Schools Outreach
Supporting children as they return to school
There are three main components to the School Outreach Programme
Our School Outreach Programme uses fun, interactive, age-appropriate activities to help classmates better understand serious childhood illnesses while dispelling common myths. Designed around each child’s needs, it can be delivered from early diagnosis through to maintenance or post-treatment, creating a supportive classroom environment where understanding, empathy, and inclusion are encouraged and where confusion, anxiety, bullying, and social exclusion are reduced.
Each programme is tailored to the age of the class, ensuring information is engaging, accessible, and appropriate for every stage of learning.
For Junior Classes, a puppet show introduces serious childhood illness in a fun, child-friendly way, supported by activities and group discussion that help children understand their classmate’s experience while building empathy and inclusion.
For Senior Classes, Dear Diary follows two teenagers before and after a cancer diagnosis, opening up meaningful discussion and reflection on how to support friends.
For Secondary Schools, the Challenge & Decoding activity creates a safe space for teenagers to explore serious illness, challenge misconceptions, and discuss how best to support a classmate, helping to build empathy and strengthen peer connections.
“My daughter benefited so much from this visit , I can’t even put into words the impact it had.”
Parent testimonial
Locations & Eligibility
Bring Barretstown to your school
Our School Outreach Programme is open to both primary and secondary schools across Ireland. Each visit is tailored to the class in question, taking into account the age, confidence, abilities, and how familiar their classmates are with Barretstown. All of this is created in close partnership with the teacher and parents. And the best part is, it’s completely free!
If you’d like to enquire about the outreach team visiting your child’s school, please email us.
Become a Community Champion
Promote Barretstown in your area
A community champion is a volunteer ambassador for Barretstown who raises awareness of the charity in their local area, supports fundraising initiatives, and represents Barretstown at events, schools, and community groups. As part of the programme, volunteers receive training and support and take on a variety of tasks, including:
- Volunteering at fundraising events, helping with registration, distributing goody bags, and engaging participants.
- Representing Barretstown at schools and community events, attending cheque presentations, and giving talks about the charity.
- Providing office and administrative support, such as assembling packs, making follow-up calls, and inputting data.
Community champions play a vital role in helping Barretstown achieve its mission, and we are always looking for new people to join our network.
All volunteers must undergo Garda vetting, and applicants born outside Ireland must provide a criminal background check from their country of origin.
Magical fun from the comfort of home
Magical fun from the comfort of home
For those children who due to the nature and extent of their illness, are not in a position to come to Barretstown to participate in one of our residential programmes but who would greatly benefit from camp.
The community team travels to the home of the child to bring the magic of Barretstown to the home environment at a time that may be very challenging and emotional for families. Camp at Home is organised at a time that suits the family and usually lasts two hours. The programme offers a wide range of activities which are adapted and individualised for all participants with all supplies provided by the outreach team.