The Ursuline Education Community
The Ursuline Education Community (UEC) was founded in September 2018 and was launched in all Ursuline schools in England in September 2019.
Its aim is to capture and share the essence of Ursuline education and to ensure the continuation of the Ursuline Charism through a bespoke programme of activities and events.
There are two distinct but complimentary strands of the UEC, the Ursuline Student Profile (USP) and the United in Mission school peer-to-peer review programme.
Ursuline Student Profile
The aim of the student profile is “To produce a profile that describes the whole process of Ursuline education rather than that of a school leaver.”
Stemming from the writings of St Angela Merici, the foundress of the Ursuline Order, the USP proposes, alongside the two guiding principles of United in Harmony and Serviam, eight pairs of virtues, that sum up what a student in an Ursuline school is growing to be.
An image in the shape of a tree, something much beloved by St Angela, was designed for the Ursuline Student Profile and it is accompanied by formal statements which explain & develop the virtues.
One set of statements is for the students, and these statements sum up what a student in an Ursuline school is growing to be. The parallel set is for the school and explain what an Ursuline School needs to do to help its students grow in the virtues of the Ursuline Student Profile, as you can see in the link below.
Both the image and the statements are designed to provide a rich resource to stimulate discussion in class, assemblies, retreats and liturgy, in meetings of governors, with school leaders, teachers, support staff and parents; and which can be used to explain to prospective parents the aims of Ursuline education.
It generally takes two years to work through the cycle, starting at the top of the tree with “United in Harmony” and then working clockwise around the tree. You will notice that “United in Harmony” and “Serviam” bookend the cycle and each has a whole term devoted to their exploration, with the other virtues taking a half term each.
Schools are free to adopt their own modus operandi - some, for example adopt a 3-year cycle, devoting a term to each virtue.
Outcomes of the USP
All schools now follow the USP and respond to it in a wonderful variety of ways.
Through the meetings of both UEC staff and student reps, ideas for activities and resources are shared across and between schools.
On the student profile page which follows, you will find examples of the work schools have been doing.
“The virtues are seen in the school as being global and very inclusive - “everyone can buy into them”. The school has noticed that this is particularly obvious in the way the new 6th formers engage with them and “get them” quite quickly, regardless of their own faith/no faith background.” Feedback from a member of staff
“Travelling to another Ursuline school enabled me to gain more of an understanding of what it means to be an Ursuline student and really helped me to understand the student virtues more. I really enjoyed meeting different people from different Ursulines!” Feedback from a student March 2024
“The school is a forest of trees – the virtues tree is everywhere!”
United in Mission Review 2024
The development of “United in Mission”
With the success of the USP and how quickly it had become embedded in the life of the schools, as evidenced by the way it has become interwoven into the curriculum, the pastoral system, the integration with Catholic Social Teaching, the awards system and indeed even on the student lapels in the form of fabulous badges, it was decided to build upon the newly strong and open relationships which had developed between the schools.
It was felt to be the opportune moment to resurrect and adapt a programme which had been used by some schools a decade previously. Thus, the “United in Mission” a school-to-school peer review programme was launched in January 2023.
Aim of “United in Mission”
“to share the essence and daily practice of Ursuline education and to ensure the continuation of the Ursuline Charism.”
Most review visits to a school are conducted by external agencies. These agencies - Ofsted, the Local Education Authority, CSI Diocesan or other Religious Authorities - generally write formal reports on the school, making judgements against empirical evidence standards, primarily (although not exclusively) for internal consumption and action by the school.
The United in Mission peer to peer Ursuline School review programme is different in its nature. It is not written by an external agency, but rather by people who share the same mission as the school visited and who in visiting, come from and represent other Ursuline schools who are “United in Mission” in their pursuit of the Ursuline Ethos and Values in education.
Moreover, although initially for one school, it is written in the fervent hope that it will be useful for the other Ursuline Schools, so that ideas and practices can be shared by all.
Outcomes of United in Mission
There have been four reviews to date (Spring 2025). Each review has resulted in a review document, all following a similar format, and all four documents have been shared with all schools.
All Ursuline schools have been involved in the review programme, proving indeed that the UEC has opened the channels for the sharing of ideas across and between the schools.
The reviews have proved very beneficial, not only to the host school but also to the visiting team who then return to their respective schools with new ideas and resources, thereby ensuring they are mutually enriching experiences and are Ursuline in their very essence as we are “united in harmony”.