The Minister for Education and Science, Mary Hanafin T.D. has approved the establishment of a new Educate Together primary school in Maynooth to open in September this year.
It is one of 12 new Educate together schools sanctioned to open in September. These new schools represent the largest annual increase in the Educate Together network in the 30 year history of the organisation. This growth is a remarkable indication of changing parental choice in Irish education. Educate Together is confident that there will be continued growth of the Educate Together network in the next few years, as long as the State continues to provide appropriate resources to meet parents' wishes.
The areas in which new Educate Together schools have been approved are:
Carrigaline, Co Cork.
Midleton, Co. Cork.
Kilcolgan, Co. Galway
Carlow Town, Co. Carlow
Wexford Town, Co. Wexford
Greystones, Co. Wicklow
Maynooth, Co. Kildare
Drogheda, Co. Louth
Skerries, Co. Dublin
Belmayne, Dublin 13
Lucan East, Co. Dublin
Swords, Co. Dublin
A spokesperson for Educate Together said:
"Educate Together applauds the work of parents and activists for their hard work and determination to make the Educate Together model available in their community. The Minister's decision now allows us to immediately proceed with the process of recruiting a Principal Teacher and to start the detailed work required to ensure that the school opens as smoothly as possible. Recruitment advertisements will shortly be placed in the national press, on our website and on other educational recruitment websites.
To give prospective parents the maximum clarity on the availability of places, we intend to make an initial offer of Junior Infant places in the next few weeks. Parents still seeking places are advised to apply using the forms available from the Educate Together website, www.educatetogether.ie or from www.maynoothet.org .
Educate Together schools are based on a philosophy of human rights. They aim to provide an educational space of respect and equality in which children can grow and learn the essential social skills for 21st Century Ireland. They provide a comprehensive programme of ethical education where children can learn about different religions and belief systems during the school day. Any group of parents who wish to run specific faith-formation classes are facilitated to do so outside school hours so that religious instruction can be provided while no child feels excluded.
Educate Together is the representative organisation of the Educate Together schools and associations throughout the Republic of Ireland. It owes its origins to the movement to establish new multi-denominational primary schools, which emerged in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Today there are 44 Educate Together schools, 22 of which are in the greater Dublin area. Educate Together aims to meet a growing need in Irish society for schools that recognise the developing diversity of Irish life and the modern need for democratic management structures. In particular, Educate Together guarantees children and parents of all faiths and none equal respect in the operation and governing of education.
Educate Together Schools are fully recognised by the Irish Department of Education and Science and work under the same regulations and funding structures as other national schools.