We Are CCMS

The Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS) is the managing authority for Catholic Maintained schools in Northern Ireland. It was established by the Education Reform (Northern Ireland) Order (1989) and is responsible for:

• Employment of teaching staff and school leaders
• Promoting the effective management of schools by Boards of Governors
• Planning effective and sustainable school provision
• Providing support and advice to Trustees and DE

Catholic Maintained schools makeup over 40% of schools in Northern Ireland and CCMS is one of the largest teaching employers, employing approximately 6500 school leaders and teaching staff. The founding purpose of CCMS is to raise standards, and we do this by:

1. Empowering effective leadership in our schools
2. Developing our family of catholic schools, their ethos and sustainability
3. Advocating for all children and the Catholic maintained sector
4. Shaping policy, provision and transformation

CCMS works in conjunction with the Department of Education and sectoral partners on a wide range of issues impacting education including shared education, Irish medium and integrated education.

CCMS has three directorates:

• Education - which includes Educational Adviser teams and Localities Administrative Support
• Strategic Planning and School Provision - which has responsibility for Area Planning and Building & Development Teams
• HR, Workforce Planning and Governance - which has responsibility for finance, HR, governance and Recruitment

Support to schools often requires a multi-disciplinary approach so CCMS has three Locality Teams with Officers from each directorate. These teams work collectively to provide support to schools in the localities below, as well as the five dioceses. These teams are a primary contact point for schools, but staff work flexibly across areas according to demand and need.