Coiscéim

Welcome to Coiscéim! 

(Coiscéim means “Footprints” as Gaeilge) 

Keep up to date with what’s going on in Coiscéim here! 

Coiscéim is an area of the school dedicated to the teaching and learning of pupils with autism. It creates a bridge for children with a diagnosis of autism and a recommendation to attend a special class to access the mainstream classes. 

It all started with one special class in 2006/2007 and has since developed to a 4 classroom state-of-the-art facility which opened in 2012 with the new school building.   

In Coiscéim, we believe that there are no disabilities, only different abilities. We provide a warm and inclusive environment always striving to enable every child that come through our doors to fulfil their potential. 

Coiscéim follows an eclectic teaching approach by using a mix of methods in order to ensure our pupils access the Primary Curriculum at their own level.  We work with specific programs such as, TEACCH, ABA, Social Stories, Brain Calm, Positive Token/Reward systems, visual communication supports and Aistear. 

Our aim is to make our pupils’ school experience as positive as it can be by ensuring a friendly and supportive environment where achievements big and small are celebrated! 

Integration: We support inclusion by following the child’s lead to integrating to mainstream in line with their abilities. Coiscéim staff members work closely with mainstream teachers to ensure a successful process. 

In Coiscéim, reverse integration is also carried out as part of our inclusion program to benefit all the students. This involves bringing different pupils from the mainstream classes to Coisceim for specific parts of the day. The goal is to develop awareness, encourage social engagement for all and to learn from each other.

Social Outings:  Coiscéim provides regular and varied social outings throughout the year, to support the development of social and life skills to each pupil. These may be also used as rewards to support behaviour programs.  

Swimming:  We also offer a swimming program throughout the year for our students. This is an enjoyable physical activity that also provides opportunities to develop independence skills. 

July Provision:  We provide a school-based July Provision for our students during the first two weeks of July. We also try our best to support parents in finding home tutors for the last two weeks of July. 

Our Coiscéim Facilities 

There are 4 different classrooms which cater for the different class levels:  

Classroom A

Classroom B

Classroom C

Classroom D

In addition, we also have extra facilities including an O.T. room (opened 2018) and a Sensory room which were fundraised by staff in the school and many local

 businesses including Cobh Credit Union, Great Island Motors and Cobh Heritage Centre.  

The 4 special classes have access to an enclosed courtyard with one of the Communication boards kindly donated to the school by the family of Aine Byrne.  This courtyard is a great area where they can exercise, play and interact with other pupils in a safe manner.

We also have a Play Room/Aistear Room which enable our pupils to access aspects of the Aistear framework and practise play skills in a more structured setting. 

These outstanding facilities are used by the staff to support the pupils in developing gross & fine motor skills, play skills, language skills and social skills. They are also available to provide movement and sensory breaks for students attending the mainstream classes. 

Our Staff: 

We have a fantastic team of teachers and SNA’s with a wealth of experience who works day in and day out to meet the needs of their students. Continuous Professional Development is carried out by the staff in order to ensure the highest standard of teaching and learning. 

We also encourage the families in Coiscéim to engage with the school staff to offer feedback and suggestions.  

AUTISM FRIENDLY SCHOOL PROJECT

We are also now a participating school in the As I Am Autism Friendly Project School. The project will involve reflecting on the school practise, identifying challenges and solutions, creating an inclusive culture and building knowledge and understanding of autism amongst staff and students. 

The project aims to support schools in the provision of inclusive educational placements for autistic children and young people alongside specialist provision. It is designed to reaffirm good practice and support those wishing to foster a school culture that is inclusive of autistic students.