In our Autumn update, Jo Stow celebrates new partner schools, welcomes a new colleague, and Jenny gives talks for head teachers…
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08/10/2026
Common Good Schools – Summer 2026
In our Summer update, Jo Stow trains new schools, welcomes new cohorts and delivers talks and sessions…
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18/07/2026
Common Good Schools – Pentecost 2026
In our Pentecost update, Jo Stow trains new schools, welcomes new cohorts and supports leadership…
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22/05/2026
From Hidden Need to Shared Life
Jo Stow reflects on the importance of a relational culture where hidden needs can surface without shame…
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02/04/2026
Common Good Schools – Easter 2026
In our Easter update, Jo Stow launches a new KS2 resource and welcomes new schools…
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02/04/2026
Common Good Schools – Lent 2026
In our Lent update, Jo Stow highlights our imminent launch of a KS2 resource and welcomes new schools…
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19/02/2026
Common Good Schools – Advent 2025
Jo Stow highlights Common Good Schools’ latest achievements and looks ahead…
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15/12/2025
Common Good Schools Autumn 2025
Jo Stow highlights Common Good Schools’ latest achievements and looks ahead…
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06/10/2025
Common Good Schools Summer 2025
Jo Stow highlights Common Good Schools’ latest achievements…
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29/07/2025
Am I a consumer, or a neighbour?
Jo Stow reflects on the importance of neighbourliness as our young people face an uncertain future…
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09/06/2025
Common Good Schools – Autumn 2026
In this autumn update, our Common Good Schools Project Leader Jo Stow welcomes new partner schools, shares news of our growing team and reports on recent activities with school leaders. She also highlights an opportunity for Church of England primary schools to pilot our KS2 resource, and invites schools to join the next cohort of Common Good Schools.
A new school year, new opportunities
The autumn term is well underway, and it’s been encouraging to see Common Good Schools taking root in more schools across the country. Following a busy summer of inductions and preparations, a number of our newest partner schools are now introducing the programme to their pupils through lessons, assemblies and opportunities for reflection.
Of course, the real purpose of Common Good Schools goes beyond the classroom. We want to help children and young people understand what it means to take responsibility for the places where they live, and to discover how relationships with neighbours and local organisations can help build the common good. As our schools begin a new academic year, I’m looking forward to seeing how this learning translates into practical action in their communities.
We welcomed 14 new partner schools during the last academic year, and this term another secondary school and 3 primary schools are beginning the programme. We’re also delighted to welcome a new colleague to the team, while continuing to work with school leaders across the country to explore the distinctive vocation of church schools in this cultural moment.
Welcoming Denstone College
On 2 September, I travelled to Denstone College, near Uttoxeter, to deliver induction training for our newest partner school.
Set within the beautiful and historic surroundings of the College, the morning brought together Revd Darren Edge, the College Chaplain, and Jordan Lambert, a local Schools Worker funded by churches in nearby Uttoxeter (header image above). Together we explored the vision and practical approach of Common Good Schools, with a particular focus on how the programme can strengthen relationships within the school and with the wider community.
Darren brings considerable pastoral experience to his role, supporting the spiritual and personal development of the College community. Jordan will be helping to deliver the lesson material and develop connections between the schools he works with, creating opportunities for pupils to put what they learn into practice.
It was a very encouraging morning, with thoughtful questions and a shared enthusiasm for what might be possible. We’re particularly pleased by the opportunity to strengthen relationships between the College, local churches and the wider community, and look forward to seeing how the partnership develops.
Welcoming Abby Chapman to the team
I’m delighted to share that Abby Chapman has been appointed as our new Common Good Schools Coordinator and will be working alongside me as we continue to develop and grow the programme.
Following a successful recruitment process, Abby joins us at an exciting time. Thanks to generous funding from the Assumption Legacy Fund, we are building our capacity to support more primary and secondary schools across the country over the next three years. Her appointment is an important step in this work, helping us strengthen relationships with our existing partner schools while welcoming new schools into the programme. We look forward to introducing Abby more fully in due course, and I hope you will join me in giving her a very warm welcome.
Working with school leaders
An important part of our work is helping school leaders explore what it means to bring Catholic Social Teaching and the common good more deeply into every aspect of school life.
Jenny Sinclair recently led a half day session for the latest EducareM Christ the Teacher Retreat at Coombe Abbey (pictured, below) for headteachers from across England. The session addressed the vocation of Catholic schools at this cultural moment. Jenny described how they can become part of the antidote to the malaise our country faces. The session explored how the wisdom of Catholic social teaching can empower schools at every level, equipping young people to build relationships and take responsibility, enabling the whole school community to contribute to the common good of their neighbourhoods.
Jenny also addressed headteachers, governors and trustees at the St Joseph Catholic Multi Academy Trust“Building the Family Together” mission day at the St Helen’s Brewdog Stadium. Jenny (pictured, below) led a session exploring the charism of St Joseph, describing the operating context of the cultural moment, and introducing how the principles and insights of Catholic social teaching adopted at strategic level across the trust can help to strengthen local communities.
We’re pleased to be contributing to this work of formation, helping senior leaders think about the mission of their schools, and how they can strengthen relationships, foster responsibility and make a tangible contribution to civic renewal.
An invitation to Church of England primary schools
Following the successful launch of our new KS2 programme earlier this year, we’re delighted to be extending an invitation to Church of England primary schools to help us pilot the resource.
Originally developed with Catholic primary schools, the six-week programme introduces children to the principles of the common good and encourages them to think about their relationships with others, their responsibilities and the contribution they can make to their communities.
We believe the resource has considerable potential for Church of England schools, particularly in helping pupils explore questions of justice and responsibility, including those raised in SIAMS Inspection Question 5.
