What does the enacted Admissions Bill mean for Catholic primary schools?
The Admissions Bill (2018) was paused last year by the Minister for Education stating workload for schools the reason for not fully enacting the Bill, which supposedly ended the so-called Baptism Barrier in primary schools. While still a very fraught and flawed Bill, which still allows schools to discriminate on the basis of gender and […]
Is it ok for a school to ask for your religion?
Before the Admissions Bill came into practice, all denominational schools were allowed to prioritise enrollment applications from families of the same religious belief as their school’s patron. Put simple, Catholic schools could prioritise Catholic children over non-Catholic children. In order for schools to be able to do this, they would ask for a Baptismal Certificate […]
We’re Open to Everyone
Almost 18 months after launching Opting Out, it is time to open the site to everyone. We gave exclusive use of Opting Out to primary schools to show how they accommodate families and staff who do not share the same belief system of the school’s ethos. I set 3 deadline dates for schools to avail […]
Phase 2: Report
In April 2018, Opting Out was born with the intention of giving primary schools the opportunity to demonstrate how they accommodate pupils and teachers from minority and non-faith backgrounds. Out of 3,115 primary schools in Ireland, 2,996 of them are run with a denominational ethos. We wrote to the various management bodies to see how […]
Opting Out’s Mid Term Report
In April, Opting Out was born with the intention of giving primary schools the opportunity to demonstrate how they accommodate pupils and teachers from minority and non-faith backgrounds. Out of 3,115 primary schools in Ireland, 2,996 of them are run with a denominational ethos. The aim of the first phase was to give 6 months […]
The first schools have been published
The first schools have been signing up to Opting Out and I just wanted to say a big thank you to them. It is lovely to see the first schools showcasing how they accommodate children and teachers in their schools. I have already received a message from a parent who is delighted that the school […]
Published in IPPN Leadership+
I’m delighted that the IPPN has published my article promoting the idea to schools to register for Opting Out. The text of the piece can be found in the About section of the website. It is highly gratifying that the IPPN has shown that they are willing to support principals by supporting this project. I […]
Minister Bruton delivers historic reform of school admissions?
According to the Department of Education website, Richard Bruton has delivered historic reform of school admissions. I always suspected that the people that proclaim things as historic are generally not the people who proclaim them, but that aside, they open up a lot of discussion, and questions that need to be answered. In terms of […]
Balance in Sex Education
The focus on Relationships and Sexual Education in schools has been heightened by calls for removing the influence of the ethos in its teaching. This is coupled with the focus on the referendum on May 25th, where abortion is being discussed in many schools, (albeit mainly secondary schools.) Because the Catholic church is very much […]
School Ethos and RSE
The Irish Independent covered the topic of Relationships and Sexual Education and the effect of the ethos of a school on its delivery. With over 90% of schools having to follow a Catholic programme, topics such as contraception, same-sex relationships, sex outside of marriage, etc. cannot be covered. Moreover, a number of secular schools are […]