# data[].attributes.headline
Eight Essentials full brochure - 'A Call to Participation' 

# data[].attributes.subject
Eight Essentials full brochure - 'A Call to Participation' 

# data[].attributes.body
updated 2023

# data[].attributes.headline
Primary Education as a Christian Calling 

# data[].attributes.subject
Primary Education as a Christian Calling 

# data[].attributes.headline
SAC Summer project on Eight Essentials and Edmund Rice 

# data[].attributes.subject
SAC Summer project on Eight Essentials and Edmund Rice 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Download the ERST Charter 2020 Download the Student-Friendly Version of the Charter (Flip Book)Íoslósáil An Chairt (Flip Book)
Our Charter

The Charter sets out a framework designed to enable Catholic education in the Edmund Rice tradition to thrive and grow into the future. Each school community in our network is invited to put the Charter into practice, taking account of its own unique circumstances and traditions. The values in the Charter came from the schools. Through a process of reflection and sharing the school partners reached a consensus on what comprises the heart and soul of an Edmund Rice school.

Inspired by the Charter we respond to the needs of a changing world. We ensure that our schools continue to adapt and re define themselves, while remaining faithful to our mission and founding vision. Faithful to the church and inspired by Edmund Rice's vision, we ensure the future of our schools as Christian communities of learning and teaching.
The five key elements of the Edmund Rice Schools Trust Charter are:

Nurturing faith, Christian spirituality and Gospel-based values

Promoting partnership

Excelling in teaching and learning

Creating a caring school community

Inspiring transformational leadership.

Our schools promote equality of access and participation - in other words, children of any faith, or none, at every level of ability, of any nationality or ethnic grouping are all welcome in our schools. All of our schools are encouraged to recognise the uniqueness of each individual in caring communities where holistic development is nurtured.

As Trustees we appoint and nominate Boards of Management to run our schools. We help these Boards through training and a rolling programme of advice and support.

We also advise and support our Principals, Deputy Principals and staff through Conferences, Cluster meetings, training and induction courses.

Our Network promotes a strong sense of belonging and cooperation. We believe a great strength of our Network is this sense of belonging and consistently high levels of support and guidance given to our Principals and Boards of Management.

Our main object is to ensure and foster the advancement of education and to further the aims and purposes of Catholic education in the Edmund Rice tradition. To enable us to do this we encourage and expect all our community to engage with us, and to assist us to improve and expand our service to young people.

The Edmund Rice Schools Trust is a vibrant schools Network that is developing and supporting Catholic education throughout Ireland today.
Download our Guide for Parents
Edmund Rice was that rare combination - a creative visionary who was also immensely practical. From the humble beginnings of the first such school in Waterford in 1802, Edmund Rice Schools have played an important role in the history of Irish education for over two centuries. Today there are over a hundred of these schools in Ireland, and the Edmund Rice mission has extended to all five continents.

At the start of the new Millennium, the Christian Brothers founded by Blessed Edmund Rice decided to hand on responsibility for the schools to a group of lay people.

The Edmund Rice Schools Trust (ERST) was established to hold the schools in trust so that they may continue to provide Catholic education into the future for the people of Ireland. This pioneering decision marked the opening of a new and significant chapter in the history of the schools.

The process whereby lay people would take on responsibility for the schools was carefully planned during a long period of discernment. The lively and active participation of the students, staff, parents, trustees and boards of management of the schools over a four year period from 1999 to 2003 in an Identity Project was a vital part of this preparatory phase. Through reflection, and sharing, the school partners sought to reach consensus on what comprises the heart and soul of an Edmund Rice School.

Edmund Rice schools cater for young people from a diverse range of backgrounds and have been quick to respond to the emerging needs of students and communities. The educational approach in the schools is neither functional nor utilitarian, but subscribes to the holistic vision expressed in the following five key elements:

Nurturing faith, Christian spirituality and Gospel-based values;

Promoting partnership;

Excelling in teaching and learning;

Creating a caring school community;

Inspiring transformational leadership.

1. Nurturing faith, Christian spirituality and Gospel-based values;

An Edmund Rice School:

Is faithful to the life of Jesus Christ.

Develops the whole person.

Promotes a distinctive spirituality

Celebrates diversity and values difference

Fosters a living faith through working for social and ecological justice.

Celebrates Mary as model of faithfulness.

Prioritises resources.

2. Promoting Partnership

An Edmund Rice School:

Recognises the value of partnership.

Works in partnership with parents/guardians.

Seeks to build community

Embodies the principles of inclusiveness.

Respects the earth.

Fosters a sense of belong to parish.

Promotes networking.

