Educate Together
Educate Together is Ireland's equality-based school patron body, operating 118 multi-denominational primary and second-level schools serving over 42,000 students through its proprietary Learn Together Ethical Education curriculum and community-led school establishment model.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1998
- HeadquartersDublin, Ireland
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Educate Together does
Educate Together is an Irish registered charity and company limited by guarantee (Charity No. 20033309, Company No. 286202) that serves as the independent patron body for a network of equality-based, multi-denominational schools across Ireland. Founded from the 1975 Dalkey School Project and incorporated in its current legal form in 1998, the organisation now operates 118 schools (97 primary ETNS and 21 second-level ETSS) serving over 42,000 students. Its core offering is the proprietary Learn Together Ethical Education Curriculum — a four-strand programme covering Values and Ethical Perspectives, Equality and Justice, Belief Systems, and An Ethical Approach to the Environment — delivered for half an hour daily as an alternative to religious instruction and supported by a Moodle-based online resource bank of lesson plans, teacher guides, and videos. The organisation has also co-developed the Aitheantas Framework with Education and Training Boards Ireland (ETBI) to certify student teachers in Ethical, Multi-Belief and Values Education, and runs a Global Citizenship Education programme funded by Irish Aid through WorldWise Global Schools.
The organisation's business model blends state grants (covering less than half of operating costs, per direct disclosure), charitable donations from individuals, companies and trusts, and ongoing fundraising campaigns such as One Day Together and monthly donor programmes. New schools are established through community-led parent campaign groups under the Department of Education's patronage framework, with the organisation also supporting reconfiguration of existing schools that wish to transfer patronage to Educate Together. Schools are state-funded, non-fee-paying, co-educational, have no uniforms, and are democratically run. The patron body's national office, based in Dublin (Equity House, 16/17 Upper Ormond Quay), comprises approximately ten staff supporting a network of 142 total employees, governed by a voluntary Board of Directors chaired by Emma Lane-Spollen with CEO Dr. Emer Nowlan leading operations. Technology integration is conventional and operational in nature — Stripe and Sentential for donations, Mailchimp for newsletters, Salesforce for CRM, Jotform for enrolments, and Adobe Connect for webinars — with no proprietary AI/ML capability disclosed.
Educate Together firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Educate Together
- Legal name
- Educate Together
- Website
- https://educatetogether.ie
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1998
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Educate Together is Ireland's equality-based school patron body, operating 118 multi-denominational primary and second-level schools serving over 42,000 students through its proprietary Learn Together Ethical Education curriculum and community-led school establishment model.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Educate Together is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Dublin
- HQ country
- Ireland
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Educate Together business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- State Funding: Voluntary bodies managing schools on behalf of the Department of Education receive state grants, though less than half of operating costs are covered by state aid.
- Donations and Fundraising: Charitable donations from individuals, companies, and trusts. Monthly donation programme available. One Day Together fundraising campaign. Less than half of operating costs covered by state aid, requiring ongoing fundraising support.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels8 records
Educate Together product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Educate Together serves as the independent school patron body for a network of 118 equality-based, co-educational, state-funded and non-fee-paying primary and second-level schools across Ireland, serving more than 42,000 students. The organization establishes schools, appoints Boards of Management, and directs the equality-based ethos across the network, delivering the proprietary Learn Together Ethical Education Curriculum as an alternative to religious instruction through online resource banks and teacher professional development. Less than half of patron body operating costs are covered by state aid, with the balance funded through charitable donations and fundraising from individuals, companies and trusts.
Product overview
Educate Together operates as a network of over 100 equality-based primary and second-level schools in Ireland, functioning as both a school patron organization and educational programme provider. The core offerings include the School Patronage Service for establishing and managing schools under equality-based, co-educational, child-centred, and democratically-run principles, and the Learn Together Ethical Education Curriculum (a four-strand curriculum covering values, equality & justice, belief systems, and environmental ethics). Supporting products include the Learn Together Resource Bank (Moodle-based online repository), the Student Advisory Group (annual student leadership initiative), Global Citizenship Education Programme (Irish Aid-funded), Aitheantas Framework (teacher certification framework developed with ETBI), Reconfiguration Information Pack (for schools transferring patronage), and School Finder (directory tool). The network is supported by an e-learning platform for teacher CPD.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- School Patronage Service Educate Together serves as the independent school patron for a network of 118 equality-based primary (ETNS) and second-level (ETSS) schools across Ireland, including 97 primary schools and 21 second-level schools. The patronage involves establishing schools, appointing Boards of Management and directing the equality-based, co-educational, child-centred and democratically-run ethos across the network.
- Learn Together Ethical Education Curriculum The ethical education curriculum taught daily across Educate Together primary schools as an alternative to religious instruction. It is organized into four strands (Values and Ethical Perspectives, Equality and Justice, Belief Systems covering world religions and non-theistic views, and An Ethical Approach to the Environment) and is delivered alongside online resource banks, teacher guides, videos and lesson plans via a Moodle-based platform.
- Aitheantas Framework Framework for Recognition of Certification to teach Ethical, Multi-Belief and Values Education (EMBVE), developed jointly over five years by Educate Together and Education and Training Boards Ireland (ETBI) in collaboration with five Higher Education Institutions. It enables student teachers to obtain certification to teach Learn Together and Goodness Me, Goodness You! curricula in multi-denominational school settings.
