St Ultan's Primary School
St Ultan's have four classes for children with Autism and a beautiful nurture room.
St Ultan’s Primary School is a co-educational primary school in Dublin in Cherry Orchard, Dublin 10. The school is DEIS Band 1 with an Integrated Care and Education Campus. This means as well as their primary school they also have a Care Support Service and Early Years Service. Website: www.stultans.ie
The school engages with many innovative practices to encourage student agency, leadership and voice including circle and feelings check-in, policy reviews of playground design and their homework policy. The school develops the pillar of empathy as the whole school staff are trained in restorative practice, have regular visits from their emotional support dog Griffen, regularly visit their nurture room and have developed zones of regulation in their schools.
The pillar of creativity is also extraordinarily strong in the school with regular visiting artists and a whole school music programme entitled the Presto Music Project. Each child participates in music lessons, including violin from 1st class upwards. The students participate in the Presto Orchestra and have completed National Concert Hall performances.
The school engages significantly with the SDGs in particular:
End poverty – Specific campus interventions through education with local agency support link and care service on campus.
End hunger & improve nutrition: The school has a breakfast club, serves daily school dinners, and grow food in the Cherry Orchard Community Garden.
Ensure inclusive & quality education for all & promote lifelong learning: The school has a partnership with Barnardo’s for Literacy Intervention – Wizards of Words. Parental education courses are also provided on campus.
Ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all:
Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls:
Local and inspirational role models are invited to the school (Sports women, Bean Gardaí, Artists)
Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment & decent work for all: Where possible vacancies on campus are filled from the local community.
Promote just, peaceful, and inclusive societies: Use of restorative practice in conflict situations and training in Nonviolent Communication is available to all parents.
The school engages also with many issues to develop a school culture for and of social justice. the school have many charity partners including Focus Ireland, Barnardo’s, Laura Lynn, Ballyfermot/Chapelizod Disability Action, Autism Awareness Week. There is much work carried out in the school in collaboration with the community and the Gardaí. The school also has a partnership with the local equine centre.
St Ultans is a very innovative and proud DCU Changemaker School engaging also in much research and networking with teachers, students, and school principals.