Classroom innovators: the nurturer

Queen of Angels, a Deis school that caters for disadvantaged children in Dublin 16, demonstrates the extraordinary dedication of some members of the teaching profession.

When Susan Gibney, its principal, moved to the school, seven years ago, she identified “children who were coming to school unable to settle down to be taught and to learn.

A lot of it was to do with social and emotional problems, some of it to do with low self-esteem, and some of it to do with family backgrounds.”

Gibney heard about a growing practice in the UK of nurture and sensory rooms, which helped children build social skills, confidence and self-esteem. The room is set up like a small apartment, with a kitchen area, and allows students to act out a normal domestic life – often getting a breakfast in the process.

The UK model is supported by extra staff; Queen of Angels received no additional support from the Department of Education. “We got a bequest in somebody’s will; we were very lucky,” says Gibney. “Every school should have these rooms. Research shows that for children who don’t receive nurturing, a section of their brain doesn’t develop.”

The initiative has transformed the school. “The skills we are imparting is filtering through to other children; they mirror each other’s behaviour.”

And parents, who were sceptical of the initiative at first, have become strong advocates.