A primary school has won a case in which it was alleged to have discriminated against non-Catholic pupils by giving ice-creams to those who took part in a Communion choir as a reward.
A mother of a pupil complained to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) that children who took part in a Communion choir in May 2022 were called from their classrooms and given the treats for taking part in the ceremony.
The mother said these children then returned to class eating their ice-creams and that her child, who was in second class and not of the Catholic faith, felt unfairly excluded.
“When my son came home and told me about the incident, I was deeply upset because of the tangible effect it had on him,” she said, in her statement.
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“He explained that there had been an announcement over the intercom for those who had been involved in the choir ceremony to come to the hall. Children who did not attend remained in the class. Those who had attended returned to the same class with their reward.”
When she asked her son how the experience made him feel, she said he replied that in school “no child should return to class with a treat simply because they may have been born a ‘this’ rather than a ‘that’”.
The mother alleged that her child was discriminated against under the Equal Status Act, which prohibits discrimination on the grounds of religion in schools under certain circumstances.
The primary school – which has a Catholic ethos – submitted that it was entitled to have a religious ethos under the Equal Status Act, but was not required to shield children of other beliefs from the Catholic faith.
The school’s acting principal at the time also told the commission that there was no religious restriction on accessing the choir. He added that two non-Catholic children who took part in the choir received ice-creams on the Monday following the event.
The then vice-principal noted that only 40 out of the school’s 250 students who took part in the choir received ice-creams.
In evidence, he clarified that he did “not look at the choir participation as a religious ritual” and that it was simply “a reward for working hard”.
In its finding, the commission concluded that the ice-creams given to children who took part in the choir’s activities amounted to “more favourable” treatment rather than “less favourable” treatment.
It agreed that the choir was not restricted on the basis of religion that “no religious ground has been established for the treatment which was given to those children who opted to take part in the choir’s activities”. As a result, it said the mother had not established religious discrimination.
The school did not respond to a request for comment.
The child’s mother, who requested anonymity, said she had no issue with the school staff but was frustrated at how non-religious children were catered for within many Catholic schools.
She said, for example, non-Catholic children were “segregated” during religion class and must do colouring while their classmates had religion classes. In some cases, she said, children had been given old Mass leaflets to draw on the back of.