Two Church of England primary schools have already signed up for the pilot, and we’d love others to join too. We’re suggesting a donation of just £25 to cover administration costs for participating schools.
Induction training will take place later in the autumn term, preparing schools to begin the programme in January 2027. If you work in a Church of England primary school, or know someone who does, please do consider getting involved.
We’re always delighted to hear from schools interested in becoming part of Common Good Schools. Our programmes for primary and secondary schools provide a practical way of helping children and young people develop the habits, relationships and sense of responsibility needed to contribute to the common good.
Schools, academies and multi academy trusts are welcome to apply, and discounts are available for schools joining together across a trust, diocese or local area.
If you’d like to explore whether Common Good Schools could be right for your school, you can find out more through our website and request a free sample pack.
Applications for our next cohort close on Friday 23 October 2026. Induction training will take place during the autumn term, preparing schools to begin the programme in January 2027.
It’s been a busy start to the term, with new school partnerships, induction training and opportunities to work with school leaders.
23 October: Deadline for applications to join the next Common Good Schools cohort
Later in the autumn: Induction training for new partner schools, including Church of England primary schools joining our KS2 pilot
January 2027: The next cohort of partner schools begins the programme
Prayers please
We would greatly appreciate your prayers for our work in the coming months:
For all our partner schools, particularly those introducing Common Good Schools to their pupils for the first time this term.
For Abby as she joins the team, and for wisdom as we develop the programme and welcome more schools.
For the Church of England primary school pilot, that it will help us learn how best to support schools from different Christian traditions.
For teachers, chaplains and school leaders, that they will find encouragement and inspiration in helping young people build the common good.
For further donations to our bursary fund, enabling schools facing financial challenges to take part.
Thank you, as always, for your interest, encouragement and support. It’s a privilege to work alongside schools that are committed not only to the education of their pupils, but also to strengthening the relationships and communities of which they are part.
Jo Stow Project Leader, Common Good Schools
T4CG’s Common Good Schools programme equips schools to enable children and young people develop skills around building relationships and taking responsibility. Schools acting as good neighbours in their communities not only strengthen their own students but make a tangible contribution to the shared life of their neighbourhood. Find out more and arrange a conversation with Jo here
Common Good Schools – Summer 2026
In this summer update, our Common Good Schools Project Leader Jo Stow welcomes new schools joining the programme and reports on recent talks and sessions delivered for senior leaders. She also highlights an exciting recruitment opportunity, as well as news for the autumn term – the next deadline for schools wishing to join the programme, including an invitation for Anglican primary schools to pilot our new KS2 resource.
Welcoming new schoolpartners
Following the successful launch of our new KS2 programme, we’ve been busy providing inductions for new partner schools. We are delighted that the following have completed their training: St Mary’s, Workington, St Mary’s Euxton and St Joseph’s Anderton.
We’re also delighted to share that three new primary schools and one secondary school from the St Gregory the Great Catholic Multi Academy Trust in Leeds are now ready to launch the programme: Sacred Heart, Holy Rosary and St Anne’s, Christ the King, and Corpus Christi Catholic College.
A warm welcome too, to a new secondary school, St Thomas More, Willenhall, where school Chaplain, Jack Bowen described the early stages of launching Common Good Schools: “Members of our Catholic Life and Mission Team – Riley, Khushi, Aimee, Petra and Ashmin led by example and presented our first set of Gospel Led Reflections which introduced ‘The Common Good’, what it is, and how we can work together to achieve it at St Thomas More and within our local community, to make it a better place that is full of compassion, kindness and dignity for all.”
Common Good Schools launches at St Thomas More, Willenhall
Sessions and talks for senior leaders, chaplains and teachers
I was delighted to lead a session for the Woodard Schools annual Chaplains’ retreat. Gathering at the Royal Foundation of St Katharine, London, we began by reading the signs of the times, examined why the Common Good is urgently needed by young people, and then focused on what this means for schools in practical terms.
Jo Stow led a session at the Woodard Schools Chaplains’ retreat
Jenny Sinclair and I co-led a half day session for the Archdiocese of Southwark’s Deputy Head Teachers Conference at The Oval. The focus for the day was how to respond to “the big questions” of our time, and to grasp what it means to be a church school in this cultural moment. The session examined why and how schools are called to respond in the local, and what it means to live out the relational imperative at the heart of Catholic Social Teaching in every aspect of school life.
Jo Stow speaking at the Archdiocese of Southwark Deputy Heads Conference
Jenny Sinclair gave the keynote for the St Joseph Catholic Multi Academy Trust annual Mission Day in Liverpool. In anticipation of significant growth over the coming few years, the Trust assembled all 600 staff, from the senior leadership team to teaching staff to caretakers and dinner ladies. Jenny’s talk, “Building the Common Good” drew on Catholic Social Teaching and explored what “the shared vocation of the people of St Joseph” might mean in practical terms on the ground.
Jenny Sinclair speaking at the St Joseph CMAT Mission Day
Invitation to Anglican primary schools
Our KS2 resource – a 6-week programme – was launched in February after a successful pilot with Catholic primary schools. Now I am delighted to offer an invitation for Anglican primary schools to try out our new KS2 resource in the autumn term. Please get in touch if you would like to know more: email louise@togetherforthecommongood.co.uk.
We are recruiting!
We are looking for the right person to work alongside me as Common Good Schools Coordinator. This is a part time role (2.5 days per week), commencing in September 2026. Thanks to new grant funding from the Assumption Legacy Fund, we are building our capacity to scale Common Good Schools over the next three years. The role is home-based with some travel across the UK. It would suit a highly motivated, well-organised person with education experience, who is passionate about relationships, and helping communities thrive. If this sounds like you, or if you know someone who would be a great fit, please share this page with them.
