f) Local Authorities

The local authority Councils in which diocesan Secondary Schools are located are North Lanarkshire (8 schools *) and South Lanarkshire (4 schools). It is the responsibility of local authorities to ensure that all relevant aspects of educational legislation and curricular guidance are implemented in schools within the authority. Religious Education (more commonly referred to as Religious and Moral Education, mainly in the non-denominational sector) comes within this remit.

[ * Not all North Lanarkshire schools are in Motherwell Diocese. Those in the Cumbernauld area (2 Secondaries) are in the Archdiocese of Glasgow]

It is the role of the local authority, therefore, to make available to schools sufficient resources to ensure that the quality of Religious Education is universally high. In this regard, two particular aspects are note-worthy, namely the employment of teachers and the provision of appropriate staff development.

It is local authorities, not the Diocese, who employ teachers, including Religious Education staff. For teacher appointments the Church exercises the legal right of Approval as to ‘belief and character’ [Education (Scotland) Act 1980] and so liaison will take place between school, local authority and Diocese prior to appointments. This liaison will not extend beyond the Approval procedures e.g. Diocesan Advisers will not be involved in appointments of Principal Teachers of Religious Education. The only occasion when a diocesan representative may be involved in appointments would be when the Church representative on the relevant School Board is included on an interviewing panel - a situation which rarely if ever arises for Religious Education appointments.

With regard to staff development, local authorities provide opportunities for Religious Education staff to be supported in a variety of ways. Principal among these are the allocation to schools of sufficient funds to facilitate appropriate forms of personal and professional development; and the designation of a member of staff at Education headquarters (usually an Adviser / Quality Development Officer) to organise and manage a range of support mechanisms e.g. the provision of In-Service Training events. The Diocese welcomes these measures and encourages Religious Education staff to take advantage of the opportunities provided.

It should be noted, finally, that Religious Education in Catholic schools, being denominational in nature, is significantly different from Religious and Moral Education in non-denominational schools. Diocesan and local authority staff recognise these differences, but are jointly concerned to ensure that the experience of young people in Religious Education, denominational or non-denominational, is both educationally valid and personally meaningful and relevant.