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Education Minister Ruairi Quinn today launched

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Speaking at the launch, the Minister said the forum is "is a key objective of the Programme for Government for the education sector and I wanted it to get underway as quickly as possible." and continued...

It is a common goal for all of us involved in education that we provide the very best quality learning environment possible for our children and young people.

This should be done within a school system that respects the rights of all children and their parents.

There are real questions to be answered about the match between our type of school provision, the demand for greater diversity and the make-up of the communities which need to be served

Professor John Coolahan (Chair), Dr. Caroline Hussey and Ms. Fionnuala Kilfeather have been appointed as members of the independent Advisory Group. They will receive and assess the various views and perspectives submitted including those of parents, patrons, teachers and the wider community. The Group will then provide the Minister with policy advice within the Terms of Reference of the Forum.

Minister Quinn asked for submissions on a number of specific themes:

• Establishing parental and community demand for diversity
• Managing the transfer / divesting of patronage
• Diversity within a school or small number of schools in a locality

Details of these themes and of the arrangements for submissions are available on the Department’s website

In undertaking its work, the Forum will take particular account of the expressed willingness of the Catholic Church to consider divesting patronage of primary schools.

The Minister concluded...

What we all want are strong schools that provide good quality education to current and future generations of pupils - schools that respects them as citizens.

We have to produce practical solutions that will work over time.

At the end of the day, I want this Forum to produce a clear road map that every citizen can follow.

View Minister Quinn's full speech below

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