Schools

Three member schools in the Republic of Ireland are recognised by the Department of Education and Youth (DEY) and are managed under the patronage of Education and Training Boards (ETBs). They undertake to deliver the Irish Primary Curriculum, and to employ teachers with Irish state-recognised teaching qualifications. They are inspected by DEY, with subsequent reports published on the school websites.

Five member schools in the Republic are independent. They receive no state funding. Pupils in these schools are required to register with the Alternative Education Assessment and Registration Service (AEARS), a section of Tusla, the Child and Family Agency of Ireland. Independent schools are free to teach what they wish as long as their provision is deemed to provide “A certain minimum education”.

The schools are inspected by AEARS to assess whether they meet this requirement, and detailed reports are subsequently published. It is up to individual schools to decide on the suitability of their teaching appointments, though details of staff qualifications are requested during inspections, and in practice most teachers will have university degrees, and some Waldorf specific training.

Holywood Steiner School in Northern Ireland is an independent school. It is inspected by the Education and Training Inspectorate of Northern Ireland’s Department of Education, which assesses the suitability of independent schools to be registered to provide education.