All-inclusive schools group will meet parents

MEETINGS are being held this week for parents of prospective pupils at three planned primary schools in Cork by a multi-denominational group which hopes to open them.

Educate Together is applying for patronage of the schools, which will open in 2013 in the Douglas/Rochestown area of the city’s southside, Riverstown/Glanmire north of the city and Mallow in north Co Cork.

They are among 13 areas where the Department of Education says new primary schools will be needed in the next two years to cater for rising pupil numbers. The others are in Dublin, Galway and Kildare.

Education Minister Ruairi Quinn announced in June that new procedures to select a patron for new primary schools will be used.

Any interested patrons must apply to the department by October 7 and show evidence of demand from local parents for the kind of school they plan to open.

Educate Together has almost 60 primary schools, 19 of which have opened in the past five years, and hopes to start another 20 by 2016.

Niall Wall, the charity’s Ireland South regional development officer, said a good turnout is expected but he encouraged local parents to come along to this week’s meetings, all of which start at 8pm.

The first will take place tomorrow night in the Maryborough Hotel in Rochestown, followed on Wednesday by an event at the Hibernian Hotel in Mallow, and at the Vienna Woods Hotel in Glanmire on Thursday.

“Educate Together has been running multi-denominational schools for over 30 years, but there may be many parents unsure of exactly what we offer,” said Mr Wall.

“These public information meetings are open and informal and everyone is encouraged to ask questions.”

He said all pupils in their schools are respected equally, regardless of social, ethnic or religious background, with parents encouraged to take an active part in their children’s school lives.

Although more than half the 96 primary schools established in the past decade are multi-denominational in ethos, 25 are under the patronage of a Catholic bishop, including 19 opened since 2005.

A new model of multi-denominational community national school means Vocational Educational Committees are also beginning to take on the role of patrons in the primary sector.

The findings of an expert group overseeing the recent forum on primary school patronage will be presented to Mr Quinn later this year.

It examined the issue of control of the country’s 3,330 national schools, almost 90% of which are under control of the Catholic church.

* See: corksoutheducatetogether.com, malloweducatetogether.com, riverstownglanmireet.com