Ethos & Philosophy of The Red Door School.

The Red Door School seeks to provide child-centred, evidence based and autism specific education to our students. We endeavour to work enthusiastically, warmly and collaboratively with parents, professionals, school staff and the local community to provide the pro-active and positive support that will empower our students reach their potential, and feel secure, confident and welcome in their school. We seek to create an environment where each member of our school community feels valued and supported, and where our students, in particular, are not only respected but celebrated.  

Mission Statement

We approach the work that we do with positivity. We appreciate that each student is an individual, with their own strengths, needs and learning style, but also recognise the evidence-based strategies that tend to work the best for learners on the spectrum. We keep ourselves abreast of developments in autism-education, and work with a view to the future- we want our students to develop independence and life skills that will increase their autonomy and happiness long after their time with us has come to an end. We are dedicated to the educational and personal development of our student body, and approach the teaching and learning with clarity, consistency and above all empathy.

We honour the pupils’ communication, and recognise the importance of a step-by-step approach, where small achievements are celebrated along the way, and the students feel that their school is not only a place to learn, but a positive social environment, where who they are and how they negotiate the world around them is valued. We support each other, as a community and ensure that above all, we are listening to what they are communicating. That they feel heard and valued. For it is in that space, of warmth and understanding that we can best support them to thrive.      

School Vision

At the Red Door School we hold the following statements to be fundamental to our approach to providing… ·         

We are - Child-centred- Our students are at the forefront of everything that we do. We are caring, fair and committed to helping them achieve their full potential. ·         

We are - Consistent- We adopt autism-specific, evidence based approaches, tailored to the individual students’ strengths and needs. ·         

We – Collaborate - we work with all members of the class team, outside professionals, parents and most importantly the students themselves to ensure we’re all working together to achieve the best possible outcome for each child. ·         

We - Communicate- We take the time to listen, creating a space within the school where our students’ communication, is encouraged and respected. ·         

We – Celebrate - we celebrate the achievements, small and big, on the way to meeting our learning goals, and take pride in our students’ educational journey.  

Curriculum:  

The Red Door School use an evidence based approach to the teaching and learning of pupils with ASD. Each child will have an Individual Education Plan which will be specific to their needs. Our class teachers use the NCCA national curriculum and the NCCA curriculum for children with General Learning Difficulties when planning for your child’s academic goals. We also use Aistear in our infant and younger classes. Our curriculum is presented in six areas, some of which are further subdivided into subjects. These are:  

• Communication & Language: Communication, Reading and Writing
• Mathematics
• Social, environmental and scientific education (SESE): history, geography and science
• Arts education: visual arts, music and drama
• Physical education
• Social, personal and health education (SPHE)

Inclusion

The Red Door School aim to fully support the child to live to their full potential and to be an active participant in their own education. Our focus is on lifelong education and enabling the participant to live a fully inclusive life within their community . We recognise that there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to inclusion and there are many methods to creating an inclusive culture within our school community. Some of the ways we foster inclusion at The Red Door School are as follows:  

• Visits within the local community, shops, library, post office.
• Combined activities with local schools
• Visitation placements – whereby a pupil from our school may attend another school as a guest for some period of the school day – please see visitation policy for more details.