Scoil Íosa is a Catholic School under the trusteeship of the Bishop of Killala, Most Rev Dr. John Fleming, and is committed to promoting a Christian ethos through fostering mutual respect, nurturing self-esteem, encouraging the realisation of each child’s full potential and developing an awareness of environment, culture and history in a happy atmosphere conducive to learning.

The Board of Management and staff are highly committed to the Catholic ethos. We believe our school community is inspired by the vision and values of Sr. Catherine McAuley and the Sisters of Mercy. We also fully endorse the vision for Catholic Schools articulated by the Catholic Schools Partnership.

“Catholic schools in Ireland are a living expression of a long and varied tradition of education inspired by the life of Christ as lived in the Church. Such schools emphasise the dignity of the human person as a child of God called to work with other persons in creating an inclusive community in service of the common good; where knowledge is sought and respected while faith is nurtured and challenged.”

The Board of Management and staff of Scoil Iosa are committed to full compliance with the provisions set out in the Equal Status Act. Every effort is always made to ensure that no member of our school community is ever discriminated against on the basis of gender, civil status, family status, age, race, religion, disability, sexual orientation or membership of the traveller community.

We cherish and welcome cultural and religious diversity in our school. Children from many different countries, ethnic backgrounds and religious beliefs attend our school and we whole heartedly welcome them into our multicultural and multi-ethnic school community. We are very proud that our school caters for children with special physical and/or intellectual needs.

The wellbeing and educational welfare of the children is always central to any decision making process in Scoil Iosa. Staff and management are committed to ensuring that time is invested in listening to and understanding the children’s thoughts, ideas and perspectives. We aim to ensure that the children in our care always feel deeply understood, respected, supported, cared for and nurtured.

We strive to achieve the highest standards of excellence in all areas of teaching and learning for our students. We are acutely aware of the necessity to use a wide range of modern teaching methodologies, differentiation strategies and assessment techniques to meet the varied needs and learning styles of our students. We aim to provide a positive and stimulating learning environment that helps every child to develop intellectually, culturally, physically, morally, emotionally and spiritually. We aim to foster strong Christian values amongst the children and equip them with the skills and confidence they need to fully participate and contribute in a meaningful way to a modern dynamic and ever changing world and society.

The school’s Board of Management and staff recognise and respect that parents/guardians are the primary educators of their children. Therefore, we are committed to fostering positive and effective working relationships with the parents/guardians of the learners in our care. We endeavour always to understand challenging family circumstances and how these circumstances impact on the children’s capacity to engage in learning activities at school. We strive to include all parents/guardians appropriately and encourage them to effectively support their children’s learning at school and at home. Our commitment to the provision of adequate information for parents/guardians continues to be one of our key goals.

Scoil Iosa’s staff is committed to continuous professional development and life-long learning. We understand that each of us must support and encourage the children and each other to grow and develop along personal learning continuums. However, we also understand that we are members of a team collectively responsible for progressing a dynamic and evolving learning community towards its goal of providing the highest standards of educational excellence for all students in our care.

Management and staff in Scoil Iosa collaborate effectively in the development of strong school organisational policies based on best practice guidelines and DES regulations. These policies are designed to effectively and appropriately protect and support all members of our school community including children, staff and parents/guardians. It is understood, however, that the successful implementation of our school’s policies, relies very heavily on the values and principles of those of us who are responsible for their formation and implementation.

Staff in Scoil Iosa is encouraged to protect and promote our core professional values – respect, empathy, trust and integrity – in order to ensure they remain central to the culture of our school community. In the interest of ensuring that our school is a safe and happy one for everyone, all members of our school community are encouraged to support and contribute to a school culture and value system where:

• Collegiality, friendship, collaboration and support are stronger than competition;
• Honesty and integrity protect us from division and disharmony;
• Synergy is stronger than compromise;
• Interdependence outweighs dependence and independence;
• Empowerment is so significantly greater than power;
• Pride and confidence are balanced perfectly with humility;
• True Christian service is valued more than Catholic identity alone.

In order to create this positive culture within our school community, which is most conducive to learning and personal growth, each of us strives to individually and collectively commit to implicitly and explicitly modelling these values in our relationships with children, parents/guardians and colleagues.

This value system, when successfully embedded in our school’s work culture, provides a deep and unyielding foundation upon which we can work in unity and harmony to build a strong and successful school community where the words of Jesus Christ “Treat others as you would like them to treat you” are lived out each day.