While the rest of us are enjoying spring as it gets into its full flow, some 59,000 students around the country will be expected to have their heads buried in books as they cram in every last little fact they can before their doomsday June exams. With its emphasis on rote learning, the disproportionate value …
Creating a Culture of Consent
According to the Sexual Violence Centre Cork, 1 in 5 women in Ireland have experience of sexual assault but only 1 in 4 report it. There is a 5% conviction rate for those that are reported. An excellent article by Donal O'Keefe on the Avondhu website discussing rape culture in Ireland cites the definition of …
Restorative Practice and the Sudbury Model
Most people are familiar with the methods of punishment used in mainstream schools. Rules are made and enforced from the top down, and students have little or no power to influence these structures. Students face consequences for stepping out of line even in very minimal ways, like forgetting a homework assignment or running late for …
Girls need Sudbury too
In light of International Women's Day, we want to highlight the role that the education system plays in the mental health and well-being of girls and young women. In the video above, Maya, a Wicklow Sudbury student, discusses how her experience at our school has been different from her experiences at other schools and how …
Why our students are happy to be back in school after midterm break
Many of us remember the feeling of the summer holidays slipping away as kids, or excitement building as it came up to mid-term break and a well-earned rest. Or the collective sigh of relief when Friday comes around and you can go home and spread out on the couch or play outside to your heart's …
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Sudbury Schools & Irish Law
After much research and consultation, the members of the Wicklow Sudbury School founding committee has concluded that Ireland provides one of the most solid legal foundations in Europe for Sudbury Schools. Two particular elements of law govern the question of educational provision in Ireland for children who are not attending recognised schools, these are the …
Boyinaband endorses the Sudbury Model
Dave Brown a.k.a Boyinaband is a British rapper, producer and vlogger. He is most known for his collaboration with Minx and for his song "Don't Stay In School" on the inadequacies of the traditional school system which went viral and has been viewed over 11 million on Youtube. Since then he has done his homework …
A Journey towards Trust
Trust Children. Nothing could be more simple - or more difficult. Difficult, because to trust children we must trust ourselves - and most of us were taught as children that we could not be trusted. ~ John Holt This is the first in a series posts that I will be writing for our …
The Story So Far.
It's amazing the power of conversation. How an exchange of words can create something real and concrete, can lead to so many possibilities. It's one of the most compelling catalysts we have for creating the world we want to live in. Having an honest and open conversation even with a stranger can mean something that …
So you want to open a democratic school.
By Aaron Keohane Aaron currently works at Sudbury School Paris and will be joining us in September as one of our staff. You can read more on his background in democratic education on our Staff Team page . Here Aaron shares some of his insights and advice on the process of establishing a democratic school. …
Wicklow Democratic School 