Education spokespersons from both of the parties likely to form the next government have publicly supported Educate Together’s ambitions to open second-level schools. Support groups for Educate Together held information events in Louth, Wicklow, Meath and Fingal over the weekend all of which have attracted attention from local candidates.
Educate Together’s applications to open second-level schools have drawn significant support from their local communities. The application in Drogheda has over 700 registered expressions of interest while Wicklow and Swords have 640 and over 500 respectively.
Paul Rowe, Educate Together CEO is encouraged by the interest shown by political representatives in its educational policy priorities ‘Educate Together is an organization committed to developing our education system. We also want to improve the choice of school type available to parents. I look forward to the conversion of stated political support into the actual second-level schools that every parent with a child in an Educate Together school is seeking’.
All political parties contesting this election are agreed on the need for educational sector reform. Policy questions issued by Educate Together to election candidates have resulted in widespread expressions of support in all electoral constituencies. Educate Together strongly supports reform of the second-level sector including the Junior Cycle review and the introduction of new learning techniques for post-primary children that are not solely exam focused.
Educate Together has been developing its programme at second level for a number of years. The lodged their first application to open a school in 2007 and launched its Blueprint and Prospectus for Second-Level in 2009. It is currently in negotiation with Co Dublin VEC regarding the joint management of the new community college opening at Clonburis, Lucan. In addition, as part of a pilot patronage application process in Gorey, Educate Together attracted nearly 1,000 parents to its proposal to run the new school there.
Educate Together is an independent educational charity that is patron to 58 primary schools nationwide.
