This article is from page 4 of the 2012-04-17 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 4 JPG
HUNDREDS of parents of young children in the Shannon town area are to be surveyed to determine what kind of education they would like for their children.
Shannon was the only part of Clare mentioned in the Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the Primary Sector Report, which identified it as an area that required immediate action. If the findings of the report are carried out, it will see one of the town’s five primary schools being transformed into a multi-denominational school.
Shannon already contains one Gaelscoil and one Church of Ireland school as well as a number of other national schools. It is, at present, unclear which of the town’s national schools will be asked to change its patron should the recommendations of the report be followed through on.
The possible changes in Shannon are the first step in a series of steps advocated by the Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the Primary Sector Report. Other changes could see changes brought into some of the counties’ rural schools that will remain under the patronage of the Catholic Church.
The report recommends promoting more inclusiveness in all schools, but especially in standalone, rural schools – where divesting patronage to another body is not an option. The majority of Clare schools has been identified as standalone schools because the nearest alternative school is more than 3km away.
The report recommends that the school boards of these schools are given the responsibility to uphold the rights of children and parents with regard to own religious education regardless of their faith.
It has also been recommended that the law be changed to prevent a child from a certain faith being given a preferential position when applying to enter the school. The Clare People contacted each of the five primary school in the Shannon area in relation to this story but no official was forthcoming from any of the schools at the time of going to press.