BRISBANE Archbishop John Bathersby has established a new body to focus on Catholic education planning issues in the archdiocese.
He launched the Archdiocesan Educational Planning Advisory Forum at a ceremony in St Stephen’s Chapel, Brisbane on May 19.
Its purpose is to promote collaboration among all Catholic school authorities to enhance the provision of Catholic schooling in the archdiocese.
This includes school authorities administering diocesan and parish schools, and those administering schools run by religious institutes.
The forum will have four representatives of parish and diocesan schooling nominated by the archbishop and four representatives of religious institute schooling nominated by the Conference of Leaders of Religious Institutes of Queensland.
Its chair will be independent of any Catholic school provider.
The forum is the result of a Catholic schools’ planning summit last October.
Archbishop Bathersby called the summit in response to changes proposed by religious institute schools in the archdiocese.
Summit working party chairman Leo Dunne, in his report on the process, said the archbishop was aware the proposed changes were posing the potential for division among schools and their authorities.
Concerns related to proposals for the introduction of middle schooling, several secondary schools planning to add primary classes, the impact of State Government moves relating to adding a full-time compulsory preparatory year, the impact of these proposals on existing schools, and meeting the need for Catholic education in growth areas
