Portlaw N.S. Principal Barron: 'It's the children's school'
Principal Brian Barron (Front row, first from the right) at the Dáil earlier this year.
Portlaw National School has been at the forefront of innovation to enhance children's school experience.
During the last academic year, the school was named as a Changemaker School by Dublin College University (DCU), an initiative that aims to help students add their voice to the running of their schools.
Portlaw N.S. also introduced the Gen Free initiative, whereby parents of students agree not to give their child a smartphone until they reach the post-primary stage.
As the new school year approaches, Principal Brian Barron spoke with the Waterford News & Star about the the progress of these new projects, and the support that is needed to help every child receive the best education possible.
The Changemaker nod was in recognition of the school's programmes for children, including their Green School Committee and School Council.
As Principal Barron explained: "As a Changemaker, their role will be to organise our Student Council, to organise our Green School Committee, and to try to get basically pupil voice more active in the running of the school."
The new approach is a departure from the more traditional form of student councils.
He went on: "When I was in school, there was a student council, but they weren't particularly representing the views of the pupils, or they weren't informing policy in the school.
"We're trying to get a wide range of voices that actually reflect the reality of the children in the school, because that's who we're here to serve. It's not our school, per se, it's the children's school."
The Gen Free project attracted a hugely positive response from families and students, and not just in Waterford.
Principal Brian said: "What's been amazing is the amount of people, principals, parents, associations, who've gotten on to me since to say, 'Can we replicate this in my school in Dublin', or 'There's a group of us here in Naas who are doing it like all over the country, people are like, there's a real hunger now."
Earlier this summer Principal Barron went to Leinster House with other principals of rural schools to speak with political representatives about education and met with Sinn Féin Uachtarán Mary Lou McDonald.
He said: "We're hoping to meet more political leaders in the autumn.
"Our view as a group of principals is that parties need to make manifesto promises increasing the funding for primary schools in these particular areas, like the ancillary grants, the capitation grant. They're not fit for purpose anymore.
"It's our opinion, as principals, that the Department of Education don't have any real records of the level of complex needs in our school. Our solution to that is that we use a system to feedback all information (to the department), called the POD system, so on that system, we put in how many children are using English as a visual language, for example."
He added: "The department need to start recording the amount of children with complex needs and then give schools adequate supports to address that."
In recent weeks, parents of children with additional needs have protested at Leinster House over the lack of adequate supports in schools.
According to Principal Barron: "We could have children with all sorts of needs, complex needs, different needs. The department have no record of that.
"Now, I have no way to inform, so the teachers I have, and the support I have in the school, are not reflective of the pupils coming in."
