Additional psychological services will need to be provided for Ukrainian students in Clare schools when the trauma of the illegal invasion of their country really sets in.
That’s the view of new Ennistymon Community School principal, Orla Conway, who believes more back-up services will have to be made available to help schools cope with the devastating impact of the war.
“It is like a bereavement for them at the moment. They are numb. When reality sets in autumn and we start heading in to winter the trauma will come then.
“That is when we will really need to be ready for this in schools in September, October and November. That is why having strong pastoral care systems in schools is so important.
“We are all traumatised from the war. Children in schools already have a level of trauma post Covid-19, they may have lost loved ones and the fear it may happen again.
The Ennistymon Electoral Division has the highest number of Ukrainians compared with any other ED in the country.
Ms Conway said it would not be appropriate to start counselling Ukrainian students just before the school closed because it couldn’t be continued during the summer months.
“Young people’s mental health services are hugely overwhelmed at the moment. Schools are bridging this gap. We have excellent guidance counsellors and pastoral care systems to ensure we are meeting the emotional, social, behavioural and academic. Schools are a safe haven for students.”
Six Ukrainian students were enrolled in Ennistymon Vocational School before Easter. This increased to 46 by the second week in May. They were inducted slowly with wellbeing supports and sport to help ease their transition into a new environment.
This is in addition to about 25 Ukrainian students in Scoil Mhuire and 20 in Ennistymon CBS.
“There is a large cohort of Ukrainians in Ennistymon Vocational School because I felt passionate we should accommodate them. The three schools had capacity to take them.”
She said that organisations like REALT that comes under the auspices of the Clare and Limerick Education Training Board have been excellent helping with transport and other logistical issues getting Ukrainians from various locations including Ennis to Ennistymon.
Regional Education and Language Teams (REALT) are hosted by the regional education and training boards around Ireland and staffed by regionally based education support personnel.
The primary role of the REALT is to build on existing regional education support structures and the initial focus will be on assisting families in securing school places.
Overcoming the language barrier following the addition of Ukrainian students was another challenge that Ennistymon schools had to overcome.
The three schools were allocated a Ukrainian teacher who is qualified to teach English and some teachers in Ennistymon Vocational School are also teaching English to their new students.
She described the response from the Ennistymon community following the arrival of Ukrainian refugees as “amazing”.
“We got loads of donations of uniforms and school bags following an appeal. The priority was to keep the Ukrainian students safe and give them routine because a lot of them are living in hotel rooms. They have all settled in exceptionally well and are very happy in the schools.
“We put local student mentors in place who looked after the Ukrainian students exceptionally well. They take them to their class and our staff have been brilliant with them.
“There are number of summer programmes taking place in the three schools for Ukrainian students.
“The teachers in all three schools have been amazing.”
She praised the response of people who were asked to help the Ukrainian refugees such as bus inspector, Ger Dolan, who went beyond the call of duty to resolve transport issues.
East Clare correspondent, Dan Danaher is a journalism graduate of Rathmines and UL. He has won numerous awards for special investigations on health, justice, environment, and reports on news, agriculture, disability, mental health and community.