Staff & School Planning

Scoil Íosagáin is actively engaged in the process of School Planning

This involves drawing up whole school policies for each area of the Curriculum and school organisation. Staff plan together on a collaborative basis every week to ensure the effective delivery of all aspects of the curriculum and to ensure that all pupils have access to all curricular areas. In the event of a teacher being absent, a substitute teacher will be provided with the appropriate short-term and long-term plans to continue with the teaching and learning.

Staff members attend training courses and seminars organised by the Donegal Education Centre, the National Council for Special Education and OIDE (the Professional Development Service for Teachers), and benefit from school-based training in the area of IT throughout the year. Staff members also share expertise and best practice in a supportive, co-operative working environment.

We have organised annual Summer Courses looking at a range of curricular areas. We have compiled our own archive of local history resources. We have also compiled sets of reading books for all pupils, all abilities and all classes. We have recently focused on Social Personal and Health Education (SPHE) and received training on Mind Up, a programme that teaches us about how our brains work and helps us to be mindful by using relaxation techniques and “Brain Breaks”.

We continue to work on the implementation of the Language Curriculum, focusing on the development of Oral Language both in English and Irish. A School Improvement Plan for Literacy was implemented as part of the Government’s National Strategy to promote best practice in the teaching and learning of literacy and mathematics. This has resulted in the provision of guided reading material that ensures that all children are reading high-quality books that meet their ability and interest levels. After concentrating resources in Senior Infant classes we have followed on by investing heavily in reading materials across all classes.

Our most recent focus in Language/Literacy is on the area of comprehension. One initiative that we have introduced is “One School, One Book” project. The initiative has a three-pronged aim:

  1. To strengthen our whole-school approach to Literacy planning.

  2. To explore the huge potential of a Picture book in assisting / experimenting with Primary Language Curriculum (PLC) planning

  3. To help embed the 4 pillars of our Changemaker identity in a whole-school fashion

So how will it work?

Across this school year, every class from Junior Infants to 6th Class, including our Special Classes, will be given the opportunity to engage with the same picture book over the course of 1 week. Children will engage with the text in school (for Literacy, Art, Drama, SPHE etc.) and they take the book home for reading every night, reading with/to their parent. Books we have recently read are “The Invisible” by Tom Percival and “Fox and Son, Tailers” by Paddy Donnelly.

We now also provide a graded reading programme in Irish. The programme, “Ar Aghaidh Linn ag Léamh” has been described by the School Inspector as “highly praiseworthy”. The Board of Management funds training around specific areas relating to Special Education and school organisation and works closely with the National Council for Special Education. Staff members recently completed training in “Positive Handling”.

Our provision for pupils with Special Educational Needs has grown substantially. School Management and staff have become increasingly involved in working with professionals in the area of Health, as planning of a multidisciplinary nature is essential to ensure that pupils meet their learning potential. Individual Education Plans are prepared for all pupils with Special Educational Needs.

We will continue to plan strategically, through the process of School Self-evaluation, in areas of curriculum development and school organisation in the years ahead.