Sir, – In two weeks, on October 31st, primary schools all over Ireland must inform the Department of Education whether they wish to act on the results of last winter’s Primary School Survey. More than 200,000 parents responded, and four in 10 with children in denominational schools said they would prefer a multi-denominational one.
Schools were given a very short window to consult their communities meaningfully, and there is no way to know whether this is happening, because there is no requirement to report on whether or how consultation was carried out. Ultimately, the decision on whether a school changes patron rests with boards of management and patrons, whose deliberations are confidential.
Meanwhile, children opted out of religious instruction in Catholic schools, which make up 88 per cent of primary schools, have no national guidance to uphold their constitutional rights not to participate in religious instruction.
The department committed a year ago to drawing up best-practice guidance, but in a reply to me this month, it said only that “work is ongoing,” and confirmed that arrangements remain “a matter for the school concerned”.
RM Block
It looks to me that the State asked hundreds of thousands of parents what they wanted, then abdicated its responsibility for any real reform.
Over the next two weeks, parents, journalists and public representatives should be asking every school, every patron and the Minister herself what their plan is for a meaningfully inclusive school system that upholds the rights of all children. – Yours, etc,
MAEDBH KING,
Parents’ representative,
Education Equality,
Dún Laoghaire,
Dublin.
