2020 - 2021
IRD DUHALLOW | PROGRESS REPORT
Afterschools Established in 2005, Newmarket Afterschool’s is 15 years in operation. It was established in response to a recognised need for Afterschool care in local rural areas as there was no other service available, and this still remains the case. We provide a top quality wrap around service to primary school children who are collected from school daily by bus with a passenger assistant, receive a freshly prepared nutritious dinner from Duhallow Community Food Services along with one to one help and supervision with their homework.
Response to Level 5 Restrictions Schools could not reopen after the Christmas holidays, however, childcare and school aged services were permitted to open. We responded to this by opening full days 9am-6pm for children of essential workers and vulnerable children. All online classes were facilitated and children were Afterschools Team: Rachael O Callaghan, Tús, supported to complete their work, Bríghid-Íde Walsh, Afterschools Co-ordinator while also making time for fun, and Jodie O Mahony, CE. activities and games in between. This was an essential service for families that needed childcare and it was a social outlet for the children and a bit of normality in their lives. Some children attending didn’t have the facilities to complete their assigned work at home or log on for their live classes so for these children the Afterschool’s was a vital lifeline to keep on top of their work and in touch with their class.
Looking for pond life as part of the Easter Camp.
The Afterschools acts as a social outlet where children can meet their peers, have fun, relax and feel like they belong. It is a safe, inclusive and fun environment that supports children to develop socially, emotionally and educationally according to their interests and abilities. Parents send their children not only for childcare but for help with homework as there may be literacy/numeracy issues at home and also for personal and social issues. IRD Duhallow runs weekly literacy and numeracy classes and a Touch Type Read Spell (TTRS) programmes which are complimentary. There is a crossover of services as some children come for these complimentary services and then also use the Afterschools or vice versa. The Afterschools staff has worked hard in the last 12 months to expand the service with the result that a number of new families joined; in response to the children now getting their homework online and having to complete tasks online we have purchased several tablets to facilitate online homework and learning. Literacy tutor Sinead Guiney supports brothers Ryan and Dillon O’Sullivan in TTRS.
Baking is always a favoured activity in the Afterschools. Here is Rita Angland, Faye O Flaherty, Danny Hughes, Mya Hourigan, Sophie Sheehan, Isla Hughes and Emily O Flaherty showcasing the reindeers they baked and decorated.
Camps The Afterschools had a fun filled, jam packed summer running 6 weeks of summer camps. Themes included Little Chefs and Artists where children enjoyed baking and cooking things from start to finish and arts and crafts. During Nature Detectives we spent the majority of the day outside exploring and appreciating our natural surroundings. We went down to the river to find invertebrates and other life in the stream, we caught and released mice to allow the children to get a close look at them and learnt how to identify whether it was a bank vole or field mouse by looking at their features. Whizz Kids was all about science experiments and computers; the children worked in pairs to research and decided on a final experiment that they carried out at the end of the week; they prepared a PowerPoint presentation on their experiment of choice and presented it to the group. The Afterschools also ran camps during the October and Easter holidays; the Spooktacular Halloween Camp included Halloween themed baking, arts, crafts, games and Trick or Treating and the Egg-citing Easter Camp included Easter themed activities and an egg hunt around the grounds of the James O Keeffe Institute. These camps are open to all children, not just those enrolled in the Afterschools.
This service is essential for parents in the Newmarket surrounding regions who otherwise would be excluded from participation in work or training due to a lack of childcare. Additionally, people parenting alone and those who are living in the area but are not originally from the area don’t have the luxury of extended family to depend on. Parents are assured that their children are cared for in a safe environment, which allows them the opportunity to take up employment or partake in education and training courses. With the introduction of the National Childcare Scheme the Afterschools will be more financially accessible to families who would not have qualified for a subsidy previously.
We bought several tablets to facilitate the new way children are receiving and completing their homework; here is Jodie O Mahony and Rachael O Callaghan setting up the tablets ahead of the children being picked up from school.
The Afterschools took part in National Spring Clean Day 2021.
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