As of 30 January 2026, the Diocese of Lancaster Education Service has reaffirmed its ongoing support for 84 Catholic schools and one sixth‑form college across the Diocese of Lancaster, covering Cumbria, Blackpool and north and west Lancashire. The update provides local families with revised resources on how diocesan schools are run, including guidance for the 2026–27 admissions cycle.
Parents can now access a refreshed Parent Portal on the Diocese of Lancaster Education Service website, which centralises documents on admissions, safeguarding and daily school life. The portal is intended to help families understand admissions rules — including faith‑residency checks used where primary schools are oversubscribed — and to make key policies easier to find.
The move comes as Rt Rev Paul Swarbrick, Bishop of Lancaster, continues to promote his Academisation Vision, inviting schools to join local Catholic Multi‑Academy Trusts. The Diocese says academisation is intended to strengthen collaboration across Catholic schools — supporting school improvement, leadership recruitment, governance and formation — and to ensure diocesan education provision aligns with evolving Department for Education requirements and updated safeguarding guidance.
The Education Service website also carries news and resources for headteachers and school leaders to support children in the classroom. The Diocese cites examples of family‑based structures centred on schools such as Our Lady’s Catholic College and its partner primaries (for example, The Cathedral Catholic Primary and St. Bernadette’s) as part of the wider network that maintains the Catholic character of local schools.
About this article: This story was put together with the help of AI tools and checked by a real person on our team. We're a small crew trying to cover as much of the UK as we can on a limited budget. We're getting better every day - but we're not perfect yet. If something looks off, let us know. You're part of the process.
