Schools ‘should be managed locally’

Community national schools should be managed by local boards — so says the head of the education and training boards which run them.

While 11 such schools have opened since 2008, offering multi-denominational education in mostly urban settings, they remain on a pilot basis. Those already operational are under the management of education and training boards (ETBs) in Dublin-Dún Laoghaire, Louth-Meath, Kildare-Wicklow and Cork, the last two of which opened new community national schools this month.

Education and Training Boards Ireland (ETBI) general secretary, Michael Moriarty, said their pilot status means ETBs, chosen to be patrons, still await that function being transferred from Education Minister Jan O’Sullivan. More importantly, he said, each is still overseen by a ministerial-appointed manager, instead of a locally-elected board.