Jo Stow reflects on the importance of a relational culture where hidden needs can surface without shame…
View Post
02/04/2026
Common Good Schools – Easter 2026
In our Easter update, Jo Stow launches a new KS2 resource and welcomes new schools…
View Post
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…
View Post
19/02/2026
Common Good Schools – Advent 2025
Jo Stow highlights Common Good Schools’ latest achievements and looks ahead…
View Post
15/12/2025
Common Good Schools Autumn 2025
Jo Stow highlights Common Good Schools’ latest achievements and looks ahead…
View Post
06/10/2025
Common Good Schools Summer 2025
Jo Stow highlights Common Good Schools’ latest achievements…
View Post
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…
View Post
09/06/2025
People Politics and the Common Good
Jenny Sinclair addresses the cultural and political upheaval, reads the signs of the times and explores our calling to the common good…
View Post
23/11/2024
Poverty – under our own roof
For Lent, Jo Stow encourages schools to take a more relational approach to charity and to notice hidden poverty in the classroom…
View Post
06/03/2025
Common Good Schools: Christmas 2024
Our Christmas card winners, a video for Sweden and latest updates from our schools partners…
View Post
21/12/2024
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
People Politics and the Common Good
Our societies are confronting multiple crises within a period of epochal change. But as the People of God, we are not gloomy. Always hopeful, we are called to participate in spiritual and civic renewal. To address this, Jenny Sinclair leads a two part session drawing on the tradition of Catholic social thought. First, she invites us to read the signs of the times and understand what is going on, in cultural, political and spiritual terms. Second, she invites us to explore how we will respond, and our calling to the common good. Examining the symptoms of our cultural malaise and identifying the root cause, she introduces and unpacks the practice of the common good as the antidote, proposing intentional rebuilding of relationships at all levels.
This talk was originally given as part of a training session for Head Teachers as part of EducareM’s National School of Formation, at Coombe Abbey on 14 November 2024.
This was included in the Christ the King 2024 edition of the T4CG Newsletter. If you found it meaningful, you can explore more content like it by subscribing to Together for the Common Good on Substack.
As we enter the season of Lent, our Common Good Schools Project Leader, Jo Stow, encourages schools to take a more relational approach to charity and to notice hidden poverty in the classroom.
Scroll down for our free Lent resource for secondary schools.
Last week, I joined a friend who is a teacher at an after-school club. The children gather, enjoy snacks and go off to participate in the session’s activities. After snack time, I noticed that one boy, Michael (not his real name) hung back from the activities and was eating what was left over of the snacks. Michael is eleven. His teacher adds quietly, “he comes for the free food.”
This time of Lent is a busy one in church schools. Charities will be supported. Wonderfully creative, sponsored events will take place. Children and staff will be working hard to “give alms to the poor.” Perhaps donations will be made to local food banks. Many will be fasting – a spiritual discipline that points us to God by reminding us how it feels to be hungry, and that as well as being hungry for food, we hunger for many things – things that are good for us and things that are not. Fasting is also meant to draw our attention to the poor. But who are “the poor?”
The data
For a boy like Michael, fasting is not a choice. And his story is by no means isolated: in the UK, 14.3 million people are living in poverty, of whom 4.3 million are children – that is three in every ten children.[1] The percentage of children on Free School Meals (FSM) gives some perspective: in 2023/24, 24.6% of pupils were eligible, up from 23.8% in 2022. This represents 2.1 million pupils.[2]
Among our partner schools, the FSM percentage ranges from 10.2% in a school in the suburbs to 56.3% in a school in an inner-city location.
At an education conference I recently attended, data was shared about child poverty globally. A teacher spoke up. He said, “students at my school are part of that statistic.” I went to chat to him over lunch. He spoke about the stigma of poverty in schools. “These children become invisible because of the shame they feel. Somehow, they feel that poverty must be their own fault.” I was struck that stigma is still an issue after decades of campaigning on child poverty. These children are effectively hidden in plain sight. We have the data, but part of the story is missing.
Where are the poor?
When it comes to a school’s charitable efforts, it is worth reflecting on where the poor people we are supporting are located, where they live; nearby, in another district, or perhaps overseas.
