New campaign seeks equality for children in education system

Posted by Schooldays Newshound, on 14/12/2015.

Tags: Education And Politics Parenting

A new campaign group, Equate, has been launched to advocate for equality in education rights for children regardless of their faith or background. The launche coincides with ongoing coverage in the media recently over the impact of admission policies on parents of non-catholic children.

In October this year EQUATE commissioned Behaviour& Attitudes to conduct research on attitudes to school patronage and the following are some of the key findngs of their research:

46% would not chose a Christian school for their child if they had a choice locally

1 in 5 are aware of someone who has baptised their child just to get them into the local school

77% do not think a school should have right to refuse admission to a child who has a different religion to that of the school’s patron

62% think reform of school patronage should be a key priority for the next Government

87% think that the State has responsibility to ensure that children do not experience religious discrimination in school curriculum

82% think Ireland should do all it can to honour its international human rights obligations to ensure equality in our education system

Details of the launch and aims of EQUATE: Equality in Education were released last week:

The aim of the organisation is to reform how schools are run and how education is delivered in Ireland. EQUATE: Equality in Education wants to deliver change in a number of key areas including the following:

Rural Schools (making them accessible to all children)

Patronage (diversifying patronage arrangements so that they reflect modern Ireland)

School Admissions Policies (making them inclusive of all children and families )

Adapting the classroom (to allow children to opt in to faith formation)

Speaking at the launch Michael Barron, Executive Director of EQUATE: Equality in Education said;

“A diverse and inclusive education system should be the cornerstone of any society. In Ireland all children should be treated equally by their local school. No child in this country should be isolated because of their faith or non-faith, identity or family background. It’s time to overhaul our education system to reflect the diversity of Irish families, our communities and our society. ”

Visit equateireland.ie