How the Catholic church's plan for Merseyside's schools started to unravel

It was April of this year and the ECHO was invited to meet with the Archbishop of Liverpool, The Most Reverend John Sherrington. We were told he had a big announcement to discuss. And big it was. The Archdiocese of Liverpool was about to formally announce a plan that would see huge changes for hundreds of schools across our city region and beyond. For context, the Archdiocese of Liverpool is the jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church covering large swathes of Merseyside, parts of Lancashire, Cheshire, Greater Manchester and the Isle of Man. It serves as the Metropolitan See for the North of England, with its seat at Liverpool's Metropolitan Cathedral. Currently, while the Archdiocese owns the buildings and land associated with hundreds of schools in our region, they are operated through what is known as a Voluntary Aided system, where the schools are under the control of local authorities. But this, the Archdiocese told us, was about to change. Under their proposals, a total of around 230 schools in Liverpool, Sefton , Knowsley , St Helens , Widnes , Warrington , parts of Lancashire and Wigan would be transferred to three separate Catholic multi-academy trusts and away from local authority control in the next few years. The move will take place over a number of years, with different schools becoming academies in different waves. Speaking exclusively to the ECHO at the time, the Archbishop said the move is being made "for the good of all children, who are at the centre of our educational work and mission. This is significant because academy schools are sometimes criticised for lacking transparency and local accountability, operating independently of local councils, but the Archbishop insisted this would not be the case under the Archdiocese. The news made the front page of the next day's ECHO and was the first many involved with the affected schools knew of the plans for sweeping reforms of our local education network. To be honest, I was expecting a bit more of a reaction on the day the news came out, but it was fairly quiet. In reality I think many of those involved with the schools were taking some time to digest, process and understand more about the changes being proposed. It would be months later, at the start of September we received news that staff at a primary school in south Liverpool, would be walking out for six days of strike action over the Archdiocese's plans. It was very clear that a large number of parents at St Anthony of Padua Catholic Primary in Mossley Hill would be backing their teachers in this action. As one parent - faced with the difficult prospect of six days without school at the start of the new term - told us: "We totally understand why the teachers are doing this, we get it, we are being forced to join something we don't want to join. We chose this school because it is a little school, we don't want it to be part of a trust - we feel like we are the guinea pigs." Some of those parents, it turned out, had been trying to arrange a meeting with school governors and the Archdioces for some time to find out more about what was about to happen to their children's school. It was only after the strike action was voted for that they were granted such a meeting. For those present at the tense meeting on September 7, there was one moment that particularly stood out. When asked what would happen if the school's governors opposed the move to the new academy trust, the Archdiocese's director of education, Joan McCarthy, referenced a "nuclear button option". One parent who was present told us: "She said that ultimately it was a decree and it is going ahead - that didn't feel like a consultation, it felt very pre-determined. "The chair of governors then said if the Archbishop tells me to do something then I will do it. We thought the governors were supposed to work in the best interests of the school, not the Archbishop." The growing parental support for the striking teachers would be visibly on display a few days later when the ECHO visited the picket line outside St Anthony of Padua. Scores of mums, dads and children joined striking teachers and union members on a noisy and colourful protest. It was clear from the conversations we had with them that this wasn't just about what the Archdiocese was trying to do to their school, but the way they were going about it and the feeling that no one really has a say. Strikingly, one mum told us it was making her question her faith. She said: "To be honest it is making me feel ashamed to be a Catholic. The overarching message is this is what the Archbishop wants, so we have no say in this. It is massively disappointing. The church is losing people and this is exactly what people don't like." One teacher on the picket line said: "We expected a meaningful consultation and we just haven't had that. It is a shame it has come to this, because we asked for a meeting with the employers and the union back in June and it only happened last Monday - after industrial action had been called." Another two days of strikes continued before the industrial action was suspended in the hope that further talks would see the school's transition into the first wave of academisation at the very least, delayed. But if St Anthony of Padua was the first school to see strike action over the Archdiocese's proposals, it is unlikely to be the last. On Wednesday evening last week, around 60 people filed into a meeting room at Liverpool's Adelphi Hotel for a gathering organised by the National Education Union. Those in the audience included parents, teachers, local councillors and even a Member of Parliament. Speaking at the meeting, NEU branch joint secretary Graham Copsey said: "School governors have been told to vote for academisation because it is the Archbishop's will and have been told they will be removed if they don't vote for it. Mr Copsey warned of further strikes that could happen soon and raised the prospect of city-wide industrial action to push back on the Archdioceses' plans, adding: "There will be strike action right across this city, the Archdiocese need to change these plans." This was backed up by UNISON organiser Paddy Creary who said school support staff all across Liverpool are also now being balloted for potential strike action on this issue. There was a palpable feeling of anger in the room. Some were in outright objection to the move towards academisation, describing it as effectively "privatising our education system", while others warned of less autonomy for schools and changing circumstances for staff. Others said they were still open to hearing more about the plan and the rationale behind it, but said the manner in which these proposals have been presented and the lack of real consultation meant they were increasingly concerned. One thing that is now clear is the Archdiocese of Liverpool has a real fight on its hands over the future of hundreds of schools in our region. Speaking previously to the Echo about the proposals, Archbishop John Sherrington said: “Catholic education is very important because we are educating these children, these young people, in the context of the Church, in the context of their religious faith. "It's an opportunity to really work to build and to transform every life, developing all dimensions of the person. So, we don't have simply an intellectual focus; we want to look at the role of information, emotion, spirituality, art, sport—all those things. So, we're concerned about the whole person. And I think we do this form of education very well, and so any others are attracted, can come and be attracted into our schools if there are places." He added: the Multi-Academy Trust will have a set of members who are the members that basically appoint the foundation directors. The board of directors oversees the school, and then each school has its local governing body. "So, it will be the work of the CEO and that board of directors to begin to identify if there are trends where things are going wrong in order to rectify them. So, there will be a system of control and accountability and transparency."