Warm welcome for new autism classroom at Cork school  

Glandore National School has got a brand new autism spectrum disorder classroom for the school which has around 80 students and is located in Drombeg, Co Cork.

Principal Ríona Murray explained the background, saying: “we had a family who already had children enrolled in the school, they had another child who was going to require an ASD class placement.

“The parents wanted them to go to school with their siblings, and to go to their local school as well. The board of management were very supportive about the prospect of setting up an ASD classroom.

“So it was in response to local need, for that family, it was key to have all of their children in school together, and in their local school, it’s now opened with four children all within the 5km radius from the school.” 

The school got their modular build put in over the summer, and though it wasn’t quite ready for September, Ms Murray said “we all put our shoulders to the wheel” to get it opened.

“It’s beautiful and spacious, the entire build is 100sq m, and within it you have 60sq m of classroom, you have toilets, and a beautiful quiet space for children when they require it.

“Our class teacher Cathy Reid has brilliant experience of teaching classes in special schools, and she put this into making it accessible to all and really allowing the children to thrive. It’s been so positive for the whole school community, we can really see the benefit to all the children in school for this inclusive model, everybody is thriving.”

Cork South West TD Christopher O’Sullivan recently visited the school to get a full tour, and told The Echo, “This is an amazing new addition to Glandore National School, it is really a perfect example of what can be done with modular builds.

“It’s warm, it’s cosy, it’s spacious and most importantly, the acoustics are very soft, which is important when it comes to an ASD class.”

Mr O’Sullivan said: “I want to commend the principal of Glandore national school Ríona Murray, her passion and dedication is very clear and now she has a brand new classroom, which will benefit many children with additional needs in the area. I am really happy to have helped the school with this project.”

He spoke to students of the three classes about what his role as a TD entails as part of his visit, saying: “I was delighted to get the chance to meet the 4th, 5th and 6th class students.”