By Darragh Smith
St. Oliver’s Community College has been awarded a second yellow flag for their work in promoting diversity and inclusion in their school life.
To qualify for a yellow flag award schools must complete eight steps which include setting up a diversity committee, equality and diversity training, setting up an action plan and making a diversity code.
St. Oliver’s was one of eight schools to be awarded the yellow flag at a ceremony at the button factory, Dublin last week. The awards ceremony was led by the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderic O’Gorman TD.
Receiving the school’s flag, fifth year student Tehzeeb Syed said: “I have seen first-hand how our collective voices can spark a meaningful change, whether it’s advocating for policies that promote diversity and inclusion or organising events that celebrate our cultural heritage, every action we take sends a powerful message.
“As an ethnic minority young person, my voice has been amplified in ways I never thought possible.”
Asked what it means when your school is awarded a yellow flag, Tehzeeb said “making people feel both welcomed and represented no matter what race or ethnic background they come from”.
Another student, Anne Mercy Ita, said “I feel like it has made a difference because without the yellow flag our school would not have had a cultural day which helped to spread awareness of other people’s cultures. It also got students to respect other people cultures”.
These two students had many positive things to say about their school community, however, as is with anything in life, there is always room for improvements.
Tehzeeb added: “I believe our school has made a huge amount of progress, but we’re not fully there yet. The progress we have made so far has had a huge impact on those who have felt unrepresented and unheard”.
Anne said: “I cannot say that our school has reached its peak potential when it comes to this issue, but I can say the steps that have been taken by the yellow flag committee and the school as a whole have improved cultural awareness tremendously”.
There are always going to be things we can do to make people of different race and ethnicity feel safer and more cared for in their community. Hopefully in the future St. Oliver’s will continue to take steps in creating a more welcoming and inclusive environment for their students.
Maybe in the near future other schools follow their lead and try their best to make a better school environment for their students, they may even gain a yellow flag of their own.
