Twenty years of growing for Saplings School

It’s been an interesting journey for Saplings School in Mullingar since the doors first opened in 2006.

Originally known as ‘Saplings Midlands’ the multi-denominational school now provides for the educational needs of 36 children and young adults, aged between four and 18, who have autism and complex needs.

Twenty years ago the school was located at Oaklawns, Mullingar, and there was an initial enrolment of six children. It were granted an official roll from the Department of Education and Skills in 2011, and eight years later it moved into a purpose built school on the site of the old Penn tennis ball factory on the Lynn Road.

Saplings School aims to help students achieve their full potential and participate in their family and community life. Last week friends and supporters of the school came together for a night of celebration to mark two decades of excellence in education.

The Saplings School 20th anniversary dinner dance in the Greville Arms Hotel was also an opportunity to raise funds to go towards therapeutic support and specialised equipment for the children.

Attending were not just the community of the school including teachers, therapists, SNAs, bus escorts, parents and caregivers, but also those who appreciate the importance of providing the unique educational opportunities within the community.

“I have twin boys and one of them is in Saplings,” Susan Kennedy, a parents association committee member told the Examiner. “He’s there nearly five years now. Saplings have been running for 20 years and they’re absolutely incredible. They are like a second family to the families of the students who are in the school.”

Susan said the dinner dance was an opportunity to mark a milestone: “It was parent-led. The parents association got a lot of support from the school, but there were six parents in particular who organised the event.

“Because Saplings are marking their 20th birthday, we used it as a fundraiser. The kids in Saplings do a lot of therapies, things that aren’t covered. Our fundraising allows them to be able to do those things without the cost coming from the parents. They go swimming, they go horse-riding, they do all sorts of different therapies.”

In the two decades Saplings has existed, there has been a shift in the understanding of what autism is. Contemporary understanding of the spectrum of the divergence has led to move away from stigmatisation: “If you’re talking about back 20 years ago, the public understanding of autism was on a narrow spectrum. In the last 20 years, a lot has changed. There was a lack of education, a lack of knowledge about what autism is. The spectrum now is huge, I don’t think I’ve ever met a family who doesn’t know somebody or have somebody within their family with autism.”

Even with those changes, Susan believes that more can be done: “There isn’t the support there should be. Saplings can only cater for 36 children and there’s hundreds of other children who haven’t got a hope of getting the support they need because there simply aren’t the facilities. That is ridiculous, and desperately unfair on families.”

Though there may be a shortfall in state support, Susan says the public assistance is incredible: “The community as a whole are absolutely fantastic. We get great support from the local businesses. When they hear it’s for Saplings, they’re more than happy to donate prizes, or make cash donations.”

The 20-year anniversary was a chance to recognise the contribution of some long standing staff members: “There were a number of presentations on the night. There was six particular staff members who were in Saplings from day one, so for 20 years. There was a teacher, a SNA, our behavioural analyst. We presented them all with bouquets of flowers.”

Susan says the dinner dance was a way of saying thank-you to so many people who make a difference in the lives of the children who attend the school: “Our little guy, he’s a twin and his twin also has autism. Lukey, who’s in Saplings, has an intellectual disability. He’s non-verbal and literally from the day he started there, he has just thrived, absolutely thrived.

“They really do become part of your family. They go above and beyond. When I say above and beyond, I mean above and beyond. They go outside of school times if needs be, to support you, and to help the family. They’re just incredible. I don’t know where we would be with Lukey without them,” she concluded.