Meet the Staff
Within St. Matthew’s N.S. we are very fortunate to have a skilled, committed and highly qualified teaching team. There are eight class teachers and four special education teachers (SET). There are four Special Needs Assistants, and one classroom assistant who works in Junior and Senior Infants. Class teachers plan their programmes of work for delivery during the school year. Special education teachers plan in similar detail for individual pupils and groups of pupils under their care.
School Staff 2022-2023
PRINCIPAL
Cliodhna O’Reilly
DEPUTY PRINCIPAL
Casey McConnell
CLASS TEACHERS
Pre-School Jackie Earley
Junior Infants David McAndrew (Acting Assistant Principal II)
Senior Infants Hazel Buckley
First Class Shannon Agar
Second Class Noirin Roche
Third Class Rebekah Roulston
Fourth Class Casey McConnell
Fifth Class Rachael Cavanagh (Acting Assistant Principal II)
Sixth Class Rachel Fallows
SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS
Hannah Goulden (Acting Assistant Principal II)
Ruth Walsh
Lauren Newman
Alice Griffin
SPECIAL NEEDS ASSISTANTS
Mick Byrne
Mary Bolton
Mary Nolan
Josh Bell
CLASSROOM ASSISTANT
Audrey O’Connor
SCHOOL SECRETARY
Lynn Betson
SCHOOL WARDENS
Carmel Joyce
Louise Doyle
Supporting Pupils with Additional Needs
All children are unique and we respect the individuality of each of our pupils. At times a pupil may need some extra support with their learning.
In Class Support (Team Teaching)
This is provided by the support teacher and the class teacher in the classroom. The class teacher and support teacher work alongside each other to help provide a higher level of support to all children in the class. This type of support is usually Literacy or Numeracy based. In the junior end of the school, the class teacher works with a number of special education teachers to provide specific programmes such as ‘Literacy Lift Off’. In the senior end of the school, a mixture of team teaching and station teaching is provided. In Class Support provides a lower pupil-teacher ratio for key activities, giving each child more individual time with a teacher. Pupils experiencing minor difficulties are supported in the classroom in a holistic and inclusive way.
Small Group Withdrawal
Withdrawal in small groups is provided by SET for key areas such as Literacy, Numeracy, behavior, social skills etc. Depending on the individual child, this support may be required for different lengths of time. The school will decide which pupils may be offered small group withdrawal. Usually, the class teacher will provide In Class support or interventions prior to withdrawal support taking place.
Individual Support
This is a higher level of support. Support is provided on an individual basis, either through in class support or withdrawal depending on the needs of the child.
At all times parents are involved in the decision making process regarding the level of support offered to their child by the school. Support is always given at a level appropriate to the individual needs of a child within the overall allocation of support given to the school by the DES.