our school so that they take ownership for our mission to the poor, passion for justice and a desire to speak up on eco issues to look after our environment for generations to come.
This is an exciting time for our community at St Joseph’s as we celebrate the journey we have travelled and the success we have experienced along the way. We look forward to an even brighter future as we work together to further strengthen the life changing opportunities we envisage for each child. May I take the opportunity to thank you for your support and role in this achievement. You can read the report in full using this link: St-Josephs-Horwich-22.3.23.pdf (stjosephsbolton.org.uk)
