A PURPOSE-built children’s school, providing multi-denominational primary and secondary level education for young patients at University Hospital Limerick, has opened.
The Children’s Ark School was originally the brainchild of Dr Liam Carroll, consultant paediatrician, who got sanction from the Department of Education to establish a school to cater for the ongoing education of children in University Hospital Limerick. Classes started in 2006 and originally operated from the dining room of the Sunshine Ward in the Children’s Ark Unit.
Dr Carroll was back in the classroom this week when he joined young Jayden Conway to officially open the new school.
The new building comprises a large classroom for primary students, a second classroom for secondary students, toilets, office space and an outdoor learning area. The Department has also approved the installation of 100MB fibre broadband to enable access to the most up to date technology to support the education of the students.
UL Hospitals chief executive, Ann Doherty, acknowledged the Board of Management and their staff for their work tin making the school a reality.
Board of management chairman Frank Keane described the school as a wonderful development, encompassing the best available information technology to assist in providing continuity for those young people unlucky enough to be ill and in need of hospital care.
“Meeting the young person’s educational needs is a vital part of the holistic approach required to put them on the road to recovery,” he said.
