ST TOLA’S National School has been praised in the Dáil for providing an example of how students with disabilities should be catered for. During the course of a debate on the provision of education for children with special needs, Clare TD Cathal Crowe said, “I will commend St. Tola’s National School in Shannon on being one of two schools in the country that has a multi-disability class. “The body politic always talks about ASD units, and that is so important, but it is only one disability across a spectrum of disabilities. The model in St. Tola’s is one we need to replicate throughout the country.” St Tola’s opened its class for pupils with multiple disabilities in May, with over €250,000 having been spent on providing a prefab and facilities for the children. At the time of the opening, school principal Mary Dunlea Fitzgerald said, “The children have multiple disabilities so they have challenges in relation to communication and movement and …
Read More »Invasion of the Vikings in Ennis
ENNIS has been invaded by Vikings. However, this time it is not gold these Vikings were after but knowledge of how to set up Family Learning classes. 24 Norwegians visited Clare Family Learning Project work last week with their ultimate goal to set up Family Learning programmes in their region in Norway similar to what is being done locally in Clare. While here, the group gained valuable ideas through visiting classes in action, meeting parents who have already attended classes, and meeting family learning tutors and the partners that Clare Family Learning Project work with. The visitors from Nedre Eiker Municipality in Norway included 11 adult education teachers, two primary school principals, three kindergarten teachers, the head of all schools and kindergartens in the region, a volunteer co-ordinator, a cultural leader, a pedagogical leader and others interested in the notion of family learning. Principal of the Adult Learning Centre in Nedre Eiker Elizabeth Engeset visited the Clare Family Learning Project …
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