Blackburn Cathedral Education Officer
The Education Post’s Context
The Diocese of Blackburn was created in 1926 when Bishop William Temple
divided the Diocese of Manchester, and chose the Parish Church of St. Mary the
Virgin in Blackburn as its new cathedral. The Diocese is youthful and vigorous in
nature, fully committed to the work of mission across its 226 parishes. It is essentially
coterminous with the County of Lancashire, extending from the outer suburbs of
Manchester to the borders of the Lake District. It includes open rural landscape,
popular coastal areas, rich farmland and tracts of post-industrial deprivation where
the cotton industry was once paramount. It has the highest proportion of church
schools in England per head of the population, which are well served by the
Diocesan Board of Education, which has its offices close to the Cathedral. Other
places of learning within the Diocese include three universities, colleges of Further
Education and a wide range of other schools.
The Diocese and its Cathedral are optimistic about urban regeneration and
community cohesion, and the Cathedral is taking a leading role in the development of
Blackburn’s town centre. The Cathedral seeks to strengthen a sense of identity
across the breadth of the Diocese. The people of Lancashire are naturally optimistic
and passionate about their legacy as is evidenced by the enthusiasm displayed for
their football clubs from a very small supporter base. The Town of Blackburn lies at
the heart of Pennine Lancashire and is well served by road and rail communications.
The population of the Borough of Blackburn with Darwen is 140,000, over 20% of
which is Asian Heritage. Relationships are wholesome, with the Cathedral doing
much valued pioneering work among the different ethnic groups.
The Cathedral Church of St. Mary is a Parish Church Cathedral which commands
an open space at the heart of the town. It consists of two styles, blending Regency
Architecture with that of the Twentieth Century in a masterly synthesis. It allows the
whole building to be used simultaneously in one liturgical activity. The Cathedral
seats 1300 people and has valuable crypt space due for further development within
the next few years. There is currently not much designated educational space, so
learning events sometimes require imaginative organisation, collaboration and diary
management.
The Cathedral has development an impressive range of musical education through
its work with a variety of voluntary choirs and sustained outreach with schools. The
Cathedral also has a widely recognised reputation in community cohesion work and
close relations with some local schools. In addition the Board of Education Officers
organise learning events for the whole Diocese, some of which are held at the
Cathedral and host some visits by Church Schools. The Cathedral now look to
develop its hospitality towards all schools in Lancashire further by developing
curriculum-led responses and resources across the key stages. This involves our
taking responsibility for the use of the Cathedral as a place for imaginative crosscurricular learning and offering a professional service for schools. The Education
Officer’s will work closely with the Canon Chancellor and will collaborate with other
Cathedral and Diocesan colleagues in developing quality educational provision.
The Cathedral commands an open space at the heart of Blackburn. The building is a
well-proportioned blend of Regency and twentieth century architecture. It is in overall
excellent condition, and its light and airy spaciousness interior hosts a rich collection
of modern art. Interpretation of the building as a sacred, cultural and historical site is
an important part of our educational vision. The staff is enthusiastic, industrious and
co-operative and the Cathedral relies on a large number of volunteers in areas of
work such as the café, shop and welcome desk. There are also members of the
Cathedral congregation who would like to share more in supporting engagement with
schools. From time to time exhibitions are held, which add to the learning resources
and currently CE secondary schools have been invited to participate in a sculpture
competition.
The part-time Education Officer will be accountable to the Canon Chancellor who
fulfils a wide education brief and who is passionate about improving the level and
quality of day-to-day work with schools, and in developing on-site and off-site
resources. The post as agreed by the Cathedral Chapter is for a two-year
development period.
Applicants are invited to submit in relation to the job and person specification a
completed Blackburn Cathedral Application form and a letter of application setting out
“A vision and strategy for the further development of Blackburn Cathedral as an
Educational Resource.”
Applications should be sent to Mrs. Pauline Rowe by post to Blackburn Cathedral,
Cathedral Office, Cathedral Close, Blackburn, BB1 5AA or by email
pauline.rowe@blackburncathedral.co.uk by 12 noon on Monday 26th September.
Short-listing will take place on 3rd October and interviews will be held in Blackburn on
2nd November.
It is hoped that the person appointed will be able to take up their post by 1 February
2011, ideally earlier, but at least as soon as possible thereafter.
Potential applicants may wish to find further details of the Cathedral and the Diocese
at www.blackburncathedral.com
Informal enquiries may be addressed to The Canon Chancellor at Blackburn
Cathedral, Cathedral Office, Cathedral Close, Blackburn BB1 5AA or Tel: 01254
503095.