On the 16th of March, CPC were honoured to be crowned the first ADHD Friendly school in Ireland.
At the start of this school year we had the goal of upskilling as many staff as possible in the area of ADHD. The first step towards achieving this goal was to facilitate some whole staff CPD with ADHD Ireland, the quality of which inspired a group of staff to pursue additional training – the Champion Teacher Training. We are very proud to have worked with ADHD Ireland and to have completed the pilot of their new School Accreditation Programme which is now ready to be delivered nationwide. In what has been a challenging time for education we are delighted to be making progress in this area and to be able to provide a more comprehensive and inclusive experience to our students.
In CPC we talk a lot about the importance of respect and relationships and there is no better way to build those relationships than to dedicate time to understand our students and then to work together as a whole staff to meet their needs. Behind the scenes we have a very committed SEN partnership who have encouraged and supported all our staff in expanding their knowledge and developing new skills. Our mission statement emphasises the importance of caring relationships within which we hope our students learn the true meaning of inclusive community by accepting their differences and acknowledging their mutual interdependence. Our involvement in the ADHD School Accreditation Programme (SAP) shows how we always strive to be an inclusive community, accepting everyones differences and individuality.
“We were determined to start this programme for our students, we wanted to understand ADHD and get the tools to support them in their educational journey” said Aimee Kelly, Junior Cycle Special Educational Needs Coordinator.
“We are more confident now to accommodate our students with ADHD and we can recognise their needs, plus we see the difference in boys and girls with the condition, that is a great ability when you want to provide equal education opportunities to all your students” said Madeline Scully Senior Cycle Special Educational Needs Coordinator.
We are confident in recommending this programme that was designed to include teachers, SNAs and parents within the process. The main goal of the project is to provide an understanding of the needs of young people with ADHD and to give practical information. The project is delivered throughout the school year, via online training delivered by industry professionals from ADHD Ireland and the ADHD Foundation (UK).
Additionally, parents/carers are invited to join private sessions on ADHD Ireland as the aim is to have everyone involved in the young people’s lives to be informed and educated to help benefit them in all aspects of their lives.
Like many of lifes most worthwhile endeavours this has been a project that was filled with the spirit of ‘le cheile’, it relied on our collaboration to succeed and will be an ongoing journey for our school community.