Closing date: Monday 1 September 2026, 5pm. Download recruitment packhere
Getting involved
We’d love you to join in. Here are some suggestions to consider:
Deadline for applications to join the programme – 23rd October
Would your multi academy trust or school like to join us? There’s space for you in our next cohort! Primary and secondary schools are welcome. If you are willing to share a training session, there are discounts available for two or more schools joining together across a multi academy trust, a town or within a diocese. Induction training will be in-person and take place in the autumn term, preparing schools to commence the programme in January 2027.
To complete an application, click the appropriate link below:
Jo Stow runs induction trainings for the next cohort of new partner schools
Recently inducted staff launch the programme in their schools
KS2 pilot for Anglican primary schools
2 September – induction training for Denstone College
25 September – Jenny Sinclair to lead a session for senior leaders at Plymouth CAST
2 October – Jenny Sinclair to address staff across the St Joseph CMAT, Liverpool
8 October – Jenny Sinclair to give a keynote for EducareM National School of Formation
23 October – Deadline for applications to join the next training cohort
Prayers please
We would appreciate your prayers for our work in the coming months:
For a restful and restorative summer break for the staff across all our partner schools
For our recruitment process to be successful
For all teachers who have attended an induction this summer and are preparing to start the Common Good Schools programme in their school in the autumn term
Further donations for our bursary fund to enable schools struggling financially to join the programme
Jo Stow, Project Leader, Common Good Schools
T4CG’s Common Good Schools programme equips schools to enable children and young people develop skills around building relationships and taking responsibility. Schools acting as good neighbours in their communities not only strengthen their own students but make a tangible contribution to the shared life of their neighbourhood. Find out more and arrange a conversation with Jo here
Common Good Schools – Pentecost 2026
In this update for Pentecost, our schools Project Leader, Jo Stow reports on new strategic relationships with multi academy trusts, new partner schools joining the programme, as well as news of upcoming activities and the next deadline for schools wishing to join the programme. She acknowledges the generosity of donors – in particular those who have supported the Bursary Fund, and her gratitude for a grant enabling our Common Good Schools team to serve more schools.
Supporting staff and leadership
We were delighted to support the senior leadership team from the Pope Francis Multi Academy Trust at a 24 hour retreat as they discerned how Catholic Social Teaching and the charism of Pope Francis shapes their mission. They explored how to leverage their local relationships to grow the common good in the neighbourhoods their schools serve. It is inspiring to witness this outward-facing faithfulness and professional focus as their vision takes shape.
We were also delighted to lead a half day session with Deputy Head Teachers at the Archdiocese of Southwark. Together, we confronted the “the big questions” of our time and explored how local schools are called to respond. We examined what it means to be a church school and the importance of living out the relational imperative at the heart of Catholic Social Teaching, in every aspect of school life.
Our latest online CPD session for our partner schools’ staff was a deep dive into the principle of Subsidiarity. We explored this key principle of Catholic Social Teaching, what it looks like in practice and how it can empower students, staff and community partners to play their part for the common good. Participants learned how this principle guides upholds human dignity by ensuring responsibility is taken at the right level, thereby helping to distribute power, enabling flourishing at all levels. This generated reflective conversation on current practice and further effective application of the principle.
Preston schools joining
It was fabulous to meet colleagues from Mater Ecclesiae Trust in Preston. Staff from five primary schools within the trust gathered to reflect on the common good and learn what it takes to become a Common Good School. We’re grateful to St Clare’s Primary School who hosted the session and warmly welcomed Our Lady and St Edward’s, Ss Mary and Michael, St Mary and St Andrew’s and St Augustine’s primary schools. Induction Training not only introduces our materials, but also explains why the learning and practice of the Common Good is so important for children growing up in an individualistic and consumeristic culture. We’re excited to see how pupils and staff engage and get involved in their communities in the coming months.
Bursary fund enabling 5 new schools to join
We are hugely grateful for generous private donations to our Bursary Fund. At this time, school budgets are stretched considerably. This fund was set up to support schools who need some financial help in order to join Common Good Schools. We were delighted to deliver the good news to five schools from two cities – four primaries and one secondary – who applied to the fund. Without this help, our resources, CPD and support would have been out of their reach. We received this message from a head teacher in receipt of a bursary donation: “Thank you for the wonderful news! We are delighted to be part of the Common Good Schools programme and look forward to getting started.”
If you would like to contribute to the Bursary Fund and help more schools to join, you can donate securely online here. Please be sure to add a note in the comment box indicating that your gift is dedicated to the Bursary Fund, or email us at louise@togetherforthecommongood.co.uk
Celebrating new funding
We are thrilled to share that we have been awarded a grant from the Assumption Legacy Fund to support our part time Common Good Schools Project Leader post and a new part time assistant role. This modest expansion in capacity will enable our small and highly efficient team to serve more schools, develop more resources, and provide a foundation for the next three years on which to build. This is a huge relief and we are extremely grateful to the fund’s trustees.
Deadline for applications to join us – 1st July
Would your multi academy trust or school like to join us? There’s space for you in our next cohort! Both primary and secondary schools are welcome. If you are willing to share a training session, there are discounts available for three or more schools joining together across a multi academy trust, a town or within a diocese. In-person induction training will take place in the autumn term, preparing schools to commence the programme in January 2027.
Click the appropriate link below to complete an application.
We were delighted to see that one of our partner schools, the St Francis Academy in Liverpool, has connected with a school in Italy. The visit was initiated by Franca Gambari from Modena and featured in a local online magazine, where Franca shared her vision of how school can become a space for active citizenship. The visit saw eleven British pupils plus staff meeting their Italian counterparts participating in a creative programme of shared experience, in both classroom and community.
