Mayo school moves forward with plans to expand inclusive education facilities

Coláiste Pobail Acla is advancing plans to significantly expand its facilities, with a particular focus on improving provisions for students on the autism spectrum, School Principal Jason Ó Mongáin explains to The Mayo News.

The Gaeltacht secondary school, which serves 240 students from Achill, Mulranny, Ballycroy and increasingly Newport, has successfully completed the initial design phase with architects and is now awaiting Department approval before preparing to move into the planning stage.

"We are in the process now of seeking an extension to the school, and we've currently moved into stage two," Mr Ó Mongáin explained. "We've been through the design phase with the architects, we've submitted design applications, and the Department of Education has chosen a preferable design."

"We are very, very close to the stage where we actually are allowed to go to tender, and a contractor will be appointed, and a build happens," the principal said. The school is hoping to progress to planning next year.

Expanding Autism Support
The centrepiece of the expansion is the development of the school's existing ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) unit. "We cater for students who are on the autism spectrum, and it's to expand that unit and to improve facilities," Mr Ó Mongáin noted.

While the school already has a dedicated unit and an occupational therapy room, the new development will include a sensory garden designed to support students with additional needs.

The upper level of the extension will house additional general classrooms alongside specialist spaces, including a new art room, a new science room, and another textile room to complement existing facilities.

Bilingual Education in a Deis School
As both a Gaeltacht and Deis school, Coláiste Pobail Acla maintains a distinctive educational approach with notably small class sizes. "Some classes are just 12 students in some subject classes, some specific skills-based classes where their choices are allocated," the principal said.

The school offers a flexible approach to Irish-medium education. Subjects like CSPE (Civic, Social and Political Education) are available in both English and Irish from first year through to Junior Certificate. "It's based on the ability of the teacher to teach through the medium of Irish, and then the interest of the students," Mr Ó Mongáin explained.

He cited his own teaching as an example: "I'm an engineering teacher as well as principal, and we also have another engineering teacher here, but if students decide they have a really massive interest, and there were enough students to put on the class, I will teach engineering in first year, second year and third year through the medium of Irish."

Currently, the ratio of students choosing some subjects through Irish versus those studying entirely through English stands at 50:50.

Smooth Transitions and Family Atmosphere
The school has developed an innovative approach to easing the transition from primary to post-primary education through its School Completion Programme. "The students actually come here for a camp in the summertime. So before they actually transition straight into first year, when the doors are open, they've already been in the school," Mr Ó Mongáin said.

This summer camp initiative means incoming first-year students are already familiar with the building and environment before beginning secondary school. "The transition is an awful lot easier," the principal observed.

The small student numbers also foster a unique school culture. "There's a brilliant support network for the students, even amongst their peers," Mr Ó Mongáin said. "You will see first year students being friends and speaking with leaving certs, whereas in a larger school, first year students might get lost in the sense that they have to be with the junior group themselves. But that doesn't exist in a school with smaller numbers. It's more of a family, absolutely."

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