Tuesday 22nd November 2022 at 7pm

This is an opportunity for parents, guardians and community to visit our school.

Author: Ciara Lynch, Rochestown ETNS 

‘Child Rights Schools (CRS)’ is an initiative run by UNICEF Ireland which supports schools in exploring children’s rights, ensuring that these rights are central to daily school life.  Rochestown ETNS have been taking part in the CRS programme since October 2020 and we have been really enjoying the process.  It is closely connected to our school ethos and the Learn Together curriculum.  It has been a great opportunity to promote student voice and take steps, as a community, to ensure that every child in our school feels valued, included and represented.  The CRS initiative is a whole-school approach to learning about and through children’s rights with the support of Lydia and the UNICEF team. 

At Rochestown ETNS, we reflected upon children’s rights and how we could make our school ‘rights respecting’.  Some ideas came from staff, while many of the ideas came from the children themselves.  Our students learned about rights, and Senior Infants and Fourth Class hosted a school assembly all about children’s rights.  We purchased some new books to help diversify our classroom libraries, so that all of our students could see themselves, their families and their friends represented and celebrated in our library books.  We created a whole-school art project based on what makes our school community special.  We set up a new Student Council, who are now involved in lots of decision making within our school and present new ideas to our principal on a regular basis.  The Student Council are also introducing a new annual fundraising event for charities who support children in accessing their rights. 

Our students are really enjoying our CRS journey and working together to make our school an even more positive, inclusive and supportive place for all.  I would highly recommend this initiative to other schools!

For information about the Child Rights Schools programme and Child Rights Education summer course for primary teachers and principals visit unicef.ie/crs or email lydia@unicef.ie

DETSS Teaching and Learning Team & the School Self Evaluation Team collaborated on Tuesday 15^th March to deliver mini presentations on the aspect of Differentiation within the classroom, and how staff can adapt, embed, and best utilise differentiation in teaching and learning. Differentiation helps students understand and apply both content and process in their learning, and as a result maximise their potential in that subject.

The SSE team identified differentiation as a focus of the school development plan, and with the assistance of the Teaching and Learning Team, collaborated on how best to support differentiated instruction as a whole-school approach.

Staff identified six types of differentiated instruction – By Outcome, Process, Task, Dialogue, Grouping, and Support, and presented several innovative models of differentiated instruction that could be easily adapted to any subject.

DETSS Staff were asked to complete a Reflection Card as they observed each station of differentiation, and to note what aspect of Differentiation staff would like to further develop during Peer Observation Week from Tuesday 22^nd March – Friday 25^th March

During this week, staff at DETSS will have the opportunity to observe the six types of differentiation in action during class time, and to reflect on how best to embed this practice of mixed-ability instruction in their pedagogy practice.

The event was a huge success, and it sets in motion further action for future Teach Meet’s at DETSS and The School Development Plan.

Differentiated Resources:

1. Differentiation by Resource using The Frayer Model & Thing Link App Explained 
2. Differentiation by Outcome – Breaking down Learning Outcomes fromSubject plans to make it accessible to all students.
3. Differentiation by Task – Using a Road Map Graphic Organiser to differentiate task – Students use symbols and phrases to summarise information. https://www.flaticon.com
4. Differentiation by Support – tailoring instruction of subject, assessment, or topic to meet individual student needs
5. Differentiation by Dialogue – places emphasis on the role of the teacher and the talking that takes place between teacher and students, and the range of questioning between good and highly effective.