Getting involved
We’d love you to join in. Here are some suggestions to consider:
Part of a MAT? Share this page with your colleagues across the Trust
For high schools, find out more about what being a Common Good School entails
1 July Application deadline for the next cohort of schools: inductions in the Autumn Term, to commence the programme in January 2027
3 July Jenny Sinclair addressess the St Joseph MAT Mission Conference in Liverpool
September – November Induction training for new primary school partners
Prayers please
We would appreciate your prayers for our work in the coming months:
Woodard Schools chaplains considering community engagement
School staff in Leeds, Liverpool, Lancashire and Cumbria receiving training in June and July
Further donations for our bursary find to support schools in the next cohort
Jo Stow, Project Leader, Common Good Schools
T4CG’s Common Good Schools programme equips schools to enable children and young people develop skills around building relationships and taking responsibility. Schools acting as good neighbours in their communities not only strengthen their own students but make a tangible contribution to the shared life of their neighbourhood. Find out more and arrange a conversation with Jo here
From Hidden Need to Shared Life
From Hidden Need to Shared Life
In this article, Jo Stow invites schools to look beyond management and service delivery to something deeper: a relational culture where hidden needs can surface without shame. Drawing on real experiences from Common Good Schools, she explores what it really means to live the option for the poor, not just by providing support, but by creating a climate of trust where children and families feel safe to come forward. This is a gentle but powerful call to shift from projects and data to genuine noticing, relationship, and solidarity.
We often begin with data. Percentages. Indicators. Free school meal eligibility. These things matter. They give us a sense of scale and help us to name where need might be. However, they do not tell the whole story.
There is poverty in every school, regardless of the data.
Some children fall through the gaps. Some families are not visible in the way systems expect them to be. Others choose not to be visible at all. The result is that much of what matters remains just out of sight, known only in fragments, or not at all.
We are used to looking at what can be measured. But much of what matters in a school community cannot be measured so easily. It has to be noticed.
A culture where people can come forward
Recently, I was speaking with a school that has a food bank. That in itself is not unusual. In April 2024 the BBC reported: “Researchers found there are 4,000 school-based foodbanks in primary and secondary schools across England, which equates to one in every five.”
Many schools are responding in practical ways to the pressures families are facing. But what stayed with me afterwards was not the provision itself. It was the way the school spoke about it.
In this school, children and parents approach staff themselves when they need help.
There is no sense that you have to reach a particular threshold before you are allowed to ask. No formal process that sits between a person and their need. Staff spoke about being open to receiving those requests, and about the importance of how that moment is handled.
Over time, something has taken root in the culture of the school.
Parents come forward. Children speak.
Not because the need is greater there than anywhere else, but because it is possible to speak about it.
When need is recognised
At Christmas, this became visible in a different way.
Through small conversations and a growing awareness of family circumstances, staff began to realise that some children would not receive any presents.
This was not something that had been formally declared. It surfaced gradually, through the kind of knowledge that only comes from relationship.
So, the school responded.
They gathered gifts and created hampers. They arranged for them to be given out through a raffle, so that no child would be singled out. Most of the families never knew that the school had seen their situation.
But one pupil realised.
He came to speak to a member of staff and said, through tears, that this was the first Christmas he had ever received presents.
There is something very simple here, and also something very profound.
The need had not been announced. It had been recognised.
What the option for the poor asks of us
This is where the question of the Catholic Social Teaching principle, the “option for the poor”, begins to shift.
It is easy to think of it in terms of provision. What do we offer? What do we put in place? What additional support can we provide? But the question is not only whether support exists. It is whether people feel able to come forward at all.
That depends on culture.
It depends on whether people feel known and seen. It depends on the level of trust, whether what is hidden can surface without fear of shame.
Acts 2:44-45 describes the early Church as a community where people shared what they had and gave to anyone who was in need. Poverty had not disappeared, but it could not remain hidden, because people were close enough to respond together.
Holding the tension
Of course, there are tensions in all of this.
Providing practical support matters. It makes a real difference to children struggling to concentrate in the classroom. But it also raises deeper questions about what sits behind that need, about what a school can and cannot address.
Those questions are important. They deserve time and attention.
But they are not separate from what is happening day to day.
The way we see need shapes how we respond to it.
If we see through the lens of service provision, we will focus on meeting immediate need. If we begin to ask why that need exists, we start to notice patterns that point beyond the individual to something shared.
So the question is not whether we respond or whether we ask why.
It is whether we are able to hold both together.
Because noticing what is already present among us is often what makes the deeper questions visible in the first place.
Learning to notice
In Common Good Schools, we are learning that this kind of seeing is not straightforward. Schools are often shaped by a service model. Provide. Deliver. Raise awareness. Fundraise. These are familiar patterns, but they can also create distance.
Relational work asks something different.
It asks us to slow down, to pay attention, to take seriously the small fragments of knowledge that emerge through everyday interactions. The bits and pieces that, over time, reveal something deeper about a child or a family. Because you cannot know what is going on unless you are in a trusting relationship.
Getting uncomfortable
We ask our partner schools to build relationships in their neighbourhoods.
This means looking beyond the school gates. Paying attention to the people, groups, and organisations that make up the local community, and finding ways to connect. As these relationships grow, schools often begin to see their own community differently, including the experiences of families whose struggles may not yet be fully known.
From here, connections can deepen. Schools begin to find others locally who share the same concern, and working together can make a real difference.
But there is a risk.
If our response remains only at the level of provision, we can unintentionally reinforce distance. Support may be offered, but a sense of separation remains.
Common good thinking invites us to go further. Not instead of responding, but alongside it.
It asks us to question why things are the way they are, and to recognise when patterns of injustice are shaping the lives of the families we know.