Lately I’ve been doing some research among primary school teachers. It became evident that there are plenty of resources available to help school children engage with issues of global poverty, but there is a considerable lack when it comes to the local. Given this, what could we be missing? Perhaps our approach needs to pay closer attention to context. And when we support a local charity, we should be aware that some of those in need may be under our own roof.
Them and us
Let’s consider the full meaning of almsgiving. Traditionally, giving alms has been described as “a witness to fraternal charity”[3], indicating that it is about more than giving money or services. Christian love particularly involves the gift of time and personal connection. This is how the bonds of fraternity are formed.
Pope Francis is saying repeatedly calling for a culture of encounter, and not to allow charity to be a means of keeping poor people at arm’s length.[4]
In a busy school, “almsgiving” can sometimes become reductive and conflated with fundraising. What might this feel like for Michael? His ability to contribute is compromised, and his family’s situation can become a source of shame. He is faced with the confusion of being invisible in his own classroom.
If we fail to embrace the true spirit of almsgiving, we can inadvertently fall into a “them and us” dynamic. If we do not recognise who is under our roof, we create a false division between those who can afford to give and those who can’t, and risk removing agency of someone who is poor.
In its welfarist, reductive form, where charity is understood as volunteers doing charity for poor people (whether through fundraising or by delivering a service), the possibilities of true encounter are small. The transactional dynamic between active giver and passive recipient does not build fraternity, one of the signs of Christian love.
If our almsgiving is in our local area this opens up opportunities to go beyond the welfarist approach. A mark of the common good is reciprocity. This requires true relationship, where there is give and take, and the dignity of the person is upheld. Simply giving money to the poor may help temporarily but it does not uphold a person’s dignity – it is as if he or she has nothing to contribute.
Solidarity and Subsidiarity
Earlier this week a colleague shared with me some children’s responses to the question “do you think God cares about poverty?” Most assumed that God does care, and that kindness is the right response. But rather a lot of them took the view that poverty is a matter of fate or the result of poor choices. There was little awareness of the injustice of an economic model that relies on low wage, insecure jobs.
The Christian vision of justice derives from the Jewish tradition of right relationship, in which the response to poverty must be relational. We do not stand in solidarity with the poor by giving a handout and walking away.
The principle of Solidarity sees human beings as social beings designed to be interconnected by relationships of mutual concern and support. It is a determination to work for the good of all and of each person – so that in some way, all are responsible for all.
This means going through something with someone, giving time and building a relationship, helping them to get back on their feet. The Good Samaritan not only helped the man by the road and paid for his care; he came back the next day. A relationship was formed.
Charity that is truly Christian is not a one-way street: the giver must be open to receive, and the receiver must be able to give. This ensures a mutuality that goes beyond transaction. Everyone has something to contribute.
In Catholic Social Teaching Solidarity is always to be balanced with the principle of Subsidiarity. Subsidiarity holds that responsibility is taken at the most appropriate level and decisions should always be taken closest to those they effect – and, that a central authority should only do tasks which cannot be performed at a more local level. In this way, everyone fulfils their unique roles, and the integrity and agency of each person is upheld.
If not donations, what might this look like?
We often ask our partner schools ‘how can you make what you are already doing more common good?’ Small tweaks are where to begin. For example, fundraising should always be accompanied by something relational and reciprocal. Whatever your Lent action is, it should build relationships.
If you are open to a radical new way of almsgiving, consider these suggestions:
A shared meal hosted by a local partner with a good kitchen, served by school children (both those on FSMs and those who are not), involving parents and staff, and where members of the community are invited too. Costs could be supported by a pay-as-you-feel or pay-it- forward model.
A listening project where children research what sorts of foods are available locally – identifying whether fresh, healthy food (fruit, veg, meat and fish) is priced too high, finding out about the range of local suppliers including supermarkets, community food sources, co-ops, allotments and local farming produce.
What about Michael?
