Jim our Caretaker carries out our ongoing maintenance. If you have any issues, your first point of contact is Jim. If there are queries in relation to cleaning please inform Andrea.

Anna Crowley - AP1 Post Holder

AP2 Post Holder ?

Mike White - AP2 Post Holder

AP2 Post Holder ?

AP2 Post Holder ?

AP2 Post Holder ?

Entering doors at Main Entrance Reception : A fob will be issued to you by Andrea in the office. This will allow you to move around the school. Fobs should not be given to children.

Lift- the lift is only for use by members of staff and students with prior approval from senior management.

Ventilation- we require all windows to be open during the school day. Please remember to close these when leaving for the day. 

Photocopying should not take place during class time.

Printer inks are available in the secretary's office. Photocopying paper is located beside the printer. Please inform office if either is running low.

Ruth will send out a whole staff memo with reopening information before the first day also.

Breaks

Junior Infants to 2nd Classes 9.45 – 10.00am

3rd to 6th Classes 10.10 – 10.25am

Lunch

Junior Infants to 2nd Classes 11.30 – 11.55 am

3rd to 6th Classes 12.05 – 12.30pm

• Please go promptly to collect your class from the yard/hall afterwards.

• Staff go to the Staffroom and children go to the yard at break times.

• Give children a little lunch before the yard and encourage them to go to the toilet prior to exiting the classroom.

• Speak to your link teacher about the procedure regarding the route to and from yard (i.e. which door to enter and exit)

• Any queries on yard rota or procedures please ask Orla McCarthy.

• Yard duty rotas are located in the shared drive.

  
  

• On wet days children remain in classrooms.  School Policy is that children do not leave their places without permission when indoors for break (both small and big). On wet days children are given activities by the teacher for the big break (e.g. play with games, worksheets, watch a short clip on the whiteboard etc. 
  

• A copy of the yard duty list for teachers is available on the staff drive under timetables. When on duty arrive in the yard promptly, arrange with your partner as to which yard you are supervising. Please ensure you have a whistle for yard time.
  

• When on yard duty, you can arrange with the teacher next door to supervise your class and go to the staffroom to grab a cuppa. You can take 10 minutes at each break for this/or 20 minutes at one break.
  

• Yard Injuries - The Accident Book is kept outside the office. An account of serious accidents especially head injuries are to be written in by a teacher on duty and the first aid attendant may have to add to this account. If children are injured or not well send them into the reception area.  All bangs on head must be reported to the class teacher and office informed to ring parent if necessary. Parents will be informed of any head injuries via the office. If you have any health and safety queries, please contact Orla McCarthy.
  

• At the end of break, a teacher rings a bell. The children freeze and then one teacher on yard blows the whistle and then children move to their lines. Spend time at the start of the year teaching children about lining up and line up, stairwell and corridor etiquette.
  

• Any discipline problems should be reported to the class teacher.

Cuntas Miosuil: Monthly record kept. This should be put on the school Drive and kept in the teacher’s own planning folder. 

Matrix (Long term plans)- available for editing on the school Drive. Discuss these with your link teacher. SET teachers -your Student Support Files are your long term plans.

School Plans/Policies - For school planning, we all follow the same strands at certain times of the year in particular subject areas. E.g. PE. You plan with your class team so this will be something your link teacher will be able to guide you on.

Newly Qualified Teachers who wish to engage in the Droichead process should consult with the Droichead Professional Support Team. (Ruth, Orla, Rebecca and Emma)

Senior Infants to Sixth Class hold these after school in early November each year.

Junior Infant Meetings take place in January. 

Phone calls/Meetings can be set up to communicate with parents/guardians throughout the year. 

Notes/Memo to parents are distributed on Aladdin weekly.

Remember parents should not find out in the end of year report that their child has been struggling etc. Regular communication is key and an end of year school report should not be a shock to any parent.

As a school we pride ourselves on our regular communication with parents. We like to be on a first name basis with parents/guardians and we take the time to get to know them and their families. 

In advance, all teachers should have an “Emergency Work Pack” available. Let your support teacher/ next door teacher know where this is kept. 

In advance, also leave a list of classes where children are to be sent on days we cannot get sub cover. Make sure you choose a teacher next door or SET teacher to split class.

Always make sure the other class teachers are aware of a split if it is a planned absence such as an EPV day.

Distribute children to classes on your own corridor (where possible keep it to your own class level).

SEN teachers should be informed where their children are sent in case of absence.

Pupil Phones and Smart Watches: Pupils are required to hand up mobile phones and smart watches at the beginning of the school day. These should be powered off. If a child uses their phone or smart watch during school hours they should be asked to hand them over and management should be notified. They are not allowed to have them on during school times. A parent/guardian will be contacted to collect the phone from the Principal.

*Pupils are not allowed to use phone in class for educational reasons (e.g. Kahoot)

To PE - Children should wear runners to take part in PE classes. Teachers should also wear trainers to comply with insurance regulations.  Every class is allocated a slot in the PE Hall. Some classes may be scheduled for GAA, Rugby or Swimming lessons (First and Second Classes) with UCD at some stage throughout the year. 

We have a Healthy Eating policy so no chocolate, crisps, fizzy drinks, sweets, crisps, juices etc. The only drinks allowed are milk and water.

