Higher Education White Paper: Students at the heart of the system, June 2011

The Government’s recent White Paper: Students at the heart of the system is one of great significance for the Catholic sector and we broadly welcome its proposals.  We need to evaluate the paper and respond from two separate but complementary perspectives.  Firstly we must consider the potential impact on students’ ability to continue to access university education in a Catholic institution or one with an explicit and lived Christian tradition (as in the Cathedrals Group).  We want to know that students can be sure that these important places can continue to flourish and that they can access them.  Similarly, the Church needs to know that wider society, as well as our schools, will have the benefit of people who have studied within such Catholic or Christian contexts.

Secondly, our concern for the dignity of the human person and our duty to do whatever we can to enable talents to be developed to the full, means that we have broader concerns for matters of fairness and access to high quality Higher Education and we should evaluate the extent to which we see these principles being helped or hindered by the White Paper’s proposals.

An initial evaluation of the White Paper by Professor Clare Pickles on behalf of CESEW is attached.  We invite your critical comments and suggestions at the earliest opportunity.  Please send them to cpickles@cesew.org.uk by 5 September 2011.  Your responses will be taken into account and help us in our discussions with Government and in the submission of our formal response.

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Oona Stannard

Chief Executive & Director