Parishioners may be aware that the Diocesan Education Service has updated its model Admission Policies to bring it in line with the National Catholic Education Service and to ensure compliance with the mandatory School Admission Code which all Admission Authorities are legally required to follow. Our schools will still prioritise Catholic applicants and a certificate of Baptism will still be used to identify this. As schools adopt these new models, the requirement to seek a parish priest’s signature on the Supplementary Information Forms' (SIFs) will be removed. However, in any case where a school is oversubscribed with Catholic applicants, it will be necessary to rank further the Catholic applicants. To do this a 'Certificate of Catholic Practice' (CCP) will be used in which the local priest(s) will affirm that 'this child and his/her family are known to me and, to the best of my knowledge and belief, the child is from a practising Catholic family'. (The Guidance from the Diocese, following the National Catholic Education Service model, states that for the purposes of the Certificate of Catholic Practice, a person is a practising Catholic if they observe the Church’s precept of attending Mass on Sundays and holidays of obligation.) This certificate will be needed for those applying from this autumn for a place at St Andrew’s for Admission in September 2027, and going forward. Initially, in moving to a new system, the onus will be on parish clergy to make a judgement on these matters. However, Deanery clergy and the Diocesan Education Service are working on a form for use in coming years whereby families can indicate and celebrate their participation at Mass; indeed families should regard the change as a reminder of the need to be engaged with the life of the local Church, that is, the parish – not simply because they desire a school place for their child but because it is first and foremost their faith community, because worshipping God and being fed by Christ in word and Sacrament is what we are about and because, as children of God, families want their children to be supported in their journey of faith.  All clergy are committed to supporting parishioners in the difficult task of parenting and the joyful task of sharing faith and are not oblivious to the challenges that families face. Please trust them in this new situation - but please do not put them in the awkward position of being asked to provide a certificate for someone they have hardly ever seen before. More comprehensive details can be found on the parish and St. Joseph’s School web sites and the bright yellow coloured sheet on the shelf by the side entrance of the church.

PUBLIC EXAMS:- are underway! GCSE, A.s & A levels, as well as the differing university exams. These can therefore be anxious and tense times, both for those undertaking exams and for their families and friends, so, even if you are not directly involved in such matters, please do keep those concerned in your prayers at this time, that there be ‘level heads’ patients, discipline, and understanding. Very many thanks.

The disability group have set up a petition requesting that MPs do not cave to the pressure of bringing back the ‘Assisted Dying Bill’ tabled by Kim Leadbeater but which ‘fell due to a lack of time’. You can find the petition and contact your MP at:- Tell your MP to help stop the assisted dying Bill from returning Many thanks.

GIFT AID ENVELOPES 2026/2027 :- As always, our grateful thanks to all those who are able to make financial contribution to the parish via the ‘Gift Aid’ scheme. For those who do so via the envelope system, we are pleased to tell you the envelopes for this tax year 26/27 are available in the sacristy, please collect your box with your name on a printed label on it at the earliest opportunity. Very many thanks.  Gift Aid and the ‘card machines ’:- Just a reminder that parish and diocesan donations via the card machine can be ‘Gift Aided’ if the card has been registered on one of the machines for Gift Aid, with the proviso that you, the donor, use the same ‘bank card’ each time to make any such donation. We will advise in the next couple of weeks of someone being available to assist and help / show individuals wishing to make ‘Gift Aided’ contributions in this way. That said, we advise that ‘third party donations’ such as CAFOD where Gift Aid is encouraged, would require individuals to put their details on the envelopes provided by the charity and indicate ‘donation via card payment’, with the amount specified; this will then be forwarded to the particular charity. Very many thanks for your understanding.