Since opening our doors in 2019, we in Killester Raheny Clontarf (KRC) ETNS have been dedicated to ensuring that our school is genuinely inclusive of all the wonderful diversity that makes up our ever-changing community.  With this in mind, we are committed to living by and actively promoting the values and principles of the Educate Together Charter (equality-based, co-educational, child-centred and democratically-run), and those of our Anti-Racism and Restorative Practice Statements.  We strive to embed these values and principles in all dimensions of school life. 

Being a restorative school means that our core focus is on how we develop and maintain relationships.  The relationships between all members of our school community are vital in terms of developing a genuinely warm and welcoming environment.  Developing a strong bond between the children and adults in the school is central to all that we do.  It is our aim that every child in our school feels included and that they belong.  We recognise that feeling included and having a real sense of belonging is not the responsibility of the child but of the entire school community, and that a child can only feel that they belong in an environment that is one of authentic inclusion and respect.  

Every child has the right to feel safe, valued and respected, and to have their voices heard.  Children learn best when they feel like they belong, and where they can develop and become their authentic selves without fear of judgement or ridicule.  We want the children in our school to feel comfortable being themselves, but equally we want the children to respect each other’s diversity in a caring, loving, respectful and anti-racist environment.  Children are encouraged to see uniqueness and difference as being an everyday part of being in the world with others.  This demands that everyone in the school community is committed to ensuring that the diversity that exists in our school is accepted as part of what makes up the fabric of our community and that all children are cherished for what they uniquely bring to our ever-changing, ever-developing school.

We want people to feel the character and spirit of our school community as they step through our doors.  As we grow and develop, we will ensure that this atmosphere of respect, inclusion, kindness and anti-racism remains central to what we do and how we do it. 

With this in mind, the whole school team is committed to ensuring that representing diverse identities is something that is normalised within our delivery of the curriculum, within the school’s policies, and in how we engage with each other.  We recognise that the curriculum privileges some identities, experiences and perspectives over others.  To redress this inequity, we strive to ensure balanced representation as far as possible.  To this end, we implement a curriculum where children see their own and other people’s diverse identities reflected in teaching materials.  We do not shy away from difficult issues or conversations, but instead engage children in reflective and respectful dialogue in an age-appropriate way.

Our ethos is not just a statement, but a living document that we revisit regularly to ensure that our values are reflected in what we do, and why and how we do it.  Making a school genuinely inclusive and anti-racist demands that everyone regularly reflects on their individual practice, how the curriculum is delivered, how we speak to each other, how conflict is dealt with, etc.  We endeavour to ensure that our curriculum plans, policies, and other documents reflect our values.  We also know that inclusivity extends beyond these and is to be found in the little things we do and how we engage with each other every day.