SCHOOL REPORT

I HAVE been asked to provide a diocesan perspective on the implementation of the Education Reform Act 1988 to highlight the kind of problems which the new legislation has presented to diocesan schools commissions in managing the provision of our Catholic school system. Problems there certainly are.
The Education Reform Act is the culmination of almost a decade of new education legislation, with education acts in 1980, 1981, 1986 and 1988. These acts have generated a veritable flood of secondary legislation in the shape of Department of Education and Science circulars and instruments.
Diocesan schools commissions have the obvious and immediate problem of . keeping abreast of all this legislation in order to be in a position to safeguard the , interests of Catholic schools within the diocese.
Governors and headteachers, consequent on this legislation, have greatly increased , responsibilities. Finding people willing and able to give the time . and commitment required to be a governor today is becoming increasingly difficult. Many priests have become apprehensive about their role in the increasingly technical field of school management. It is of course vital to have lay involvement but equally important that priests should continue to have a significant input to governing body discussion and decision making.
Training and support for governors is essential. The courses provided by the local education authorities are invariably geared to the needs of county schools, with only passing reference to the voluntary sector. The distinctive character of Catholic schools is an aspect which is entirely missing. Diocesan authorities must fill the gap.
Some have been successful in negotiating with the local authority a joint approach to the provision of training to meet the distinctive needs of voluntary aided school governors, funded from the DES grant for this purpose.
Other LEA's, however, are not quite so ready to take that approach. Invariably, diocesan commissions, staffed by a handful of people, are trying to meet governors' needs from very limited resources. They are coping too with an enormous increase in requests for help and advice on a daily basis from governors and headteachers.
To a head
First class Catholic headteachers are the key to delivering the church's vision of education. It has become far more difficult to find them.
. Many headteachers decided that the introduction of the new national curriculum was an appropriate time to retire. They looked at the longer term interests of their school and their pupils and concluded that a new kind of headteacher was needed.
However, finding candidates of the right calibre for the many vacancies thus created has become a major headache for dioceses and governing bodies.
The pressures of headship are now perceived to be so great that many of the teachers who previously would have moved on to headship have decided against taking this step. When seen against the general background of the increasing shortage of Catholic teachers, there is major cause for concern about staffing our schools.
The Education Reform Act has also increased pressure on diocesan finances. Catholic schools rightly want to be resourced at least as well as county schools.
The introduction of the national curriculum is making new demands on schools in terms of accommodation and resources. This means school extensions, more specialist accommodation and the refurbishment of outworn classrooms and outdated facilities.
Bills are mounting as the diocesan community seeks to meet the escalating costs of school development. But there are far more fundamental concerns which go to the very core of the Catholic school system.
. There is a tide of profound Change running in education, Which is altering the relationship between church and state in the provision of schools.
The Education Reform Bill in 1987 suddenly asked some very searching questions: (1) Why is religious education so important?
(2) Why should Catholic schools be treated differently?
(3) Why should not all children, irrespective of faith, have access to them?
(4) How is the curriculum of