Monsignor Cassin opened the Conference with a review of the organisation and an account of the work of the NTF over the past year. He emphasised from recent European experience the importance that is attached at this time to schools which represent and serve local communities and have input from both religious and secular interests in the management structure, which community schools have. He thanked the delegates for their attendance and noted that the high numbers present were indicative of the importance placed on active Trusteeship in Community and Comprehensive schools.
Mr. Flynn in his presentation summarised the contents of NTF Conference 2008. In particular, he outlined the role of the Patron in the Education Act 1998 and the unique role of the Trustees in Community Schools acting as Joint Patron. The roles and responsibilities of the Joint Patron both under the Act and the Deed of Trust were outlined and discussed. These included characteristic spirit, the appointment of the Board of Management, the essential policies, the selection committee for staff, the site and buildings, as well as training and communication. The ACCS booklet on the role of Trustees in Community and Comprehensive schools was referred to throughout the presentation. In respect of communication the notion of a link person was developed and references to the legal underpinning of the role were discussed. The Role of the Patron in a Comprehensive school was also discussed with the hope that further discussions with the DES would help to further clarify this. Reference was made to two recent high court judgements which clarified and strengthened the respective roles of Patron and Boards of Management. Finally, a template for communication, incorporating the role of the Link person was detailed.
Sr. Eileen Randles gave a very well received presentation on the practicalities of Joint Patronage using her own experience in her role as link person for Trustees in a Community School. Her depth of experience, her familiarity with the role and her commitment to the concept was clear to all from her presentation. Delegates were particularly receptive to Eileen’s references to the practicalities of the role and the problem solving which needed to take place. Trustees were left in no doubt as to the importance of their role and the requirement for good communication between the parties.
Mr. Liam Ryder in the post-lunch session introduced a template for the involvement of the Joint Patron with a Community school Board of Management over the lifetime of the Board. He made detailed suggestions as to how communication with the outgoing Board would be accompanied by the relevant elections and nomination process. He articulated a vision of how new Board members could be inducted and the role of ACCS in providing in-service in this area. He looked at the practicalities of how communication about the characteristic spirit, the arrangements for the link person, the employment of staff and the general school management could happen. He referred to the possible role of the Joint Patron in dispute resolution, a point which was developed further by Mr. Martin Hanevy in the Open Forum at the later session.
The Open Forum allowed delegates further opportunities to ask questions and to seek clarification. Mr Hanevy spoke about the importance to the DES of active Joint Patrons in the Community School model. In particular he drew attention to their role in the communication process around WSE and consultation between the Joint Patron and the DES in cases where the WSE had shown that Boards were experiencing difficulties. He suggested that where new schools were envisaged that religious interests should involve ACCS in a discussion as to the provision of patronage for such schools in a Community School model. In this respect he also suggested that changes to the Deed of Trust might have to be considered, with the differences in the PPP model being used to illustrate his points. Mr. Flynn promised delegates that an NTF section would shortly be available on the www.accs.ie website with appropriate resources available for download. Monsignor Cassin brought the Conference to a close by thanking all who attended and participated in a very worthwhile conference.