Support Teaching at Mercy Primary
“Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.” —Malcolm X
We are so fortunate to have a dedicated Support team who help our students to fulfil their academic, social, cultural and physical potential. Our team comprises of fantastic teachers with a range of knowledge and experience between them, along with the fabulous resources that we have.
Our Support team is highly qualified with regards to meeting the needs of Pupils with Special Educational Needs (SEN). An Individual Educational Plan is devised for each SEN pupil in our school. Pupils are also offered ‘Play Therapy’, ‘Art Therapy’ and ‘Music Therapy’ in Mercy Primary. We also provide learning support in language, literacy and mathematical skills to pupils who might need such assistance.
We support children from Junior Infants right through to 6th Class. Children selected for support are boosted to achieve to the best of their ability. Our aim in Learning support is to identify and remove any possible barriers to learning. We monitor children’s progress closely and then design a programme of suitable intervention accordingly.
Intervention lessons are delivered through hands-on games and experiences designed to make learning fun and easily accessible. The children develop their learning in literacy, mathematics and in developing positive social interactions in relaxed and stimulating surroundings. Below are some examples of Literacy, Numeracy and Aistear Interventions used at Mercy Primary. This list is not exhaustive.
Literacy
We have use a literacy intervention called Literacy Lift Off (LLO) from 1st class up to 6th class.
Following the success of Reading Recovery the LLO programme was devised so that more children could benefit from the Reading Recovery strategies. The children are divided into groups to ensure that they are working at an appropriate level with other children. Each group takes turns to participate at stations. The teachers adapt the activities of each station to the ability of the pupil in front of him/her. Each station lasts 15 minutes and then the children move to the next station. This is an intensive programme and it runs for eight weeks and aims to increase the reading and writing level of pupils, as well as their confidence and enjoyment around reading. The children also benefit from having 3 teachers in their classroom, running the stations.
We also work closely with vetted community volunteers to deliver further interventions i.e. Time to Read Initiative in conjunction with Galway City Council and ‘Business in Community’ initiative. Oral Language skills are a hugely important part of literacy development. It lays the foundation for reading and writing skills and children use it in all aspects of their education. It has a huge effect on reading comprehension and it is uniquely intertwined with overall reading development. We spend a lot of time working on oral language development at Mercy Primary School.
English as an Additional Language (EAL)
Here at Mercy Primary, we have various EAL teachers working with EAL learners and supporting them in accessing the, in addition to helping them acquire the survival everyday language needed in order to make friends, socialise and converse with peers and adults.
Our aim is to help them support the development of the language skills EAL learners need in and out of the classroom. Supporting EAL learners is so important and rewarding because when they start and continue with the right support in school and at home, they will be more likely to achieve and be more successful.
Our EAL teachers are outstanding teaching professionals who promote, stimulate and nurture a multilingual classroom where diversity is both welcomed and valued.
Numeracy
We use the Maths Recovery intervention programme strategies in small groups and in our mathematics classes. Resources and techniques used are colourful, memorable and proven to successfully increase results.
Pupils from 3rd to 6th Classes also participate in an award-winning, problem-solving maths programme called Izak9. This programme provides a shared learning environment rich in problem-solving, reasoning and fluency, where children can develop teamwork and resilience.
Pupils at Mercy Primary benefit from In-class Numeracy Intervention in the form of station teaching for blocks of 8 weeks where, similar to LLO, your child experiences ample opportunities at a more individual level to work on areas of difficulty as well as increase their mathematical confidence while benefiting from having 3 teachers in their classroom,running the stations.
At the more junior end of the school our pupils participate in Ready, Set, Go Maths programme (RSG). RSG is a numeracy programme recommended by the PDST, designed to enable children in Junior and Senior Infants to develop and consolidate their understanding of numbers through activities and interactive games.
The programme focuses on 4 main areas; Sorting, Relationships and Operations, Counting and Recognition Understanding Numbers.
First and Second classes participate in Maths Blast. Maths Blast is a maths programme focusing on the Number strand of the Maths curriculum. The children work at four different stations: Number Words and Numerals, Early Counting and Addition, Structuring Numbers 1-10 and Advanced Counting, Addition and Subtraction. The stations boost children’s confidence and ability in working with number through interactive and fun activities.
Aistear
Here at Mercy Primary we engage with the Early Childhood Curriculum Framework, Aistear. Play is one of the key contexts for children’s early learning and development. Through relationships in play, children develop and demonstrate improved verbal communication, high levels of social and interaction skills, creative use of play materials, imaginative thinking and problem-solving capacities.
Teachers plan for the play to enable the children’s learning using ‘Aistear’ as a curriculum framework for pupils from Junior Infants to 1st Class. The Aistear framework is based on 12 broad principles – many of which are similar to the aims and objectives of the primary school curriculum. Practically speaking this means that teachers will deliver the curriculum in an integrated / thematic way. Teachers will prioritise play in the classroom and school environment.
During ‘Aistear’ our teacher provides rich environments where the pupils given the opportunity to explore, touch, manipulate and experiment with a variety of real life and diverse materials. Children ask questions, make predictions and develop their thinking. They learn together and with others which develops social & moral development. The environment offers opportunities to actively explore, to work independently and with others, to make decisions and follow through on their ideas, to solve problems, to engage in real life activities and to experience co-operative, symbolic, dramatic or pretend play.
Cubbie
At Mercy Primary we are delighted to have The Cubbie Sensory Hub. This offers a sensory solution for people with autism, ADHD and other sensory processing disorders (SPD) and anxiety.
The Cubbie delivers a sensory programme specific to a person’s unique sensory needs, helping them regulate and better participate in school, work, and play activities. The Cubbie is easy to use, allowing each user to adjust LED lighting, sounds and visual effects to match their needs.
There are many wonderful features to Cubbie, including is a feature to choose how you feel before you use the Cubbie which pre-selects a programme for you based on the chosen emotion. After each session, you will be asked for feedback so that Cubbie knows if the programme that was chosen was appropriate.
Braincalm Programme
Pupils at Mercy Primary with SEN also participate in highly effective programme, Braincalm. This programme comprises of a set of daily specific physical exercises that calm and organise the brain (The Braincalm Intensive Programme).
The Braincalm programme helps the child in school to make the day easier for the child and also manage changes at home so the child is calm and can self-regulate outside of school. Braincalm is a simple, easy to follow new system that helps children with SEN become calm, in control of their emotions and behaviours and more focused
