CHANGES IN school patronage should be implemented in a phased way with no “big bang” approach, according to the report of the Advisory Group of the Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in primary schools.
The report is designed to provide a roadmap for the transfer of Catholic schools to other patrons. In the first phase, it recommends 43 towns and four Dublin areas where there is likely to be substantial demand for diversity.
This will involve 18 dioceses and scrutiny of 250 schools, of which about 50 may be divested. Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn has said he hopes to see 1,500 of the 3,000 Catholic primary schools divested. The report is much more cautious. It backs a three-stage process as follows:
* The department gathers information on the demand for divestment through parental surveys;
* Various school patrons provide the Department of Education with a range of options for divestment after consultations with school communities;
* The department evaluates the options and submits a report to the Minister.
For 1,700 “stand alone” rural schools – where transfer of patronage is not an option – the report says these must be as inclusive as possible and accommodate pupils of various belief systems.
Welcoming the report, Mr Quinn said: “We live in a changed and changing nation. There is a general acceptance that a greater diversity of primary schooling is necessary . . . The key issue is how best to promote and develop this diversity.”
The report notes an increasing demand for new forms of multidenominational and nondenominational schooling.
The report recommends changes to the 1965 Rules for National Schools which states religion is “the most important subject in the curriculum” and to the need for a religious spirit to “inform and vivify the whole school day”. These are considered outdated and have been the subject of much criticism, nationally and internationally.
The advisory group was chaired by Prof John Coolahan.
