In this summer update, our Common Good Schools Project Leader Jo Stow reports on new primary schools joining the programme, recent speaking engagements, an opportunity for the right person to join her team, as well as news of upcoming activities and the next deadline for schools wishing to join the programme.
Welcoming new school partners
Latest inductions
We’ve been busy with inductions since Pentecost. The following schools have completed their training: St Aloysius, Huyton, St Mary’s, Workington, St Mary’s Euxton and St Joseph’s Anderton. We are delighted to welcome them to the programme.
New partner schools launching the programme
Three new primary schools from the St Gregory the Great Catholic Multi Academy Trust in Leeds are launching the programme: Sacred Heart, Holy Rosary and St Anne’s, and Christ the King.
A warm welcome too, to a new secondary school, St Thomas More, Willenhall, where school Chaplain, Jack Bowen described the early stages of launching the Common Good Schools programme: “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.”
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 and Jenny Sinclair 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.
Jenny addressed staff across the St Joseph Catholic Multi Academy Trust at their summer Mission Day in Liverpool. In anticipation of significant growth over the coming few years, the conference assembled all 600 staff across the trust, from the senior leadership team to caretakers and dinner ladies. Jenny delivered “Building the Common Good”, a keynote addressing “the shared vocation of the people of St Joseph.”
Getting involved
We’d love you to join in. Here are some suggestions to consider:
- Explore Common Good Schools for KS2 and KS3
- 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
- Contribute to the Common Good Schools Bursary Fund
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:
Activity and Events, Autumn term 2026
- Jo Stow runs induction trainings for the next cohort of new partner schools
- Staff recently inducted staff launch the programme in schools
- 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 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