Educate Together Programme (ETP)
The Educate Together Programme (ETP) is taught for 30 minutes per day and it is very much integrated with the Social, Personal and Health Education curriculum. This programme is taught by teachers to embed the ethos of our school. Our ethos reflects the four guiding principles of all multi-denominational schools as defined in the Educate Together Charter. The four curriculum strands for the delivery of the Educate Together ethos are:
The Moral and Spiritual Strand
The Equality and Justice Strand
The Belief Systems Strand
The Ethics and Environment Strand
The aim of these strands is to nurture and develop in the children a caring and responsible approach to society.
We make a clear distinction between Religious Education and Religious Instruction. In our programme, the children learn about different religions, belief systems and traditions that are part of human development. Religious Instruction, which focuses children on one single religion and fosters a commitment to that religion, is the responsibility of the child’s parents/guardians and is taught by qualified instructors. Religious Instruction classes are organised by parents and held outside school hours. They do not form part of the school programme.
The aims of the Educate Together Programme are:
To foster self confidence and self worth in each child.
To promote co-operation and teamwork.
To encourage each child to be adaptable and self motivated and to act with initiative, independence and creativity; to promote in the child skills and courage to tackle unfamiliar fields.
To encourage each child to explore and reflect on their experiences; to facilitate them to express and cope with the full range of human emotions; to help them develop a greater insight into self and into other people and their feelings, including heartbreak, disappointment and loss.
To develop in each child qualities such as courage, respect, tolerance, responsibility, integrity and trust.
To help each child appreciate beauty in the natural world and to nurture a sense of wonder, awe and creative searching.
To foster awareness of each others responsibilities with due regard to the rights and needs of the children themselves and of others in the family, the school, local community and wider world.
To help children manage conflict.
To foster empathy and concern for people who are excluded, vulnerable, marginalized or with disability, both in the school and outside.
To promote equality, fairness and justice and to help children recognize prejudice and discrimination.
To foster an appreciation of and respect for the environment and to encourage the child to take an active role in this regard.
To enable the child to contribute positively to the school community, the wider community and to society in general and to equip the child with the potential to so contribute as an adult.
To develop a knowledge and understanding of different philosophical, cultural and religious traditions without prejudice and with respect.
To foster a safe environment for the children to express their own traditions, values, beliefs and non-beliefs.
To teach and encourage the children to put into practice the aspirations of the Educate Together Programme in a manner appropriate to their age and ability.
To teach children to critically and constructively reflect on the means used in the wider world to influence and shape their values, attitudes and beliefs, such as the media, advertising and peer pressure.
