Our School is a non denominational day school under the Department of Education. It caters for children with a physical disability who require an individual education programme. It is an equal opportunities school in which pupils may pursue the regular primary school programme at their own pace.

There is also a special programme for children with learning disabilities. The aim of this curriculum is to provide a suitable training for functional and meaningful everyday living.

The three main areas are -

     Communication and Language Skills

     Personal and Social Development

Each element of the programme is individualised. There is a great emphasis on life skills and independence training. Great care is taken to ensure that the environment is an educational one. The small numbers in each class facilitate the adaptation of the programme to the ability of each child. The focus is on ability rather than disability.

Pupils may attend between the ages of four and eighteen, for short-term or long-term periods. Some students transfer to their local schools. Others complete their primary programme with us and then transfer to outside post primary schools. Other pupils remain with us for their post-primary years. At post-primary level, pupils may take a modified Junior Certificate examination and prepare for foundation level N.C.V.A. Certificates. There is a wide programme which incorporates a social and prevocational training element. This is intended to prepare for work or work training within a variety of settings.

There is also an opportunity to develop leisure time activities which are needed for future living. There is close contact with many schools in our area. We have a School Links Programme with two of them, involving joint classes. Pupils attending the school are entitled to free transport and a mid-day meal. Children in the school have available to them the full range of therapies i.e. physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy together with the services of psychologists, social workers, nursing staff and special needs assistants.

The combined skills of the educationalists, therapists, psychologists and others is very important to the overall development of the child and enables him/her to make the best progress while attending the school. Children may avail of all the services provided within the centre, where prescribed, including the hydrotherapy swimming pool. Vocational Officers from the National Rehabilitation Board liase closely with the older pupils, advising them of future prospects of work or training. The board also offers a modified school's psychological service and a counselling service.

The single most important factor about the school is it's ethos. There is an acceptance of difference, of each child's right to be treated with dignity and respect, while aiming to achieve his/her potential. The school works in close partnership with parents, realising that the teacher is in loco parentis. The school also works closely with the clinic staff so that good physical practices are incorporated into the children's daily routine. In some of the classrooms clinic staff work alongside the teaching staff.

Curriculum

The curriculum offered in the school includes:

Academic Programme:

• English, Language Development, Reading, Writing 
• Mathematics, Arts and Crafts, Religion, Gaeilge 
• Social and Environmental Studies, History, Civics, Geography
• Music, Physical Education, Domestic Science

Vocational and Life Experience Programme:

• Typing, Computer Studies, Media Studies 
• Mobility Training, Social and Pre-Vocational Training 
• Swimming, the Stay Safe Programme 
• Human Relationships Programme.