In our KS3 and KS4 programme, young people encounter stories like Maria’s, which open up these questions. Through her experience, they begin to see how insecure work, low wages, and limited opportunity shape people’s lives in ways that are often hidden.
The responses are often striking. In some schools, these realities are already familiar. In others, they come as a shock. Young people begin to recognise that this is not simply about individual circumstances. It points to something deeper. And often, they want to act.
It is at this point that the instinct is to do something immediate. To provide, to campaign, to respond quickly. But other possibilities begin to emerge when relationships are already in place.
Trusted relationships offer space for more creative responses. Schools connected with local businesses, churches, and community groups can facilitate conversations that include the very families most affected.
New ideas can take shape. Not only meeting need, but opening up pathways towards greater stability, dignity, and participation.
Solidarity
This is where the question deepens. Genuine relationships can shine a light on why the need exists at all. They can reveal the consequences of insecure work and a low wage economy, and begin to draw people into a shared life where these realities are no longer hidden.
In Common Good Schools, we are beginning to see how this awareness can grow. Maria’s story of insecure work and low wages was tackled head on by a church creating a social enterprise that paid the London Living wage and improved both working conditions and job security.
Encountering these realities in a relational context can shift how poverty is perceived. It moves from something hidden to something shared.
A community shaped by the common good is not only attentive to need. It is also marked by solidarity.
Jo Stow is Project Leader, Common Good Schools
T4CG’s Common Good Schools programme equips schools to enable children and young people develop skills around building relationships and taking responsibility. Schools acting as good neighbours in their communities not only strengthen their own students but make a tangible contribution to the shared life of their neighbourhood. Find out more and arrange a conversation with Jo here
Common Good Schools – Easter 2026
In this Easter update, Jo Stow, our schools Project Leader, reports on the launch of our new programme for Key Stage 2, and celebrates new schools joining Common Good Schools. Jo also previews our upcoming activities and speaking engagements, and invites you to get involved—whether by joining in or praying for this vital work.
Welcome to our new partner primary schools
I am very excited that following the launch of our new resource for Key Stage 2, we are welcoming fifteen new primary schools. In the coming months I’ll be travelling from Cumbria in the north to Kent in the south and plenty of northern towns and cities in between. I am very much looking forward to meeting staff. Induction training will take place during the summer term and schools will begin the programme in September. This is a map showing where our new partner primary schools are located.
Welcome to our new secondary schools
We work relationally, and love to deliver training in a way that is helpful to our school partners. It was wonderful to meet and train a large number of teachers from St Augustine’s High in Redditch. At St Thomas More, Willenhall, it was a joy to work with an enthusiastic chaplaincy group, their chaplain and a school governor.
Deadline for applications to join us – 1st July
Would your multi academy trust or school like to join us? There’s space for you in our next cohort!
Primary and secondary schools are welcome and if you are willing to share a training session, there are discounts available for three or more schools joining together across a multi academy trust or within a diocese.
In person induction training will take place in the autumn term, preparing schools to commence the programme in January 2027.
Volunteer for us – we are looking for someone to help with comms and marketing
Prayers please
We would appreciate your prayers for our work in the coming months:
For new schools, young people and staff as they join Common Good Schools
For financial support to enable schools struggling financially to join Common Good Schools
For Jo and Jenny as they speak to senior leaders responsible for Christian life and mission
For our partner schools as they enable young people to build relationships in their communities
Jo Stow, Project Leader, Common Good Schools
T4CG’s Common Good Schools programme equips schools to enable children and young people develop skills around building relationships and taking responsibility. Schools acting as good neighbours in their communities not only strengthen their own students but make a tangible contribution to the shared life of their neighbourhood. Find out more and arrange a conversation with Jo here
Common Good Schools – Lent 2026
In this Lent update, Jo Stow, our schools Project Leader, looks ahead to the imminent launch of our new programme for Key Stage 2, and celebrates two new secondary schools joining Common Good Schools Key Stage 3/4. Jo also previews our upcoming activities and speaking engagements, and invites you to get involved—whether by joining in or praying for this vital work.
KS2 Programme: Launch Event
On 26 February we will be launching our brand-new Common Good Schools programme for primary schools. Learn more here.
*Register your interesthere and we will send you an invitation to the online launch*
The resource will have a phased roll-out starting with Catholic Schools. If you work in a CE or Methodist school, we need your help! We are looking to tailor the resource to work in your context. You are very welcome to attend the launch and we’ll be recruiting CE and Methodist school partners for the autumn term.
New Partners in the Midlands
We’re delighted to welcome St Augustine’s High School in Redditch and St Thomas More High in Willenhall. Both schools will receive their induction training in March.
Free Lent Resource for KS3 and 4
If you’re looking for a free classroom resource for Lent, do take a look. Our theme is “Who is my neighbour?” Click here to download. Or forward to a colleague.
UpcomingEvents and Activities
26 February Launch event: Common Good Schools for KS2 programme. Registerhere
March–June Induction training for new primary and secondary school partners
12 March Jenny will address head teachers at the EducareM retreat
Volunteer for us – we are looking for someone to help with comms and marketing
Prayers please
We would appreciate your prayers for our work in the coming months:
For financial support to enable schools struggling financially to join Common Good Schools
For Jo and Jenny as they speak to senior leaders and those responsible for the Christian life and mission of their schools
For new schools, young people and staff as they join Common Good Schools
For our team as we prepare to launch the KS2 programme
For our partner schools as they enable young people to build relationships in their communities
Jo Stow, Project Leader, Common Good Schools
T4CG’s Common Good Schools programme equips schools to enable children and young people develop skills around building relationships and taking responsibility. Schools acting as good neighbours in their communities not only strengthen their own students but make a tangible contribution to the shared life of their neighbourhood. Find out more and arrange a conversation with Jo here
Common Good Schools – Advent 2025
In this Advent update, Jo Stow, our Common Good Schools Project Leader, shares her excitement for the year ahead. She looks forward to launching our brand-new programme for primary schools, unveils the Common Good Schools Bursary Fund, and highlights an inspiring film from our partner school, Alsop High. Jo also previews our upcoming activities and speaking engagements for 2026, and invites you to get involved—whether by joining in or praying for this vital work.
