Educate Together is aware of much media comment over a series of letters issued in the Malahide / Portmanock / Kinsealy area in relation to possible reassignment of patronage of some Catholic schools.
Educate Together issued a clarification statement on this matter yesterday, which can be accessed here.
However, Educate Together is disappointed that the content of further material published today is grossly misleading and categorically untrue.
Due to a number of issues raised, we can only assume that these statements are directed against Educate Together’s equality-based school model. It has been alleged that multi-denominational / equality-based schools engage in a number of unsafe and negative practices, such as:
- compromising on child safety
- having ‘low standards’ of education
- not celebrating Christmas and other cultural events
- not celebrating the role of grandparents in children’s lives
- leading to “uncertainty” in local access to secondary education
None of this is true.
Educate Together is calling on school leaders to be aware of their responsibility to provide parents and the general public with accurate information about other school models, especially when they are implicitly referencing Educate Together.
Educate Together has not been consulted regarding any divestments in Malahide/Portmarnock. The organisation is calling for a forum where all stakeholders can exchange opinions and information.
Information on how Educate Together schools deal with the question of religion in its schools and in its Ethical Education curriculum is widely available. For anyone interested in learning about Educate Together’s unique, inclusive and equality-based school ethos, our brand new website www.educatetogether.ie will assist.
