The following links will allow you to download policies which have been approved by the Board of Management.

Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) says that children and young people should have a say in decisions that affect their lives so we got proactive here in Ballybay and set up a new school council.

What is a School Council?
A school council is a group of pupils, normally elected by their peers, who act as representatives for their classmates and school. A school council will discuss, and give their views, on a range of issues. It is a good way for adults to pay attention to pupil voices. A school council also gives pupils a good understanding of elections and democracy which reflects our practice as a democratic island.

Ballybay N.S School Council.

The school council for the academic year 2023/2024 was formed in November 2023. We carried out a school council election and each class from 3rd to 6th class voted for the nominees. The council consists of The Chairperson – Ms. Hughes, The Secretary,  Third Class Representatives – Sean Connaughton and Mairead Henehan, Fourth Class Representatives – Ryan Bruce and Robyn Lennon, Fifth Class Representatives – Conor Rowan and Caoimhe Henry, Sixth Class A Representatives – Donnacha O’Sullivan and Mia Davis and finally Sixth Class B Representatives Charlie Henehan and Alannah Quirke.

The AIMS AND OBJECTIVES of our School Council in Ballybay are:

• To provide opportunity for pupils to become partners in their own education, and to make a positive contribution to the school environment and ethos.
• To develop and promote children’s self-confidence, social skills and their responsible behaviour towards each other and towards their teachers and adult members of staff.
• To develop the pupil’s knowledge, skills and understanding of how to contribute to their local community and society as a whole, and what it means to be an active citizen.
• To develop pupils recognition of themselves as worthwhile individuals with a right to have an opinion and for those to be heard.
• To allow children to have a ‘voice’ and to share their opinions and ideas with others.
• To allow children to become more responsible and actively involved in the decision making process of the school, and to be involved in decisions that directly affect them.
• To develop important life skills that promote positive mental health and social welfare, emotional literacy, critical and moral reasoning, self-esteem, self-awareness, communication skills, relationship skills and assertiveness.

Green-Schools is Ireland’s leading environmental management and education programme for schools.

Promoting long-term, whole-school action for the environment Green-Schools is a student-led programme with involvement from the wider community. The programme is operated and coordinated by the Environmental Education Unit of An Taisce (FEE member for Ireland).

Green-Schools for Everyone

Green-Schools’ mission is to protect planet Earth – our shared home to which we all belong – and we want everyone involved! We warmly welcome participants of all backgrounds, cultures, races and ethnicities. Equity, diversity and social justice are fundamental to the values of the Green Schools’ programme – so that’s why we have embraced the Green Schools programme in Ballybay N.S. for over 20 years.

Our school has a long tradition of participation in the Green Schools programme which promotes long-term, whole-school action to protect the environment. Ms. Mulvey began the programme with the theme of Litter and Waste in 2001 and many of the initiatives piloted then are still in use in Ballybay today.

In March 2024, we received the exciting news that our school was awarded its 11th Green Flag for our work on the theme of Global Citizenship Food and Biodiversity. This is an amazing achievement and one we can all be proud of. Our journey to achieving this flag began with forming a committee. Ms. Kelly and Ms. Connolly were asked to coordinate the committee while Ms. Mulvey kindly hosted our meetings and guided us through the process. Children from 3rd – 6th class were also invited to apply to be on the committee. We had to commit to attend meetings, come up with ideas and help organise events. We met regularly to discuss ideas and make plans.

One of our main areas of work was the school garden which was in need of some care. We were lucky to have the support of our Parents’ Association, Board of Management and our caretaker John in upgrading some of the infrastructure. We are hoping to continue adding to the school garden over the next number of years. Children from lots of classes were involved in preparing the beds, planting seeds and tending to crops. 3rd and 4th classes cultivated a great crop of peas, 2nd class planted carrots and we have even had our first (small!) crop of Ballybay potatoes!

We organised workshops from GOAL, from Heritage in Schools expert Michael Bell and a class visit from local dairy farmers Eimear and Francis. 4th class participated in a tree planting day, 1st and 2nd class took part in the Incredible Edibles programme and we all contributed to the WEEE battery recycling campaign. The infant classes led the way with our litter pick days which were organised with the help of our school council. John helped us to create a luxury bug hotel using recycled and repurposed materials. The children from 5th class designed and modelled amazing outfits for Trash Fash using bits and bobs they had lying around. The 6th class children presented very informative projects on a variety of global biodiversity topics. 

I think you will all agree that we worked very hard on our theme so it was no surprise when it was announced that we had been awarded our flag for Global Citizenship Food and Biodiversity. We look forward to continuing our work to make Ballybay NS a more welcoming environment for plants and animals.

Our most recent Green Schools committee was made up of children from 3rd – 6th class, teacher representatives, Ms. Kelly, Ms. Connolly and Ms. Mulvey, as well as our school principal, Ms. O’ Toole and our caretaker John Fallon. Our pupil representatives were Annie Owens, Esme Ward, Fionn Nolan, Sean Henry, Keelan Lally, Caoimhe Gallagher, Cullen Grehan, Judy Lennon, Molly Geraghty and Cian Kilcommons.

We are always eager to involve the wider community in our effort to increase biodiversity and improve our beautiful school garden. If you have expertise in this area and would like to get involved, please let us know.