History and Origins of the Secretariat
Up to the 1960s, Catholic voluntary secondary schools were established and run by the bishops (Diocesan schools) and by religious orders of priests, brothers, and nuns. In addition, a small number of Catholic schools were owned and run by lay people.
The interests of Catholic school management were upheld by a number of organisations: the Catholic Headmasters Association (CHA) representing priests; the Conference of Convent Secondary Schools (CCSS) representing nuns; the Teaching Brothers Association (TBA) representing teaching brothers’ institutes, and the Federation of Lay Catholic Secondary Schools (FCLS) representing the lay owners of schools. With the exception of FCLS, the organisations were subject to either episcopal or religious authorities. There were two education commissions for Catholic schools: the Episcopal Commission for Education (Bishops) and the Education Commission of the Conference of Major Religious Superiors (CMRS).
In 1968, the Council of Management of Catholic Secondary Schools (CMCSS) was established by the Episcopal Conference and CMRS. CMCSS comprised representatives from CHA (2), CCSS (3), TBA (2), FCLS (1), Episcopal Commission (1) and CMRS (1). In 1964, religious and lay Catholic managerial groups and the Protestant groups came together informally as the Joint Managerial Body (JMB) to conduct negotiations with, and make representations to, the Department of Education and the ASTI. This cooperation was particularly important in presenting a united front to respond to industrial relations issues and the consequences of the introduction of free education in 1968.
The Secretariat of Secondary Schools (SSS) was incorporated as a company limited by guarantee in 1973 under the Companies Act 1963 to look after the interests of voluntary secondary schools. SSS provided a small administrative staff to support the work of the CMCSS and the JMB.
In 1987, CMCSS was restructured to take account of the declining numbers of religious in schools and the advent of boards of management. Part of this restructuring led to the establishment of the Association of Management of Catholic Secondary Schools (AMCSS) comprising ten geographic regions. The principal and chairperson of the board of management of each school in the region attended meetings of the region. Each region elected one principal and one chairperson to represent the region on CMCSS, giving twenty regional representatives. One representative from the Episcopal Commission and one representative from the Conference of Religious in Ireland, brought the total membership of CMCSS to twenty-two.
The CMCSS, together with three representatives of the ISA, came together in 1987 to form the Council of the JMB. Administrative and support services continued to be provided for both Catholic and Protestant secondary schools by the SSS General Secretary and the Secretariat.
In 2018, the Irish Episcopal Conference (IEC) and the Association of Leaders of Missionaries and Religious of Ireland (AMRI) approved a new structure for the management and trusteeship of post-primary Catholic schools. As part of this restructuring SSS drew up a revised constitution comprising a Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association. In conjunction with the constitution, Internal Regulations were drawn up and approved. These regulations replace the Manual on Procedures first drawn up in 1987 and revised in 1993 and 2000.
From small beginnings, SSS through its AMCSS and JMB divisions has firmly established an excellent reputation as a recognised school management organisation and key stakeholder in the field of Irish education. Through cooperation with the Department of Education, the inspectorate and other education partners, SSS has contributed significantly to the improvement of teaching and learning and the educational experience of students.