Our Mission

Here at the Birmingham Diocesan Education Service, we start with the Mission as the central ‘Why’ – this is our unchanging purpose.

Why?
Forming Christ-centred pilgrims of hope with kind hearts, questioning minds, a thirst for knowledge, and a hunger for justice.

We believe every person is made in the image and likeness of God and called to flourish – “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). Therefore, we use the Mission as the lens through which we view the extent to which our Catholic school communities are flourishing.

Within our schools, we expect to see pupils, staff, and families being formed as Christ-centred pilgrims of hope with:

• Kind hearts – “Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony” (Colossians 3:14).
• Questioning minds – fostering curiosity in the light of faith. “Turn your ear to wisdom and apply your heart to understanding” (Proverbs 2:2).
• A thirst for knowledge – “An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks it” (Proverbs 18:15).
• A hunger for justice – “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Matthew 5:6).

Saint John Bosco reminds us: “Education is a matter of the heart.” This underpins our conviction that formation must be holistic, engaging both intellect and spirit.

How?
We work by asking our CMATs, MACs and schools to carry out a range of strategies to ensure that the Mission is achieved (see Diagram 1). These strategies are rooted in Gospel values, but each CMAT/MAC/school knows its own community best, so they are entrusted to adapt the implementation to their context.

Typical strategies include:

• Explicit approaches to living out our faith through action including parish service
• Conducting regular anonymised surveys
• Investing in leadership and staff formation through evidence-based research
• Providing an ambitious, rigorous, and faith-filled curriculum
• The promotion of oracy
• Parental engagement

What?
As a result of focusing on the Mission and undertaking these strategies, we expect our schools to achieve key outcomes (see outer circle of Diagram 1).

To support the above, as a Diocesan Education Service, we:

• Provide guidance, training, and resources to schools
• Support Catholic leadership at every level
• Ensure the highest standards of teaching and pastoral provision
• Partner with families, parishes, and communities so that every member of our school communities may flourish in faith, knowledge, and virtue

Diagram 1

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Reference:
This structure follows the Golden Circle framework from Simon Sinek’s work, Start With Why (2009), which encourages organisations to clarify their purpose (Why), the methods they use (How), and their tangible outcomes (What), with purpose as the starting point.