Welcome

Welcome to the website of the Catholic Principals Association of Northern Ireland.

The role of the Association is to aid school leaders in their promotion of the Catholic Vision within their schools and to promote this vision throughout the wider community.

The Association has a particular focus on seeing this vision promoted through the establishment of a system of all-ability schools; as outlined by the Northern Ireland Commission for Catholic Education. The Association believe therefore that the abolition of any form of academic selection at 11 is an essential element in the full realisation of a truly inclusive Catholic vision of education.

The Association is open to Principals of all Catholic schools in N. Ireland. It provides these leaders with guidance and training opportunities to assist in the development of the Catholic ethos. It also acts as a lobby group promoting the inclusive Catholic Vision.

As well as running seminars and conferences the Association has a Committee made up of Principal representatives from across each Diocese in N. Ireland. This committee meets regularly to promote the work of the Association.

The names of Diocesan reps are listed on the Contacts page of this website

Oliver Mooney
Chairperson
Catholic Principals Association

Rethinking the present to evolve the future.

In a time of widespread recession and depleted budgets there has never been a more important time to secure value for money in Northern Ireland Education. Schools are under pressure to improve standards, extend curriculum and ensure the health and safety of children and staff while balancing an inadequate and restrictive budget.

We must rethink the school system so that it ensures that children come first and that institutions are seen as simply providers not the heart of what education is about in the 2010s. I would like to try and help bring together the different partners in the Catholic family of schools and I believe the Catholic Principals’ Association can act as a catalyst for innovation and reform within our school system.

We have excellent schools throughout Northern Ireland and high quality staff both teaching and non teaching. We share much more in common than what divides us and we need to open our minds to creating a vibrant, exciting, schools estate for the children now and for the future. I would invite those people who seek to maintain academic selection at 11 to think again about the sort of society they want. As Catholics we speak of Social Justice and Equality yet a section of our schools continue to practise a form of social apartheid. I have no doubt about the commitment and expertise of the teachers in those schools that seek to maintain academic selection, they, like their counterparts in the non selective sector, give generously of their time and skills to improve the life chances of our young people but why is it that they refuse entry to those they perceive to be less academically talented?

In many areas across Northern Ireland where demography dictates these selective schools are happy to fill their empty seats with children who don’t meet their academic criteria.

The purpose of Education should surely be to develop good citizens, respectful of each other and valuing the different roles they perform in their communities. Every individual has the potential to contribute to society and we need everybody doing their job as well as they are capable. It is not just the professionals and the business community that make our society function but each individual who contributes their skills and aspirations. Academic excellence through a quality education based on common respect and values is the right of each child. It is best exemplified within a high performing, non selective, co-educational system based on local communities whereby all children in an area are educated together to serve those communities and beyond.

Educational excellence has to pursue more than just examination results. It must have at its core common respect for all no matter what their religion, social status, wealth or academic ability. This is best delivered in schools serving the full range of ability where children grow up wearing the same uniform and being helped and encouraged to set their sights high and to always strive to be the best they can be. It must demand high standards of behaviour and mutual respect in how we all interact within and across our communities. Intelligence is multi dimensional and multi faceted, it takes all its forms to create the high quality interdependent society we need if we are to live the lives we have been challenged to live.

I appeal to those who seek to perpetuate academic selection to think about the wider society and world we inhabit and consider what is right. The present financial crisis comes with its difficulties and its opportunities, let’s work together to re-design our educational system to make it not just economically viable but also fit for the purpose of providing the education our young people deserve and that society needs if it is to flourish.

The educational system that prevailed in the second half of the twentieth century has made a valuable contribution to our society but it has reached its sell-by date and is no longer sufficiently meeting the requirements of the twenty first century. It copied the system that prevailed in nineteenth and early twentieth century Britain and is now outdated and inadequate. It merely seeks to preserve the societal status quo. Fresh thinking and courageous decisions are now needed to give all our children a good start in life.

When we segregate children into those perceived to be the academically able and those who are not at age 11, we prevent them from learning from each other. We remove the academic role models and say to the others that they are in some way lesser people. This alienates many children and adds to society’s problems. If we allow them to grow and learn together we build a fairer society of young people based on common respect and friendship. We help and guide each child to choose their pathway, including the academically gifted and we allow flexibility for all between the different pathways as they learn more about their individual interests and talents.

We are constantly told in Northern Ireland about how good and how high performing our system is compared to the rest of the UK and we ignore the long tail of underachievement that this system produces. The reality is that ours is a failed out-dated system that compares itself with a UK system that is similarly failing when compared with other countries. Northern Ireland shouldn’t have to settle for second best, we have wonderful young people capable of the very highest attainment across a wide range of skills and talents. It is our responsibility to design and resource a new fair and equitable system that encourages high aspirations from all and creates the opportunities for creativity and achievement for every child.

Let’s work together to achieve the quality education that is all our children’s right.

Oliver Mooney.