Irish Secretary of State for Education and Youth, Michael Moynihan TD paid a visit on 9 May to the ASN facilities at Raploch Community Campus (Raploch PS and Nursery and Castleview PS) in addition to Our Lady’s RC PS and the Ochil House ASN facility within Wallace High School. The Secretary of State and policy officers met with pupils, parents and members of staff across each setting to gain insight into the delivery model of education for pupils with ASN within Stirling.
'A shining example'
This followed a previous visit of the Raploch campus led by the Irish Education Ministry, which took place in March, where officers highlighted how the setting is a model of community partnership working by providing support for children within a shared space while keeping their own identities as individual schools.
The visit and discussions with staff are hoped to inform similar implementation of ASN education in Ireland’s schools.
Children and Young People Convener, Cllr Danny Gibson said: “It’s high praise indeed for Stirling’s ASN education provision to have been able to warmly welcome international visitors from the Irish Government.
Providing a model of ASN education that works for pupils is a team effort and I must thank our hard working and dedicated staff, parents and members of the wider community for their input in helping to make our settings such a shining example of good practice.”
'Warm welcome and useful insights'
Irish Secretary of State for Education and Youth, Michael Moynihan TD, commented, “It was great to visit a number of locations under Stirling Council’s remit to see first-hand the wonderful work being done to support children with additional support needs. Each country is working to support children with additional needs as best as they can, and it is always beneficial to see how different jurisdictions approach this area.
“What was clear from our visits to Stirling was the high-quality support being offered to children and families. The warm welcome received, and the insights offered were most useful. From teachers, support staff to the wider school communities, I was very impressed how integrated the specialist provision is. There are definitely lessons we can learn and apply in an Irish context.”