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 the Department of Education
The founding purpose of CCMS is to raise standards, and we do this by:
- Empowering effective leadership in our schools
- Developing our family of catholic schools, their ethos and sustainability
- Advocating for all children and the Catholic maintained sector
- 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 Education and integrated education.