The training course matched the needs of our school. The course provided an opportunity for our teachers and SNAs to engage with European partners and liaise with different teachers from across Europe. The course mapped well to the project objectives. The mission statement of our school is “Mol an Oige is tiocfaidh si”, which roughly translates into, “Encourage children and they will grow.” The course has helped us as a school to upskill staff members, giving them the knowledge and skills to pass onto pupils, allowing them to prevent or at least respond appropriately to situations that may occur within their class or school setting. Over time, we expect the fruits of the project to become an integral part of school life and lead to a contented, inclusive, affirming and positive school atmosphere.
Our organisation is Watergrasshill NS, a primary school in Watergrasshill, Co Cork, Ireland. The context of our project was Mindfulness and Wellbeing. Over the past few years, it has become more obvious that the number of children presenting with anxiety issues in school has increased significantly. This has led in part to increasing school refusal, pupil inability to attain their full potential, behavioural issues and mental health concerns. We, as a school, were of the opinion that this project would be of enormous benefit to our whole school, and in particular, our children with special educational needs. We wanted to explore and investigate how schools in other EU countries tackle these issues. We planned to promote wellbeing and to develop whole school teaching strategies which would equip pupils and teachers in the prevention of anxiety and which would in turn assist pupils to cope when faced with such difficulties. We believed that members of staff would benefit greatly in their personal and professional lives by being involved in the development and delivery of this project.