Opt Out Ireland Secondary Reseach


About Opt Out Ireland

I researched the organisation Opt Out Ireland. This organisation provides a service where information from schools and people can be shared. This information relates to how schools are dealing with children who are opting out of religion across Ireland. This service gives people and schools the opportunity to learn practises that are in place among other schools in Ireland. This gives schools the opportunity to take a look at their current policy and consider implementing other procedures that they might see other schools using. The service also helps people who may be a parent, guardian or carer for a child who needs information in regards to opting out.

Religion and Education

The Opt Out Ireland website stated that "97.5% of primary schools are under the patronage of a religious group". There is "20% of the population now identifying as a minority faith or of no faith at all". This has forced primary schools "to make decisions in a number of areas to accommodate children that do not share the faith of the school." This causes conflict for some schools and some families as most schools patron body would be the Catholic Church.

Patron Bodies

The website also stated that the Catholic Church "patronises around 90% of all schools". The Catholic Church has published a booklet “Catholic Primary Schools in a Changing Ireland.” There is 2 pages out of 34 in this booklet that discuss opting out. "The guidelines do not cover much of the concerns raised by minority faith and no faith parents and staff" according to the website.

School Management Bodies


"There is a number of bodies that manage schools" in Ireland. The CPSMA (Catholic Primary Schools Management Association) is an example of one these bodies. They "are responsible for the management of the majority of Catholic Primary Schools."

Department of Education and Skills

The "Department of Education and Skills have made a number of attempts to diversify the number of types of schools on offer to people in the last decade." but they haven't been successful. This is because denominational education accounts for "over 97% of primary schools in Ireland".

National Parents’ Council


The "National Parents’ Council is in favour of abolishing the “Baptism Barrier” in all denominational schools" but they have supplied "no evidence of policy of opting children out of faith formation".



Irish National Teachers’ Organisation

The Irish National Teachers' Organisation "represents almost all primary school teachers in Ireland". The organisation "has good record in terms of highlighting inequality". The organisation has "stayed silent on teachers being able to opt out from being part of the religious community of their schools".

Irish Primary Principals’ Network

The Irish Primary Principals’ Network "have published interesting findings about the thoughts of principals in terms of religion". There was a former member of this organisation who claimed "he had to hide his lack of faith for his entire career". Op Out Ireland found this interesting. The organsation "does not represent principals" but they provide huge support to there members.

Opt Out Ireland Aims

They are asking for all denominational patron and management bodies "to direct their schools to
  • at a minimum, register with Opting Out to give a short synopsis of how they accommodate people who opt out 
  • to create a school policy on opting out and publish it on the school website"

They are asking for the Department of Education and Skills, the National Parents’ Council and the Irish National Teachers' Organisation "to encourage schools to
  • at a minimum, register with Opting Out to give a short synopsis of how they accommodate people who opt out 
  • at a minimum, register with Opting Out to give a short synopsis of how they accommodate teachers who opt out
  • to create a school policy on opting out and publish it on the school website"

They are asking for the Irish Primary Principals’ Network "to support the aims of Opting Out by
  • asking principals to consider registering with Opting Out
  • publishing the template of the Opting Out school policy on the resource section of the IPPN website"

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