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Views being sought on school patronage


THE views of the parents of Shannon children on the patronage of local primary schools are being sought by the Minister for Education, while the six Shannon schools have urged parents to take part and claim much will be lost if there are changes.

Surveys have gone live and are an expansion of pilot surveys on primary school patronage, which were conducted late last year in five towns.

The survey can be accessed on line at www.education.ie and parents or guardians of children aged up to 12 in Shannon and 37 other towns and suburbs are being urged to fill it in. They will need to have their PPS number in order to complete the survey but it will only be used for verification purposes.

The aim of the survey is to establish the level of demand from parents for diversity of school patronage, with more than 90%, or approximately 3,000, schools under the remit of the Catholic Church. This survey follows on from the recommendations of the Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the primary sector.

In a joint statement this week, the six Shannon primary schools urged local parents to take part in the survey and defended the current level of inclusivity. “Shannon is a new town with a proud history. The schools grew alongside the town and parents worked hard to provide schools for their children since 1961. They fundraised for the schools and gave many hours of their time. There was much community involvement in establishing our schools. This continues today, with volunteers from the community who serve on the boards of management in a voluntary capacity.

“Over the years, schools have welcomed pupils from all over the globe. These children have been welcomed and educated alongside their loyal friends. Each school has children of many faiths and none. All learn and play harmoniously alongside each other. The schools are now rooted in the community and each one has its own distinctive identity. This has been built up over time and is growing every year.

“The Minister for Education and Skills has organised this survey with the intention of making ‘all primary schools more inclusive’. The experience in Shannon is that the schools here are already fully inclusive and are an excellent example of what the minister is trying to achieve.

“If you value what we have, please take part in the survey and make your voice count.”

The statement claims that if patronage changes, the schools will lose local volunteers who know Shannon’s needs, access to local support from the patron’s office, faith formation as part of children’s education and changes to the ways pupils are prepared for sacraments.

“This is a historic opportunity for parents in Shannon to have a real say in the type of school they wish to send their children to, be it denominational, multi-denominational, all Irish or other,” said Minister Ruairí Quinn.

“In Shannon, there is little prospect of any new schools opening as the population remains stable and there is enough capacity within existing schools. However, if parents demonstrate through this survey that they want a greater choice of primary school then we will work with existing patronage to ensure they can send their children to a school that best reflects their own ethos and beliefs.”

The bodies that have indicated they would like to become patrons of any divested schools in Shannon are the Clare VEC, An Fóras Patrúnachta, Educate Together and the Redeemed Christian Church of God.
Current patrons are the Catholic Bishop of Killaloe and the Church of Ireland Bishop of Limerick, Killaloe and Ardfert.

 

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