Students have a say in Educate Together’s schools of the future
A new type of second-level school will open next year. Kim Bielenberg looks at the radical plans afoot
Students will play a role in managing the schools and devising classes. There will be no streaming and students will be taught an “ethical curriculum” rather than being given religious instruction.
The strict division between subjects will be broken down.
Pupils themselves could even help with the appointment of staff.
These are some of the radical plans that are being envisaged for the new Educate Together SecondLevel schools that will open next year.
The three schools, two of which are being opened in partnership with local Vocational Education Committees, are expected to be the first of many new second-level schools that follow the Educate Together model.
At present 15,000 students are educated at 65 Educate Together primary schools, but until now children have not been able to continue with that type of schooling when they move to the next level.
The most obvious characteristic of the new second-level Educate Together school is that they will be multi-denominational, but that will not be their only distinctive feature.
The fast-growing educational movement hopes its new schools will encourage more critical thinking by students, put less emphasis on exams, and more on investigative work, problemsolving and projects.
Crucially they hope to break up the division of the school days into short subject lessons.
Ann Ryan, Second Level Education Officer with Educate Together, says: “Students and parents will be encouraged to take part in the running of the new schools. One of our key principles is that the schools will be democratic.”
The involvement of pupils in decision-making will go beyond student councils and consultation over issues such as uniforms, litter and fundraising. A blueprint for the new schools sets out how they will be run, and says students will participate on the boards of management as associate members.
According to the blueprint, “including students on boards of management not only gives a voice to young people on matters that affect them, but also develops communication, reasoning, organisational and negotiating skills as well as increasing a young person’s confidence.”
The plans for new schools include:
students making decisions about what and how they learn and how their learning is assessed.
pupils participating in curriculum meetings.
students helping with the design of classrooms and school buildings.
students participating in the appointment of staff.
Parents will also be heavily involved and will be encouraged to take part in classroom activities.
They will be able to develop programmes for the schools, particularly in areas such as art, science, language and technology.
One of the most radical features of the Educate Together plan is to change the way students are taught in the early years of second-level school.
Students may be taught by a smaller number of teachers in first year, and will not move all over the school to different classrooms.
Ann Ryan says: “Under the present system, students can find themselves dealing with 11 or 12 different teachers, and it can be quite anonymous and alienating when children arrive from primary school.”
By having fewer teachers at the start of second-level, the new schools hope to improve the teacher-student relationship.
“The idea is to create more of a village atmosphere,” says Ann Ryan.
In the new schools, teachers will be encouraged to break down subject boundaries and make learning less segregated.
There will be less emphasis on short lessons where pupils move from classroom to classroom for different subjects. Students might be encouraged to investigate a topic in depth, taking in a number of subject areas.
“We want to have a flexible timetable that is more challenging and relevant,” says Ann Ryan.
The new schools will place a great emphasis on co-operation and projects involving teamwork.
Students will be encouraged to take responsibility for their own learning and develop the skills to join the teacher in assessing their own work.
Educate Together will have to stick to Department of Education guidelines in the development of its new schools.
Ann Ryan says she hopes that there will be a move away from classrooms that all look the same lined up along corridors.
“We are interested in flexibility and creating spaces that are adaptable to a group’s needs. You might have a group working on a project or an individual working on their own. Walls could be more flexible, so that you could open them out more.
“We also want increase the social spaces for students around the school.”
Ann Ryan says she hopes that computer technology will be a tool for learning in the schools across the curriculum with students bring their own devices, connected by wireless broadband.
Time will be set aside during the week for the teaching of an ethical curriculum, and it will also be incorporated into other subjects. Topics will include religion, equality, human rights and social justice.
The new co-educational schools will open in Drogheda, Blanchardstown and South Lucan in September next year.