This school follows the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) Guidelines for Pupils with General Learning Disabilities. These guidelines have educational aims for all pupils:
- To nurture each child in all dimensions of his/her life
- To enable each child to live a full life and to realise their full potential through access to a broad and balanced curriculum
- To ensure that all pupils' needs and abilities can be addressed, the curriculum guidelines specify three levels of attainment:
- Attending – pupils who are learning to attend, listen and watch
- Responding – pupils who are learning to respond and react to things they feel, hear, see etc.
- Initiating – pupils who are learning to do things on their own
The subject areas laid out in the curriculum are:
- Communication and Language
- Mathematics/ Thinking skills
- Social, Environmental and Science Education (SESE)
- Music/ Visual Arts/Drama
- Physical Education
- Social, Personal and Health Education
Below is a brief outline of the main aims of each subject area of the curriculum
Communication and Language
- to learn to use the senses to become more aware of people, objects and activities in the environment
- to learn to indicate needs and desires
- to learn to communicate with intention
- to make everyday choices
- to learn to use a functional or augmentative system of communication e.g. Lámh signs, objects of reference, picture-symbols etc
Mathematics/ Thinking Skills
- to learn to act purposefully on the environment
- to understand the idea of cause and effect e.g. “I made that happen”
- to develop an awareness of sequence in activities, the daily or weekly routine
- the beginning of awareness of numbers and patterns
- early problem-solving
SESE (Social, Environmental and Science Education)
- History:
- sense of passage of time throughout the day, week, year
- sense of own personal history
- learning to recall special personal events through stories, photos and video
- Geography:
- Activities to help find way around familiar environment
- to learn to associate different places with different activities
- to develop an awareness of weather and seasonal changes
- Science:
- to develop an awareness of plants and animals in the environment
- to develop an awareness of elements such as hot and cold, bright and dark, heavy and light
Visual Arts
- to have fun and explore a variety of attractive materials and equipment
- to use the senses to explore and appreciate the beauty of the natural environment
Music
- to listen to and appreciate sounds in the environment
- to enjoy making sounds and performing
Drama:
- to participate, take a turn and cooperate in group activities
- to improve sensory awareness through experiencing a wide range of costumes, props, stories and poetry
Physical Education
- to control and coordinate body movement
- to learn to use new fine and gross motor skills
- activities include physiotherapy, cycling, walking, standing, stretching, holding, reaching, dancing, swimming etc.
SPHE (Social, Personal and Health Education)
- Myself – how I look and what I can do
- Myself and Others – my family and my friends
- Myself and the Wider World – my school, my local community
