Irish schools abandon controversial religious education programme

A number of Irish primary schools have suspended the Goodness Me, Goodness You! religious education programme which controversially segregates children according to their religious faith.

Goodness Me, Goodness You! is a multi-belief programme for children of all faiths and none. It is taught in Community National Schools (CNSs) and was developed by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA), in collaboration with CNSs.

Eight state-run Community National Schools, in Dublin and Cork, have now taken the decision to suspend the controversial religious programme after consultation with parents.

RTE’s education correspondent Emma O Kelly reports that a ninth school abandoned the Goodness Me, Goodness You! (GMGY) programme entirely five years ago after objections from parents.

The NCCA originally advised against separating children based on their religious beliefs and many school principals, teachers, and parents objected to the GMGY proposals. However, the programme went ahead, and children were divided into four faith groups: Catholic, Other Christian, Muslim, and Other/none in the run up to Easter.

The GMGY website states that, during the core programme, children are taught in their class groups – inclusive of all children whatever their religious faith or beliefs,

“For faith-specific lessons, children are grouped according to their faith/belief tradition. The number of groups and the faith/belief targeted in the groups is proactively managed in each school and reflects the composition of faiths/beliefs in the school and the resources available to each school.

The purpose of grouping the children according to their faith/belief traditions is to enable them to engage with the unique aspects of their faith/belief tradition.”