STEAM

What do the letters STEAM stand for?

STEAM is an educational approach to learning that uses Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics as access points for guiding student inquiry, dialogue, and critical thinking.

We pride ourselves in providing STEAM-based activities since 2010.

• Creative Writing
• Creative Sewing
• Watercolours
• Creative Art
• Lego Robotics
• Technology
• Stop Motion Animation
• Chess
• Dungeons & Dragons

We place particular emphasis on access to creative, digital and tech skills and our Digital Creative Lab plays a huge role in this. We host primary school trips to the lab, where children learn how to use computer design and 3D printers to make (almost) anything!

Tuition

Experienced teachers provide tuition in the following subjects to primary school children.

• Maths
• English

We also host a weekly Club Gaeilge class. Children take part in lots of fun activities and get a chance to use Irish outside the classroom. This class is part-funded by Foras na Gaeilge

Camps

During the school holidays we offer a jam-packed schedule of camps, including Multi-Activity Camps, Adventure Camps and lots of individual camps devoted to specific activities.

You can surf the waves on Culdaff beach, cook up a storm in the kitchen, create something wonderful using clay or get yourself a YouTube channel.

Or you can make (almost) anything you can imagine at our Digital Creative Lab, clocking up both creative and digital skills in the process. Make sure to check out our website coming up to the holidays so you can book camp places in time!

• Surfing
• Cooking
• Clay Making
• Digital Creative Lab

Disability

Being inclusive is a huge part of what Spraoi agus Spórt is all about. This means making our activities accessible for children with a disabiltiy and/or autism. We provide Special Needs Assistant at no additional cost, so they can participate in the same way as their peers. This service is made possible by the support of the community who donate to our fundraisers.

We also run a Youth Club for children with a disability, which takes place in Spraoi agus Spórt every Saturday and Monday - Friday during the school holidays.

It is 4 hours in duration and the children are grouped accordingly to age: 4-9 years and 10+ years. The Youth Club is delivered by experienced personnel and each child has one-to-one support of either a trained SNA or a volunteer, depending on their individual needs.

Activities provided include:

• Arts and Crafts
• Baking
• Messy Play
• Active Play
• Games and Music
• Group Summer (July) Provision

The sensory area ensures that there is a chill out zone in the event of a child becoming over stimulated.

The work we did during the Covid lockdown for children with disabilities has been recognised by Donegal County Council in their Capturing Covid 19 exhibit: When covid restrictions were introduced our children and teenagers with a disability were left without all their daily supports. Spraoi provide award-winning alternative respite since 2011 and suddenly in March 2020 restrictions meant we had to close all face-to-face services. However, within weeks we brought services online to support our children and teenagers with a disability, weekly bingo, and exercise classes as well as baking classes meant our young people and their families could still be connected. In June 2020, we introduced one-to-one respite and our picture depicts Lucy Kelly having fun playing a board game with her support worker Arlene Davenport. These supports were a lifeline for many families during that period. Thankfully today we are back to regular service provision.