From left, teacher Orsolya Nagy, Oisín Traynor with dad Mark, teacher Agnes Kasper, chairman Brendan McConville, principal Ildiko Veres and teacher Rebeka Racz
Dungannon-based Buddy Bear Trust Conductive Education School plans to provide sessions in Derry and Belfast through its Lifetime of Difference project.
The five-year project, which is being funded by the National Lottery Community Fund and the McClay Foundation, was launched last week.
The guest speaker was Olympian, Dr Michael McKillop, winner of four gold medals and one of the fastest cerebral palsy athletes of all time.
Brendan McConville, chairman of the Buddy Bear Trust, said the school’s sole ambition is to ensure that as many children as possible have the opportunity to benefit from conductive education and “achieve their full potential”.
He added: “While the generous funding has enabled us to launch the Lifetime of Difference Project, we will still require a final piece of funding support from government to ensure the longer-term success of our school, and a lifetime of difference for our precious children.”
Conductive education, pioneered in Hungary, aims to develop children with motor disorders from an educational, rather than a treatment, perspective.
The Buddy Bear school, established almost 30 years ago, is the only one of its kind in Northern Ireland. It seeks to support the successful transition and inclusion of children into mainstream education wherever possible.
Alan Armstrong, chairman of the McClay Foundation, said the profound impact the school has on the children and their families is “invaluable”.
Tags: