English
Communication is central to a child’s development and very important in helping them make sense of their world. We encourage speaking and listening in a variety of situations to develop children’s competence and confidence. This happens in a variety of situations for example through drama, play and all other areas of the curriculum. To support this the school follows the National Literacy Strategy at key stages 1, 2 and 3, and we are resourced to follow the programmes of study for key stage 4. All sites have wellstocked libraries in addition to book trolleys on the wards whereby children and young adults have easy access to a broad range of age appropriate reading materials. All children across the school have access to language both through the Literacy Hour and other curriculum subjects. We use a wide range of fiction and information texts.

click here to see English work by children in our school

How we support children with English as an additional language
We encourage all pupils to speak, write and become fluent in English. In this way they have access to all subjects in the National Curriculum and enjoy more fully the many outings and art and music based activities on offer. There is a wide range of visual, aural and general activities for children for whom English is an additional language. An EAL teacher specialises in programmes geared to individual pupils. The programme covers all levels from beginner to advanced, across the Primary and Secondary curriculum. Computer programmes, CDs, tapes, Internet sites, and Video Conferencing have proved to be great incentives. Whole family involvement is encouraged. Using recording and laptop based writing, pupils progress at their own pace. Among the staff a variety of languages are spoken from Irish to Hindi.