Adult Formation Course in the Diocese of Plymouth- Andrew The First Called

Schools and parishes are invited to put forward ‘candidates’ to enrol on this one year course around training, formation and theology for working in Catholic schools.

Any teachers not currently working in diocesan schools are very welcome to apply.

Please email Jeremy.Skelton@prcdtr.org.uk for further details and enquiries.

Contact will be 6 days (one per half term). The first four sessions are likely to take place at St Boniface House, avoiding virtual if possible, to facilitate workshop and group working.

The subsidised cost is £90 per person to cover all 6 sessions, housekeeping, resources and venue hire for session six.

The sixth session will be held at Buckfast Abbey and include a celebratory lunch and Mass.

A handbook will be given to candidates at the end of session five, summarising all the learning and workshops to date.

They will use this to form and create their presentation for session six .

The first five days will focus on different key areas and will have a minimum of two input sessions. Outside speakers who are priests or religious in the Diocese of Plymouth will present the material and Jeremy will lead the task sessions. After each session there will be a practical task to be tackled either as an individual or in a workshop session.

At the end of Day five, all candidates will be given a topic to discuss.

Day five is at the start of term 5 and Day six is at the end of term 6, thereby giving ample time for candidates to complete the set task.

Candidates will be asked to prepare a (max 3 page) answer to their allocated topic and to prepare a short presentation which summarises their views. The task will have a large element of reflection. Topic allocation will be done after analysis of candidates perceived areas of development over days 1-5 by JS.

Day six will be the candidates opportunity to give a short (max 10 minutes) presentation on a given topic to the DSC & the Episcopal Vicar for Schools.

JS will also observe and will give each candidate written feedback following consultation with DSC.

The standard of the presentation will determine the award. (Pass , Merit or Distinction )

Monday 20th September 2021. Catholic Education & Scripture? What is Catholic Education in the Diocese of Plymouth? What is OT and NT scripture? An opportunity to explore key texts and understand how they may be used even more effectively and accessibly in our schools.

Monday 1st November 2021. The sacraments and how they are in schools. A chance to gain a deeper understanding of these outward signs of inward grace and to consider how they effect and shape our young people and how we can support this within schools.

Monday 10th January 2022. The Kingdom of God. We will consider just who Jesus was. We will look at evidence and doctrine around the incarnation, that cornerstone of all Christianity. We will also look at how the incarnation is portrayed in art, what these works of art tell us and how they support beliefs and faith. What is the Church as opposed to the church? How do we build links between the Church, parents and schools even more effectively?

Monday 28th February 2022. Living the faith. Lots of questions and answers in this day. Just how do we model Catholicism and Catholic Social Teaching? What does this modelling look and feel like in schools? What are virtues and how can these help develop a young person’s character. How does the Catholic Church interact with other religions? What are the shared beliefs in other world views?

Monday 25th April 2022. The Mass, liturgy and collective worship. So much to look at on this day! Mass - The source and summit of our faith, but do we really understand the components? What is the power of prayer and how do we convey this to children? How do we formulate really effective liturgies and collective worship? What are the must haves? We will end the day by considering the notion of children’s own spirituality and how we can help them develop this.

Tuesday 12th July 2022 – Conclusion, evaluation and accreditation. A day of presentations, affirmation and celebration at the Livermead Cliff Hotel in Torquay concluding with a Mass of thanksgiving celebrated by our Episcopal Vicar, Canon Mark O’Keeffe.