Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail)
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412. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will confirm that three primary schools on the same campus (details supplied) have been selected for reconfiguration and divestment as part of a pilot scheme; if she will give full details of this proposal; if a facilitator has been appointed to facilitate this process; if the facilitator will be consulting parents and the local community on this initiative in order that their many queries can be answered; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [58032/22]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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In March 2022 I announced that arrangements are being put in place in a number of towns and areas of cities that have no multi-denominational primary schools at present as part of a pilot reconfiguration arrangement. This work involves identifying potential schools and engaging with school authorities, school staff and the school communities, including parents, with a view to agreeing on a transfer of patronage and change of ethos, where there is sufficient demand for this. Where a school transfers from the patronage of one patron to another, the school remains open with the same roll number and operating from the same school property. All State-funded primary schools follow a common national curriculum and are subject to the same rules and regulations.

The Council for Education of the Irish Episcopal Conference (representing the Catholic patrons) and relevant Bishops have confirmed their willingness to engage and co-operate fully with the Department in seeking to facilitate a more diverse school patronage in these towns and cities. The pilot areas are:

*parts of these cities

My Department has made available a number of independent facilitators across the pilot areas to work with the school patron and relevant school authorities at a local level:

- to progress the reconfiguration pilot initiative;

- to assist in identifying potential school(s) in this regard; and

- to engage with stakeholders including school authorities, school staff and parents with a view to agreeing on a transfer of patronage and change of ethos, where there is sufficient demand for this in the pilot areas.

Among the pilot areas being engaged with to consider if there is demand for transfer of patronage and change of ethos to multi-denominational is the area and the three schools to which the Deputy refers. In this respect, the relevant facilitator has met with the school authorities and staff in respect of the schools referenced by the Deputy. Arrangements are being made to agree dates for the facilitator’s information meetings with parents of the children in the three schools.

In respect of parents, the structured engagement process involves the facilitator inviting parents to an information meeting where the facilitator makes a presentation to parents providing information on the schools reconfiguration for diversity process initiative, including information on what this may mean for parents and pupils and setting out the steps in the engagement process. At the information meeting with the facilitator, parents have the opportunity to raise any questions and to share their views.

Following this, the facilitator and patron/patron’s representative where appropriate, reviews the engagement as part of each of the information sessions with the school community and the facilitator writes a preliminary report reflecting the engagement with the school authorities, staff and parents and submits this to the patron.

In pilot areas where the engagement has already progressed to this stage, the facilitator’s preliminary report to the patron was circulated to the full school community and a dedicated reconfiguration e-mail address was provided so that the school community, including parents, could provide any feedback/views and the Department collated this and provided this to the relevant facilitator.

An information pack for school communities, including parents, on transfer of patronage was published in March this year and can be accessed from www.gov.ie/schoolsreconfiguration.

Parents in the pilot areas can contact my Department directly by e-mail to ask questions or share their views on reconfiguration@education.gov.ie and parents and the school community in the area referred to by the Deputy can also contact the Department at the following e-mail address reconfiguration_dublin@education.gov.ie.