Diversity is about more than religion

Of the 3,200 national schools in the State, the Educate Together organisation represents about half of one per cent. Translated into numbers, this means there are 18 Educate Together schools spread around the country - 10 in the Dublin area, two in Cork (one of them a gaelscoil), and one each in Sligo, Galway, Ennis, Limerick, Celbridge and Kilkenny.

It's a small organisation with big ambitions. Paul Rowe, chairman of Educate Together, says: "We're part of the human rights agenda in Ireland in the next 10 years or so."

Most people assume the term Educate Together is synonmous with multi-denominational education; however, Rowe says this is a term foisted on them by the Department of Education.

As well as respecting religious diversity, Educate Together schools respect social and cultural diversity. And he emphasises the word "respect"; it is respect rather than tolerance that the schools foster. "We're not so good on tolerance," he says, suggesting that it's a far too limited concept.

The Educate Together charter commits itself to supporting the establishment of schools which are multi-denominational, coeducational, child-centred in their approach to education, democratically run with active participation by parents in the daily life of the school - while affirming the professional role of teachers.

The schools offer a core religious-education programme which deals with the ethos of welcoming diversity and respecting difference. Parents may use the school facilities to run religious instruction classes out of school time. (There are three expectations to this: the Department compelled the first three such schools to schedule religious instruction within school time, and this arrangement continues in these schools) .

Asked about the diversity of religions among the pupils, Rowe says: "As a matter of principal we don't ask people about their denominations."

All roll books read "not stated" under religion. A survey carried out by the sixth-class pupils of the North Dublin National School Project identified 13 different types of place of worship in the Dublin area, says Rowe. He calls this diversity is an "irresistible historical trend".

Educate Together, Rowe says, is "very interested" in some of the exciting developments in primary education, particularly the move to recognise "multiple intelligences".

"We are very excited about the new curriculum, with its new attitudes towards spoken Irish, the introduction of science, and the enhancement of the child-centred approach."

Educate Together schools are run on a democratic basis. The patron body consists of parents, who then nominate two representatives on to the school board of management, one of whom is the chairperson. (The Catholic bishop is the patron of most national schools and his nominee for chairperson is usually the parish priest.)

For teachers, the Educate Together model means more interaction with parents and committees than there would be in a more hierarachial setting, explains Rowe. Some teachers welcome this; others may not find it so favourable.

The organisation is drawing up a five-year plan at present. The targets in the draft plan include the doubling of the number of Educate Together primary schools in the next five years, as well as a significant expansion of the organisation's headquarters.

At present, co-ordinator Deirdre O'Donoghue is the only paid employee, and she is employed on a part-time basis. The new plan envisages a research and development officer, an education officer and secretarial staff.

An extensive training programme is planned to train members to work as members of school boards of management and patron bodies. And they are looking at the establishment of a charitable foundation to "project the educational aims of the sector on to the national scene".

The Organisation grew out of three schools - in Dalkey, Co Dublin, Bray, Co Wicklow, and the North Dublin National Schools Project. The Dalkey School Project celebrates its 25th anniversary this year.

According to O'Donoghue, it was decided that an umbrella organisation was needed to "disseminate information among ourselves, to lobby the Department and to give other parents the information necessary to set up schools".

In 1984, Educate Together, a voluntary organisation, was founded. Four years ago, a donor gave sufficient money to open and equip an office and to employ a co-ordinator. Two years ago, it became a limited company with charitable status.

Educate Together is funded by the Department of Education and by member schools. The Department subvents £7,000 a year and, for the past two years, has made "oneoff" payments of £20,000. It is hoped that these payments will be regularised.

Educate Together schools are recognised national schools under the rules of the Department of Education, but setting up a school is no mean feat. Prior to last January, the patron of the school had to provide the site and 15 per cent of the building costs. With most schools, this means using parish funds; for Educate Together schools, the patron is the parents and the money is raised by fundraising.

In January, the Minister for Education announced the Department would, for the first time, fund the full cost of the site for new schools. Although this represents very good news for Educate Together, there is still something of a Catch-22: as O'Donoghue explains, a new denominational school gets permanent recognition immediately (if it meets the criteria), but Educate Together schools get temporary recognition and so are not eligible for capital funding, though they do get 75 per cent of their rent back from the Department.

In practice, this means Educate Together schools must open in temporary accommodation. So, for instance the new Educate Together school which opened in Castleknock, Co Dublin, in September must prove its viability for a year "in difficult circumstances" in order to gain recognition.

"It's rather akin to a social-welfare recipient who must take the responsibility for setting up the dole office before he can claim benefit," Rowe says. He is hopeful, however, that the situation will be resolved and discussions with the Department of Education are ongoing.

In fact, already three Educate Together schools are involved in site purchase under the new scheme.