| Andrew Adonis, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education and former Head of the Prime Minister’s Policy Unit, affirmed the importance of Catholic schools and colleges when he spoke at the recent Diocesan Schools Commissioners’ conference.
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The Very Reverend Michael O'Dowd, Chairman of the DSC Executive & Lord Adonis
| | He joked that in calling its directors of schools ‘commissioners’ the Catholic Church was 150 years ahead of the government. He praised the work which Catholic schools and colleges do, and said that where parents want to see it, the government supports the expansion of faith-based education. He was clear that faith education is ‘absolutely compatible’ with social and wider inclusion.
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| Lord Adonis gave DSCs an insight into the thinking behind the government’s Schools White Paper, which had been published the previous week. He told the conference that the government was on target to achieve its target for Academies by the end of 2006, and clarified some of the ‘difficult issues’ around admissions and transport.
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Lord Adonis & Oona Stannard, Chief Executive of Catholic Education Service
| | He concluded by saying that he felt there is a ‘powerful shared mission’ on education between the government and the Catholic Church. He said that Catholic schools combine the Every Child Matters agenda with a concentration on high academic performance which leads to results which substantially exceed the national average.
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