THE DEPARTMENT of Education should take all reasonable measures to ensure parents have a choice of school patron, according to a new report by an expert group.
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”.
It says patrons must in future be able to show clear public demand for their proposed schools, possibly involving a parental survey.
Gaelscoileanna have raised concerns about this recommendation. In an appendix to the report, they say if schools are to be established on the basis of parental demand, it will be difficult to establish an all-Irish school, as only a minority of people will seek all-Irish education in preference to education through English.
The report of the Commission on School Accommodation comes as the Catholic Church, which controls 90 per cent of primary schools, prepares to hand over some schools to other patrons. Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn has expressed the hope that 50 per cent of Catholic schools can be divested as part of the Forum on Patronage and Pluralism.
In their submission to the department’s review, Catholic Church groups say the criteria for recognising new schools “must respect the continuing demand for denominational education”.
The report says proposed new primary schools must signal readiness to be part of a development with other schools in order to gain recognition by the department.
They must also “confirm their willingness to enrol children for whom the department has identified the need for a school”. This follows controversy last year when immigrant children struggled to find places in some north Dublin schools.
The commission, comprising senior department officials and education partners, proposes a radical overhaul of existing informal procedures for recognition of schools. At present, schools can be established with a minimum of just 17 pupils. The new report says schools should have capacity for up to three streams, or about 75 pupils. It proposes the establishment of a patronage advisory group.
The report 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, currently 3,200 at primary level and more than 700 at second level.
Other proposals 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;
Spending on new schools cannot be justified in areas where where there is not a demographic demand.
The report estimates that each primary school place in a 16-classroom school costs the taxpayer more than €7,000 per pupil.
The report predicts enrolment in primary schools will surge by 64,000 to 570,000 by 2018.