A Day in the Life
Children are free to move about school rooms or outside spaces as they like. They may join friends in a game carried through from yesterday, or go sit and read a book, or listen to one that someone has volunteered to read out loud. Adult staff members are available all day to help source resources or set up a designated class or to help when a student asks.
Free age mixing may see an 8 year old playing a board game with group of teens. Or a loud game of tag happening outside while another group is designing sets and storyboard for a Stop Motion video creation. Spaces are made available for playing music, listening to music, reading, gaming, movement play, woodworking, baking and cooking, food production and art, and there may be one or a group of students in each space.
We see lots of organising of projects. From designing costumes for a show, to a group of students practising in their newly formed band. Some enterprising students may be engaged in making products for sale, whether jewellery, pieces of art, comics, buns or cookies or working on the school newsletter.
Of course some children may stay engrossed in drawing and painting or building Lego, role playing with figures, building dens and spend all day alone, at these activities. Because of the freedom to move and engage, other peers or adults may be called over to help with a part of a project – to read this part of the instructions, to help reach branches onto the top of a den, or to take something out of the oven. Students may be collected from school between 2:30 and 3:30pm.
Further Education Opportunities
There are a number of ways to enter into 3rd level education in Ireland. We can facilitate students who wish to study for the Leaving Certificate. Then they will need to be registered externally with a secondary school to sit the exams. A Level Exams can be taken online. Open University is another online platform that allows students to gain qualifications.
Alternatively, students can graduate from our school when they are ready, and apply to complete a PLC or a QQI level 5, which do not need CAO exam points for acceptance. We can support students putting together a portfolio or preparing for an interview to their chosen course. Completion of a PLC or QQI can provide a qualification in its own right. Alternatively, students can transfer those points to CAO if they subsequently wish to attend university.
