Daisy Project

The DAISY project is a pioneering Disability & Awareness Programme which has been created by Irish Wheelchair Association.

The DAISY project is a curriculum-based Schools Education and Outreach Programme. It challenges the perceptions and stereotypes of people with disabilities by demonstrating understanding awareness and inclusivity through a fun and interactive education and Outreach Programme which is intertwined with Art, Drama and SPHE strands at primary level and Transition Year workshops at second level.

The resources that we have created help inform students at both primary and secondary level to understand the issues facing people with many different types of disability such as access, injustice, discrimination and equality through a human rights lens and the lived experience of people with disabilities.

Teachers can register their interest in both primary and secondary programmes and request a visit from our school’s liaison officer or a DAISY ambassador! Once registered, primary school teachers have access to free lesson plans which address strands of the art, drama and SPHE curriculum.

At Primary Level, the resources are divided into Junior DAISY (junior, senior infants and 1st class) and Senior DAISY (2nd to 6th class).

At Secondary Level the programme is an interactive exercise-based programme that involves students conducting an access audit within their local community and then having a visit from our school’s liaison officer or DAISY ambassador to present their findings. This programme is aimed at Transition year students but can be tailored to any second level class.

What have we achieved so far?

Ireland has ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and, as such has a legal obligation to raise awareness of disability, “at all levels of the education system, including in all children from an early age” to foster, “an attitude of respect for the rights of persons with disabilities”. To assist schools in meeting this requirement, IWA has developed the DAISY project

To date we have had over 130 registrations on our online resource for teachers at primary level and have visited over 50 primary schools

We have engaged with over 30 secondary schools and over 2000 secondary school students as part of our TY Erasmus + Programme with Associação Salvador in Portugal.

How can DAISY assist your school

Teachers when registered will gain free access to the DAISY online training programme empowering them to embed Disability Awareness and Inclusion into their daily teaching. The programme addresses strands and strand units from SPHE, Arts and Drama at primary level and compliments TY programmes in tandem with the curriculum. Classrooms will develop an understanding of diversity, belonging and inclusion with a specific focus on disability. Schools will help change the attitudes of young people’s perceptions and stereotypes of disabled people

After registering, you will receive login details to the material and all we ask in return is that you give us meaningful feedback so we can enhance this Programme going forward.

Every school that registers with the DAISY programme will have the opportunity to schedule a class visit from one of our Disability Awareness Ambassadors.

The programme is delivered through the lived experience of disability by our School’s Liaison Officer who has led a very active fulfilling life with both a congenital visual impairment and an acquired physical disability in her early twenties.

Comments from Teacher evaluations

“Excellent module. Really gives food for thought.”

“V informative. Thanks, a mill!”

“Thank you for your fantastic talk with 4th class. You were so open, informed and friendly. The children really gained a lot from it. Anita, Griffith Barracks MDS”

“Edel was an excellent speaker. She spoke with honesty and good humour. There was an excellent balance of information and personal experience. Some students have never heard of the IWA (Irish Wheelchair Association) and never give much thought to disability issues, so this was really worthwhile. Thank you.”

“Edel is an excellent speaker whose positive attitude spreads across the room and she is extremely engaging. It would be good to include some active exercise for the boys to immerse themselves into, so as they could understand or appreciate the obstacles some wheelchair users encounter on a daily basis.”

Comments from student evaluations

“I thought the workshop was engaging and interesting and I thought all the points were well explained.”

“I really enjoyed this workshop. Edel was great at keeping the audience engaged and I learned lots about her life. It has made me want to learn more, such as watching the videos she suggested. I think talks like this should become more common in TY school life”

“This talk helped me learn a lot more information about disabilities that I may have not ever known. It helped me further my education on ways to help people with disabilities”

“I think that this allowed for us to see disabilities in a new light rather than what is described by the media. It explained to us that disabilities are individual and cannot be classified as the same as described online and by the media.”

“I think that learning about all the different types of disabilities should be learned about and included in the school curriculum. It was a very interesting topic, and we should learn how to improve disability access.”