Maths and reading camps prepare pupils for new term ahead

For teachers who welcome back the girls to classes at Scoil Aiséirí Chríost in Farranree, Cork City, next week, the differences will be noticeable in the dozens who were at the school’s summer camp to improve reading and maths skills.

School principal Teresa O’Sullivan said there were huge benefits to the camp that ran last week.

“The whole secret, to literacy in particular, is catching any problems that kids might have at a young age.

“But even the older girls are teaching some of the younger ones computers and games, and that peer tutoring gives them a big boost.”

The school also has a number of schemes running throughout the year to help pupils who are having trouble with their reading or maths.

Literacy Liftoff, Reading Recovery, Maths Recovery, and others are oper-ated with the benefit of additional teachers the school has because of its inclusion in the Department of Education’s Deis (Delivering equality of opportunity in schools) programme.

All the schools which ran the literacy and numeracy camps in recent weeks are in the group of schools with the highest levels of disadvantage, and were chosen from more than 150 applicants to the Navan Education Centre, which oversees the camps for the department.

As a Deis Band 1 school, Scoil Aiséirí Chríost has 20 class teachers for its 270 pupils, allowing the staff to work with much smaller class sizes.

With infant classes of less than 18 girls each, for example, staff can give the close attention needed to any children with particular needs.

Under plans announced in last December’s budget to include the withdrawal of some posts held by schools from pre-Deis schemes, it would have lost up to five of those, and some of the six other teachers working in learning support, resource teaching, and emotional and behavioural support.

Following a national campaign, with a very strong local lobby by about 20 Cork schools due to be affected, the Government reversed those cuts in February.

“I won’t say everything is rosy in the garden, with many other cuts going on, but compared to what we could have been faced with, we are very relieved,” said Ms O’Sullivan. “By holding onto teachers, we can keep the numbers in the classes small and keep support programmes running.”

The summer camps help children who can benefit most from the activities that explore literacy, comprehension, reading, and thinking skills through art, drama, music and dance.

Scoil Aiséirí Chríost Camp co-ordinator Maria Crowley said: “We put in a lot of planning on this, everything is set out by the Department of Education on what we must do and the outcomes to expect.”