Educate Together

History

Educate Together has its roots in the Dalkey School Project founded in the 1970s. Before multi-denominational education, some of those involved in education in Ireland, such as Aine Hyland, Michael Johnston and Florrie Armstrong, questioned the denominational nature of the system and the need to have students of different faiths in different schools. This group of educationalists and parents established the organisation with the stated aim:

“To develop and support in Ireland the establishment of schools which are multi-denominational (i.e. with equal right of access for the children of Catholic, Protestant and other parents, and with the cultural and social background of each child held in equal respect), co-educational and managed under a system which is predominantly democratic in character, wherever and whenever there is viable local support for such a school.”

The organisers of the school met opposition from a conservative Catholic group that circulated a leaflet in the Dalkey area alleging that the new school was "atheistic", "divisive", "hostile to religion" and "a precedent for major trouble in other areas".

As of 2016, the majority of primary schools in the Republic of Ireland are owned by religious communities (or boards of governors). Of the 3,200 primary schools in Ireland, only 2% are multidenominational.

The Dalkey School Project was founded in 1975. The school opened at the start of the 1978–79 school year in temporary premises with Florrie Armstrong as the school principal.

By 1984 two other multi-denominational schools had been started and Educate Together was established as a co-ordinating umbrella body. The organisation became a company limited by guarantee in 1998, and from the year 2000, all new Educate Together schools operate with the patronage of the national company. Educate Together has charitable status in Ireland.

In 2016, Educate Together was awarded Secularist of the Year by the UK's National Secular Society, for putting "secularist principles into action and [demonstrating] what a 21st century secular education system should look like – children and young people educated together, taught an ethical education curriculum in a school with an inclusive ethos without any imposition of religion".

Growth

The number of schools run by the organisation has grown: in 2007 it was 40, in 2008 it was 44 and by 2015 this number had risen to over 80 including its second level schools and its first school in the UK. In terms of pupil numbers, 2015 was the first year in which there were over 20,000 students attending an Educate Together school. By 2009 Educate Together had become the fastest-growing patron of schools in the Republic of Ireland. In 2015, three new schools opened in Tuam, Co. Galway, Pelletstown, Dublin and New Ross, County Wexford and one in Kildare.

Ethos

Educate Together schools seek to "guarantee equality of access and esteem" to children irrespective of their social, cultural or religious background. Educate Together schools seek to be "learner centred" in their approach to education, and are intended to be run as "participatory democracies, with respectful partnership between parents, pupils and teachers".

Curriculum

Educate Together schools teach the Irish Primary School Curriculum, which includes 30 minutes a day (2 hours 30 minutes per week) to be spent on faith formation. In an Educate Together school this time is spent teaching their Learn Together Ethical Education Curriculum rather than the religious instructions programmes taught in denominational schools. There are four strands to this programme.

Primary schools

As of 2016, there are over 80 Educate Together primary schools in Ireland, in 18 different counties. In addition, the body is patron to one school in the UK (Redfield Educate Together Primary Academy in Bristol), with a further planned to open in North Somerset during 2017.

Second level schools

As of 2016, there are 9 second-level schools operating with Educate Together involved as either patron, co-patron or partner. These second-level schools aim not to 'teach to the test' but to instead develop their students' skills in creative and critical thinking, communication, teamwork, research and leadership.

Research published by Trinity College in 2008 showed that 90 per cent of parents who sent their children to an Educate Together school would send their children to a secondary school based on the same model if it was available.

Educate Together’s first second-level school - Hansfield Educate Together Secondary School - welcomed its first group of first-year students in August 2014. Educate Together is also joint patron of Kishoge Community School in Lucan and Ballymakenny College in Drogheda. It opened Celbridge Community School in August 2015 with Kildare and Wicklow Educational Training Board.

Colleges of education

In the Irish system, student teachers complete their initial teacher education in state-funded, religiously-run Colleges of Education, where time is set aside for Religious Education and the study of either the Catholic or Church of Ireland religious instruction programmes. At present, Educate Together is working in four of the five state-funded Colleges of Education. Educate Together is currently lobbying for sustained access to full-year groupings at least twice in the undergraduate and post-graduate cycle.

Educate Together offers a one year, part-time postgraduate Certificate in Ethical and Multi-denominational Education in partnership with St Patrick’s College of Education, Dublin.