Church to consider school patronage move

THE next move towards handing over patronage of some primary schools has been left up to Catholic bishops after the identification of 43 areas where there is potential to give up control.

However, it is likely to be at least two years before any schools may change hands as a major consultation process gets under way.

The Department of Education has identified a number of towns after the hierarchy requested its help in finding where there might be most pressing demand for non-Catholic schools.

The 43 areas have had a relatively stable population over the past decade, meaning they are not likely to need significant investment in school buildings between now and 2016, but only 12 out of more than 200 primary schools in the towns are multi-denominational.

Because of these factors, these areas have been deemed most suitable for the possible divesting of the patronage of one or more local schools by the Catholic bishop.

But no decisions will be made until widespread consultation takes place with local parents, staff, school boards of management and the wider community.

However, it remains uncertain how schools to be given over to new patrons might be selected in each diocese or how replacement patrons would be chosen by the department.

Fr Michael Drumm, chairperson of the Catholic Schools Partnership which will co-ordinate the consultation process, said most of this work will be done over the coming school year and will not be limited to parents of current pupils.

“We also want to know the views of parents whose children have left the school system and of prospective parents. That will be part of the first step of consultation, followed by a need to clarify the definition of multi-denominational and non-denominational schools, and an examination of the Church’s role in education down to parish level,” he said.

Fr Drumm said the number of schools that might be handed over could not be predicted, but the timescale will depend on the level of demand for change, with the analysis of parental demand likely to be based on detailed work conducted in a small sample of the 43 towns.

While the Department of Education is keen to see the handover of schools in areas where parents wish to have an alternative to Catholic ethos primary education, a spokesperson said it would not be pressuring the bishops to speed up the process.

Tánaiste and Education Minister Mary Coughlan said that, if the Catholic Church should identify schools to be released to other patrons, a range of processes will need to be put in place to address issues such as ownership of buildings and transfer of staff.

The Catholic Primary Schools Management Association (CPSMA), which represents the boards of the 2,888 schools under Catholic patronage, agreed with the need for prior consultation with local communities, including parents, staff and boards of management.

“Catholic schools have been providing inclusive education for many years but there does also have to be plurality of provision, and parental choice has to be the priority in all of this,” said CPSMA general secretary Eileen Flynn.