The Catholic Education Service (CES) is an agency of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales (CBCEW), whose object is the advancement of the Christian religion, primarily through education.

History

The CES has its roots in the Catholic Poor School Committee founded in 1847. At this time with the restoration of the Catholic hierarchy the work of the committee focused on primary education and there was an expectation among the clergy that where finances would not permit the building of both a church and a school, building a school should take precedence, thus serving as the focal point and place of worship for the local Catholic community until a church could also be built. The Secondary Education Council was added and in 1905 the Catholic Education Council (CEC) for England and Wales was established. Although the responsibilities did not change with the CEC's development into CES in 1991, the ways in which these would be achieved did change and continue to evolve in order to respond to contemporary needs.

Controversy

Former CES director, Oona Stannard,Catholic education chief steps down

Catholic Herald The ''Catholic Herald'' is a London-based Roman Catholic monthly newspaper and starting December 2014 a magazine, published in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and, formerly, the United States. It reports a total circulation of abo ...

, 20 January 2012 described the sex relationships education (SRE) bill as a '' 'positive step forward' '' despite the then Education Secretary, Ed Balls, when asked about the any opt out for faith schools in the bill, stating '' 'there is no watering down and also there is no opt out for any faith school from teaching the full, broad, balanced curriculum on sex relationship education.' '' The Catholic Education Service declined to participate in the

Coalition Government A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...

's flagship Free School programme, because schools created under that scheme could not prioritise 100% of their places for Catholic children.

Governance

Trustees: :The Most Reverend Malcolm McMahon OP,

Archbishop of Liverpool The Archbishop of Liverpool is the ordinary of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Liverpool and metropolitan of the Province of Liverpool (also known as the Northern Province) in England. The archdiocese covers an area of of the west of the ...

; :The Right Reverend

John Sherrington John Francis Sherrington (born 5 January 1958) is an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Westminster. His appointment was announced on 30 June 2011. He had previously served as part of the clergy of the Diocese of Nottingham. Biography John ...

, Auxiliary Bishop of Westminster. Management Committee: :The Most Reverend Malcolm McMahon OP,

; :The Right Reverend Peter Doyle,

Bishop of Northampton The Bishop of Northampton is the Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Northampton in the Province of Westminster, England. The see is in the town of Northampton where the bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral Church of Our Lady and ...

; :The Right Reverend John Sherrington, Auxiliary Bishop of Westminster; :The Reverend Monsignor Marcus Stock; :The Reverend Father John Weatherill; :Mrs Kate Griffin; Chairman: The Right Reverend Marcus Stock, Bishop of Leeds, elected in May 2019. Director:Appointment of interim Director at the CESEW
, ''Catholic Education Service'', November 2010 Paul Barber Deputy Director: Mr Greg Pope (2010–2017)

References

External links

Catholic Education Service
{{authority control Catholic Church in England and Wales 1847 establishments in the United Kingdom Religious organisations based in England Educational organisations based in the United Kingdom Religious organizations established in 1847