Kildare school achieves anti-racism Yellow Flag award

Coláiste Chiaráin in Leixlip, Kildare has been awarded a Yellow Flag in recognition of intercultural and anti-racism policy and activities in the school at a national awards ceremony.

The post primary school which has 650 pupils, received its recognition at the annual Yellow Flag Programme Awards ceremony in Dublin this week (Thursday, April 10).

The programme supports schools to challenge racism and discrimination – and awarded seven schools across the country for their work to build anti-racist school communities.

Coláiste Chiaráin joins 136 Primary and Post Primary schools nationwide – reaching approximately 50,000 students and 5,000 teachers – which follow the Yellow Flag steps to embed inclusivity and diversity in practice and policy across the whole environment of teachers, pupils, parents and community.

READ NEXT: Uisce Éireann offers Kildare householders water conservation tips

Asked why is it important to take a whole school approach and include the wider school/local community, Deputy Principal Louise Doran said: “It is vital to create a community that builds a sense of connection and inclusion for all and a programme like Yellow Flag gives us the tools to do this in a cohesive way.

“We invite our community into our annual Culture Day – our local National Schools, politicians, parents and community groups and our inclusion and diversity committee represent the school at various community events”.

Asked about what took place to engage the programme inside and outside of the school, student Lionel Sibanda said: “For our Wear Red anti-racism day we organised activities in school to promote awareness – red ribbons for students to wear, red hearts on lockers and red fruit at break and we had a fundraiser for the Immigrant Council of Ireland.

“I was involved in all of these activities and addressed the school over the intercom about the initiatives”.

Speaking at the annual awards Yellow Flag Programme, National Coordinator Sian Mooney congratulated the whole school community at Coláiste Chiaráin.

She also highlighted a survey of teachers the programme carried out, which showed that more than four in five (81%) of teachers had never attended intercultural or anti-racism training.

The awards ceremony was opened by the Ombudsman for Children Dr. Niall Muldoon.

Dr Muldoon said: “It's crucial that we invest in programmes like the Yellow Flag because it is an investment into a more stable and positive future – socially, educationally, economically and democratically. It is very positive to see that so much of the work to create this programme is led by the students themselves.

“Having children and young people driving inclusion and anti-racism is the secret to changing society over the long term. By giving them an opportunity to lead on such an important subject they learn, very quickly, that they do have a voice and that voice can make a significant contribution to the wellbeing of their school and community.”