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Teachers and leaders in our diocesan schools are invited to join the current Summer 2026 Series of Catholic Education Webinars, hosted by St Mary’s University.

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Thursday 4 June, 4pm - Hidden realities: researching the life of a Catholic school leader through autoethnography and auto/biographical narrative
‍Speaker: Dr Louise McGowan

This seminar will examine the lesser-known qualitative methodologies of autoethnography and auto/ biographical narrative as a means of researching the lived reality of contemporary Catholic school leadership. Despite there being a wealth of theory relating to school and Catholic school leadership available, there remain aspects of the leadership life that are not always exposed, discussed or understood, and that prospective school leaders may enter headship unprepared to navigate.

Thursday 11 June, 4pm - Catholic educational mission: To proclaim or protect? Speaker: Dr Mike Antram

Dr Michael Antram is Trust Secondary Executive Headteacher for Plymouth CAST, and additionally, until recently, the Headteacher of an 11-18 joint-church school. He recently completed his doctoral studies in Catholic Educational leadership at St Mary’s University, Twickenham.

Thursday 18 June, 4pm - Before you open the Bible…what to feel confident about! Speaker: Dr Margaret Carswell

The Bible is the sacred text of Christianity. In it we read of the human desire for a God who takes on human form, the potential, but brokenness, of the human person, and the search for a way of being in the world which embraces a vision of life in its fullness.

But the Bible is a complex "book of books". With God as its constant character, and as the source of fundamental beliefs about life death, heaven and hell, how we read and teach this text matters.

Using principles of Catholic Biblical scholarship, this session will explore the nature of the Bible, identifying 5 "before you begin" features, in the hope that they provide a foundation from which you can begin.

1. Expect teaching the Bible to be an engagement of head and heart.
2. Know about the world the authors write about.
3. Recognise the gap between event and writing.
4. Respect the authors as curators, not archivists; as interpreters not reporters.
5. Remember, at its most basic the Bible is literature!

To attend any of these webinars, contact Mary Mihovilovic, E: MAEducation@stmarys.ac.uk