About Barefield NS

About our School

Principal’s Message

Mr Gerard Ruane

Barefield National School has a distinguished history in the field of Education. Since 1895, it has been a progressive centre of innovation and excellence in teaching and learning.

Our children have access to fantastic facilities. We have fifteen mainstream classrooms, a special class and multi-sensory room for children with autism, six support teaching rooms, a large school hall and a library. All classrooms have the latest flat-panel interactive boards. Outside, we have an astroturf pitch, a running track, a basketball court, a ball wall with an astroturf area, two playing pitches, spacious yards and a playground with a see-saw, carousel, basket swing and a large play centre with a slide and climbing areas.

Gerard Ruane Barefield National School Principal

Our best resource is of course our staff. We have an extremely caring, professional team who work together to ensure the best holistic education for each and every child.

We work in close partnership with all parents and guardians as well as the Parents Association who do tremendous work supporting our school. We are governed by a dedicated Board of Management.

We know how busy life is for parents and guardians. We offer a range of optional services for parents. We have a lunch delivery service operated through ‘The Lunch Bag’. We rent out our facilities immediately after classes so that parents and guardians can avail of after-school activities on-site. These are yoga lessons with Emer McCarthy, Speech and Drama with Eileen Fitzgerald, French with Rachel Frawley, German with Martina Merz, traditional Irish music lessons with Denis Liddy and keyboard lessons with ‘Creative Keyboards’. Our staff train the children in camogie, hurling, football and school choir after school. The local community Centre is located just beside our junior yard and Breda Culligan offers childcare from 8am-9.10am and 1.50pm to 6pm.

For me, it is a tremendous honour when parents and guardians enrol their children in our school. I will always do my best to ensure the children are safe, happy and learning to the best of their ability.

Is mise le meas,
Ger Ruane

Mission Statement

Barefield National School

Our core aims are to provide a broad and comprehensive education, to recognise the needs and to develop the talents of each pupil.

We are a caring school. We strive to live up to Christian values and to show genuine concern for one another.

We appreciate individuality and difference.

We are committed to building a community which respects the rights and uniqueness of each other.

School Charter

Barefield National School

Every child has the right to:

  • Feel safe from mocking, threats, verbal and physical abuse;
  • Be called by his or her own name;
  • Be themselves and be treated equally regardless of appearance, race, colour, gender or religion;
  • Be included in school activities and have friends;
  • Have his or her beliefs and personal belongings respected;
  • A good education without prejudice in a clean and healthy environment;
  • Give expression to his or her own opinions and feelings;
  • Use and develop his or her own talents;
  • Be listened to;
  • Have his or her privacy, secrecy and confidences respected.

“Ar Scath a Chéile a mhaireann na daoine”

School Hours

Classes start at 9.10am. We accept pupils onto the premises from 9am and they are supervised in their classrooms.

Junior Infants, Senior Infants, 3rd and 4th classes

Sos: 10.45am – 10.55am

Lunch: 12.30pm – 1.00pm

1st, 2nd, 5th and 6th classes

Sos: 11am – 11.10am

Lunch: 1pm – 1.30pm

Finish: (Infants) 1.50pm
Finish: (Classes 1st to 6th) 2.50pm

School Facilities

Barefield National School’s outdoor playing facilities include an astro-turf pitch, a basketball court, two playing fields equipped to play soccer, gaelic football, hurling and camogie, a two-lane running/walking track, a ball wall with an astroturf area and a playground with a see-saw, carousel, basket swing and a large play centre with a slide and climbing areas.

Barefield National School

Our computer room has 32 stations with the latest software, while our indoor sports hall is equipped for participation in a variety of indoor sports.

We have a special class with sensory rooms, several support teaching rooms, a garden plot, a covered area for rainy days, an extensive corridor as well as plenty of display areas in the corridors and classrooms.

Over the Rainbow Early Learning Centre

Located on the grounds of Barefield National School is Over the Rainbow Early Learning Centre who provide Early Years Education and Care under the ECCE programme for children in the community aged 2yrs and 8 months to 5½ years.

In the highly qualified and capable hands of Ann-Marie Healy and Jennifer Byrne, Over the Rainbow Early Learning Centre is a welcoming, friendly, respectful and supportive home-from-home where children are encouraged to experience, interact and explore the world around them at their own pace.  The curriculum includes a combination of play-based learning, Montessori and Aistear, the National Early Years Curriculum framework.

Working in partnership with parents within a rich, diverse and developmentally appropriate environment, children are supported in their transition from preschool to Junior Infants and encouraged to be independent life-long learners.

Opening Hours

Session 1:   8:35am – 11:35am

Session 2:  12:00pm – 15:00pm

For more information, please visit their website at www.overtherainbowelc.com or email Ann-Marie and Jennifer at overtherainbowelc.bn@gmail.com

Before and After School Childcare

Breda Culligan provides an excellent childminding service from 7.30am until school starts and from 1.50pm until 6pm. This is located in the old school, which is now the Community Centre, just to the left of our front door. This backs onto our junior yard for ease of access for the children going to school from Breda’s and coming from school into Breda’s.
For further details, please contact Breda on 087 6341151

Book Rental Scheme

School textbooks are one of many significant costs families face in preparing to return to school. In an effort to alleviate some of this pressure, Barefield National School offers a Text Book Rental Service. This service is available to the pupils in Rang III through to Rang VI and participation is entirely voluntary.