Allergies: Be mindful that we are a 'nut free' school and that there may be specific allergies within the class. Find out on Aladdin if anyone in your class has any allergies and talk to any parents of these children to check if their child should have an epi-pen in the room. Talk to Orla McCarthy if you have any further queries on this. 

Fruit/milk are distributed in a basket daily. Distribute according to demand. Send back any leftover fruit/milk to reception at 12.30.

See Healthy Lunch Policy attached.

This is done only through Aladdin. Please ask Ellen to set up a link for payment. This is monitored by the school office. 

Our aim is to create a safe, inclusive and nurturing environment for the children in our classes.

We use a holistic and child-centred approach to teaching and learning to support the individual needs of our pupils. We adopt a range of strategies and approaches to support all aspects of development, prioritising areas such as, communication and language, social and emotional well-being and independent life skills. A wide range of assessment tools are utilised to identify the individual strengths and areas for development of each child, to ensure that they flourish and reach their full potential. 

Second to Sixth Class are located at first floor level along with our Library and Staff Room. SET classes are split over both floors.

The School WhatsApp group and the Social WhatsApp group. 

• The School WhatsApp Contact groups are set up by Senior Management with the Senior Management team Representative acting as the Administrator/as one of the Administrators for each  group. 
  

• These groups are intended to facilitate communication by staff in relation to staff matters. 
  

• The Social Committee may communicate upcoming social events, via the social group.
  

• Messages posted on School WhatsApp Contact Groups should always be respectful in language and tone.
  

• Any opinions expressed are the opinions of individual members and may not be representative of the whole group or the Parents’ Council. Group administrators are not responsible for any comments posted by individual members of the group.
  

• School WhatsApp group may not be used to post inappropriate posts.  Such posts include posting personal and/or business promotions, using inappropriate language, or voicing grievances about any individual members of the group.
  

• These groups are not appropriate for airing issues around teaching methods, teaching staff, or school policy. Please deal with the school or teacher directly if you have an issue.
  

• Please note that the school has a strict child protection policy on photographs and videos, so please do not circulate any in which a pupil appears unless that image has already appeared on the school website or Twitter account, or you have received the permission of the students’ parents to do so or the permission of the students themselves if they are over 18.
  

• All communication in a WhatsApp Contact Group is considered private and should not be disseminated outside that group by any individual member without permission.
  

• For individual concerns regarding pupil performance, school policies etc, please raise these directly with the teacher or, where necessary, the School Principal.

Here are some recommendations on how ANA's and class teachers can collaborate effectively:

• Define roles and responsibilities

• Regular communication where possible meeting in the morning informally, discussing plans for the day.

• Meeting informally at the end of the day, 

• What worked effectively?

• What did not work effectively?

• What can we do to improve?

• Create a respectful and positive classroom culture Engage in training

Further details will be sent in the staff bulletin.

All contact with Kids Inc is via the Senior Management Team or the Office.

If the PA need to be in the school it will be noted in the weekly memo or WhatsApp group.

Ellen and Andrea will redirect emails from parents to teachers’ email addresses. In this way, parents will no longer have direct access to teachers’ email addresses.

This system operated well prior to Covid to ensure that emails coming through the school office were in keeping with our expectations for respectful communication within our school community. It is our hope that this practice will ensure that all emails arrive to teachers’ inboxes during appropriate working hours only. Finally, the practice will ensure that a record of written communication with parents/ guardians is maintained on the Aladdin system.  

There is no expectation to attend to emails outside reasonable working hours. We aim to respond to parent emails within two working days. New staff to the school should initially ask Ruth to check all email/ written communications with parents before sending.

Main entrance :

Junior Infants

4th Class

Purple door:

Senior Infants,

1st Class

5th Class

6th Class

Blue door:

2nd Class

3rd Class

Main entrance:

Junior Infants

4th Class

Purple door:

Senior Infants,

1st Class

5th Class

6th Class

Blue door:

2nd Class

Green Door :

3rd Class

We have a kitchen rota for emptying and turning on the dishwasher. It is posted on our fridge in the kitchen.Two staff members are assigned to this duty each week. We ask that all staff members contribute to a clean and tidy kitchen that we all can enjoy.

The core elements of the updated Code remain unchanged from the 2nd edition published in 2012. The Code also has an important legal standing and will be used by the Council as a reference point in Fitness to Teach investigations. The Council has updated the 2nd edition of the Code to reflect some recent amendments to the Fitness to Teach provisions of the Teaching Council Acts 2001-2015, and a new section, entitled ‘Complaints relating to registered teachers’, has been added.

In line with best practice and Department of Education guidelines, our school regularly reviews all policies to ensure they remain relevant, effective and up to date. Policies are reviewed on a planned and timely basis using our policy tracker.

Policy review is a collaborative process. Initial reviews take place at staff meetings, where teachers discuss policies and suggest updates based on classroom practice and school priorities. We value and actively seek input from pupils, parents and other relevant stakeholders, as their voices help to shape policies that reflect the needs of our whole school community.

Following consultation, policies are presented to the Board of Management for review, ratification and adoption. Once ratified, policies are communicated to the school community and implemented across the school.

Policies are located in the shared drive, alonside the tracker.