The role of Catholic multi-academy trusts (CMATs) within the Church’s mission is set to be the subject of a university research project.
St Mary’s, in Twickenham (pictured), is one of four Catholic universities in England and will look into the effectiveness and distinctiveness of CMATs, their leadership formation, and how CMATs fit in with the Church’s structures.
The aim is to help inform the Church as it accompanies Catholic educational leaders in their vocational and spiritual formation. It promises to assist in the development of CMATs, and the structures for their support, to positively impact staff and students.
Funded in its first phase by the Sisters of the Holy Cross, the research will be carried out with the support of the CES; Formatio partnership of dioceses, CMATs and universities; and the Catholic Academy Trust Training Collaborative (CATtColl).
Direct oversight of the research will be undertaken by Professor Stephen Parker, Director of the university’s Centre for Catholic Education, Research and Religious Literacy (CERRL), with the support of Dr Mary Mihovilović, and a research assistant to be appointed.
Professor Parker said: “Catholic education in schools in England is amidst the greatest degree of organisational change since the 1944 Education Act.
"By 2030 it is likely that many or most Catholic schools in England will be part of a CMAT, and this significant organisational change requires research and evaluation to inform the Church’s mission and strategy for Catholic education.”
The research will investigate:
- the effectiveness and distinctiveness of CMATs
- the current experiences of CMAT leaders, their professional and spiritual formation and likely future need in a period of great organisational and educational change
- the current and future positioning of CMATs within the wider mission of the Church and its existing educational and ecclesial structures of support and governance
Initially focusing on CMATs in the South East of England, there will also be analysis of the role of CMAT Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), exploring the following:
- how do CMAT CEOs and leaders currently operationalise the distinctiveness of CMATs as Catholic organisations?
- how do they understand the nature of the mission of the Church in education in a period of change?
- how do they articulate, strategise, and enact their vision?
- how, and by what means, do they individually find their vision supported, academically, professionally, spiritually and structurally through the existing mechanism of governance and support offered by the Church?
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