CES member appointed to Vaughan School Board

The Catholic Education Service, some believe, is a hotbed of liberal lefties who are apt to ignore the Holy Father's wishes and directives.
Surprising, therefore, that, without any apparent consultation with parents, Westminster Diocese has gone ahead and appointed not a parent to the Board but an ex Headteacher and a member of the CES Board no less.



Kathleen Griffin



The post has gone to Kathleen Griffin who has an impressive CV in the field of education (Board Member of the Learning and Skills Network, Director of an international education consultancy (PLP), Trustee of Worldwide Volunteering, ex President of the Secondary Heads Association and a member of the Royal Society of Arts) - gosh, however did she find the time head up a busy school?

The  Vaughan Parents Action Group has issued a press release as follows:-

PRESS RELEASE

The Vaughan Parents' Action Group is very disappointed to note that the Archbishop of Westminster , Vincent Nichols, has missed a fresh opportunity to appoint a current school parent  to the Governing Body of the Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School.

The group - set up to campaign for proper parental representation on the Governing Body and the preservation of the character and ethos of the school - says the Archbishop's decision, which they heard of today through the school's website, suggests he has no interest in healing the public divisions which have arisen in the past year between the Westminster Diocese and the School.

The appointment of Kate Griffin to a vacancy which arose suddenly because of the unexpected resignation of Father Michael Johnston from the Governing Body, was made yesterday (Sunday) according to an update on the website today (Monday). Mrs Griffin is a former Headmistress of Greenford High School in West London and is a serving member of the management committee of the Catholic Education Service.  

Anna Brown, chairman of the VPAG, said: "We are just astonished that, at this juncture, the Archbishop can have thought it right to ignore the very real and widespread concerns of parents at the Vaughan that they are being excluded from the debate about the future direction of the school.  While we wish to make it clear that we have nothing against Mrs Griffin, of whom we know little, we do also think it deeply insensitive of the Archbishop to have filled this vacancy with a management committee member of the CES, a body which we fear does not have the best interests of schools such as the Vaughan  at heart".

The elected parent governors at Cardinal Vaughan are engaged in a bitter legal battle with the Archbishop and the Diocese of Westminster - trustees of the school - over the Diocese's refusal to appoint current parents as Foundation Governors. In the latest round of the row, the governors applied last week for leave to take the case to the Supreme Court.

Cardinal Vaughan is one of the best performing comprehensive schools in the country and is renowned for its excellence in music and sport.

16^th May 2011