What do school ‘patronage’ and school ‘ethos’ mean?

Every school in Ireland has what is known as a ‘patron’. The patron is the body that establishes the school, appoints the Board of Management and directs the ‘ethos’ of the school.

School ethos generally refers to the core shared values, beliefs, attitudes and practices of an educational community. For instance, where Educate Together is patron, the ethos of the school is ‘equality-based‘ – no child is discriminated against on the basis of their social, cultural or religious background in either access to the school or within the classroom during the school day.

Find out more about school patronage in Ireland here
Read, watch and listen to real stories from the students, staff and families involved in the Educate Together school movement here