Reboot Education with Self Directed Learning

We are building a new school.  After five years of self-directed, democratic school provision, we are building on our successes and entering the second growth and development phase of our project.  Our school has attracted families and self-directed students from around Ireland and Europe and has served as a learning hub for student teachers, university interns, educators and school founders.  Our current building and site has served us well over the past five years but with growing demand and increasing student numbers, we need more space.  We also need to develop our facilities and site so that we can continue to provide for a wide variety of students’ interests.  Our pioneering school is providing a much needed service in our area, putting Sligo on the map and raising awareness nationally for Self-Directed Education as a viable and future fit model of Education for all. 

Over the past 2 years we have been actively working towards our goal of growing our school and have succeeded in completing phase 1 of our project, including purchase of an additional 5 acres of land adjacent to the school and a small cottage. This was funded partly through gifts and donations from within our community and partly through securing a short-term loan.

We are getting ready to launch phase 2 of our project this month when the planning application will be submitted. Our goal is to begin construction in December 2023 with completion of project and handover scheduled for September 2024. 

Thank you for your support on our journey. By contributing to our school, you have become a part of this amazing community and help us ensure that every child has access to a unique educational model that fosters creativity, autonomy, and self-awareness.

We are now seeking additional sponsors to be part of this exciting development to make a difference and empower our children to become the change-makers of tomorrow. 

Being a self-directed learner and having the freedom to explore means that students can dedicate themselves to projects that are relevant to them, developing persistance, and learning through real life experience. Summer is a creative entrepreneur who wanted to combine her interests and have some fun in the process. Ethan is a musician, composer and performer who wanted to customise his bass guitar. Here are their accounts of their most recent projects. 

• I put in a proposal for a School market day so the Students could come together and create their own produce and have chance to sell it and feel what it was like to have a stall and interact with other people whilst selling their goods.  Summer

• I stripped all the parts off and sanded it to bare wood. Then I sprayed it with primer and sanded it again. Holes and cracks in the wood grain were filled before spraying it again with primer, and giving it a final coat of paint. The final piece was to solder back the electronics and restring it.  I feel amazing. It was a lot of work and I made loads of mistakes, but I learned a lot and it was worth it. I pretty much got a new guitar.  Ethan

Thank you for your continued generous support. You are helping to make democratic self-directed education available to more and more children, and inspiring others to trust in self-directed learning. The movement is growing. The 3rd Democratic Education Ireland Annual Conference was held in November this year. Trustees, founders, staff and students from all of the Irish Democratic Schools, and members from start-up groups from all around the country attended to share their experiences and strengthen the voice of democratic, self-directed learning in Ireland. 

The freedom, time, and space to find your own voice allows children to grow in confidence and develop skills at a suprisingly fast rate. When the passion for a new interest is kindled and nurtured without arbitrary competing demands amazing things can happen. 

This group of young teenagers, some of whom had very limited prior musical experience, formed a band earlier this year. Their commitment and hard work, with their natural talent and passion has produced some thrilling performances and inspired us all. The band members are now writing their own music and lyrics, and are planning to produce their first album next year. 

Wherever these young people take their talents next, what they have learned this year will stay with them their whole lives and support any endeavour they get involved in. Commitment, collaboration, creativity, discipline, organisation, performance, logistics, stage management, and of course musical skills are only a few of the skills they have practiced this past year.  They are forging a path of self-directed learning that is unique to each of them, bringing out the best in each of them. 

All of this is possible beacuse of the freedom and support provided by self-directed education. Thanks to supporters like yourself we are able to continue our work supporting young people in choosing their path and bringing out the best in themselves to contribute to society in a meaningful way. 

Thank you for your ongoing support. 

Photo credit: Brian Farrell

Hello again!

This year has been a real whirlwind. The children and the school are growing so fast we are kept firmly on our toes at all times. 

We have grown to 70 students this year, and with projected enrolments for September 2022 bringing us to 90 students we are nearing capacity on our current site. As our numbers grow, so too does the need for more space and facilities.  We are very fortunate to have been able to acquire 2 parcels of land adjoining our school site and are making plans to develop a pioneering institute of self directed learning, a centre of excellence where parents, educators, researchers, and policy makers can gain experience and knowledge of this model of education. The initial phase of development will involve the restoration of the existing cottage on one of the sites and planting of native trees to revitalise the land. Secondary phases will involve extending existing buildings while protecting the surrounding natural environment. 

Plans for development of the site are progressing well.  Students from TUD School of Architecture visited us in early March to carry out focus groups with Sligo Sudbury School students as part of their Research and Design Unit on Architecture and Democracy, ensuring all of our members have the opportunity to be involved in the design process.  During a second visit a number of different approaches to the project were presented based on the input from our staff and students. We especially enjoyed the interactive 3D model of the site, showcasing the possibilities and exploring alternatives. 

Being able to work on real world projects in real time is one of the valuable opportunities afforded by self-directed education in a democratic school setting. From smaller projects such as designing and building a Go-Kart to much larger projects such as the expansion of our school, students have the opportunity to get involved and learn directly from experts in the field should they choose to. Everything is possible. 

We have succeeded and developed from our humble beginnings four years ago to this point thanks to the passion, generosity and diligence of all those involved. Your support is invaluable in the realisation of our goal, to make self-directed education an option for all children. 

Thank you.

Hello from Sligo Sudbury School!

One of the features that makes self-directed education so appealing to young people is that they have the freedom to enjoy their learning anywhere, within or outside of the school grounds and buildings. Lorcan Southcombe is one of the students who enjoys this freedom at Sligo Sudbury School. He is U16 national Irish surf champion and is very passionate about his sport, taking every opportunity to practice and hone his skill. Staff and students alike are inspired by his self determination, his discipline and dedication, and his success. See him in action @lorcansouthcombe 

When not surfing, Lorcan is an avid drummer and all round musician. His sense of purpose and his commitment to his goals are fully supported by the democratic self-directed model of education.

We continue striving to provide a stable, stimulating, and self-governing environment where all children can grow and learn. Enrolments have grown and are now a community of 71 students and 10 staff members, with 3 new staff joining us in September 2021 and another in January 2022. We have reached the point where we are starting to think about how best to develop our site and school buildings so that we can continue to accept enrolments in the coming years. An additional parcel of land adjacent to our school site has been purchased and discussions with the school community are in progress to develop our vision together. We will keep you posted on our progress. 

The students are embracing the responsibilities and the joys of self-governance. Initiatives over the past few months have included 

• Taking part in a "Sleep Out" raising over $2,000 to support the work of local homeless charity NorthWest Simon Community
• Creating a Pop up Cafe serving a monthly "banquet on a budget". Food is vegetarian and inspired by culinary traditions from around the world. 
• Building a tree house and a go-cart using wood and recycled materials
• Performing a Toy Theatre production in the style of Victorian paper theatre 
• Participating in the Primary Schools Science Fair at IT Sligo
• Mastering Olympic Handball - we have a newly formed team
• and much much more

Thank you for helping us to make Democratic, Self-Directed Education a reality that we can all aspire to. 

Links:

• Newspaper article in The Sligo Champion, November 2021