Childs schooling

Hello there,

I dont know if you know a bit about Irish schooling.
But there are only two kind of school types here really. Catholic schools and so called Educate Together Schools.
My daughter, 11 goes to the Educate Together school and as a foreigner I find them more open minded especially if you are from a different cultural background.
They are multicultural and multifaith which I think is brilliant. The catholic schools are good also concerning education (well Irish school Education is another topic here maybe ;-) ) but they are VERY catholic and very one sided. I decided to take my daughter out (she is mixed race and was bullied quite a bit in a smaller town, Dublin might be a bit different). They raise your child in soly catholic way, but thats up to you.
Hope that helps

Thanks for your reply , I guess I should explain , I am Irish born, in Dublin and I know the schools here , especially Catholic Schools and how they are run ... and seen as my son and I have only really gotten to know each other in the last few years and him and his mum still live in Tacloban , his English is very bad so to cut a long story short ... he would be eaten alive in a normal Catholic school , I am hoping to have them both here by the end of this year early next year and I am hoping to get him into school as soon as possible there after , but it needs to be somewhere that he is not frightened to death in his first few weeks and preferably northside of Dublin ... I have been looking at these multicultural schools but there seems to be only one on the southside of Dublin out by lucan , I'll have a look at that educate together but if you have any further info on it I would much appreciate thanks again

Oh yea I lived in Lucan for three years I heard good things about this school. Ah don't worry kids learn so fast English. My daughter had beginning of 5th her school year a girl from Syria and she did not speak ONE word and now she is fine.
I admire you living in the Philippines coming to Ireland?! ;-) I'd love that :-)

You are aware of the house crisis we have right? Even I personally live in Kerry now but the house crisis is everywhere now ESPECIALLY in Dublin. Hardly anything and due to huge demand the house prices have been gone bonkers. Crazy really.

Concerning the education here in Ireland. Well maybe I am too German ;-) but I think its quite lax but then everybody has another view on that one :-)

Hi again ... we have a house in Dublin hence looking for a school on the northside of Dublin , have emailed for info from educate together , hopefully can sort something out before they get here

Oh so you are sorted, fantastic!

Best of luck! 

Hi If I can drop my penny in. I am not sure about your perception of how catholic schools are run but they are only catholic in name not practising the faith/ teaching as should be. That's my opinion anyway. My daughter is at one of those so-called catholic schools but she could be at a school for non-believers as far as I am concerned. Most parents just want a school to send their kids to that's convenient and because its traditional to do so. I am sure if you are not fussy you can find a school. If you don't mind too much the misconceptions about catholic schools and the practising of the faith. I am however catholic, proudly so and it saddens me. I think if you can find a school with good leadership and teachers who do their job you will be on the right path. I can't help you with north side school so I hope it works out well for ye.
sanbo

I am Irish born and bread and am catholic too , my son is in the Philippines speaks very little English and I know what local catholic schools are like , hence the fact that I'm looking for something aimed at different cultures , because they sometimes have a better understanding of the needs of the child. its my son and his mother that are the expats not me so I know a bit about the schooling here just not a lot about taking my family here .... who have a lot of different needs to mine and I want to be able to let him settle into life here as easily as possible

Hi David

I understand you want the best for your family but I would not worry too much about the language issue. I have seen kids thrive with very little english. Kids are more resilient than what you might think. I know you want the best in schooling for him but I am not sure you will find exactly what you are looking for. Its going to be a hit and miss situation. Which part of north dublin will you be in? There are many filipinos living in and around dublin area. They are all lovely people and seem to settle in very well. Some parishes have filipino masses. I know the parish in St michael , dun loaghaire has a large filipino community if you want your wife and son to meet some fellow country folk. You can also ask around from the parishes on the north side. If your wife will be at home I am sure she can meet up with some of the other moms. I know a lady that I work with and she is in santry for example, with her son 5 and husband. From the philipines. I can put you in contact with her. She is not on the expat community. I hope all goes well for you. God bless.
sanbo