St. Raphael's Post by Laura

The last few weeks we have been working with a new school called St. Raphael's. It is a 'special school' as they call it here, which deals with children who have a whole range of disabilities varying from autism, cerebral palsy, down syndrome and ADHD, among others. The school has a really nice relaxed atmosphere, and caters so well for the children with disabilities but lacks classrooms assistants due to funding.

Two of us go out each day from Tuesday- Friday to work in a grade two and grade four class. I have been with the grade fours which is a class of fifteen, who are all lovely! The classes are taught in quite a hands on way and the children have been getting lots of tests to monitor their progress, to ensure they are taking in what’s being taught in class, some kids are much more able than others. The second day I went to the school the teacher of the grade four class, Mrs Glutz, was off so I was left all day (from 9 – 1) alone to teach them. As the deputy head said I was definitely, “Thrown in at the deep end”, but they were short staffed so had no alternative. There was work left on the board for me to go through with them. The children were good and listened for the most part considering their disabilities, and how they had only met me the day before. I was knackered by the end of the day as I didn’t manage to get a break as I had to supervise the four boys who are upstairs in wheelchairs during them. On another day I went I was put in the autistic unit to help another class as their classroom assistant was off. The children are completely different to the ones upstairs. The class is much more laid back and taught in alternative ways. I was in awe of the teacher as she had so many children who were acting up all at once and diffused the situation quickly. Working in that class was so rewarding and by the end of the day I felt comfortable with the kids. The last two weeks of working there has made me want to get involved with autistic children back in Edinburgh as well, and I look forward to what challenges St Raphael’s will bring in the following weeks, as it has become one of my favourite placements to go to.

Personal Comments:

Danielle: St Raphael’s is a lot different than other projects that I have participated in so far with the project. I have never worked with children with a range of disabilities before, so being put in a school environment and teaching them was challenging to begin with. Before no time though, I felt right in place thanks to the amazing staff and the adorable kind children at St Raphael’s. My class were the younger part of the school and my responsibilities ranged from teaching to looking after the children with higher forms of disability than the others. This project has been the most rewarding for me personally as I felt I slotted in perfectly and can see myself being continuingly needed with the School.

Lauren R: I have only been to St Raphael’s once so far, but I absolutely loved it within the first few minutes. The kids are all amazing, and the teachers treat us with proper respect and use us brilliantly. I was really pleasantly surprised at how capable and intelligent the kids in my class were. I got put into grade 2, so they are all around 9 years old. It’s also really nice how welcoming the kids were, and how I felt instantly trusted. I can’t wait to go back and get to know everyone better, and get more involved.