Dundalk school earns Yellow Flag for championing inclusion and anti-racism
St. Joseph’s National School Dundalk joins 149 Primary and Post Primary schools nationwide
St. Joseph’s National School in Dundalk has been awarded a Yellow Flag in recognition of its commitment to intercultural inclusion and addressing racism through policies and practises in the school.
The primary school which has 580 pupils and 66 Teachers received its recognition at the annual Yellow Flag Programme Awards in Dublin this week.
According to organisers: "The Yellow Flag Programme (YFP) is a practical whole-school initiative, for both Primary and Post Primary schools, which supports them to become more inclusive of all cultures and ethnicities, celebrate diversity and challenge racism and discrimination."
St, Joesph’s joins 149 Primary and Post Primary schools nationwide – reaching approximately 53,000 students and 5,500 teachers.
Teacher at St. Joseph's National School in Dundalk Paul Joseph Molloy described how the award had shaped school culture: “The Yellow Flag Programme has ensured that intercultural education is not event-based, but embedded in everything we do. Pupil voice is central through our Senior and Junior Diversity Committees, and there is a strong sense that every child is seen, heard and valued.
“We made an effort to connect our pupils with the wider community through experiences like attending the Dundalk Traveller Pride event and participating in a national children’s rights rally in Dublin.”
Sixth Class student at St. Joseph’s Malik Gamal Elshafey described his experience: “I took part in the Traveller Pride visit, where we learned about Traveller culture and how people live. Some of the pupils also went to Dublin for a children’s rights rally. They made posters and joined other schools.
“This showed us that children can have a voice and be heard. The Programme helped me understand different cultures better and realise that everyone is different, and that’s something we should respect. It also makes our school feel more welcoming and inclusive.”
Speaking at the annual awards, Irish Traveller Movement (ITM) Director (which houses the YFP) Bernard Joyce congratulated the whole school community at St Joseph’s National School.
He highlighted the importance of the programme by referring to a survey launched at the Awards which said 75% of teachers have no training in dealing with anti-racism or interculturalism in their school environment.
The survey also said that many students have witnessed racism within their school, with 43% saying they have witnessed racism once and 32% had witnessed it more than once. Furthermore, according to the survey, 23% of Teachers said they had witnessed a racist incident in their school.
Mr Joyce said the survey findings highlighted the need for mandatory training in all schools: “The ITM is grateful for government investment which the YFP receives. Our survey makes it very clear that continued and greater investment is needed to train and support teachers with specific knowledge and skills for anti-racism and intercultural education. There is a need for mandatory training in all schools.”
This year’s awardees comprised eight primary schools and five post-primary – including 6,300 students and 600 teachers. The survey drew from a large sample of 1,612 pupils and 463 teachers across schools as part of the programme.
The Awards also included RTE Nationwide presenter and Author Zainab Boladale as MC and Dancing with the Stars finalist Singer Tolu Makay as guest of honour.