Quantifiable outcome
- 90% of parents in Educate Together schools prefer multi-denominational education
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Educate Together
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Educate Together technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration8 records
Feature3 records
Educate Together partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Education and Training Boards Ireland (ETBI)coreJoint development of Aitheantas Framework for Recognition of Certification to teach Ethical, Multi-Belief and Values Education (EMBVE). Five years of collaboration between two patron bodies and five Higher Education Institutions to prepare student teachers for multi-denominational school settings. Framework enables certification for teaching Learn Together and Goodness Me, Goodness You! curricula.
- WorldWise Global Schools (Irish Aid)coreFunding support for Student Advisory Group events and Global Citizenship Education programme across the network. Student events funded through Irish Aid support to WorldWise Global Schools.
- Global Action PlanminorAlex Wyatt from Global Action Plan facilitates sessions at student events on topics such as misinformation and disinformation.
- Maynooth UniversityminorAcademic partnership supporting student-teachers and providing educational expertise to the network.
- Dublin City University (DCU) ChangemakerminorPartnership through DCU Changemaker programme. Rush and Lusk ETNS designated as a Changemaker School.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Educate Together competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Education and Training Boards Ireland (ETBI): ETBI is the representative body for Ireland's 16 statutory Education and Training Boards, which together act as the largest patron of primary, second-level, and further education schools. ETBI and Educate Together jointly developed the Aitheantas Framework, making them the most direct comparables in Irish school patronage, both running multi-school networks under the Department of Education framework.
- An Forás Pátrúnachta: An Forás Pátrúnachta is the national patron body for Gaelscoileanna (Irish-medium schools) and operates as a multi-school patron with a parallel ethos-based model. It serves a similar structural role to Educate Together: an independent patron supporting parental demand-driven school establishment across the same Irish Department of Education framework.
Emerging players
- National Council for Special Education (NCSE): NCSE supports inclusive education provision in Irish schools, including special classes and autism units that overlap with Educate Together's specialist spaces (e.g., Harcourt Terrace 24-classroom facility with autistic children provision). Both are working within the same Department of Education ecosystem on inclusive schooling.
- Waldorf/Steiner Schools (e.g., Steiner Waldorf Schools Fellowship): Steiner/Waldorf schools are an international network of independent, child-centred schools operating outside mainstream religious patronage. Like Educate Together, they offer a values-based curriculum alternative and operate networks of schools with shared ethos and proprietary curriculum, often as charities or non-profits.
- Summerhill School (Sudbury model): Summerhill is a long-established democratic, child-centred free school in the UK that shares Educate Together's emphasis on democratic governance, equality-based ethos, and child-centred pedagogy. While operating in a different regulatory environment, it represents a thematic peer in democratic/free school alternatives.
Regional players
- Academy Schools (UK): UK academy schools are state-funded independent schools operating outside local authority control under a similar autonomous patron model. While the UK regulatory regime differs, academies share the structural features of independent patronage, ethos-driven governance, and parental demand-led school establishment that parallel Educate Together's Irish model.
Others
- Humanist Association of Ireland: The Humanist Association of Ireland is a non-theistic advocacy organization that partners with Educate Together staff (e.g., Software Application Manager Aaron Jewell's previous work) and supports the multi-denominational ethos. It is a thematic ally rather than a direct peer, but relevant as an ecosystem partner in Irish non-religious education.
Broad incumbents
- Catholic Primary School Management Association (CPSMA): CPSMA represents the vast majority of Catholic primary school patrons in Ireland, which collectively control 95.1% of primary schools. As the incumbent religious-patronage network, CPSMA is the structural counterpart to Educate Together in the Irish patronage landscape and the primary stakeholder in reconfiguration/patronage transfer debates.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Customer concentration
Educate Together social profiles
Digital presenceEducate Together compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Educate Together financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Educate Together leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles10 records
Educate Together funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Educate Together M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Educate Together
What does Educate Together do?
Educate Together serves as the independent school patron body for a network of 118 equality-based, co-educational, state-funded and non-fee-paying primary and second-level schools across Ireland, serving more than 42,000 students. The organization establishes schools, appoints Boards of Management, and directs the equality-based ethos across the network, delivering the proprietary Learn Together Ethical Education Curriculum as an alternative to religious instruction through online resource banks and teacher professional development. Less than half of patron body operating costs are covered by state aid, with the balance funded through charitable donations and fundraising from individuals, companies and trusts.
Is Educate Together a public or private company?
Educate Together is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Educate Together founded?
Educate Together was founded in 1998. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Educate Together based?
Educate Together is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, in the Europe region.
How does Educate Together make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. State Funding is the primary driver. The others are donations and Fundraising.
Who are Educate Together's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Education and Training Boards Ireland (ETBI) and An Forás Pátrúnachta. Emerging players are National Council for Special Education (NCSE), Waldorf/Steiner Schools (e.g., Steiner Waldorf Schools Fellowship) and Summerhill School (Sudbury model). Academy Schools (UK) is listed as a regional player. Humanist Association of Ireland is listed as an others. Catholic Primary School Management Association (CPSMA) is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Educate Together have an API?
No public API is recorded for Educate Together.