THE FIRST primary schools to be run by the State will open this morning in an historic departure from the church-based pattern of school patronage.
But the new schools, which will have a strong multi-ethic enrolment, have still to resolve the issue of religious instruction.
The schools will be run by the County Dublin Vocational Education Committee (VEC). Several hundred schools are expected to open under the new community model in the next decade as the primary school population grows by more than 100,000 pupils.
At present, more than 3,000 of the 3,200 primary schools in the State operate under the patronage of the Catholic Church.
Scoil Ghráinne Community National School opens this morning in Phibblestown, near Clonee in west Dublin with about 60 pupils in the junior infant classes.
It is an area with a large Nigerian population; about one-third of pupils are expected to be the children of immigrants.
Scoil Choilm, which opened last year under the temporary patronage of the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin will transfer to the new Community National School model from today.
In both schools religious instruction will be taught during school hours unlike, for example, the model in Education Together schools where it takes place outside the regular school day.
Scoil Ghráinne will teach a general values and ethics programme prepared by a senior academic.
Discussions with the various church authorities are continuing about religious instruction.
The Co Dublin VEC stresses that Scoil Ghráinne is "multi-faith, co-educational, democratic and child-centred providing a full primary school curriculum".
The VEC says Scoil Ghráinne will "recognise the wishes of parents to have their children receive religious education, or morality-based education as an integral part of the school curriculum".
A chairperson for the board at Scoil Ghráinne has still to be appointed but he/she is expected to be a former school principal.
The make-up of the board of management will be similar to that in other primary schools, with two representatives of the patron (the VEC), two parents, the school principal, one staff member and two community representatives.
The Irish National Teachers' Organisation supports the new model which, it says, reflects the diversity of modern Ireland. It believes this diversity should be accommodated under one school roof. Scoil Ghráinne is currently based in temporary accommodation located on an educational campus along with Coláiste Pobail Setanta, a new community college also opening this year.
A permanent 24-classroom school is to be completed by 2010.
Michael Moriarty of the Irish Vocational Education Association said the new model will be inclusive of all religious beliefs and will recognise, as far as possible, the wishes of parents to have their children receive instruction in religion and faith formation.
