This article is from page 6 of the 2013-01-15 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 6 JPG
PARENTS in Shannon are invited to have their say on which of four patron bodies they would like to see running primary schools in their area.
The bodies, which have indicated they would like to become patrons of any divested schools in Shannon, include the County Clare VEC, An Foras Patrúnachta, Educate Together and the Redeemed Christian Church of God.
Parents of children aged 0 to 12 years in 38 areas across Ireland are being asked by the Minister for Education and Skills what patrons they would like to see operating their local primary schools.
As part of this, parents in Shannon are being asked for their views.
The survey went live yesterday (Monday) on the Department of Education website and is an expansion of pilot surveys on primary school patronage which were conducted late last year in five towns.
The aim of the survey is to establish the level of demand from parents for diversity of school patronage in each of the towns. The current patrons of schools in Shannon are the Catholic Bishop of Killaloe and the Church of Ireland Bishop of Limerick, Killaloe and Ardfert.
If parents indicate they would like a wider choice of patron, then the Department of Education and Skills (DES) will ask existing patrons to come up with a plan to transfer some schools to other patron bodies.
“This is an 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, allIrish 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 patrons to transfer patronage to ensure they can send their children to a school which best reflects their own ethos and beliefs.”
The survey can be accessed online via www.education.ie and parents or guardians of primary school going children and 0 to 5 year olds in the 38 towns and suburbs (list below) are also being urged to fill it in before February 8. They will need to have their PPS number in order to complete the survey – for verification purposes. Paper-based versions of the survey are also available.