To: School community
Split timetabling of religion lessons
Your support is being requested to facilitate the introduction of split timetabling of religious instruction.
What is being sought?
Split timetabling is currently in place in St Sylvesters school for activities such as P.E., Tina’s soccer, literary groups and other elements of the day.
A proposal is being put forward to the Board of Management to request split timetabling extend to religious instruction.
Why?
Article 44 of the Constitution recognises the rights of children to attend school without attending religious instruction at that school. The Department of Education and Youth states that it is expected that this right will be upheld by schools on foot of a parental request. This right applies in all schools regardless of the denomination or ethos of the school.
Under the provisions of the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018, where schools provide religious instruction, they must clearly 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.
Currently the St Sylvesters School Admissions Policy does not set out alternative arrangements available for children opted out of religion.
What would split timetabling look like?
As an example rooms A and B would schedule religious instruction to take place 9.00 – 9.25am, and rooms C and D would schedule religious instruction to take place between 9.30 and 9.55am. Any children from rooms A and B that opt out of religion would move from their classroom to rooms C and D during the time of religious instruction taking place in their rooms. The children opted out of religion would sit at art table and carry out assigned alternative work of a curricular value. Then any children from rooms C and D that are opted out of religion would move to rooms A and B.
How will your child be impacted?
If your child is opted in to religion then your child will not be impacted. They remain in their classroom during their religious instruction.
If your child is opted out of religion then during their class time of religious instruction they will move with other children opted out of religion to another classroom to carry out assigned alternative work of a curricular value. At the end of the religious lesson the children opted out will return to their classroom.
Why is this important?
Why is your support being sought?
Parents of children opted out of religion are seeking cooperation from the school community to facilitate alternative arrangements. This petition will be presented to the Board of Management to seek update to the schools Admission Policy.
While St Sylvesters School is a Catholic ethos school not everyone attending is of the Catholic faith. Your support would be greatly appreciated in order to uphold values of inclusivity and to respect the Constitutional rights of all children attending the school.
What are you being asked to do?
Please sign the petition to help us demonstrate there is willingness in the community to facilitate arrangements for children opted out of religion.
