PROPOSED NEW primary schools must signal their readiness to be part of a “campus development” with other schools in order to gain recognition by the Department of Education, according to a draft report for Minister for Education Mary Coughlan.
The report – on the procedures for establishing new primary schools – says it is no longer practical for “every student to be provided with access to a place in a school operated by a patron of their choice”.
In future, it says patrons must be able to show clear public demand for their proposed schools. In a proposal which could generate difficulties for Catholic schools, it also says patrons must demonstrate that the demand for any proposed new school is not already being met.
Last year, the department identified possible areas where the Catholic Church might divest itself of certain primary schools.
In a submission to the department, Catholic school managers said the preparedness of the church to consider a transfer in patronage “is something which will merit favourable consideration in applications for recognition of new Catholic primary schools, this would be a reciprocation of goodwill”.
The report by senior Department of Education officials and education partners wants a radical overhaul of the existing, informal procedures for the recognition of schools.
At present , schools can be established with a minimum number of just 17 pupils. The new report says schools should have capacity for up to three streams, or about 75 pupils.
At present, the Catholic Church controls 89.6 per cent of all primary schools in the State.
Critically, the reports says prospective school patrons must confirm their willingness to be part of a campus development with other primary or post-primary schools as identified by the department.
These education campuses – comprised of schools operating under different patrons – would be cost effective and offer good synergies, the report says.
The proposal will be seen as part of a wider move by the department to reduce the number of schools, 3,200 at primary level and over 700 at second level.
Other recommendations include:
The use of vacant spaces in existing school buildings – where there may not be a demographic need for a new school – should be examined;
An existing English-medium school may change to become an Irish-medium school or vice versa in order to create linguistic diversity;
The establishment of a new patronage advisory group to advise the Minister for Education on a number of matters in relation to patronage.
The report predicts enrolment in primary schools will surge by over 60,000 to about 570,000 by 2018. The new report was prepared by a technical working group under the steering group of the Commission on School Accommodation.
