Holy Family Multi Academy Trust recently hosted its governance conference, which invited
governors and directors from across the Trust and its seven schools to meet, collaborate,
and share ideas and best practice.
The annual event took place at the Holiday Inn in Ellesmere Port, with attendees benefitting
from a jam-packed itinerary that included guest speeches, governance and Trust updates,
and interactive workshops.
The keynote speech, delivered by seasoned Catholic leader and distinguished educational
speaker and writer, Raymond Friel OBE, was an impactful discussion on 'Transforming the
World: Catholic Education in the 21st Century'.
Raymond’s speech encouraged attendees to reflect on the essential mission of a Catholic
school and the pivotal role Catholic schools play in supporting social justice within society.
Chris Hotchkiss, governor at St Bernard’s RC Primary and Nursery School and St John
Plessington Catholic College, shared how Raymond’s speech reinforced what schools
should be focussing on.
Chris said: “It has been a fantastic day, and listening to someone like Raymond reinforces
what we, as Catholic schools, should be looking at. It also serves as a reminder of our
mission and why we do what we do.”
During the afternoon, attendees had the choice of a selection of workshops to attend,
including Link Governors to Accountability, a Governor’s Role in Managing the Wellbeing
and Workload of Staff in Schools, Behaviour and Attendance and Your Role, and C Change:
Creativity Collaborative update.
Madeleine Ward, governor at Our Lady of Pity RC Primary School and former RE
coordinator at St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, shared how useful she found the event.
Madeleine said: “Today has been extremely useful. It is fantastic to be part of a support
network across the schools within the Trust and work collaboratively to share best practice,
knowledge and experiences.”
The event was also an opportunity to officially introduce Hans Van Mourik Broekman to the
Trust’s governors and directors. Hans will join the Trust in September 2024 as lay chaplain.
As a Catholic trust with Gospel values at the heart, the Trust was keen to use the event to
encourage its governors and directors to continue drawing on Catholic teachings within their
roles.
CEO of Holy Family Catholic Multi Academy Trust, Andy Moor, said: “As a Trust, we are
incredibly proud to be supported by a team of governors and directors who share our vision
of ‘Formation, Inspiration, Transformation’.“Our annual governance conference is an opportunity for us to come together as a collective
and share experiences, ideas, and best practice with the ultimate goal of continuing
governance improvement across our schools.Andy added: “It was fantastic to be surrounded by so many like-minded individuals, each
connected by their shared passion for delivering outstanding Catholic education.”
