St. Brigid’s Primary School, Dublin, Ireland
Role: teaching assistant
St. Brigid's is a primary school located in Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 catering for boys and girls in Junior and Senior Infants, and girls only from 1st Class to 6th Class. Boys generally transfer to the nearby St. Mary's Boys' school at the end of Senior Infants.
The school has 11 mainstream classes and a support teaching team of five. Ongoing assessment and discussion of children's progress is integral to the way the school works. St. Brigid's is a Catholic school under the patronage of the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, although there are pupils of many faiths other than Catholicism and pupils of no faith.
To accommodate its growing school population, St. Brigid’s plans to open a new co-educational school catering for boys and girls from Junior Infants through to 6th Class in 2015.
In the Department of Education’s Whole School Evaluation published in January 2012, St. Brigid’s was rated excellent in each of the four areas examined. The Department stated:
- “The quality of leadership and management at all levels in the school is excellent.
- The quality of planning at whole-school and at individual teacher levels is excellent.
- The atmosphere in the school is highly conducive to the delivery of quality teaching and very good learning outcomes.
- The overall quality of teaching is excellent.
- Staff members are highly committed.
- The pupils’ behaviour and engagement with learning activities is excellent.
- There is a sense that every child’s experience of the school is important. Pupils are very well supported.”
General information
Two unpaid internships per year of a minimum of 3 months February-April and October-December. SPS1: yes.
Duties
As a teaching assistant working with children between the ages of four and six, you will:
- support teachers in their lesson plans
- help the children with reading and writing
- check the children’s homework
Application requirements
Apply with a CV and letter in English to stbrigidsprimary@gmail.com. A Criminal Records Bureau check must be completed in order to allow you to work with schoolchildren and requires a passport. Apply well in advance, as there is a lot of interest in this internship.
Costs
No participation fee. You may apply for a Leonardo or other grant for students abroad. Further information on financing your stay abroad here.
Approx. costs based on previous student's experiences: travel to and from Ireland: €150; accommodation: may be provided in a parent's or neighbour's house, approx. €150 per week, including meals; other expenses: €20 per week.
Contact at St. Brigid's
Annemarie Hogan, principal.