From being different to just being an alternative [IrishExaminer]
- Published: 02 April 2011
AT Cork Educate Together National School about three-quarters of the school’s 215 pupils are from Irish families, mostly in the local inner-city community or parts of the northside.
The profile is quite different to most of the dozens of multi-denominational schools to open over the last decade, which cater for a more diverse mix of nationalities and ethnic backgrounds in areas of rapidly growing population. But its ethos is exactly the same.
Just like in every other primary school in the country, religious education is a core part of the daily curriculum that must be taught, but every school’s approach is left to the patron rather than being set down by the Department of Education. A core aim of the overall curriculum for primary schools is to enable children to develop spiritual, moral and religious values, while schools are expected to allow pupils develop a knowledge and understanding of their own religious traditions and beliefs and respect for those of others.
