ABACAS Kilbarrack

About

ABACAS Kilbarrack is a specialist school dedicated to supporting autistic children and young adults who have co‑occurring intellectual disabilities. The school caters for 54 pupils aged three to eighteen, including an Early Intervention class for children aged three to five. Each learner follows an individual educational plan that is crafted from comprehensive assessments and is regularly reviewed to reflect their evolving interests, strengths and needs. The curriculum is delivered across nine purpose‑designed classrooms, split between Junior and Senior programmes, allowing students to be placed according to age and specific requirements while benefiting from a high staff‑to‑student ratio and small class sizes that promote personalised attention and meaningful interaction. The school’s teaching and learning philosophy is built on four defining standards that guide assessment, specialised support, adaptive teaching approaches and technically precise learning goals. In the Early Intervention “Busy Bees” classroom, six children receive targeted tuition that integrates visual schedules, routine, and a range of communication modalities such as PECS, Lámh and AAC to develop social, communication and academic skills. A supportive, close‑knit community underpins daily life, with teamwork and collaboration at the heart of the school culture, reinforced by ongoing in‑house professional development for staff to continually enhance student outcomes.