Minister McHugh invites parents to express preference for patronage of four primary schools to be established in 2020
The Minister for Education and Skills Joe McHugh T.D. has today (Thursday 28th November) urged parents and guardians to give their views on patronage for four primary schools being established next year.
Mothers, fathers and guardians of children who are due to enrol in primary school from 2020-2024 in parts of Dublin and in Cork are being invited to complete the online survey.
The new primary schools are being established in September 2020 following on from the Government’s commitment to invest heavily in education, with the establishment of 44 new schools in total between 2019 and 2022.
The online survey for parents can be accessed here https://patronage.education.gov.ie
It will remain open until 22nd December for the four primary schools which will serve the following areas:
- Carrigaline
- Donabate
- Newcastle, Rathcoole, Saggart, Citywest
- Sallynoggin, Killiney, DLR, Cherrywood
Following the recently announced measures to increase access to Irish-medium education as part of the patronage process, two of the new schools, in Donabate and Saggart/Citywest, have been designated as Irish-medium primary schools.
In the other two planning areas – Carrigaline and Sallynoggin_Killiney_DLR/Cherrywood parents and guardians can indicate whether they would prefer English or Irish as the language of instruction.
The survey also allows parents and guardians to select which model of patronage they prefer.
Inviting people to take part in the online survey, Minister McHugh said: “It is a great opportunity for mothers and fathers and guardians to help to shape the education of the future.
“The wishes of parents and guardians, together with the extent of diversity already available in these areas, will be key to deciding the type of schools we will have in the future. I urge as many people as possible who live in the areas and have children going to primary school in the next few years to make their voices heard.”
The patronage process for new schools is overseen by the independent New Schools Establishment Group (NSEG).
This group, which was set up in 2011 to advise the Minister on the patronage of new schools, will analyse the report on the online surveys and consider other criteria before issuing a recommendation.