Compass Policy position : Schools Admissions Bill .
Compass Policies
Compass Policy on the proposed Students and Parents Charter
The Constitution enshrines a parent ’ s right to educate their child . It states that Parents are the Primary Educators of their children . Research shows that parental involvement in schools leads to better educational outcomes for our children . We believe that the proposed Student and Parents Charter will create a more inclusive , open and transparent educational system .
We appreciate and support the positivity of the proposals in the Parent and Student Charter as it places students in the centre of school life and respects and values the role of parents in education . Under the Parent and Student Charter schools will develop a listening culture and will actively look for input from parents in relation to school policies and plans . Schools should be open about their performance and transparent around school costs .
Many parents feel excluded from having input into the current educational system at secondary level .
We fully support the proposed introduction of the Students and Parents Charter and are working to ensure that parents are consulted on all aspects of our children ’ s education and development and we wish to move forward jointly with schools ’ management , staff and students towards improving communication and the overall education experience for parents and their children .
Compass Policy position : Schools Admissions Bill .
The current suggested four options , proposed by Minister Richard Bruton , all potentially discriminate against families of minority religions who wish to have their children educated in a school of their ethos .
Having considered and reflected on the suggested options Compass believes that a 5 th Option should be adopted - retaining the status quo .
This is the only option that genuinely protects our minority status and respects the ethos to which we subscribe . Equally , we understand that this not a right that comes without a cost both for parents and members of our particular faith and for the State . We would point out that we too provide considerable additional resources , both in terms of actual finance but also of our own time and commitment to maintain our schools and insure the retention of an ethos we value .
We remain committed to ensuring that our schools and , by extension , the minority faiths affected by these proposals are neither disadvantaged nor discriminated against .