Primary schools in South Dublin with speech and language and assisted learning suppor

Lil10065

Hi There, apologies in advance for the long posting.. We are considering moving back to Ireland from the US. Our nearly 5 yr old son has childhood or developmental apraxia of speech- basically a speech and fine motor delay for which he's had speech and occupational therapy (~3 times/week) since he was ~2yrs of age with good progress. He's due to start kindergarten (akin to junior infants) this coming Sept where he will be in an integrated class (developmentally appropriate kids mixed with developmentally delayed kids, small group learning, max ~25 pupils in the class). I don't think that this sort of setup exists in public primary schools in Ireland but wondered if anyone had any recommendations of primary schools in South Dublin that might also have speech and language support...? Or just a decent primary school recommendation along coastal south Dublin (Blackrock, Sandymount, Monkstown etc..)?
We realize we may not get much support in a public school but would be willing to consider either a private primary school or just supplementing his public primary education with private speech therapy +/- tutors if required. We also have a 3 year old girl and ideally would like them to be in the same primary school.

Thanks in advance for any advice

byhookorbycrook

Ireland doesn't have primary schools with speech and language teachers , I''m afraid.Some private schools do not have trained teachers, much less speech and language specialists. Most school would have around 30 children per class.
There are special schools that would have expertise in this area.

Lil10065

Ok thank you
Would also welcome suggestions on any primary school recommendations in the Blackrock, Sandymount, Monkstown, Dun Laoghaire areas?
TIA

silverharp

Lil10065 wrote: »

Ok thank you
Would also welcome suggestions on any primary school recommendations in the Blackrock, Sandymount, Monkstown, Dun Laoghaire areas?
TIA

you could try St Matthews in Sandymount (small school) no idea about demand or waiting lists. If you wanted to have a backup private school St Killians is very good, a little outside your zone as its in Clonskeagh , but their 2 year Kindergarten cycle is very good as its normally a teacher and an assistant teacher for around 20 kids

Romantic Rose

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

Ireland doesn't have primary schools with speech and language teachers , I''m afraid.Some private schools do not have trained teachers, much less speech and language specialists. Most school would have around 30 children per class.
There are special schools that would have expertise in this area.

I actually know of a school that has an on site speech and language therapist on a full time basis. Don't ask me how they were allocated it but she is there all the time. It's a very large school though.

Stroke Politics

http://www.ssli.ie/language-class/list-of-schools.php

Not sure how up to date the Dublin entries are, the Co Meath locations are still valid....

You could Also take a look at sess.ie , the Special Education Support Service...

Lil10065

Thanks so much everyone, super helpful. Will look into these

byhookorbycrook

Romantic Rose wrote: »

I actually know of a school that has an on site speech and language therapist on a full time basis. Don't ask me how they were allocated it but she is there all the time. It's a very large school though.

I presume that's because they have a specific speech and language class within the school. The enrollment criteria for that would be quite specific and there is often a waiting list for such classes.

Moonbeam

waiting lists in irish schools can be years long, I would contact the schools and ask for a copy of their enrollment policies and facilities for additional needs.
If the child qualifies for an SNA then the school need to apply for that too and the child may need to be assessed in Ireland as well.

Lil10065

Ok, thank you

BonsaiKitten

Some schools have language units attached - the good shepherd ns being one (not a coastal school, though). He won't get support from the therapists there unless he's been assessed and is in the language unit, but as the kids usually go into mainstream, the class teachers in the school would have a lot of experience with language disorders.