30/03/2012

Department Of Education "Ignored Warning" Over Separating Children

The Department of Education (DoE) ignored warnings and went ahead with controversial to separate school children by their religion in new multi-faith schools.

Asked in 2008 by the DoE to develop a new curriculum for the new schools the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment warned that separating children in infant classes based on religion ran counter to research on how children settled and built a foundation for success at school.

Ignoring the advice the DoE stipulated that the programme had to provide for religious formation, such as preparation for Communion for Catholic children, during the school day and that children would have to be separated to accommodate this.

Three weeks later, the NCCA was dropped from the project.

The department went on to commission the Catholic Marino Institute of Education to design the new curriculum, at an estimated initial cost of €127,000.

It has also come to light that parents at one of the state’s new schools withdrew their children from religious classes, as they were unhappy with how they are being taught.

The Community National Schools divide children into separate groups for religion classes for up to four weeks every year just prior to Easter.

This division is currently in operation at the schools.

(H)

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