Ethos
Longford and Westmeath Education and Training Board is implementing Education and Training Board Ireland's (ETBI) ethos across its schools and colleges. This is part of a broader national initiative involving all ETBs.
The process of identifying core values and ethos has been evolving over the past decade. All ETB schools are State, Co-Educational, and Multi-Denominational. ETB ethos is underpinned by the core values of Excellence in Education, Care, Respect, Equality and Community. Now, in Autumn 2021, schools are putting in place measures to examine their own policies and practices and ensure that these are aligned with ETBI core values.
What is ethos?
Put simply, ethos is how we live, work, and relate to each other in our school community. While it encompasses the curriculum and how it is taught, ethos is broader than this. It also relates to shared core values, to the hidden curriculum, to decision making processes and to the relationships that underpin the daily life of school. While individual ETB schools have always lived largely by the core values of care, respect, and equality there wasn’t a coherent approach by schools. Now all ETB schools can confidently speak about who they are and what they stand for.