AIMS AND ETHOS OF THE
NORTH KILDARE EDUCATE TOGETHER SCHOOL |
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The
North Kildare Educate Together School (‘NKETS’) is a multi-denominational
primary school affiliated to Educate Together (‘ET’) and as
such, the guiding principles of Educate Together are reflected in the
aims of the school. A process of consultation which began with the Multi-Denominational
Education Programme Working Group (‘MDEP Working Group’) in
1998 culminated in the adoption by the school community of the aims for
the Multi-Denominational Education Programme. This process brought together
representatives of all the partners in the school: the Executive Committee
(Patron Body), the Board of Management, the parents and the teachers,
and took more than a year to complete. A feature of the process was an
open workshop for any member of the school community to contribute to
the formulation of the aims of the MDEP. The MDEP is more than just a
subject; it is the defining aspect of our school, that which makes our
school unique and which gives our school more than anything else, its
individual character. Consequently, the aims of the MDEP go far beyond
the subject itself and provide a statement of the aims of the school as
a whole.
Subsequently, the
school adopted the Educate Together Learn Together Programme which is
now taught to all classes. However, the original aims of the MDEP remain
as a statement of the school's ethos and distinctive character.
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NORTH KILDARE EDUCATE TOGETHER SCHOOL
POLICY DOCUMENT
Aims of the Multi-Denominational Education Programme
The Terms of Reference list four broad areas which are covered by the MDEP,
namely:
(a) Personal Development/Self
(b) Family/Group/Community
(c) World/Environment
(d) World Religions/Belief Systems
Based on these four groupings, the Aims and Objectives of the MDEP are:
* To foster self confidence and self worth in each child
* To promote co-operation and teamwork
* To encourage each child to be adaptable and self motivated and to act with
initiative, independence and creativity; to promote in the child skill and courage
to tackle unfamiliar fields
* To encourage each child to explore and reflect on their experiences; to facilitate
them to express and cope with the full range of human emotions; to help them
develop a greater insight into self and into other people and their feelings,
including heartbreak and disappointment and loss
* To develop in each child qualities such as courage, respect, tolerance, responsibility,
integrity and trust.
* To help each child appreciate beauty in the natural world and to nurture a
sense of wonder, awe and creative searching.
* To foster awareness of each others responsibilities with due regard to the
rights and needs of the children themselves and of others within the family,
the school, local community and wider world.
* To help children manage conflict.
* To foster empathy and concern for people who are excluded, vulnerable, marginalised
or with disability within and without the school.
* To promote equality, fairness and justice and to help children recognise prejudice
and discrimination.
* To help foster an appreciation of and respect for the environment and to encourage
the child to take an active role in this regard.
* To enable the child to contribute positively to the school community, the
wider community and to society in general, and to equip the child with the potential
to so contribute as an adult.
* To develop a knowledge and understanding of different philosophical, cultural
and religious traditions to be explored without prejudice and with respect.
* To foster a safe environment for the children to express their own traditions,
values, beliefs and non-beliefs.
* To teach and encourage the children to put into practice the aspirations of
the MDEP in a manner appropriate to their age and ability.
* To teach the children to critically and constructively reflect on the means
used in the wider world to influence and shape their values, attitudes and beliefs,
such as media, advertising and peer pressure.
The four core principles of ET, to be multi-denominational, co-educational,
child-centred and democratically run, also form the basis for the ethos of the
school. The child is placed at the centre of our school and the school is seen
as a body which exists above all, to benefit the children who attend it. The
co-educational nature of the school has logical implications for the ways in
which girls and boys are seen and treated within the school: the multi-denominational
principle demands more than a tolerance of diversity, it demands a celebration
of diversity, be it cultural, religious or social. The democratic nature of
the school’s institutions sets the tone for the relations between the
various partners in the school community, relations based on mutual respect
and an understanding of the distinctive roles of parents, teachers and management
bodies.
In such a context, the true purpose of education is seen to be the realisation
of every individual’s potential so that they can play a useful and fulfilling
role in society. This requires a school to value more than just the academic,
and to seek to provide opportunities for every child to be all they can be.
It demands that the uniqueness and importance of every human being be respected
and that the potential for growth and development that exists in every person
be recognised and nurtured. While doing everything to encourage self-actualisation
and the development of a positive self-concept in each individual, it is necessary
to remember that individuals live in groups and the social aspect of development
must not be neglected. Each child is part of a class, each class is part of
the school, and the school is part of the wider community.
If it is possible to sum up the ethos of such a complex organisation as a modern
primary school, then that phrase would be “no child is an outsider”.
If we can ask ourselves as a school community, does that phrase ring true for
our school, and if we can answer that it does, then we can feel confident that
our ethos is being fulfilled.
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