Michael, the boy who stays for the leftover snacks is not just hungry, he is isolated. He feels shame about having to keep his situation private and sometimes school charitable initiatives are confusing and embarrassing for him. Our approach to poor children in our schools needs to change. Beyond FSM statistics, Michael and others like him are people who deserve solidarity, friendship and accompaniment. Michael has important gifts to contribute within his school and community – precisely because of his situation.
This isolation may mean that Michael’s family and other families in similar circumstances are locked out of solidarity with the wider community. There is often a class divide here which must be bridged. Every school and church should be looking for creative ways to build relationships, where affluent and poor families can stand find common cause and stand in solidarity face to face. This is powerful. Ignorance can turn to empathy; shame can turn to confidence. There are mutual personal benefits as well as community gains.
Jo Stow, Common Good Schools Project Leader
***
Common Good Schoolsoffers a programme of lessons, assemblies and guidance for community engagement. This equips staff and students to put reciprocal relationships at the heart of all they do, for the flourishing of the whole community. We offer ongoing support and CPD to participating teachers, chaplains and staff running the programme in their schools.
FREE LENT RESOURCE
During Lent, we invite secondary school staff to download our free resource A Common Good Lent
Now the Christmas break is upon us, we are able to stop for a moment and reflect. The past few weeks have been wonderful time for Common Good Schools. Most recently we have celebrated the winners of our community Christmas card competition, we have heard inspiring updates from a partner school in Liverpool, and we have made a video for our partners in Sweden.
Christmas card competition winners
We were delighted with the enthusiasm around our Community Christmas Card Competition. Entrants were invited to design a card with a relative or neighbour: working collaboratively was important to encourage the building of local relationships – a central feature of Common Good Schools. Entries were were shortlisted by artist Polly Shepherd and passed on to our judging panel who together made the final decision: Lucy Moore, Head of Growing Faith Foundation, Bishop Mike Royal, General Secretary, Churches Together in England, and The Most Rev John Wilson, Archbishop of Southwark.
Lucy Moore said: “Oh dear! A very tough call! They’re all fantastic, just in different ways. Please pass on huge congratulations to them all. I think Harry and Teddy’s is a powerful image, really striking use of colour and combines the warmth and apparent insignificance of the nativity scene with the stark architecture of where they live – it really speaks of a living baby coming into a dark world in utter vulnerability: very clever.”
The winners were Harry (9) and Teddy (5) (above, top) from St Mary’s Horsforth. The two runners-up were Julia (8) and her mum Izabella (above, below right) from St John the Baptist Primary in Normanton, andLelia (7) and her mum Sarune (above, below left) from St Thomas More Primary in Eltham.
Video Project: How can schools contribute to the common good?
We were delighted to work with the Justice and Peace Commission in the Catholic Diocese of Stockholm to produce a video for teachers, educators and parents across Sweden. Working with Ludwig Gelot,I recorded a conversation with my colleague Jenny Sinclair about the effects of our prevailing culture on young people and how schools can contribute to rebuilding the common good. Ludwig plans to share the video across schools in Sweden – you can watch it below.
Our Community Matters
Finally we were delighted to hear of the latest community engagement activities at Alsop High School which has established a “My Community Matters” forum for students who meet weekly to consider ways to make their community a better place to learn, work and live. The students are following the Common Good Schools programme. Among their activities, students are working with a community artist to design and paint a mural to celebrate community life in North Liverpool, baking for the community and they have met with local heroes including Margaret Aspinall, founder of the Hillsborough Families Support Group.
We hope you have enjoyed hearing our latest news. Please do consider sharing this article with your contacts especially headteachers, CEOs of Multi Academy Trusts, Diocesan Directors for Education and teaching colleagues.
Prayer points for 2025
For the staff and students of all our partner schools
For funding to enable us to plan ahead so more schools can get involved
For a blessing on the development and piloting of our new primary schools resource
Jo Stow
Common Good Schools Project Leader
To find out more about the 10-week Common Good Schools programmevisit www.commongoodschools.co.uk or contact Jo Stow, Project Leader at: jo [at] commongoodschools [dot] co [dot] uk
I acknowledge that this resource is the intellectual property of Together for the Common Good and I agree only to use it in my school as intended and not to use it outside the terms of my subscription.
