'Pride and enthusiasm' in Ballyduff NS pupils

A department report into St Michael’s National School in Ballyduff, has found that overall, the teaching and quality of learning of the subject of Irish was positive, with some recommendations made on the range of material the pupils used.

Pupils were seen to be motivated and most were able to both ask and answer questions 'as gaeilge', and used rhymes, poems and songs in their lessons. While students were able to use verbs and structure sentences independently, the inspector felt that the pupils’ vocabulary would benefit from listening to TG4 and making more use of TG4 Foghlaim, a website that is designed for oral Irish exams.

Very good comprehension and fluency was seen when the pupils read aloud and they had regular opportunities to write using Irish. The inspector felt, however, that these exercises leaned on functional tasks and would benefit from independent writing opportunities.

Pupils in a focus group spoke of their ‘pride and enthusiasm’ in learning Irish and also the enjoyment they got from using Irish outside of lessons.

In the classes, pupils had ‘active, beneficial and playful opportunities’ to use Irish through things like drama and pair work, with pupils encouraged throughout the day with prizes and awards. Teachers were commended for their well-prepared lessons and the promotion of Irish as a ‘living language’.

With 109 pupils across five class teachers, the school has two special education teachers. The inspection was carried out in January this year and the report published in early April.