Westmeath Community Development

The Afterschool service, first opened its door in January 1995, initially under Athlone Community Taskforce, with Westmeath Community Development taking ownership in July 08, employing 1 full time manager, 5 supervisors funded through the National Childcare Investment Programme, 10 after School Workers funded through FAS under the Community Employment Scheme. Also 4 Staff funded through the Dormant Accounts to provide extra professional support in the areas of Numeracy and literacy skills, music drama, recreational.

To date WCDL now operates 3 After School Services in the Rapid area’s of Athlone, with 87 children attending daily, funded through the National Childcare Investment Programme the service offers a wide range of activities that meets the needs of the children in their developmental area’s, and to aid and support children of Athlone by providing a quality After School Service to enhance their learning abilities and build their self esteem thus, breaking the trend of early school leaving. Our aim is to provide young people at risk with extra support, and our objectives to break the early school leaving trend, raise awareness of the importance of education in the community, and to support the work of the schools by providing extra tutorials, e.g. Irish and Maths for children who need extra help.

The after school service operates from Monday to Friday 2pm to 6pm, also opening when schools are closed i.e. Midterm, Halloween, Easter, and Summer, offering full day camps to facilitate Parent/Guardians whom are in training, education, or part-time employment. Children are also provided with a Hot Snack on their arrival, funded through DSFA.

If you would like to know more about the After School services, you can contact Sinead Casey 09064 94555 or email; This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it