3. Excelling in Teaching

An Edmund Rice School:

Focuses on purposeful teaching and learning.

Nurtures the holistic development of students.

Recognises the uniqueness of every student.

Promotes personal and professional development.

Raises awareness of the interconnectedness of the world in which we live.

Uses information technology with critical awareness.

Responds to a changing world.

4. Creating Community

Creating a caring school community an Edmund Rice School:

Develops a sense of community.

Identifies and serves the needs of the students.

Promotes care and responsibility.

Works for social justice.

Fosters care for the environment.

Seeks to provide a safe and respectful working environment.

5. Inspiring Leadership

Inspiring transformational leadership an Edmund Rice School:

Fosters visionary leadership.

Encourages ownership of the vision.

Shares leadership roles.

Encourages the active participation of parent/guardians.

Welcomes innovative leadership of teachers.

Elicits leadership and responsibility in students.

Promotes spiritual and moral values.

Inspires courage and confidence.

Encourages a work ethos and innovation.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Our Charter Elements - Edmund Rice Schools

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Download the ERST Charter 2020 Download the Student-Friendly Version of the Charter (Flip Book) Íoslósáil An Chairt (Flip Book) Our Charter The Charter sets out a framework designed to enable Catholic education in the Edmund Rice tradition to thrive and grow into the future. Each school community in our network is invited to put...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The Essential Elements of an Edmund Rice Christian Brother Education

An Edmund Rice Christian Brother education provides Catholic and non-Catholic families a rigorous educational experience grounded in faith and service. Located in the United States and Canada, the schools educate children, young men, and young women in grades K-12.

Guided by the Essential Elements of a Christian Brother Education, Edmund Rice schools evoke a deep awareness of God's loving presence as they have for over 200 years.

The Essential Elements of an Edmund Rice Christian Brother Education calls educational ministry sites and those working in them to:

I. Evangelize Youth within the Mission of the Church.

Proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ in word and deed

Permeate the entire curriculum, activities, and all aspects of the educational process with the Gospel message of Jesus Christ

Encourage young people to a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ

Provide opportunities for liturgies, retreats, vocation awareness workshops and daily prayer

II. Proclaim and Witness to Catholic Identity.

Give priority to religious instruction with opportunities for faith development and theological understanding

Participate in the sacramental life of the Church and model a living faith through the use of rituals and symbols

Foster devotion to Mary and the communion of saints

Ensure that Catholic identity permeates all endeavors: all classes and activities, procedures and policies, services and programs

III. Stand in Solidarity with those Marginalized by Poverty and Injustice.

Promote policies and structures that reflect a climate of compassion for the poor and disadvantaged

Include education and advocacy for peace, justice, global awareness, and care for the Earth Edmund Rice Christian Brothers Office of Educational Services 2

Prepare students to work toward the creation of a just society

Encourage ministry experiences that work with and serve the poor and marginalized

Support mission areas at home and abroad

Establish tuition and scholarship policies that open educational opportunities to the poor and disadvantaged

IV. Foster and Invigorate a Community of Faith.

Provide a disciplined, safe atmosphere in which students are free to grow and take responsibility for their own learning and for the life of the community

Sustain compassionate, respectful relationships among all stakeholders

Be in union with the Church through commitment to service and formation of community

Encourage faculty and staff to give daily witness to their integral role in communal faith formation

Embrace the human condition and welcome God's healing

V. Celebrate the Value and Dignity of each Person and Nurture the Development of the Whole Person.

Promote respect for each individual as created in the image and likeness of God

Value the diversity of the human family and seek to reflect diversity among the students, faculty, and staff

Promote strong programs for personal, professional, and pastoral care

Offer co-curricular activities and programs that are important to a student's holistic education

Strive to provide just remuneration for faculty and staff

VI. Collaborate and Share Responsibility for the Mission.

Empower all members of the community to share in the mission

Work with parents who are the primary educators

Collaborate with Edmund Rice Christian Brother ministries on local, regional, and international levels

Foster a deeper understanding of the vision of Blessed Edmund

Promote active participation in governance by boards and diocesan officials

VII. Pursue Excellence in all Endeavors.

Promote a strong academic curriculum and cultivate a desire for excellence

Develop an educational culture that fosters the growth of the whole person, higher-order thinking, and life-long learning

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
An Edmund Rice Christian Brother education provides Catholic and non-Catholic families a rigorous educational experience grounded in faith and service. Located in the United States and Canada, the schools educate children, young men, and young women in grades K-12.

# data[].attributes.headline
Reimagining the Curriculum centred on the 8 Essentials 

# data[].attributes.subject
Reimagining the Curriculum centred on the 8 Essentials 