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Eglish National School

Eglish, Ahascragh, Ballinasloe, Co. Galway

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EUROPEAN DEVELOPMENT PLAN

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School Profile

Eglish N.S. is a co-educational primary school located in a rural setting approximately 3km from the village of Ahascragh in Co. Galway. The school dates from 1899.There are 40 students enrolled in the school taught by 3 Mainstream Teachers, 2 Resource Teachers and 1 Learning Support Teacher.2 SNAsare employed in Eglish NS.There is a high incidence of pupils with learning difficulties and Special Education Needs in the school.A significant number of the students in Eglish NS come from the Travelling Community (approximately 50%) all of whom would not have been in a Pre-School setting prior to coming to Primary School.

Although presently, we have students of only a few different cultures enrolled in our school

intercultural education is valued with diversity being recognised, valued and embraced.We are very mindful that we are preparing our students to be citizens of a multi-cultural society. There is also diversity as regards socio-economic backgrounds and special needs.

School Ethos and Mission Statement of Eglish National School

Eglish NS is a Catholic School in which children from all backgrounds are welcome and taught inclusively.“Each child, regardless of ability, shall be enabled to achieve his/her fullest potential, at his/her own rate. The school shall provide a safe, friendly and hospitable atmosphere in which pupils will be encouraged to develop all of their talents and become confident, capable adults, well-prepared to meet the challenge of a rapidly changing society”.

Due regard shall be given to social as well as academic development.We hope to promote awareness of our cultural heritage and to contribute to the life of the community.

European Context

Eglish NS was involved in a Comenius Schools’ Partnership Programme from 2011-2013 during which collaborative projects were carried out with schools in Spain and Italy.In 2013 and 2014, we were awarded the ‘Blue Star’ European flag for fostering a greater awareness of the EU amongst our students.In 2013-14, our school hosted a Comenius Assistant from Normandy, France.The students of the Senior Room study French for approximately 30 mins a week.Currently, we have been successful in our Erasmus + applications, KA1 – Staff Training (2 year) and KA2 – School Partnerships (3 years).We will be working together with schools in 7 other EU countries on the topic of ‘Invaders’.

We take every opportunity to celebrate diversity in our school and the best way to promote intercultural education and active European citizenship is to provide opportunities for promoting inclusion, friendship and equality.

Activities Undertaken to Date

Eglish has in the past few years:

  • Held a European Cultural Day
  • Celebrated European Day and a Hand shake across Europe on May 9th
  • Painted the flags of the EU on the wall of our shelter
  • Have skyped schools in Spain and Italy
  • Has taken part in the ‘Show Racism the Red Card Project 2014.
  • Hosted a Comenius Assistant in 2013-2014
  • Had children writing pen-pal letters to children in a Spanish school
  • Communicated and liaised with other European schools through the eTwinning Portal

Current Needs & Plans to Address Them

Following a needs analysis, Eglish has identified the following needs and

programmes to meet those needs and challenges:

  • To develop further co-operation with schools in Europe (School partnerships)
  • Upskilling and training is not widely available due to cutbacks. Also, training events in Ireland tend to attract similar teachers who have similar experiences.(Attending training events with a diverse group of European teachers will meet this need as part of the Erasmus + Programmes).Staff to avail of Courses and Training in other European Countries in the areas of School Management, PISA, Special Needs, Drama and Story Telling to share and learn about new methodologies and best practise from our European colleagues.
  • The need to provide opportunities to continue to promote multiculturalism so that all the ethnicities and cultures of the children in our school can be recognised and celebrated so that all children feel empowered. (School Partnerships, Blue Star and Christmas Tree Programme with Europe Direct)
  • Promote active European citizenship. (SESE, SPHE and Erasmus+)
  • Need for staff and students to avail of further European Language Learning opportunities and for staff to study Language Teaching methodologies.(Avail of courses in Ireland and / or abroad.Explore option of inviting ‘Foreign Language Teacher’ into school)
  • Visits from staff of European schools will enable the children to experience other languages at first hand and see the practical value of learning other European languages (Erasmus + Programmes)
  • To develop ICT skills Partnerships with other schools will open the door to use the IT facilities for communication with European partners (Erasmus + Programmes and Europe Direct at local library)
  • Be open to visits form members of our local community with European Languages and / or experiences of using them.

School Guidelines for Mobility for Training & School Partnership

  • Institutions that best match Eglish NS’ needs and wants will be identified for partnerships
  • In selecting staff for participation in these activities the school will appoint one

teacher as co-ordinator to facilitate the mobility programme on behalf of the

school.Participation in mobility will be offered to all staff. The selection of those for the various mobilities will be carefully chosen to ensure the involvement of (i) a range of experience in teaching careers, (ii) a mixture of class teachers and special education teachers (iii) gender equality (iv) middle or/and senior management personnel is represented.The co-ordinator or legal representative will take part in each mobility.

  • Staff attending Training abroad will be given the opportunity to feedback and share the learning with the rest of the staff at Staff Meetings.
  • In selecting students to travel as mobilities, the following procedure will be followed.Participation in mobility will be offered to all students.Where more students are interested than the limited number for a trip, priority will be given to (a) students in 6th Class who have not had the opportunity with the school before, (b) students in 6th Class who will not get the opportunity with the school again, (c) students in the Senior Room who have not had the opportunity with the school before, (d) other students in the Senior Room.
  • One parent per family will be welcome to put his / her name forward to take part in a mobility.A maximum of 2 parents will travel on each mobility.
  • Each family whose child / children will have the opportunity to travel abroad during the duration of the project are asked to pay a once off payment of €50.
  • When going on mobility, all relevant contact details of the host agency / school will be left in the school with the Principal or Deputy Principal.A copy will also be made available to the Chairperson of the Board of Management in case of emergency.
  • Cultural events will be attended abroad and provided in the case of mobility to

Ireland to help the experiencing of European cultures

  • Dissemination and reporting is mandatory at the completion of the mobilities.

We believe that the needs identified in this European Development Plan can best be addressed through the Erasmus+ programme and that the benefits will be lifelong and rewarding.

We believe that the needs identified in this European Development Plan can best be

addressed through the Erasmus+ programme and that the benefits will be lifelong and

rewarding.

April 2015.


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