Meet our impressive band of newly qualified school teachers from across the Archdiocese of St Andrews & Edinburgh, recently gathered at the Gillis Centre in Edinburgh for an induction day, 2 November, led by the Archdiocesan Religious Education Advisor, Eileen Rafferty.

“In the context of ‘Honouring Jesus Christ as the Way, the Truth and the Life, a number of topics were explored,” explained Eileen, “The impact of the personal witness of the teacher; the innovative teaching methodology of Jesus and how that can be imitated; and ways to keep alive their own faith formation.”

The day of events concluded with Holy Mass within the Gillis Centre’s St Margaret’s Chapel. The celebrant and homilist was Archbishop Leo Cushley.

“The commitment and participation of those who attended was inspiring,” observed Eileen, “and their feedback was extremely positive with almost all saying that what they learned would have a positive impact on their teaching.”

One newly qualified teacher who certainly agreed was Callum Timms, currently a Probationer Teacher of Religious Education at Saint Augustine's High School in Edinburgh.

“This event provided a useful occasion to network with colleagues in the primary sector as well as Archdiocesan staff,” said Callum.

“At the heart of everything we do as Catholic schools is the person of Jesus, and reflecting on his mission and ministry and seeing it put into practice in the Charter for Catholic Schools is very powerful.”

“Given the rich diversity and range of backgrounds in our Catholic schools, the vision the Charter speaks of has never been more relevant, and we must resolve to consciously recognise the God-given dignity of every pupil, and we must live our faith, putting the social teaching of the Church into practice in our classrooms.”