One of the characteristics of the Common Good is reciprocity. As we approach Christmas, we would like to offer you an opportunity to exchange gifts. Our gift to you is a taster of the new Common Good Schools programme for primary schools, and in return we invite you to contribute to the Common Good Schools Bursary Fund to enable schools on low budgets to participate.
Our Christmas Gift to You!
In February we will be launching our brand-new Common Good Schools programme for primary schools. This free sample pack contains all materials for teaching week one of the programme. Like what you see and want your primary school to get involved? Register your interesthere so that we can plan well for the launch which will take place in Lent 2026.
Giving a gift to a school
The Common Good Schools programme brings significant benefits to schools who take part. But right now, many schools are stretched financially. The cost for a secondary school to take part in the programme is £500 in their first year, and £250 per year thereafter. We currently know of four schools who would like to join but do not have the funds available. To enable every school, regardless of resources, to access the transformative benefits of the programme, we have established the Common Good Schools Bursary Fund. Please help us build up this fund and enable schools struggling financially to play an active role in building stronger local communities. You can contribute here
News from the community of Walton and Alsop High School
We are delighted to bring some wonderful news from our long term partner Peter Bull at Alsop High School. After the riots of August 2024 in Walton, Alsop High School invited Jimmy Mulville to work with their young people and pupils of Arnot St Mary CE School. As a result, Jimmy, who is Managing Director of Hat Trick Productions, commissioned a production team to produce the powerful and poignant documentary People and Place. It tells an inspiring and hopeful local story, challenging recent negative narratives about Walton. The film spotlights the community’s creativity and resilience, and features Alsop students talking about their aspirations. Read more here. Watch the film here.
Activities in the diary for 2026
Lent 2026 Launch of the Common Good Schools for KS2 programme
12 March Jenny will address head teachers at the EducareM retreat
Volunteer for us – we are looking for someone to help with comms and marketing
Prayers please
We would appreciate your prayers for our work in the coming months:
For financial support to enable schools struggling financially to join Common Good Schools
For Jo and Jenny as they speak to senior leaders and those responsible for the Christian life and mission of their schools
For new schools, young people and staff as they join Common Good Schools
For our team as we prepare to launch the KS2 programme in Lent
For our partner schools as they enable young people to build relationships in their communities
Jo Stow, Project Leader, Common Good Schools
T4CG’s Common Good Schools programme equips schools to enable children and young people develop skills around building relationships and taking responsibility. Schools acting as good neighbours in their communities not only strengthen their own students but make a tangible contribution to the shared life of their neighbourhood. Find out more and arrange a conversation with Jo here
Common Good Schools Autumn 2025
Kicking off the new academic year, Jo Stow, Common Good Schools Project Leader, anticipates a dynamic term ahead. She reflects on the success of Phase One of the pilot for our new primary school resource, previewing Phase Two and the upcoming launch in early 2025. Jo also outlines her plans with our partner secondary schools this term and highlights forthcoming speaking engagements across the country. Discover how you can get involved and join in praying for this vital work.
In the last month we’ve had many encouraging conversations and we’re excited. It’s been great to speak to leaders from a diocese and two Multi Academy Trusts who are interested in joining Common Good Schools as well as a Common Good Schools partner academy who would like more of their Trust’s schools to join. I’m also enjoying a generative conversation with a teacher and an author keen to help us develop a potential new KS1 resource next year.
New resource for KS2 – Pilot Phase One
In Common Good SchoolsKS2 lessons and assemblies children learned about reciprocal relationships and recognise the dignity and worth of each person. Participating schools were invited to engage with their local community in a way that builds mutuality. We’re incredibly appreciative of staff who gave us feedback and shared stories and photographs.
Year 6 children from Ss Peter and Paul’s Catholic Primary, Yeadon, built relationships with a local Friendship Group through shared activities. These included pupils reading to visitors, sharing a chair aerobics class, playing board games, line dancing, talks from fire fighters, librarians, police and dogs for the blind. The Friendship group was invited to join family members at an afternoon tea and for the school production.
Class teacher Angela Filarowski said, “The children have really enjoyed being able to join the Friendship Group. They talked to the rest of KS2 about it and have really instilled enthusiasm in them for working in the community and living out Jesus’ mission to help those who in many different ways need their support.”
Looking ahead
September – October
New resource for KS2 – Pilot Phase Two. Participating schools will give weekly feedback on lessons and a final feedback about community engagement and overall experience in November
Online CPD session for our KS3/4 secondary school partners on ‘Subsidiarity: taking responsibility, making decisions’
Jo delivers sessions in Common Good Thinking for students during a Mission Week at St Joseph’s Catholic and Anglican High School, Wrexham
November
Jo addresses delegates at the Secondary PICCLS conference, Archdiocese of Birmingham
Jenny addresses senior leadership teams at the Three Spires Trust and the St Regis Academy
December
Opportunity to pre-order our brand new programme for KS2
2026
Launch of the new Common Good Schools for KS2 programme
Jenny addresses head teachers at the EducareM School of National Formation
Jo and Jenny address delegates at St Teresa of Calcutta Trust’s Mission Leadership Conference
Get involved
We’d love you to consider how you can join in. Here are some suggestions to consider.