As part of this service, we also offer the families of those pupils graduating from Barefield National School the opportunity to sell any good quality second-hand books or textbooks that they no longer require.

For further information, please email info@barefieldns.com

Staff

  • Gerard Ruane – Principal
  • Bernadette McGloin – School Secretary
  • Miriam Brennan – School Secretary
  • Rena McMahon – Junior Infants
  • Goretti Quinn – Junior Infants
  • Robert Murray – Senior Infants
  • Zelma Power – Senior Infants
  • Bríd Baker – 1st Class
  • Róisín Collins – 1st Class
  • Patricia Kilcawley – 2nd Class
  • Mary O’ Connor – 2nd Class
  • Patricia Keane – 3rd Class (Assistant Principal)
  • Mary Morey – 3rd- 4th Class
  • Kate Corrigan – 4th Class
  • Adrian Frawley – 5th Class (Assistant Principal)
  • Sarah Raftery – 5th Class
  • Jim Chambers – 6th Class
  • Aisling Daly 6th Class (Assistant Principal)
  • Peadar McMahon – Support Teacher (Deputy Principal)
  • Gillian Moore – Support Teacher (Assistant Principal)
  • Siobhán Enright – Support Teacher (Assistant Principal)
  • Denis Liddy – Support Teacher
  • Shauna Woods – Support Teacher
  • Eimear Harrington – Support Teacher
  • Leo Duggan – Career Break
  • Sean Burns – Career Break
  • Annmarie Vaughan – Blossom and Bloom
  • Sharon Malone – Special Needs Assistant
  • Colette Kerins – Special Needs Assistant
  • Vanessa Callinan – Special Needs Assistant
  • Regina O’ Connell – Special Needs Assistant
  • Gloria Cleary – Special Needs Assistant
  • Claire Kelly – Special Needs Assistant
  • Mary O’Conghaile – Special Needs Assistant
  • Aoife Clancy – Special Needs Assistant
  • Tríona Keogan – Special Needs Assistant
  • Martina McMorrough – Special Needs Assistant
  • Rony Machado Silva – Caretaker and Cleaner

Parents Association

Welcome to Barefield National School Parents Association. We would particularly like to welcome parents of junior infants, some of you who may be new to Barefield school. We hope your junior infant is settling in well and has enjoyed the first few weeks in the school.

All parents of pupils in the school are automatically members of the Parents Association so there is no need to officially join, you are already a valued member!

There is an elected committee in place that manages the responsibilities of the Parents Association on behalf of the parents. It is made up of a Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer and a group of parents who liaise with the school staff and meet once a month to organise special events throughout the year. Our main function is to enhance your child’s experience at school by organising fun events and activities. We also raise essential funds for the school to invest in your child’s education.

We are looking forward to a busy year of activities such as cake sales, school photographs, refreshments after Communion, movie day, coffee mornings and much more.

Needless to say none of the above would be possible without the help of all of you who volunteer your time and contribute financially to these events. We greatly appreciate any offers of help as we know how busy life can be. Maybe you could volunteer an hour or so at one of our events. Getting involved in the parents association affords you the opportunity to meet other parents and is an enjoyable experience.

If you would like to help out, please contact the school office or come to any of the monthly meetings held in the school, usually on the first Tuesday of the month. A reminder text is sent out prior to the meeting.

Students Council

The students’ representative council is a very important development in Barefield N.S. Ms Keane organises the election and running of the student council. The members of the council are elected each year by the pupils themselves.

Alongside a Chairperson and Secretary are representatives from each class. Meetings are held at regular intervals.

We have a Students’ Council in our school because all children have the right to express their views on matters affecting them. The Students’ Council is a way of giving the pupils of Barefield N.S. a voice.

The Students’ Council:

  • Listens to what pupils in the school have to say
  • Represents the pupils and voices the pupils’ opinions and ideas
  • Consults and cooperates with all other members of the school community on issues that are of concern to the pupils
  • Keeps the rest of the school informed about issues being discussed and decisions being made
  • Helps to improve the relationship between teachers and students by keeping the lines of communication open at all times
  • Suggests ideas and comes up with plans to improve the school environment for students
  • Gets involved in activities for the benefit of the school, the local community and the wider world

Board Of Management

The Board of Management structure of Barefield N. S. enables parents, teachers and Patron’s representatives to join together as partners in promoting the success of the school in all its work and in its links with the wider local community.

The Board of Management of our school comprises of: –

  • The School Principal;
  • 2 Patron’s Nominees;
  • 2 Elected Parents or Guardians
  • 1 Elected Teachers’ Representative;
  • 2 Members from the Community.

Names of Board of Management members are available at the school.
Board of Management Reports can be viewed here

Barefield NS Website 2015-2022

To view the archive edition of our previous website visit https://archive.barefieldns.com/

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