Transition Year Trips?

[corcaithecat]

Can you tell me what non activity based trips were offered for your Transition Yr DC please? I’m trying to gauge if it’s reasonable to ask for the school to consider offering a couple of alternative options?

DS is autistic with dyspraxia and has just started Transition Year.

DS is exempt from PE due to his disabilities and spends the lesson alone doing homework in the Learning Support room. This was something school suggested mid-way through third year. He’s very happy to continue to do this as he was always being hassled by the other kids when he was stuck in PE as no-one wanted him on their team as he has zero co-ordination.

Parents are required to pay €130 for Transition Year fees and any trips the DC choose to go on are charged extra.

However, ALL the Trips are geared towards the Sporty active kids (it’s a very strong GAA area and Principal is an ex PE teacher!) The school website and Facebook pages are full of posts about the latest sporting achievements but bugger all else is ever mentioned.

There’s nothing Cultural or Arts based at all. DS is academically bright and a keen musician. Surely a trip to a theatre or drama group or an Historic site etc. would provide an alternative for some of the non Sporty students? It’s like they don’t matter.

We live rurally and so it’s not feasible to try and change schools otherwise I’d have done this after his 1st year.

My dds school do a range, they have sport activities, art activity week, cultural activity week and then a trip away to an activity centre. It does sound very sport heavy in your son's school. I would definitely raise it because they are excluding your son based on his disability which does not comply with the disability and equality acts

My daughters' school had one adventure/sports trip, but also cinema and museum visits, and a culture week. It is definitely worth checking to see if any of these are on offer at your son's school, and if not, if they could be arranged. I am sure there are others in his year who would also prefer the option of non-sporty outings.

My son went to a fairly traditional rural school but from memory, there were definitely things beyond sport and outdoorsy stuff. They did first aid training and then demonstrated it to the younger years, they went to the Ploughing, they went to Derry and that certainly included historical/cultural stuff. They did yoga, meditation, dance, cooking. They did a musical which involved lots of opportunities for all kinds of inputs - music, singing, dancing but also lights, sound, video, set design and building. Everyone had to do something..I wouldn't necessarily focus overly on your son's disability or even your son - ALL of the children are surely supposed to be expanding their horizons and getting to try out a range of things. If they come out the same way they went in, what's the point?

Most of the trips are organised by the teachers, so if you have a sporty one willing to do them, thats what you'll get. In contrast our local girls convent does an annual TY trip to Venice and Vernona organised by the English teacher.
DC school do an expensive multi sport week away. But they also go to every career event and university open day possible and do lots of events with local charities.

My DS , number 2 is in a mixed secondary. He does different activities to those of his friends in all boys school. So his activities were barista course, first aid , trips into Dublin. (culture) . They did do a sporting activity for one afternoon per week. Trips to all universities. Gaeltacht trip , (quite cheap ) as stay in a hostel and have to cook their own food along with a Delphi trip and foreign trip .
One of their favourite activities was in local library teaching technology to older people.

The TY coordinator is a very passionate teacher and plans the year meticulously. Unfortunately elder boy’s TY year was during Covid and was very limited.
In your case, I would ask about other activities, I bet he’s not the only one that would like to do other stuff.