Schools will have access to a comprehensive range of key news items, sent regularly throughout the year. This helps to ensure that you are kept up-to-date with the most relevant current and emerging education information. Examples may be (but are not exclusive to):

• DFE releases
• National educational news briefings
• Links to websites or documents of interest
• News of upcoming events or CPD opportunities that may be available more widely than LA/MAT groups
• Inspection updates
• ‘Best practice’ references – curriculum and leadership

All Early Career teachers, across our schools and trusts, are invited to join Jen McIlveen and Ali Rice for five sessions of church school distinctiveness training.  This programme is a separate enrichment to their statutory Early Careers training. Events will be facilitated alongside the Chester Diocesan Academies Trust at their training venue in The Heath, Runcorn.  

This series of three twilight sessions help develop understanding of defining spiritual development, how this expresses your school's Christian vision and what it looks like in practice. Session 1 Tue 6 October 2026 | 4:00pm - 5:00pm Session 2 Tue 3 November 2026 | 4:00pm - 5:00pm Session 3 Tue 1 December 2026 | 4:00pm - 5:00pm

These drop-in sessions accompanies the DBEs online course - Introduction to Church School or Academy Governance, as an opportunity to find out more about what it means to be a Church School governor including the church foundation, theologically rooted vision and how these influence the business of a governing board.  There will also be opportunity to share experiences with the group to understand the context of other church schools, what they share as characteristics and what makes them unique.  Autumn: Wednesday 4 November 2026 | 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm | Online Spring: Tuesday 23 February 2027 | 9:30 am - 10:30 am | Online Summer: Tuesday 25 May 2027 | 9:30 am - 10:30 am | Online

An opportunity for all teachers/HLTAs who are teaching religious education in Chester Diocese to drop in and quickly ask and receive guidance on their burning RE queries and questions. Autumn Session Tuesday 10/11/2026  16:00 - 17:00 Repeat Autumn Session Thursday 12/11/2026  16:00 - 17:00

This network provides a forum for discussion for schools across the Diocese to look at issues affecting children who may be affected by Disadvantage in its widest sense. Future Sessions Spring: Wednesday 10 February 2027| 9:30am - 11:30am| Church House and Online Summer: Wednesday 9 June 2027 | 9:30am - 11:30am | Church House and Online

Join us as we explore into how championing inclusion and SEND can work for church schools. Our Keynote Speakers are Andrew Warren and  Mark Arnold.  

This meeting offers Chairs of our church schools and academies the opportunity to meet together to discuss topical issues and share best practice. Autumn Wednesday 25 November 2026 | 9:00am - 10:00am | Online  

This is an opportunity to network with colleagues and clergy from high schools across the diocese with a focus on supporting each other to deliver high-quality collective worship that shapes spiritual flourishing. Join us as we signpost resources, highlight good practice and share inspiration together. Autumn session: Thu 26^th Nov 15.30- 16.40pm.

‘Championing for Inclusion and Belonging’  Twilight Session 1 (January) Following the DBE Senior Leaders Conference in November, this stand-alone webinar aims to further support the ideas and concepts it outlined. Date and time TBC

These drop-in session accompanies the DBEs online course - SIAMs for Governors as an opportunity to ask further questions about the current SIAMS (Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools) framework and the governors’ role within it.  The group will also have opportunities to reflect on their schools' visons, contexts and governors' activities that could provide evidence to support the inspection process.    Autumn: Wednesday 14 October 2026 | 9:30 am  - 10:30 am | Online Spring: Monday 18 January 2027 | 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm | Online Summer: Tuesday 22 June 2027 | 9:30 am - 10:30 am | Online    

This network provides an opportunity for those responsible for leading SEND in their school to come together to discuss current issues.   Future Sessions Summer: Wednesday 21 April 2027 | 9:30am - 11:30am | Church House and Online

This network exists to look at ideas of how we can integrate Diversity and Inclusivity practice into areas of our schools’ work such as curriculum design and content, reading role models and authors, displays, recruitment and representation. This is particularly pertinent in Diocesan schools where our communities tend to be quite mono-cultural, recognising the need to prepare our children (and staff) for living and working in a multi-cultural and multi-faith world. The network explores issues no matter how far on the journey schools may be, in order to share a range of ideas and resources to develop sustainable change which will be impactful. We also discuss those areas which are more challenging for schools to develop practice in. Tuesday 26 January 2027| 9:30am - 11:30am| Church House   Future Session Summer: Thursday 29 April 2027 | 9:30am - 11:30am | Online

This series of three twilight sessions help develop aspects within your RE Curriculum around the topics of Theology, Philosophy and Human and Social Sciences Session 1 Wednesday 27 January 2027 | 4:00pm - 5:00pm Session 2 Wednesday 24 February 2027 | 4:00pm - 5:00pm Session 3 Wednesday 17 March 2027 | 4:00pm - 5:00pm

Join us for a session on developing your long-term overview of worship with time to plan it out for your school's context, over a number of years. 

A chance to network with other deputy and assistant heads and get information about the support provided by the Diocesan Education Team. Thursday 4 February 2027 | 9:30am - 12:00pm | Church House   Next session: Summer: Thursday 22 April 2027 | 9:30am - 12:00pm | Church House

In many of our schools collective worship is most definitely the heartbeat of the school that permeates through the day. As a diocese we value and greatly appreciate those who take on the responsibility of leading on this important aspect of our school lives and want to further our support of those who are making this happen. Spring Session 09/02/2027 09:30 10:30 Repeat Spring Session 11/02/2027 16:00 17:00

This network provides a forum for discussion for schools across the Diocese to look at issues affecting children who may be affected by Disadvantage in its widest sense.   Future Sessions Summer: Wednesday 9 June 2027 | 9:30am - 11:30am | Church House and Online

An opportunity for all teachers/HLTAs who are teaching religious education in Chester Diocese to drop in and quickly ask and receive guidance on their burning RE queries and questions. Spring Session Tuesday 02/03/2027 16:00 - 17:00 Repeat Spring Session Thursday 04/03/2027 16:00 - 17:00

An opportunity for governors to put the Headteacher Wellbeing Handbook to use.  There is also time to share ideas with each other that reflect best practice or suit particular schools' contexts.  Wednesday 10 March 2027 | 9:00am - 11:00 am | Online