About this Plean Scoile

This is the whole-school plan (Plean Scoile) of Creagh National School. Under Section 21 of the Education Act 1998, the Board of Management prepares, makes available and regularly reviews a school plan. This page gathers the school's organisational and statutory policies and its curricular plans, sets out who we are and how the school is staffed and governed, and links to every policy and plan document.

Each policy is reviewed on its own cycle, with review dates staggered to 2031 so the workload is spread; the Child Safeguarding and Bí Cineálta policies are reviewed every year. Policies that the school is legally required to hold are marked ★ Mandatory.

Our School — Context

Creagh National School (Scoil Mhuire Gan Smál) is a Catholic co-educational primary school serving a growing, diverse community in Ballinasloe, Co. Galway, under the patronage of Bishop Michael Duignan, Bishop of Clonfert. The school has 446 pupils and approximately 50 staff, including 9.5 Special Education Teachers, 2 Autism class teachers and 9.66 Special Needs Assistants. The first Autism class opened in December 2023; a second opens in September 2026.

Mission Statement

We are a school community which promotes empathy, kindness, respect and love. We strive to create a happy, caring and safe learning environment where each child reaches their full potential, developing emotionally aware children who show self-confidence, compassion and resilience. Our school provides religious education in accordance with the practices and traditions of the Roman Catholic Church and is respectful of other religious beliefs.

Our Vision & Ethos

Our Catholic school, in its inclusiveness, provides a safe and welcoming environment and promotes the full and holistic development of all students — educational, emotional, social and ethical — including a living relationship with God and with others, nurtured in a spirit of love, kindness and respect.

Core Values

Respect · Kindness · Community · Learning · Resilience · Belonging · Empathy · Inclusion · Faith

Children's mission statement: “Start where you are. Use what you have. Never give up.”

Staffing & Governance 2026–2027

Creagh NS is led by an Acting Principal and Acting Deputy Principal, supported by a ten-member In-School Leadership team. Aladdin Connect is the school's primary home–school communication platform.

Board of Management 2024–2028

Chairperson: Mr Frank Gallagher. Term of office: 2024–2028. The Board meets regularly, maintains a policy register, ratifies all policies in this Plean Scoile, and reports to the patron and school community.

In-School Leadership Team 2026–2028

* Ms Ann Farrell has now retired. The vacant Assistant Principal (AP2) post is to be filled in accordance with the Department of Education leadership and management circulars (0070/2018 and 0044/2019).

Staffing summary

• Acting Principal (administrative) and Acting Deputy Principal
• In-School Leadership team of 10 (Principal, Deputy Principal, AP1 × 2, AP2 × 6)
• Mainstream class teachers — Junior Infants to Sixth Class
• 9.5 Special Education Teachers (SET)
• 2 Autism class teachers (Autism Class opened Dec 2023; second class from Sept 2026)
• 3 supply panel teachers
• 9.66 Special Needs Assistants (SNAs)
• School Secretary and School Caretaker
• Approx. 50 staff in total; enrolment of 446 pupils

Section A — Organisational Policies

Section B — Statutory Policies

Section C — Staff & Curriculum Policies

Section D — Curricular Plans

The following curricular plans set out how each subject is taught across the school. All subject plans were reviewed in June 2026, in line with the revised time allocations under the new Primary Curriculum Framework (NCF), to be implemented from September 2026.

Each plan below links to its full PDF and, where available, an expandable list of appendices that jump straight to the relevant page of the plan.

Section E — School Information & Annexes

Parental Complaints Procedure

Creagh NS works in partnership with parents and welcomes the opportunity to resolve any concern at the earliest stage. The school follows the agreed CPSMA/INTO Complaints Procedure (Education Act 1998, s.28; DE Circular 0059/2020). Most concerns are resolved informally with the class teacher or Principal. The full procedure is set out in the Complaints Procedure (Policy No. 18).

Complaints relating to matters other than a teacher are made to the Principal or Chairperson. This procedure is read alongside any updated parental-complaints process published by the Department of Education, and complainants retain the right to raise certain matters with the Ombudsman for Children.

Downloads

Every policy and curricular plan on this page can be opened or downloaded as its own PDF using the View and ⭳ PDF buttons beside each document. A single combined PDF of the whole Plean Scoile (all policies and plans in one bookmarked file) is also available from the school office on request.

All documents are ratified by the Board of Management and published on www.creaghnsonline.com. If a document link does not open, the PDF files may not yet be uploaded — see the note in the page source (PDF_BASE).