Schooldays.ie - Ireland's Online Resource for Parents & Teachers

Parenting & Education in Ireland

Schooldays.ie - Ireland's Online Resource for Parents & Teachers

Parenting & Education

× Home Parents Associations About Us
.
Log in Register Forgot password? ×

Report of the Advisory Group to the Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the Primary Sector


Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 16/04/2012. Tags: Education And Politics

text re imageLast week, Minister for Education and Skills, Mr. Ruairí Quinn T.D., published the report of the Advisory Group to the Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the Primary Sector. 247 submissions were received from interest groups, parents and members of the public and were considered by the Advisory group. Primary and post-primary pupils also participated in the consultation process. The report notes that while 96% of education provision at primary level is denominational arising from the historical development of Irish primary education, there is clearly increased demand for new forms of multi-denominational and non-denominational schooling, as well as increased demand for Irish language schooling. 

Minister Quinn has asked that the Education Partners and interested parties examine the report and take time to reflect on and digest the recommendations.  The Minister is considering the report's findings and recommendations and he plans to outline his official response in May.  A White Paper on pluralism and patronage in the primary sector  will follow. 

The recommendations of the Advisory Group can be broadly divided into three key areas:

Divesting patronage where there is a stable population and demand for diversity of schools
dealing with Irish medium primary schools
promoting more inclusiveness in all schools, including 'Stand Alone' schools where divesting patronage to another body is not an option

The report recommends achieving diversity of patronage by using the existing stock of schools in areas where the population is stable. Where there is a cluster of denominational schools but also parental demand for alternative school patronage, the report recommends that transfer of patronage be achieved with assistance from the Department. 
The Advisory Group cautions against a 'big bang' approach and advises that change of patronage should happen in a phased way, through the adoption of a catchment approach, taking account of the preferences of parents. 

The report recommends that phase one of this work would involve examining school patronage in  43 towns and 4 Dublin areas identified by the Department in 2010, arising from a request by  the Catholic Church, as likely to have substantial demand for diversity. This will involve 18 dioceses and scrutiny of approximately 250 schools, out of which approximately 50 may be divested.

A three stage process is recommended, whereby the DES would gather information on the demand for divestment through parental surveys. This would be followed by a report on the options for patronage and finally patrons would be required to respond within a definite timeframe. 
This would occur alongside a programme of provision of new schools in areas of population growth, the patronage of which would be based on parental demand.

The report makes a number of recommendations concerning the  provision of Irish medium schools, including the piloting of the concept of a "satellite" school, which would be linked to a well established 'parent' Irish medium school.

For communities served by one 'Stand Alone' school, where transfer of patronage is not  an option, the report makes recommendations aimed at ensuring such schools are as inclusive as possible and  accommodate pupils of various belief systems. There are approximately 1700 of these schools, which are at least 3km from their nearest neighbour. The report suggests the development of a protocol which would facilitate all  schools in developing clear policies accessible to parents on how they manage diversity and ensure an inclusive and respectful environment for all their pupils.

"The Forum on Patronage is a key commitment in the programme for Government and is another indication of our drive to reform and ensure fairness in our schools.  However, I am very conscious of the need to balance making real progress in divesting patronage in the short-term and the longer term aim of ensuring commitment by all concerned to more inclusiveness and diversity in schools," said Minister Quinn. 
Given the demands on the resources available at primary level, the Minister is also mindful that such changes should, wherever possible, be cost neutral.

The Advisory Group report is available from the Forum webpage of the Department website:


Comments

Andrew

(18-04-2012 22:14)


A good first step - but lots of further contemplation and white papers. Are we likely to see any real changes within the next 10 years? 20 years?

Submit a comment

Please respect the terms of use of our discussion boards. Full terms here .
Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments. When you submit your comment, you'll be sent a link to confirm it.
Name Email


Related Links


The Education System in Ireland
Visit our Teachers Staffroom
Read what parents are talking about

Recent Comments


Nurturing Young Minds: A Focus Group for Parents on Enhancin... (impactfluid, 28/03 02:40)
July Provision Teacher required - Ballycullen D24 (MumOf1and1, 27/03 21:02)
childminding service (Little Ducks childminding service, 24/03 18:34)
Childcare place available D3/D9 (Marinominder, 21/03 12:39)
Public invited to have say on new Primary Curriculum (Catherine Smith, 20/03 21:52)
First Aid and childminding (yhowell, 20/03 21:19)
Uniform for sale (herringbur, 20/03 14:16)
Childminder Available Dublin 18 (JessR, 20/03 10:41)
Dublin 7 childminder available (Dublin 7 childminder, 20/03 10:33)
2nd Year Student Struggling to make friends (Aprilmom, 20/03 09:57)




;