Rainbow Rooms (Autism Unit At Summerhill National School)
Rainbow Rooms Gallery
The Rainbow Rooms is the name given to the Autism Unit at Summerhill National School. It is named the Rainbow Rooms as the children here bring so much colour and life to the school community. There are 250 pupils in total in the school, of which 18 attend the Rainbow Rooms under the care of 10 dedicated staff. Summerhill Primary School has three autism classes. There are six pupils in each class with a pupil staff ratio of 2:1. In the September 2017 we were very proud to open our purpose built extension, providing us with an OT room, and a junior classroom with shower and changing areas. The Rainbow Rooms are completely secure and safe for our pupils. The covered playground and the classrooms are all accessed by keypad entry.
Fundraising We have always been very lucky with our parents and the general community who have helped us with fundraising down the years. Our sensory room, kitchen and covered playground, were built by a group of local tradesmen, led by our caretaker, Martin Reilly, at absolutely no cost to the school. Fundraising by parents has enabled us to buy Occupational Therapy equipment, sensory equipment and the latest in ASD teaching tools from the USA. Our sensory room is equipped with a heated water bed, soft play area, projector and bubble tube. Our OT room contains all the equipment recommended for our pupils by their Occupational therapists, who work closely with our staff. Our kitchen is fully fitted with oven and microwave so the older pupils can enjoy cookery classes. This is also used to heat lunches for the pupils during the school term.
Outside Professionals Our staff work closely with outside professionals such as psychologists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, physiotherapists and behavioural therapists. Many of these appointments take place in our school, during school hours and in this way our staff are trained to continue the plan for each individual pupil as part of the regular school day.
SUMMERHILL NATIONAL SCHOOL ATHLONE Summerhil National School Athlone, Co. Roscommon, Tel: 090 6492037 Email: [email protected]