‘They came to Capernaum, and when he was in the house he asked them, ‘What were you arguing about on the road?’  They said nothing because they had been arguing which of them was the greatest.’ Mark 9:33-34)

This principle directs us to ensure that our decisions are made at the lowest, most appropriate level within the system.

In practice, it invites people and groups most directly affected in implementing a decision to have a key involvement in making it.

So, in the processes of planning, we start at the local level, passing on to more overarching levels that which cannot be adequately performed by the local body.

The overarching body intervenes to support local groups when necessary in coordinating activities across groups and in promoting the common good.

The practical implementation of this key principle is determined after taking account of the various responsibilities and accountabilities – many of them statutory – that characterise a modern school and a modern school system.