About Us
Research
This school project has arisen from the desire to enhance educational outcomes for young people and provide a meaningful alternative to mainstream schooling in addressing serious issues. Our model and approach are evidence-based, and the positive outcomes that have emerged from them have been extensively researched:
Mental Health
Numerous research projects document growing concerns about young people’s mental health. For instance, the “My World Survey 2” (Dooley et al., 2019), the second largest study on young people’s mental health in Ireland, has demonstrated a clear increase in depression and anxiety from 2012 to 2019. In 2019 40% of participants suffered from mild to very severe depression and 49% suffered from mild to very severe anxiety. The rising levels of stress and anxiety among young people have been linked to their lack of participation in schools (DVY, 2017, How was school today?), the pressure created by state examinations (DCY, 2017), and the decline in free play and control over their lives (Gray, 2010). Having a “good adult” in their lives who listens to and supports them is considered a significant protective factor (Dooley et al., 2019).
Of course, there are many other factors out of school affecting young people’s mental health. However, our school model and its pedagogical and relational approaches focus on fostering well-being, emotional regulation, sense of control and emotional intelligence. WDS, by adopting a markedly different approach to student/adult relationships, participation, evaluation, and play, strives to be a decisive protective factor:
Students report trusting staff members and deeply valuing their relational and caring approach.
Parents report very significant improvements in their children’s well-being. For instance: “Every month our daughter was getting more relaxed, happy, smiley. All stress, depression, and darkness gone. She was so happy to come to school, which was very unusual for us…”. Staff members and parents have observed numerous instances of transformative experiences for children, who arrived at the school with a high level of social anxiety and, after a few months, start fully engaging, playing and learning with others, and thriving.
A critical study by the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre (UCFRC) at the University of Galway, evaluating 24 “out of school” projects funded by the Social Innovation Fund Ireland’s Education Fund (Forkan et al., 2025) highlights their focus on well being as the primary enabler of learners’ progresses and success.
Neurodiversity
Research studies have provided evidence of the challenges faced by neurodivergent students, particularly those who are autistic or have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), within Irish schools, as well as the shortcomings in inclusive practices. Autistic students describe their school experience as a “battle,” where they must conceal their autistic traits to avoid bullying or exclusion (Delimata & Byrne, 2023). The rights of autistic children are often misunderstood and undermined by school policies, and they are insufficiently consulted (Hanna, 2024). Students with ADHD perceive a lack of understanding and acceptance in schools (Lynch, 2017).
With approximately 60% of staff members and 70% of students identifying as neurodivergent, the WDS model and practices are fully informed by the lived experiences and needs of neurodivergent individuals, presenting a unique way of catering to neurodiversity. A significant number of Autistic students report being able to “unmask” and be themselves. A study funded by Research Ireland and co-designed with students is currently being conducted in the school to understand the neurodivergent students’ experience better, focusing on inclusion and agency, and to continue improving our practices. Autistic students’ parents report that WDS is a unique setting for their children to thrive and feel privileged to be able to access it when there is a lack of provision for neurodivergent students, especially at post-primary age.
Academic and employability skills
Concerns are rising regarding the inadequacy of the Leaving Certificate in preparing students for university and fostering essential skills such as critical and independent thinking, curiosity and open-mindedness, teamwork and collaboration, as well as using technology to enhance learning (O’Leary & Scully, 2018). Similarly, only 13% of Irish employers believe graduates are well-equipped to meet the demands of the future workforce, particularly in areas like communication, work ethic, teamwork, and problem-solving (O’Brien, 2020).
WDS offers an inquiry-led, deliberative, and participatory education that distinctively fosters these skills:
All classes are co-designed to emphasise inquiry and critical thinking. More on our approach here.
Free play is crucial in developing essential skills and it’s an important part of WDS students’ experience. Gray argues (2013) that human beings are “educable” animals with instinctive, innate drives pushing them towards educating themselves from childhood. He shows how children have inherited through evolution a solid drive to play, to learn the different skills they need to survive in the world. Children will play when allowed freedom and access to others to learn what they need to thrive.
WDS pedagogical approaches focus on meeting essential needs and fostering intrinsic motivation. Ryan and Deci (2020) have widely studied extrinsic and intrinsic motivation in educational contexts and designed the Self-Determination Theory (SDT) framework. This theory assumes that individuals are inherently predisposed to learning, growth, and connections but require supportive conditions to thrive and experience intrinsic motivation. The positive outcomes of practices enhancing autonomy have been extensively researched and documented (Ryan and Deci 2020).
Youth Civic Engagement
There is a perceived decline in the civic and political engagement of young people in Ireland (Chaskin et al., 2018; Brady et al., 2012) and other countries. This raises concerns, as citizen participation is important for the functioning of a healthy democracy. It also negatively impacts young people themselves by depriving them of opportunities to promote their welfare and challenge injustice as part of their personal development (Chaskin et al., 2018).
Students report their satisfaction of being part of the decisions that affect them: for example “Being in charge of different domains in the school can be really fun and empowering, we really get to choose what happens and if we don’t like something we can change that.”
WDS provides a robust model of education through and for democracy. With a highly consultative culture and numerous processes designed to encourage participation, WDS creates an environment where students learn to engage actively, advocate for change, and support their community. The most crucial aspect of civic education lies not in what students are taught, but in how they are taught.
Our graduates
After nine years of existence, WDS can demonstrate positive outcomes for young people, with all our graduating students progressing to Further and then Higher education or employment and reporting how helpful the development of strong communication, problem-solving, intrinsic motivation and critical thinking skills has been for them in their academic and professional pursuits.
While students can take the Leaving Cert (LC) in the school if they wish, most of our graduates have moved to Further Education and completed Level 5 courses – also known as PostLC courses, but accessible with no LC, and part of the QQI framework. They offer a recognised pathway to employment or Higher Education, with 90% of students finding employment or moving to higher education at the completion of their PLC courses (O’Brien, 2023).
Our graduates have undertaken studies in various fields such as sport sciences, biomedical or nutritional sciences, computer science, political science, forestry, economics, theatre, arts, music, culinary entrepreneur, real estate or philosophy. Students have consistently gone on to their first choice of third level institution and course, including highly regarded institutions like University College Dublin & Maynooth University.
References
Gray, P. (2013) Free to learn: why unleashing the instinct to play will make our children happier, more self-reliant, and better students for life. New York: Basic Books.
Ryan, R.M. and Deci, E.L. (2020) ‘Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation from a self-determination theory perspective: Definitions, theory, practices, and future directions’, Contemporary Educational Psychology, 61, p. 101860.