Paul McAuliffe
Question:443. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Education her plans for changes to the patronage competition system for new schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34813/20]
View answerTuesday, 10 November 2020
Questions (443)
Written answers
A patronage process is run after it has been decided, based on demographic analysis, that a new school is required. The patronage process is open to all patron bodies and prospective patrons.
An Online Patronage Process System (OPPS) has been in operation under my Department since 2018 and provides objective information to parents in the relevant school planning areas to assist them in making an informed choice about their preferred model of patronage and language of instruction for the new school. (Previously, applicant patrons were required to collect parental preferences directly from parents and submit these with their application to the Department.)
A prospective patron can chose the school(s) it wishes to apply for and complete an application form in that regard for each school, for submission to my Department. The Department provides details on the OPPS of the school(s) and the list of applicant patrons which have applied for patronage of the school(s). Parents can then access the OPPS website, which allows them to access the appropriate survey for their area, to input the details of the eligible child(ren) and to select their preferred patron and language of instruction (with the exception of the Irish-medium primary Gaelscoileanna which have been designated as Irish-medium prior to the opening of the OPPS - in the case of these schools, parents can select their preferred patron but not language of instruction). Parental preferences from parents of children who reside in the school planning areas concerned, together with the extent of diversity currently available in these areas, are key to decisions in relation to the outcome of the process.
The patronage process for new schools is overseen by an external independent advisory group, the New Schools Establishment Group (NSEG). Following their consideration of my Department’s assessment reports, the NSEG submits a report with recommendations to me for consideration and final decision. The assessment reports and the NSEG recommendations for all such patronage processes are made available on my Department's website.
While all such matters are kept under review, at present, my Department has no plans to make changes to the OPPS process.