I propose to take Questions Nos. 336, 337 and 338 together.
Under the provisions of the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018, all schools have admissions policies, which have been approved by the patron and published on the school's website following consultation with the school community. The act requires where schools provide religious instruction that they set out in their admission policies the school’s arrangements for students, where the parent or in the case of a student who has reached the age of 18 years, the student, has requested that the student attend the school without attending religious instruction in the school.
As set out in the Education Plan 2025, the Department is committed to developing best practice guidance for schools in relation to arrangements to facilitate parental requests for children to attend school without attending religious instruction.
A review of current practices in schools is being undertaken that will develop a best practice guide. This guidance is intended to improve transparency and consistency across schools and to make expectations clearer for all stakeholders. This guidance will be available to all schools. Work in this area is ongoing.
The development of this guidance will be undertaken in a phased approach. A comprehensive consultation process will be undertaken with partners including school patrons, school management bodies, school leaders, parents, and students. This work will be cognisant of primary and post-primary schools, different sizes of schools and existing good practices and arrangements that currently work well in schools.
While the focus of the work is set out in the Education Plan there no plans to impose restrictions on schools from using the guidance where parental requests are received in respect of other subjects in line with the provisions set out in the Education Act, 1998.
