AN IRATE father who withdrew his young son from school after
discovering that he was reciting prayers is considering further action
against the school for "not sticking to its agreement".
Martijn
Leenheer said he was "shocked" to accidentally discover five-year-old
Finn had been reciting prayers several times a day at Drumlease Primary
School in Dromahair, Co Leitrim, despite the fact that his parents had
opted out of Catholic religious instruction for their child.
Finn
now attends the Educate Together school in Sligo.
But his father, who
has outlined his case to the Irish Human Rights Commission, is
considering taking his complaint to the Equality Authority or the
Ombudsman for Children.
"I feel the school didn't respond to my concerns and they are still not responding to me.
"My
belief is that the school should be responsible for supervising
children if they want to opt out because the way it stands at the
moment, they ask me if I want to opt out, I say, 'yes' and basically
nothing happens," he told the Irish Independent.
Dutch-born Mr
Leenheer said he and his wife Amanda had been given a "very welcoming"
enrolment package when Finn started in the school, close to their home,
last September.
"It stated very clearly that they welcomed all
religions and none. The school also asked a question, if I wanted my son
taught in the Catholic faith.
"I answered 'no', so you can imagine my surprise when I heard my son reciting prayers," he added.
He
revealed he had been given the option of going to the school to
supervise his child when religious education and prayers were taking
place, but pointed out that it wasn't feasible.
After making
various "unsatisfactory" attempts to discuss his concerns with the
school, he withdrew his child from the school at the end of the last
term.
"I would like to see the school being held responsible to
make sure that kids who opt out really opt out, and not what is
happening now where they ask you the question and then do nothing," he
said.
In a statement, school principal David O'Farrell said the
school had a long-established tradition of "promoting equality and
respecting diversity".
"The mission statement of the school makes
it clear that a Catholic ethos is an integral part of the curriculum and
day-to-day life of the school. This includes a short prayer at the
start and the end of the day.
"The school clearly embraces and
cherishes all children equally, irrespective of having religious beliefs
or having none," the statement concluded.
Jane Donnelly, education policy officer with Atheist Ireland described the right to opt out in Irish schools as "impractical and illusory".
"In
my view we are in breach of our international obligations. The opt-out
clause must be practical and it must suit the wishes of parents, but our
opt-out clause just sits there in the education act.
"There are
no statutory guidelines with it, and it is not sufficient to guarantee
the right to respect philosophical viewpoints such as Martijn's," she
said.
SIC: II/IE