Am I really the only person struggling to finish this? 1a Anglicans head off split, which involves attending Q & A session: 9 letters, last one m - I wondered if it might be Symposium. 1d Want to have someone sharing animal treatment duties: 5 letters, starts with s if my 1a is correct.
1 Catechism (Q and A). It's CE for Church of England/Anglicans, with 'at'/ attending and 'chism' which is 'schism' with the 's' (head, first letter) removed.