Castlereagh School

Today I drove out to Castlereagh School to collect some computers which needed a bit of a tickle up to get them back on the job. Castlereagh is a government school for physically and mentally disabled kids; some severely. The school is very well appointed with a dedicated staff.

One would think that it could be a minding centre for harried parents and no doubt it does sometimes fulfill that function, but I never cease to be amazed at the full-on efforts of administration and staff to provide an appropriate education to their students. That education is tailored to the ability of groups of kids. Some of the more able students will end a year being able to do simple PowerPoint presentations and use an email client, whilst the achievement of others may be gauged by the ability to feed themselves.

To visit Castlereagh can, at first, be daunting and even depressing. There are loud screams and flailing body movements, but in all this there is a very positive atmosphere. I don't think I could work there.

Sin Bee is my main contact there as she is the lady who oversees all the computer activities as well as having a full teaching load. She is a well liked and skilled staff member.