Buddy Bear School: School for children with cerebral palsy given £1m

Buddy Bear School aims to help its pupils learn greater control of their movements

A school for children with cerebral palsy has been given £1m to help it further meet the needs of children in Northern Ireland with the condition.

The Buddy Bear School in Dungannon, County Tyrone, was gifted the money by the National Lottery Community Fund and the McClay Foundation.

Opening in 1993, it aims to teach pupils greater movement control.

The school relies on grants, fundraising and donations in order to continue to operate.

It is the only school in Northern Ireland to offer the services that it does, and receives no direct financial support from the Education Authority.

Some of the money will also be used to provide sessions for children with cerebral palsy in Belfast and the north west, as well as in Dungannon.

On average, 50 children are diagnosed with cerebral palsy each year in Northern Ireland.

Lisa McKay's son Daniel attended Buddy Bear School for three years, joining when he was 10 months old.

Lisa McKay says the school provides support for parents, as well as its pupils

"When he came here he could do very little, he could just about sit up, and over the space of three years Buddy Bear prepared him and gave him a set of skills that enabled him to do everything that your average four year old can do," said Ms McKay.

"He's [now] in mainstream nursery school, and without Buddy Bear we just know that the achievements Daniel has now he never would have done without the help here."

'Provide hope'

Ms McKay said the school not only helps its students, but their parents as well.

"They provide hope, and hope for the future of the child," she said.

"For a parent who's faced with the possibility of a child with disabilities it's a very scary and lonely place."

Brendan McConville, the school's chairman, said the £1m provided it with "some security for the future and stability".

The school's chairman, Brendan McConville called for government funding

"Our recent inspection report clearly states that this school is suitable and fit for children to be taught," said Mr McConville.

"There's children coming in here in wheelchairs and some of them are able to walk out.

"Not all will be in the same situation but they'll all have a better quality of life, and that's the important thing."

Mr McConville has called for the government to provide more funding for the school.

Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said he supported that call.

"I think government has a responsibility here to support the work that goes on, to support the wonderful professional staff who are working very hard to help these children and young people," said Sir Jeffrey.

"I've seen the transformation that their work can do in the lives of those children and that work should be supported."

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Michael McKillop, a four-time gold medal-winning Paralympian who has cerebral palsy, said he could see the importance of the school.

"It gives the kids opportunity to grow within their development, with the help and support of the teachers and they allow that to happen," he said.

Mr McKillop said what the school had managed to do since 1993 was "remarkable".

"It's been self-funded, and I thinks its now an opportunity for people to get behind it, and allow it to grow as well," he added.