What We Do
Daily Routine
The school opens at 8:50 a.m. where students are provided with the opportunity to have a cooked breakfast and can play pool, cards, or PlayStation. They can relax in an informal and caring atmosphere. Formal classwork begins at 10:00 a.m. when the students attend class with a student to teacher ratio of 8:1 .
Classwork amounts to approximately2.5-3 hours of the day. The students are provided with cooked dinner, with activities each afternoon. Activities are earned on the basis of classwork, behaviour, and attendance. Activities include: Swimming, Rec Area, Football, Darts, Guitar, Art, Pickleball, Class Games, Gardening, and trips out. The school closes at 2:30 p.m.
A code of conduct is in operation with a monetary merit system linked with appraisal and sanctions for work, behaviour, and attendance. Reward trips are given on a monthly basis, with the purpose of behaviour re-enforcement and/or modification.
Regular and daily attendance round ups are made by the school’s Family Therapist in order to promote regular attendance and good communication between school and home. This is done with the school minibus.
Before Christmas and Summer holidays, an Activity week is arranged on the basis of reward for effort made by students during the school year.
Behaviour Modification and Attendance Strategies
TCI
We use the Therapeutic Crisis Intervention model developed by Cornell University to manage challenging behaviour. All staff are trained and certified to help students develop new responses to challenging situations.
We follow a trauma-informed practice centred on preventing crises from occurring, de-escalating potential crises and teaching students adaptive coping skills in order to learn how to manage their own behaviour.
Attendance
House calls are carried out by our Family Therapist in order to promote regular attendance and good communication between home and school.
An attendance sub-committee is in place to determine additonal supports that may be needed to promote attendance.
Rewards
On a monthly basis there is an ‘Easy Day’, and/or a monthly reward trip for each class, for the purpose of promoting positive behaviour, achievement of classwork, and good attendance.
School Curriculum
We take in students aged 10-16 years old and as as a result span both primary and Junior Cycle curriculums based on ability. Each student has an Individual Support Plan with educational, social, emotional and behavioural learning targets.
English
Mathematics
Home Economics
Woodwork
Wellbeing: SPHE, PE, RSE
Art and Craft
Literacy
Numeracy