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 school partners
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.”
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.
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.
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.
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 pack here
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
- 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
