141.—(1)There shall be established a body to be known as the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (in this Part referred to as "the Council").
Education Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 1989
The Council of 1989 – 1993 can be characterised as driven and motivated by the Education Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 and findings of the Standing Advisory Commission on Human Rights in 1991.
Although an interim Council had been operating since 1987, the Education Reform (Northern Ireland) Order formally established the Council as a Statutory body with responsibility for the appointment, promotion and re-deployment of all primary and secondary school teachers within the Maintained Sector.
Under the Order, a new 36-member Council was appointed and five statutory Diocesan Education Committees in Armagh, Clogher with Kilmore, Derry, Down and Connor and Dromore were created. The Council was also given responsibility for overseeing schools’ management, coordinating planning, rationalisation and curriculum initiatives.
During this period, the Council undertook to examine ways of implementing the new curriculum arrangements, developing a scheme of management for Governors and guiding Trustees on building developments. Indeed after lobbying from CCMS and the Northern Bishops the Government conceded full capital funding for catholic Schools in line with that given to state schools.
Another significant development were the findings from the Standing Advisory Commission on Human Rights report in 1991, which identified that 16% of Catholic children failed all examinations and 30% of Catholic boys left secondary schools without any qualifications. In response to the report, CCMS had set up a working party to examine the achievements of Catholic pupils. Bishop Edward Daly chaired the Achievements working party with contributions from leading industrialists and educationalists. This report gave an impetus and focus to the Council’s work for the next three years.
