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Investing in People
Principal Leona Harrington participated in the Digilearn event, a practical, interactive, digital learning festival, designed to empower schools and colleges to transform teaching and learning. Contributing to a panel discussion with other school leaders she gave an insight into how the leadership team in Le Chéile Secondary School effectively engaged the school community on a shared vision for teaching and learning and created a dynamic, practical action plan to cater for the evolving needs of the school. Investing in your teachers by supporting and scaffolding through quality CPD and time to collaborate and innovate was a key piece of advice. |
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Nurturing our Vision & Building Capacity
In Le Chéile Secondary School we embrace a vision driven culture of continuous reflection and innovation. Leadership is shared and buy in by all our stakeholders is underpinned by a willingness to support our school community to engage in CPD both at whole school level or personalised to reflect individual teachers interests but always aligning for our shared vision. Over our first 10 years we have responded to the many changes which have emerged as the school has evolved in terms of size and the curriculum on offer. Our 'anything is possible' attitude is evidenced in the openness with which of our teachers, students and parents to explore and embrace new possibilities and ideas. We are delighted to have this model of review, reflection, support and innovation showcased at the JMB Education Conference during the Building Teacher Capacity workshop. |
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Learning Spaces In Le Chéile Secondary School we have optimised our school environment to create flexible learning spaces. This coupled with the use of mobile devices has supported and enabled innovative learning to take place, both inside and outside of the classroom. The school is delighted to be showcased in 'Guidelines on Exploring and Adapting Learning Spaces in Schools' (pg 34). The main aim of this document is to provide some practical advice and support to schools that are starting to explore how to develop and adapt learning spaces in order to enable the introduction of innovative pedagogies using technology. Ongoing curriculum development, flexible learning spaces and the strategic use of technology has allowed us to provide collaborative, connected, creative and personal learning experiences for our students. 
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Teastas Machnamh - Reflective Journal
In Le Chéile Secondary School we recognise that to ensure the long-term sustainability of our school's vision we need to facilitate widespread support across the school community. We dedicate time for real and meaningful reflective practice, intentionally aligned to our vision for technology empowered teaching and learning and which nurtures our school’s culture of collaboration. An example of this is our Teacher Reflective Journal. Teachers are given the autonomy to define their own individual professional development needs and interests and to prioritise the learning that benefits them and their students. This learning is captured through the Reflective Journal. |
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Providing Opportunities for Creative Expression In Le Chéile we strive to create opportunities to allow our students unlock their potential through enquiry, discovery and the opportunity for creative expression. An example of how our cross curricular subject partnerships and projects has enhanced this creative expressions is evidenced in our students' success in the Young Filmmakers of the Year Award 2022. The Science of Colour a film inspired by a love of Science and a passion for filmmaking, both nurtured through a vibrant Transition Year programme won the top prize in the Factual category. By providing time and space in the curriculum for initiatives such as the Young Scientist Exhibition & Film Studies students are designing, creating and publishing their ideas and sharing with a wider audience. |
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Blue Sky
We believe that the introduction of our Blue Module module has pushed the boundaries in terms of curriculum development. The project-based learning which characterises this module builds upon students’ intrinsic motivation to set challenges for themselves that surpass their own expectations while connecting academic skills to real-world problems. In our efforts to continually innovate we have introduced a student facilitated element to the Blue Sky programme. Our student LiFT* leaders have become LIFT facilitators so that they can run the LIFT programme (www.liftireland.ie/schools) amongst other students in the school. Through this scaffolded module they are responsible for teaching their peers and have the opportunity to effectively lead in a low-stakes learning environment. 
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Collaboration and Partnerships
Our Vision Statement for the use of technology has at its core a commitment to 'share our technology story so that others may also have the courage to benefit from the creative use of technology' As a school community we have greatly benefit from the wisdom of others and their stories. We welcome the opportunity to share our successes and hope that we too can inspire others in the education community as they have inspired us. We are delighted to have been invited to showcase our school at various different events, with differing audiences and different perspectives. These include the Selfie Collaboration and Networking webinar, the Oide Leadership Forbairt showcase and the Trinity Access Programme (College for Every Student initiative). We view these invites to showcase as a celebration and affirmation of the work of our school community, inspiring and contributing to sustained momentum. |
Jennifer Ní Mhuiri and Andrew Bates from St. Colmcille's Community School acknowledge the invite they received to visit Le Chéile Secondary School to see and discuss with us the impact of technology on our curriculum, infrastructure and pedagogy.
We Are All Teachers, We Are All Learners, Always: Peer Observation & Student iHelp Team
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Diversity & Inclusion
All are welcome in Le Chéile Secondary School and we are intentional about living inclusion, a tenet of our ethos. For example, as subject departments create units of learning, inclusion is a key element of the discussion - from ensuring access and opportunities for success and stretch to being mindful of representation and challenging biases. Teachers creating their own content without the constraints of books, as well as co-constructing with students, provides the opportunity for each and every student to see themselves in an example, a name, a photograph - part of the story - this freedom is impactful and empowering for both students and teachers. While we strive for inclusion to be implicit in all we do, explicit examples of promoting and celebrating inclusion include our work with Schools of Sanctuary (https://schools-ireland.cityofsanctuary.org), School Spirit Week (House Day, Sports Day, Culture Day), AsIAm Autism Friendly Schools Project, investing in specific CPD for staff with leading experts in anti-racism, AEN etc., our school choir’s eclectic repertoire and our ‘Cairde Claddagh’ integration programme with our ASD unit known as ‘The Claddagh’. We are proud of how we live inclusion and have been delighted to share our story locally, nationally and internationally. 
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A student created Gaeilge video celebrating Seachtain Na Gaeilge whilst showcasing our multicultural context.
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Accessibility - Unlocking the potential of all our students
Exploiting the full functionality of the iPad has been transformative for our SEN students in accessing the curriculum, engaging with the learning, organising their resources and showcasing what they have learnt through a various methods including speech to text. We have leveraged technology, including the functionality of the iPad to deepen access, integration and engagement across of student cohort. Barriers to learning have been minimised and removed for many of our students in a way which would not have been possible without the support of technology solutions. Nicola Mc Evoy, Special Needs Assistant gives an overview of how the technology has been used as a communication tool for a non verbal student. |
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The Hidden Curriculum and Student Action
Le Chéile Secondary School provides a holistic education. We are champions of innovation in teaching & learning and utilising technology to enhance this. We also pay attention to the ‘hidden curriculum’, what we teach while we teach, with staff and students encouraged to model our root beliefs and core values, underpinned by our animating principle - God is Love, Love is Here. One of our root beliefs here at Le Chéile Secondary School is that ‘we can transform the world with our creativity’. The video below captures one student’s experience and their contributions to making the world a better place, including a YSI project (https://www.youngsocialinnovators.ie) which involved creating an Instagram account promoting positive mental health among young people through original video content. |
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