EDUCATE TOGETHER has welcomed the announcement of the results of the recent national survey on school type preference, as announced by the Minister for Education and Youth.
According to the results, 40 per cent of parents in religious-run schools nationally would prefer a multi-denominational primary school and 29 per cent of families in Donegal would prefer a multi-denominational education.
These numbers contrast starkly with current school provision, whereby 95 per cent of primary schools nationally remain under denominational control.
Demand for multi-denominational equality-based education in Donegal is not currently being met. Letterkenny Educate Together National School is the only multi-denominational school in Donegal.
This means that of the 171 primary schools in the county, only one has a multi-denominational ethos.
Parents in many parts of Donegal have no choice other than to send their children to a denominational primary school.
Letterkenny ETNS was founded in 2006 and has become widely known for its vibrant, welcoming and diverse school community.
The Educate Together national office hopes to work with more Donegal-based families in the future, to expand access to equality-based education around the county.
Edward Platt, Schools Development Officer for Educate Together stated: “These national results are very encouraging for the future of school choice in County Donegal.
“At Educate Together we regularly engage with families and local communities who are frustrated by the lack of multi-denominational equality-based school places available to them. Now that The Department of Education has provided statistically valid data to show that over 29 per cent of parents in Donegal want their child to have access to a multi-denominational school, we need to see action taken to make this a reality”.
This announcement also mirrors Educate Together’s experience over many years – as the leader in the provision of equality-based education in Ireland for nearly 50 years, Educate Together has seen demand for its schools increase rapidly, and the organisation has opened 60 schools in the last 15 years in response to parental demand.
The first Catholic school in Ireland to transfer patronage in 2024, Paradise Place Educate Together National School, is now a thriving equality-based school at the heart of the community it serves in Dublin.
Educate Together is urging the government to announce school level data for Donegal soon, and to provide adequate resourcing and investment to support the next steps of the process, so that choice can be provided in the county.