Pastoral Care
Peer Tutoring Programmes
“The reality was indeed different.”
Peer Tutoring Programme in Gardiner Street Primary School – Feedback from students who took part
This 5th (Poetry) and 6 th (Rhetoric) Year outreach programme involves fifteen Belvedere students from each year group visit their little sister school, Gardiner Street Primary, and give one-to-one reading help and instruction to Senior Infants and First Class. Research shows that an intervention at this age, 5-7, can have a hugely positive impact on a child’s literacy and ability to engage with education for the rest of their lives. This is especially true for children who aren’t receiving reading support from their parents, or whose parents don’t speak English, which is true for many of the students at Gardiner Street Primary School. Participants receive training from Gardiner Street teachers at the beginning of the programme, and work with the same children each week, allowing them to develop firm, encouraging relationships as mentors and role-models. This programme is part of an ongoing relationship of support between our two Jesuit schools in North Dublin and is a wonderful example of fulfilling our Vision of Forming Men For Others.
Below is direct feedback from some of the students at the end of their time on the programme. Their words speak for themselves about the impact on them and on the children in Gardiner Street school.