Parents to be polled next year on multi-denominational education in effort to ‘accelerate’ school choice

Parents of primary and preschool aged children will be invited to state their preferences for multi-denominational education in a national poll shortly as part of a new Government effort to “accelerate” school choice.

Almost 90 per cent of the 3,600 primary schools in the State remain Catholic in ethos, while just 5 per cent (about 170) are multi-denominational.

Efforts to transfer patronage away from religious-run schools over the past decade or more have proved slow and, in some cases, divisive.

The Government is at risk of missing its target of ensuring there are 400 multi-denominational primary schools (about 12 per cent of all primary schools) by the end of the decade.

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The most recent pilot initiative aimed at delivering multi-denominational schooling options in eight areas resulted in just two schools transferring from Catholic patronage.

In an interview, Minister for Education Norma Foley accepted that progress has been slow to date, but said the new national survey will help “accelerate” the process.

While pilot projects have operated on a local basis to date, she said a national approach would provide a “clearer perspective” on the level of change sought by parents across the State.

“[It will tell us] what are their needs, what are their hopes and expectations for their children? So, for the first time, really, it will become a national conversation,” she said.

“We’ve previously had pilots. I think it will be a great gathering of information and probably give us a clearer perspective on the needs, the demands and expectations going forward.”

Department of Education sources say the survey will likely ask parents to share their Eircode to help provide a regional breakdown of preferences and prevent duplication of preferences.

Some of the key obstacles during previous efforts to divest or reconfigure schools have included misinformation, a lack of clarity on the next steps for schools and fear of change among parents and staff.

As a result, the department is designing a new section of the gov.ie website to provide “accessible and clear information on reconfiguration”.

When asked if plans to divest or reconfigure Catholic schools would run into the same barriers as previous efforts, Ms Foley insisted there was a willingness to work together on all sides.

She said she has met bishops who said they recognised the value of the diversity of multi-denominational education and the need to increase choice for parents.

“I think affording an opportunity for parents, nationally, to put their views and thoughts on the table is hugely important. We’ve never had a national opportunity like that before. I think there’s an openness and a willingness from all of the others around the table to hear what their perspective is,” she said.

“I would say the bishops have been fulsome in their acknowledgment of the need for diversity of the importance of diversity. This really will present a new opportunity.”

The survey results will likely feed into an updated strategy and framework for delivering on the Government’s commitment for increasing multi-denominational provision.

Ms Foley also pointed to the fact that the vast majority of new schools over recent years have been multi-denominational.

“Of the 55 new primary schools, 54 of them are multi-denominational. And if you look at the post-primary [sector], 44 of the 50 are multi-denominational. I think those statistics get lost in this discussion presently... but much more needs to be done,” she said.

Among the school patrons that stand to benefit from increased demand for multi-denominational education are State-funded Education and Training Boards that run Community National Schools.

Earlier this year, the representative body for the State’s 16 regional education and training boards, said a survey showed strong support for multi-denominational education.

The Education and Training Boards Ireland-commissioned poll, based on a representative sample of 1,011 adults by research firm Opinion, found that 61 per cent of adults had a preference for multi-denominational education compared to 9 per cent who had a preference for a religious body to provide education.

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