Raheen Wood Community National School 
Ethos, Governance & Policies
Ethos: how we live, work and relate to each other
While Ethos encompasses the curriculum and how it is taught, it relates to our shared core values, to the hidden curriculum, to decision making processes and to the relationships that underpin the daily life of our school culture.
Our school is part of Education and Training Boards Ireland, an organisation of state, co-educational and multi-denominational schools. Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board is committed to implementing Education and Training Board Ireland’s (ETBI) ethos framework across its schools and colleges.
Core values
Mission
1
Excellence in Education
2
Care
3
Respect
4
Equality
5
Community
To undertake to provide a Learning Community and environment which:
• Is founded on a true understanding of the developmental needs of the whole child and provides balance between thinking, feeling and willing.
• Nurtures creativity and a sense of beauty.
• Enables children and adults to feel understood, accepted, valued and nurtured.
• Develops a deep connection with nature and natural rhythms.
• Creates the space (inner and outer) that is necessary to experience the essential goodness of the world.
• Honours and protects the precious nature of childhood and recognises the gift that children bring to the future of humanity.
• Nurtures and develops the sense of truth, individual morality and responsibility that is the foundation for true freedom.
• Values learning through experience; which develops the children’s confidence and equips them with the skills that are necessary to fulfill their life’s potential.
• Encourages teachers and parents to respect each other and work in partnership to surround the child with love and security.
• Upholds the need for the teachers to be free to work out of an inner connection with the children and with the Steiner Waldorf curriculum in order to bring what is needed to meet the developmental needs of the children in their care.
Governance: How our school is run
Raheen Wood Community National School is established under the patronage of Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board and is funded by the Department of Education and Skills.
Board of Management
The school is managed by the Board of Management, made up of eight people drawn from the parent community, the greater community, the school principal and one other teacher.
The Board members meet once a month and are responsible for dealing with all legal and statutory matters and those concerning the school’s relationship with official bodies. Parents can direct questions, comments or requests for the school, to the Board through info@raheenwood.org.
College of Teachers
Steiner Schools have a very active ‘College of Teachers’ (CoT).
The CoT is made up of staff members who have usually been at the school for more than a year and who are able to make a deeper commitment to, and take shared responsibility for, the day to day running of the school. The College of Teachers is also responsible for all pedagogical decisions and directions that the school takes.
School Support Teams
Some of the work of running the school is delegated by the College to smaller groups and individuals, as needed, for example, fundraising, publicity & communications, craft, social and outreach, maintenance and premises. Each group is made up of parents and sometimes friends of the school. Where necessary, professionals are engaged, for example, accountants and solicitors, but otherwise, these tasks are unpaid.
The Parent Association
The Parent Association (PA) provides a structure through which the parents or guardians of children attending our School can work together for the best possible education for their children. The parent association works with the school principal, College of Teachers, Board of Management and the Department of Education and Skills in order to achieve this aim.
Policies: How we ensure best practices and behaviour
You can read our updated policies here:
Child Protection Official Notification of Board of Management Review May 2025
Child Safeguarding Statement and Risk Assessment Template 2025
Raheen Wood Community National School 