The Parents Council Information page
Contact Us
✉ Email: parents.council@sallinsns.ie
If you have a suggestion / query please email us at the above address.
Welcome
If you are new to the school please click here to see a welcome letter from the Parents Council. This letter contains some useful information about the school.
Who we are
The St Laurence’s NS Parents Association is a volunteer group of parents and guardians working with the school to create a positive learning environment.
Our Annual General Meeting is held at the start of each new academic year, where accounts and reports are presented and parents are voted in as Committee Members.
What we do
- Suggest and support events, activities, and extra projects that enrich the students’ experience of school life, providing funding outside the school’s budget.
- Decide how funds are spent with school guidance.
- Organise fun events to build community and school spirit.
- Provide a forum for parents to share ideas, feedback, and support their children’s education.
We are all part of the school community and there is lots to do !
If being on the Committee is not for you, you can still help out. If you have a special skill set that you think could add to an event, please get in touch. You might be great at planning, baking, gardening, painting, fundraising, networking, building, …
Please feel free to contact us any time with queries, suggestions or information.
Parents Council Constitution
Please click here to see our Parents’ Council and Parents’ Association Constitution
Become a Parents’ Association Volunteer
If you would like to become a volunteer for the Parents Association or if your vetting with us is expiring soon, please follow the process below.
If you don’t know when your vetting expires, please message the parents association at parents.council@sallinsns.ie and we will follow up for you.
Vetting with the school lasts for 3 years, during which you’ll be able to take part in any of our volunteering activities.
Steps for Garda Vetting
- Download and complete the Garda Vetting form by following this link Vetting-Form-NVB1-2025 and bring it to the school reception with Identification and proof of address (if needed, the school can give you a copy of the form) to validate your IDs in person.
– Accepted ID and proof of address documents are listed here ID-Checklist-NEW-2025
– The school address and roll number are: St Laurence’s NS, Kerdiffstown Road, Sallins, Co Kildare, W91AD80 – Roll Number 08099P
– The role you are vetting for needs to read “Parents’ Association Volunteer (role includes access / contact with children)“
– You must physically sign the invitation; digital signatures are not accepted - Once validated, post (DO NOT email) your completed form to Garda Vetting, Bishop’s House, Old Dublin Road, Carlow, R93 F6D5
- An invitation to the e-vetting website will then be sent to your Email address from evetting.donotreply@garda.ie
- Once you fill in the online form, the process should be completed within 3 weeks, (wholly dependent on the Garda Vetting Bureau) *
*When the final stage of the garda vetting is complete, you will receive an email stating “A disclosure has been made to the Diocese of Kildare & Leighlin Schools”.
This only indicates that the process is complete, not that your vetting is approved - Once you receive the above email, please contact the Parents Council to check with the School as to the status of your application.
As always, if you have any queries on any stage of this process, please get in touch with the Parents Council at parents.council@sallinsns.ie
Newsletters
Years in Review
Other Useful Information
Insurance Claim Forms
Insurance Claim Forms are available at info@sallinsns.ie for parents/guardians who have the 24 hour pupil insurance should a claim be necessary.
The National Parents Council
The National Parents Council has many items of interest on its website www.npc.ie .
HSE Dental Clinic in Naas Hospital
The Parents Council often receives enquiries about the HSE dental clinic hours in Naas Hospital from parents.
Please click here for more information.
The Parents Council Talks
The Parents Council regularly organise informative talks in the school for parents. Please see information from previous talks held:
‘Don’t Be Mean Behind the Screen’ with Paula O’Connor
From Wed 11th – Friday 13th December 2024, Paula O’ Connor gave a valuable talk titled ‘Don’t be Mean Behind the Screen’ to all children from 3rd Class to 6th Class. The talk educating the children on internet safety was extremely well received by all. Paula also stayed to give an evening talk to the parents on the same content. Paula has shared her resources with us which were discussed at the talk. Please click on the links for the discussion sheet and the guide for parental controls.
Talk on Anxiety with John Wills
On Tuesday 10th October, we were very grateful to have John Wills returning to our school to talk to our 4th, 5th and 6th class children during the school day.
Having spoken to the children during the day, John then held a talk for the parents, at 7:30 p.m. in the school hall that evening.
The Parents Council organised for John to speak to the children and parents last year on internet safety. This year, John’s talk focused on anxiety. All parents, of children of all ages in the school and school staff members were invited to attend.
Drawing on over a decade of experience, working both clinically and in education, John’s talk addressed some key learnings to help support our children around their mental health. There was be an emphasis on common anxiety and mood issues as well as how to support your child navigate emotions. John also focused on more clinically significant issues, addressing how to spot them and seek help.
Thank you to the Parents Council for organising and fundraising these talks.
You can view John’s slides from his talk here.
Talk on Cyber Safety with John Wills
On the 7th March 2022, John Wills spoke to the children from 3rd Class to 6th Class during the school day, where he explored the important issues around safe internet use and cyber-bullying.
At 7 p.m. that evening, John gave a talk in the school hall to the parents and guardians. All parents / guardians of children in our school were welcome to attend this talk.
We are very grateful to the Parents Council for organising and funding these talks with John. He talked to children and parents some years ago in our school and we were delighted to welcome him back and listen to his valuable advice and guidance for our children in using the internet safely. The Parents Council fundraised for this event by holding a rag day for the children on Thursday 16 March.
The slides from John’s talk can be found here.
Talk: Supporting Emotional Regulation and Anxiety in Children
All parents were very welcome to attend a talk in the hall in St Laurence’s NS, Sallins which was organised by our Parents Council, entitled ‘Supporting Emotional Regulation and Anxiety in Children’. This talk took place at 7:30pm, Monday 27th March 2022.
Emotional Regulation or self- regulation is the ability to monitor and modulate which emotion one has, when you have them and how you experience and express them.
The talk was given by Anna Mc Grath and Susanne Martin, who are both certified therapeutic play practitioners and have completed hundreds of clinical hours with children. They are also primary school teachers with many years of experience between them, both in the classroom with all age groups and in Special Education settings. Along with their colleague Karla Hannigan they have recently set up ‘Shine Through Play Therapy’ practice in Kildare Medical Centre, in Kildare town.
The talk was suitable for parents, care givers, teachers and SNAs where practical tips were shared.
You may view the Shine Through Play Therapy website on www.shinethroughplaytherapy.com
National Parents Council Talks
Some years ago, the Parents Council organised a talk from the National Parents Council on bullying. It was practical and informative. Please click on the bullying pdf for further information.
The transition to secondary school was the topic for the second NPC talk.
Please click on Transition to Secondary for further information from the NPC or look at our own school’s information page here.
St. Laurence's National School 