A CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL in Ireland has a policy of allowing children who attend religious ceremonies to skip their homework - meaning that those who don't attend the ceremonies are effectively punished.
Yellow Furze National School in Co. Meath has defended the policy after a mother of a non-Catholic pupil complained.
The school insisted they were simply "rewarding positive behaviour" by issuing church-going kids a 'homework-pass'.
They rejected claims of discrimination and told the mother that they weren't punishing pupils who chose not to participate in the religious events, they just weren't rewarding them.
"Any student, regardless of his/her religion in our school who opted not to participate in this extracurricular event was not 'rewarded'," said the school.
Yellow Furze National School in Co. MeathThe parent who made the complaint told the Irish Times that her son came home from school one day in tears because he was just one of two out 33 in his class to be "penalised" with homework.
"He came out of school crying. He told me the teacher had told the class that children who did not participate in the Communion choir would not receive a homework pass.
"On that day my son was the only child in the class who was not participating. He was also the only non-Catholic child in the class.
"We are atheist and this is not a choice that is open to him," she added.
The mother then said she was advised by the school that if she wasn't happy she other 'options'.
She's since taken her son out of the school and enrolled him at a multi-religious school, a much further distance away from her home.
