St. Cecilia's School

Learning Environments

Learning Environments At St. Cecilia's School

Welcome to our special school, where we are dedicated to fostering a supportive and inclusive environment tailored to the distinctive needs of students with autism and severe and profound learning disabilities. Our cutting-edge learning environments cater comprehensively to a diverse range of abilities, ensuring academic and personal growth for every student. The heartbeat of our campus lies within our sensory-rich therapeutic learning environments, where a wet room, sensory room, soft play space and the Jake Kerrigan library provide experiences beyond traditional classrooms. These innovative spaces serve to promote learning through structured yet enjoyable lessons nurturing sensory integration vital for student well-being. They function dynamically, supporting the development of motor skills, tactile awareness, and self-help abilities.

In addition to the indoor learning environments, our school boasts an outdoor classroom – “Carroll’s Way”, blending seamlessly with nature to encourage sensory engagement, physical activity, and social interaction. This space becomes a haven for students with varied abilities to collaborate, communicate, and participate in activities fostering holistic development. Together, these learning environments exemplify our dedication to creating an educational environment where every student’s unique strengths are recognised, celebrated, andnurtured.

Wet Room

Our wet room serves as a sensory and academic learning space for our students. It
can be used for messy art lessons, showering and dressing skills as part of lifelong learning and self-help programmes and measurement work for numeracy. It is a fun and interactive learning experience in a highly staffed environment.

Soft Play

The soft play room is a colourful, safe environment where students can learn about colour, develop gross motor skills for Physical Education using out climbing wall and trampoline and explore their cognitive development by problem solving. Social skills are encouraged and developed through staff and peer interactions which also encourages communication development and self-confidence. A fun and interactive learning area of our school.

Sensory Room

Surrounded by exciting, sounds, lights and different textured materials, the sensory
room at St. Cecilia’s school is a positive, fulfilling learning environment for the students. We have incorporated sensory stimulation such as sound, vibration, dark dens and reflective mirrors to encourage imaginative play as well as structured wellness lessons. This area encourages relaxation and gives opportunities to develop communication, improve concentration and focus and promote socialisation in an exciting, interactive location.

Library

The Jake Kerrigan Library is a quiet and safe learning environment where communication and language lessons are a priority. This traditionally quiet space brings together the ability for us to teach and learn using visual and audiology methodologies. For students to experience stories through a bank of sensory inputs as well as traditional reading and our Project Core communication systems.

Playgrounds

Outdoor play environments that are well structured provide our students with the necessary supports to learn social interactions and social skills through play. Swings and roundabouts which are wheelchair accessible are available to all and create natural interactive situations where peers and staff can come together in a fun and relaxed way. Tricycles and tandems are available to experience cycling and develop gross motor skills and encourage the students to learn a skill that is transferrable to home. Students can learn body awareness, sensory regulation, executive functioning skills and develop self-esteem and friendships in a safe and secure learning environment.

“Carroll's Way” - Outdoor Classroom and Sensory Trail

Nature is a stimulating environment for learning and at St. Cecilia’s we have created an inclusive outdoor learning woodland pathway based around a “Fairy Fort” or Cairn. Outdoor learning gives all our students access to the natural environment, where through regular, scheduled sessions can help students to become more familiar with sights, sounds and smells of nature and provides a free space in which learning can take place no matter what the weather. The 350m wheelchair accessible learning area is a new addition to our learning environments and is continuing to be added to and developed, increasing the learning opportunities for our students.

Classrooms

Our large classrooms all have ensuite bathrooms for the student’s comfort and interactive panels to assist with their learning. We have a high level of staff support and each room is structured in a manner to suit the students needs. Some classrooms have hoists for our wheelchair users to get out of their chairs and access their standing frames and assistive equipment. Classrooms for students with ASD follow the TEACCH approach where designated areas are created for a structured, familiar and predictable environment to enhance and encourage the students learning.

Hall

Our spacious hall is available for lessons based on the needs of the students. It can be used to accommodate drama productions, physical education lessons, sensory experiences, music sessions and peer learning situations with inclusive programmes with students from other schools.

Our Community

St. Cecilia’s School is based in Cregg, Sligo, near to Sligo Town and the scenic seaside village of Rosses Point. Weekly community outings using our school bus and wheelchair accessible bus take place to enable our students to access and learn in their local community. We frequently visit shops, cafes, galleries, parks, beaches and leisure complexes. Students learn and participate in our community through surfing, swimming, paddleboarding, walking and playing. We encourage our students to explore, expand and transfer classroom skills to other environments to generalise their learning and make what they know practical for their development.

More About Our School In Cregg, Sligo!

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