Part of a MAT? Share this page with your colleagues across the Trust
For high schools, find out more about what being a Common Good School entails
Pray for young people and staff as they forge relationships with their neighbours
Make a donation and support more young people to build the common good
Prayers please
We would appreciate your prayers this autumn for our work in the coming months:
For financial support to enable this work to continue and grow
For the teachers and young people of partner trusts and schools running the programme
For the teachers and children in phase 2 of piloting our new KS2 resource
For the early 2026 launch of our new primary school resource
For the teachers attending our online CPD on Subsidiarity in October
For developing relationships with both Church of England and Catholic Academy Trusts.
Jo Stow, Project Leader, Common Good Schools
T4CG’s Common Good Schools programme equips schools to enable children and young people develop skills around building relationships and taking responsibility. Schools acting as good neighbours in their communities not only strengthen their own students but make a tangible contribution to the shared life of their neighbourhood. Find out more and arrange a conversation with Jo here
Photographs: thanks to children of Ss Peter and Paul Catholic Primary, Yeadon and community group Friends of Ss Peter and Paul
Common Good Schools Summer 2025
As this academic year draws to a close, Jo Stow Project Leader for Common Good Schools celebrates highlights from a busy term, including the successful pilot of a new six week common good resource for primary schools, a visit from our Italian partners to our Liverpool partners, our latest new secondary school, contributions to conferences and a pilgrimage. Jo looks ahead to a packed schedule in the autumn, meeting groups of head teachers and delivering phase two of the primary pilot.
Piloting our new programme for 7-11 year olds
We have been piloting a new resource across the summer term. In response to many requests, I have developed a new six-week Common Good programme for 7-11 year olds to complement our resource for 11-16 year olds. Children and teachers from eight primary schools from Yorkshire to Kent took part. Feedback has been very encouraging. Comments demonstrate that the programme:
“… is joyful, interactive, relevant, thought-provoking. It should be a resource that every school should consider.” Year 5 teacher, Chorley, Lancs
And that it
“… allows for a designated teaching time for Catholic Social Teaching. It focuses the children to enable them to become aware of the terminology, helping them think about their own actions within school and their community.” Year 3 teacher, Leeds
A further 14 schools across the country will join phase 2 of the pilot in September. The new resource will be launched in early 2026. Sign upto the Common Good Schools monthly newsletter for details of pre-order dates.
A walk in the park with our Italian partners
In early July, we welcomed partners from the Diocese of Modena-Nonantola in northern Italy as Franca Gambari brought a group of young people, teachers and diocesan staff on a visit to Liverpool. Having followed the ten-week Common Good Schools programme in Italian over a year, the group had become familiar with common good principles.
I and the Italian group were invited to join with students from our partner school, the Academy of St Francis of Assisi, on a Reflective Walk in a local park. Led by School Chaplain Miles Rimmer-Tagoe, the young people mingled and answered questions based on Common Good principles as they walked. From time to time, Miles asked everyone to stop and share their conversation with the whole group. All involved said the walk had helped them learn about the local area and reflect on their responsibility to build the common good wherever they were from.
Later that day, hosted by School Chaplain Kasia Boydell, the Italian group visited our partner school Hope Academy in Newton-le-Willows to join in classroom activities. Both schools are part of All Saints Multi Academy Trust, whose vision is inspired by the ecumenical partnership of bishops Sheppard and Worlock in Liverpool a generation ago.
Our latest new partner
Our newest partner is also from Liverpool: Broughton Hall. It was a joy to meet Lay Chaplain Phil Johnson in June for induction training, covering community engagement in the surrounding streets of the school in the West Derby area of the city. I was delighted to welcome Phil and colleague Colleen Downham to meet Common Good Schools partners online for a CPD session in Community Engagement. I look forward to working with them in the coming academic year.
Delivering common good workshops
I am increasingly being invited to speak and provide Common Good Schools workshops for conferences. My role is currently limited to two days per week, so fitting this into my schedule is a challenge. However, I love doing it and was delighted to contribute to the ‘Voices for Social Justice’ conference at Holy Cross School, New Malden. This large conference invited staff and students from many other local schools too, both primary and secondary. My workshops, for Years 5, 6, 7 and 8 students, focused on developing listening skills for the purpose of building common good and solidarity in the neighbourhood. The young people participated brilliantly and it was an extra benefit to engage the able assistance of Holy Cross sixth formers. It was also good to meet up with friends of Common Good Schools, including Susan Elderfield from the Archdiocese of Southwark, and Mugeni Sumba from the Oscar Romero Awards Trust.
Pilgrimage
Our Founder and Director Jenny Sinclair was invited to speak to VI formers participating in a Gaudete Trust pilgrimage to Liverpool. Coming from schools across the northwest, the young people were led by Helen Jones on a walking pilgrimage on the theme of hope, recalling not only the city’s troubled history but its spiritual history and its resilience in overcoming injustice. The young people came from a broad range of backgrounds.
Jenny talked about her own story of vocation, the history of the city, its troubles, how it survived a succession of tragic events, and how the Sheppard Worlock partnership helped the city overcome sectarianism. Jenny also talked about Catholic Social Teaching, the common good, the role of the Church and the individual Christian in civic and spiritual renewal in our own troubled times. The VI formers asked probing, thoughtful questions – about vocation, the Holy Spirit, division and social unrest. Realistic, insightful and hopeful, this was an impressive group. The Gaudete Trust is a charity that supports a family of schools and colleges animated by the distinctive charisms of the founding Religious Orders.
