This month I want to pay tribute to Richard Pestell as he retires as our Diocesan Secretary.
Most church people, and certainly most outside the church, have no reason to know of this role or of how important it is to the life of a diocese. In my previous post as an archdeacon, and in my present role, I have been privileged to work closely with a number of diocesan secretaries.
Parallel roles in the wider world include the company secretary in business or the bursar in a large school. The job is to make sure that the organisation runs smoothly, stays on the right side of the law in its employment and business practices, and gets the job done. These people work mainly behind the scenes, respected and needed by the publicly known leaders but often unknown outside.
A good company secretary or bursar can make all the difference between a well run, efficient and happy organisation and one which is simply dysfunctional.
Richard Pestell has been a very good diocesan secretary. He was involved in the diocese before he was offered this job: as a Reader, as Lay Chair of Northampton Deanery, as an elected member of Bishop’s Council. While Diocesan Secretary he continued to serve as a Reader in his parish of Weston Favell. He came to the post from a role as a senior officer in Northamptonshire’s Education Department. Like most diocesan secretaries he could have earned a great deal more in public service or in the private sector. Like most of them he served the church as a Christian ministry.
Richard did a great deal to welcome me and make my first months as bishop much easier than they might have been. Since then I have regularly popped into his office with a question or a request for help. He has always come up trumps. I am very grateful to him. We as a diocese owe him a great debt of thanks for good and faithful service, and we wish him a long and happy retirement.
With best wishes
Donald, Bishop of Peterborough
School success flows from Christian values
Several Church schools in the diocese are starting the Autumn Term with a spring in their step following successful Ofsted inspections in the last academic year. Alongside the quality of the teaching and academic progress, it is often the caring environment of the school, which flows from its Christian values, that impresses the inspectors.
At St James’ CEVA Primary in Northampton, a large school situated in one of the poorest parts of the town, there is an above average number of pupils with special educational needs. Many of the pupils have backgrounds in other countries of the world and nearly 30 different languages are spoken. Having progressed from “special measures” in a previous inspection, it is now described by Ofsted as a “good” school where pupils “know they are part of a very caring, supportive community, where they can thrive academically and socially.”
Chair of Governors, Hilary Spenceley, is in no doubt about how the school has managed to make such progress. She says it shows “commendable leadership and commitment by the headteacher and her staff, especially given the school’s location and pupil profile. St James’ belief in its Christian responsibility towards all, of whatever faith or none, has been the bedrock on which the hard work of recent years is founded.”
Ofsted also described Barnack CEVC Primary, a much smaller school in a rural setting, as “outstanding”. The lead inspector, Roy Bowers, praised the school’s Christian ethos and remarked on how the children had all spoken highly of the schools values of “respect, responsibility, courage, friendship and happiness.”
Oundle CE Primary School is another that has attained an “outstanding” Ofsted rating (just 9% of schools nationally achieve this). The school was commended not only for offering an excellent well-rounded education but also for promoting community cohesion through close links with other local schools. The pupils make an annual visit to a mosque and synagogue to experience other faiths, and a group of Muslim teenagers visit the school to talk about their religion.
Silverstone Infants School has achieved Ofsted’s “outstanding” grade too. It is a community school which shares its headteacher and governing body in a federation with Silverstone CE Junior School. The inspector applauded the three simple rules that guide the pupils’ conduct: Is it safe? Is it kind? Is it right? and noted how these helped to ensure that everyone felt safe and respected around the school.
photo: The “values tree” at Barnack Primary
Big ideas behind “The Little Build”
Pupils at Oakham CE Primary school and The Parks School in Oakham have particular reason to be excited at the start of the new term. Their lessons will take place in an entirely new building.
“The Little Build”, as the ambitious project was called when it started out, has brought together Oakham CE Primary and The Parks School (a nursery school for children with special needs) on the same site as a family support centre and a “not for profit” nursery school.
“The Little Build” is a good name for a set of buildings designed from a child’s point of view. There are low level windows; spaces for learning solo, in small groups or as a full class; and an opening up of the boundaries between inside and outside. The new building is “absolutely wonderful” said Joan Gibson, headteacher of both schools, “the whole project has been about transforming opportunities for learning.”
The final phase, which involves demolishing the old buildings and landscaping the site, should be completed by Christmas. The scheme was funded under a government school improvement programme.
New Diocesan Secretary starts work
A new Diocesan Secretary with more direct experience of Church administration would be hard to find! Andrew Roberts, who starts this month, has spent his career working on various aspects of the organisation of Church of England.
In his early 20s, after studying maths at City of London Polytechnic, Andrew explored a vocation to the priesthood. It was suggested that he work for a while to test his calling, so he started a job with the Church Commissioners. Then he became Private Secretary to the Secretary General of Synod, Phillip Mawer.
“This was all fantastic experience,” said Andrew, “but after a while I felt a call towards more grass roots activity.” So he took a job as Assistant to the Diocesan Secretary of St Albans Diocese. Whilst living in London Andrew also served as a Church Treasurer, PCC Secretary and Deanery Synod Representative. Since 2002 he has been joint Assistant Diocesan Secretary for both Coventry and Leicester dioceses.
Andrew, his wife Sally and their two children (aged 11 and 5), are looking forward to moving into the diocese.
September Events
Some events at churches around the diocese. More