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“Le Chéile” signifies the two classes in CETNS that provide a highly tailored, autism-specific learning environment. The name “Le Chéile” encapsulates all we aim to achieve in our school - a true sense of belonging, purpose and partnership for all pupils in our care.  The Board of Management in Claregalway ETNS opened the first class in Le Chéile in September 2021 followed by a second class in September 2022. Each class caters for a maximum of six pupils with one teacher and two SNAs. All staff members in Le Chéile undergo regular training to ensure best practice is followed.  Our current team comprises of two teachers and four SNAs.

Our approaches are child-centred and we provide a highly-specialised learning experience.  Our classes offer appropriate opportunities for children to engage with the curriculum at a pace and level suitable to each individual, whilst also participating in mainstream activities and lessons with their age-equivalent peers when appropriate. The children participate in the primary school curriculum in a way which is tailored to meet their specific needs. 

In our classes, we focus on skills development in a bid to foster independence and to empower our neurodivergent pupils.  In addition to the academic content, we address areas such as communication, functional life skills, self-confidence and social/emotional tools. Students in Le Chéile often learn through music, art, baking and going on trips/outings.

We are immensely proud of our state-of-the-art facilities in Le Chéile. We strive to meet our students’ sensory needs and boost the development of their motor skills. We benefit from large classrooms, quiet spaces, a sensory room, an outdoor sensory den, a para-education room with a swing, a kitchen, a large multi-purpose area and an enclosed outdoor play space. Our facilities and resources allow us to provide a thoroughly inclusive and holistic education that our wonderful pupils in Le Chéile rightly deserve.