Educate Together welcomes local engagement on patronage for Mayo schools
The survey was the first of its kind in Ireland, giving parents the chance to have direct input on how their local school should be run.
Educate Together has welcomed the recent Department of Education and Youth (DEY) guidance to schools around the results of the Primary School Survey.
The survey was the first of its kind in Ireland, giving parents the chance to have direct input on how their local school should be run.
Schools received their school specific survey results in June and have been asked to engage with parents and other members of the school community before deciding if they want to express interest in changing patronage.
Recently, the closing date for schools to apply for patronage transfer was extended to November 30th, to give schools more time to engage with the local community and consult with parents and families.
According to the results, 40 per cent of parentsâ¯in religious-run schoolsâ¯nationally would prefer a multi-denominational primary schoolâ¯andâ¯34 per cent of families in County Mayoâ¯wouldâ¯prefer a multi-denominational education.
These numbersâ¯contrastâ¯starkly with current school provision, whereby 95.1 per cent of primary schoolsâ¯nationallyâ¯remainâ¯under denominational control.
Among schools that are not currently Educate Together schools, the strongest support was recorded at S N an Coill Mhor (100 per cent), S N Realt na Mara (75 per cent), Sn Naomh Proinnsias (75 per cent), S N B Curnanool (71 per cent), and Holy Trinity National School (69 per cent).
Educate Together say demand for multi-denominational / equality-based education inâ¯Mayoâ¯is notâ¯currentlyâ¯being met.â¯
There are currently only threeâ¯Educate Together primary schools in Mayo. This means that of the 151 primary schools in the county, only three have a multi-denominational ethos.
Parents in many parts of Mayo have no choice other than to send their children to a denominational primary school.
Edward Platt, Schools Development Officer for Educate Togetherâ¯stated: “The data from the Primary School Survey has given schools an insight into what their parents want, but it doesn’t tell the full story.
"We are encouraging all schools to engage with the parents to get a more rounded view of what the school community wants and what their vision is for the future of the school. If your local school is consulting parents, we strongly encourage parents to get involved”.
