Handover of schools will take two years

The first handover of Catholic primary schools to new patrons will take at least two years, but parents have welcomed the key role they will have in the process.

Based on the report in April of experts who oversaw the Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the Primary Sector, 44 areas where parents have little or no choice beyond the local Catholic primary schools have been selected for the first phase of possible divesting.

They are slightly different to the 47 areas identified in 2010 by the Department of Education in response to a request for data from the Catholic bishops. The changes take account of population changes in the 2011 census and more diverse primary school provision having been offered or planned in some areas in the past two years.