13.03.2026
Patron’s Day Honours 50 Years of Schools Boards of Management
The Archbishop of Dublin welcomed principals and chairpersons of Church of Ireland national schools in Dublin and Glendalough to his annual Patron’s Day on Friday last (March 6).
Opening the gathering in the Clayton Hotel in Liffey Valley, Archbishop Michael Jackson said it was good to see such a strong turn out of principals, teachers, chairpersons of boards and clergy, all of whom are connected with schools in the dioceses.
The busy programme included a celebration of 50 years of Boards of Management at primary school level, with Dr Ken Fennelly, secretary to the General Synod Board of Education (RI) taking participants on a whistlestop tour of the history of the boards from their establishment in 1975. The day also featured an update from Dr Jacqui Wilkinson on the Follow Me RE programme for Church of Ireland primary schools.
Finally Sarah Colgan, founder of Project All Rise, highlighted her new programme for the inclusion of pupils with neurodiversity. Archbishop Jackson said it was particularly interesting to see how issues such as neurodiversity, which used to be spoken about in dark corners of homes and schools, are now talked about openly.
“There is a real opportunity to address these issues, not solely as problems but as human identity and to engage inclusively and holistically a broad range of pupils and staff and the community. That openness is commendable and it is wonderful to see how it can happen in schools under my patronage which are numerically not enormous schools,” he commented.
Dr Fennelly said that Boards of Management were set up by Education Minister Dick Burke in 1975 at a time of huge social change in Ireland. There was general support for the move to locally elected Boards of Management amongst the members of the General Synod Board of Education, he reported.
The work of the members of Boards of Management and the management of schools largely goes unseen by the majority of the school community, he noted. However, he wished to recognise the experience and contribution of boards and added that there was a lot of extra work carried on between chairpersons of boards and school principals.
To mark the 50th anniversary of Boards of Management, each school in the dioceses was presented with a specially commissioned plaque. The Archbishop hoped this would be displayed in schools to highlight 50 years of continuous concern and cooperation in the lives of national schools.
The latest developments on the Follow Me website (https://followme.ie/) and digital resources for Religious Education in national schools were outlined by Dr Wilkinson. New slide decks for 1st and 2nd Class are being piloted, having completed 5th and 6th Class decks last year. The resources are also being adapted to be inclusive of all needs.
She encouraged schools to buy the slides and also appealed to teachers with a passion for teaching RE to get in touch so they can play a part in future slide design. The website also has a huge range of resources for different needs schools might have such as assemblies, prayers and resources for the Church seasons.
Project All Rise (https://www.projectallrise.com/) celebrates neurodiversity and aims to build a culture and an education system where neurodiversity is expected, appreciated, and enabled, its founder Sarah Colgan explained. She noted that schools faced unprecedented challenges with acute demands for support and suggested that school leaders and teachers have not been empowered to support neurodiversity.
Launching in April, Project All Rise is a different type of resource to include neurodiverse people, hearing from them and learning from their experiences. “Ten years ago we only looked at the challenges of neurodiversity and not the strengths. These children are not failed horses, but perfect zebras. These approaches are not complicated or expensive… It is about creating a school culture for all neurotypes,” she explained.
Before adjourning for lunch, the Revd David White drew proceedings to a close by thanking everyone for attending and paying tribute to Jenny Kirwan for her hard work in organising Patron’s Day.