Prayers please
We would appreciate your prayers this summer for our work in the coming months:
For financial support to enable this work to continue and grow
For the teachers and young people of the 10 secondary school partners running the programme
For the teachers and children of the 14 primary schools in phase 2 piloting our new resource
For the early 2026 launch of our new primary school resource
For the teachers attending our online CPD on Subsidiarity in October
For the Kent Catholic Schools Partnership and our developing relationship
For the head teachers attending our forthcoming sessions
Jo Stow is Project Leader, Common Good Schools
T4CG’s Common Good Schools programme equips schools to enable children and young people develop skills around building relationships and taking responsibility. Schools acting as good neighbours in their communities not only strengthen their own students but make a tangible contribution to the shared life of their neighbourhood. Find out more and arrange a conversation with Jo here
WeBelieve FestivalItalian partners visit St Francis of AssisiHoly Cross ConferenceGaudete Trust PilgrimageAfter the Walk in the ParkBroughton Hall School
Am I a consumer, or a neighbour?
Am I a consumer, or a neighbour?
In our work with children and young people, we invite them to reflect on a question. This question is implicit throughout our KS2 and KS3/4 programmes. And it’s an important one. Here, Jo Stow asks ‘Am I a consumer, or a neighbour?’
Our children are immersed in an online world that grooms them to be consumers through constant advertising, but also through increasingly harmful content. According to a report for the Children’s Commissioner for England, a quarter of 16-21-year-olds first saw pornography on the internet while still at primary school. By the age of 13, 50% had been exposed, with three in five secondary school-aged children having been contacted online in ways that made them feel uncomfortable.
This, along with an over emphasis on rights rather than responsibilities, breeds a culture that induces fear, confusion and profound unhappiness as evidenced by the loneliness and poor mental health of many children and teens today. Our children and young people were not made for this.
The realities can seem overwhelming and can appear insurmountable. But in contrast to the self-obsessed worldview of this individualistic culture, Pentecost tells a radically different story, a story of self-giving.
The action of the Holy Spirit initiated a revolution. The anxious apostles received the Holy Spirit and were filled with joy and a fearless zeal to proclaim the risen Christ. The doors of self-protection were flung open and the people in the surrounding streets were drawn to this countercultural message of hope. Peter issued an invitation for people to repent and be baptised. Previously hidden, the apostles literally gave themselves away, and the church grew.
So, what has the Common Good got to do with the Spirit-filled proclamation of the Gospel? In Acts, immediately after reports that “three thousand were added to their number” (Acts 2:41) we observe that the shared life of the new Christian community was so distinctive that it drew people’s curiosity.
The generosity of this community included material needs being met, breaking bread in each other’s homes and living alongside each other. There was deep connection, participation and reciprocity between them. When it was discovered that people were being left out of the daily distribution of food (Acts 6:1-7), action was taken, with seven deacons known to be full of the spirit and wisdom, appointed for this task.
This is what being a neighbour rather than a consumer looks like. Our young people need help to resist the toxic pressures of this culture of isolation and learn how to build mutual responsibility and civic friendship. We must shift our focus to who is around us. Simply noticing is the first step.
In our work with Common Good Schools, we ask our partner schools to identify who is in the neighbourhood. For Christian teachers and students, this includes an attentiveness to see where the Holy Spirit is already at work so that they can join in. There will already be people and groups that they know and relate to, and some where a meaningful relationship is yet to be established. The next steps are connection and conversation. As relationships develop, young people will get to know people they would not ordinarily meet.
But will these acts of neighbourliness facilitate an encounter with Christ? Sometimes there is an assumption that evangelistic proclamation of the gospel and “social action” are separate activities, even as different departments of church life. But when the two are in harmony, healthy fruit grows.
Matt belongs to a small Baptist church in Leeds that my husband pastors. Matt and his wife Chrissy (not their real names) live a stone’s throw from the church. The story of how he came to be part of the worshipping community is instructive. A neighbour had invited Chrissy along to the Friday morning ‘Drop-In’ for a bacon sandwich. There, she encountered a welcoming community of parents with young children, local elderly residents, immediate neighbours and church members. She enjoyed the friendship.
Weeks later, Matt came too. He found people with common interests and connections. This led to the couple attending a friend’s baptism service. And the rest is history. For Matt, it wasn’t just a case of belonging. He had felt a desire for God emerging as he watch his wife go off to Drop-In. With a tear in his eye, he conveyed what it meant to develop a relationship with God, and to able to contribute to the life of the church.
If we don’t operate as good neighbours, getting to know people and inviting them to contribute, we are not only limiting their opportunities to encounter the love of Christ, we are also missing out on what the Holy Spirit is doing in our area in his work of renewal. This applies not only to churches but also to church schools.
For Matt, it was important that he could make a contribution, but for our young people, taking responsibility and contributing doesn’t always come naturally.
In my spare time, I recently helped to run an Alpha course. I noticed that at first, the older participants attended only if they could offer something. They cooked, baked, or welcomed. Younger participants in their teens and twenties enjoyed what was laid on but didn’t proactively offer help, although were happy to if asked. However, as the course went on things changed.
Through time together over meals, conversation, laughter and deep sharing, intergenerational friendships formed, and the young people naturally began to offer to contribute. They were starting to learn, slowly, what it is like to give as well as receive.
Maybe being raised as a consumer steals young people’s confidence in having something important to contribute? Such a solipsistic life risks isolation and lack of meaning, making them vulnerable to manipulation.
Pentecost calls us to a different story. Building local relationships through the power of the Holy Spirit enables our young people to experience first-hand the fundamental difference between being a consumer and a neighbour. Strengthening us for an uncertain future, the Spirit is drawing us into a countercultural movement of mutuality and joy.
Jo Stow is Project Leader, Common Good Schools
T4CG’s Common Good Schools programme equips schools to enable children and young people develop skills around building relationships and taking responsibility. Schools acting as good neighbours in their communities not only strengthen their own students but make a tangible contribution to the shared life of their neighbourhood. Find out more and arrange a conversation with Jo here
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