COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

south dublin county council crest

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, September 12, 2011

MOTION NO. 11

MOTION: Councillor E. Higgins

That the Manager report on the promotion of local facilities such as parks, playgrounds, stadiums and petting zoos to schools, play groups and family support organisations as potential school tour/visit sites?

REPORT:

The Council's public parks and associated amenities, such as playgrounds, are promoted primarily through the Council's website. The Council has promoted the facilities to schools in the past by means of advertisement in the Kingswood School's Directory. Following a review of the cost / benefit of such advertising, it was decided in 2008 not to continue to advertise in this Directory as the same benefit was being achieved through local contact and the website. The Pet Farm in Corkagh Park has proven to be particularly popular with schools in late spring early summer. In addition, the Council actively participates in national initiatives, many of which are promoted through schools, for example, National Tree Week which is promoted by The Tree Council of Ireland. The Council's Park Rangers also provides a guided walk service for interested groups and schools.

In addition our Sports and Leisure Facilities at Jobstown and Clondalkin are used during the school academic year for swimming by most schools in the surrounding areas. Tallaght Stadium is another facility that in co-operation with Shamrock Rovers provides young schoolboy clubs to participate on match days at half time. It should also be noted that many schools in the county use the Council's network of parks on an ongoing basis for games, health and physical education as part of the curriculum.

South Dublin Libraries provide a wide range of services to young people and families across the County six days each week including four late night openings from Monday to Thursday. In 2010 there were over two and a half thousand visits by individual classes from local schools to libraries across South Dublin. Marketing and promotion of library services to families and young people underpins service provision with heavy emphasis on the use of social media and local newspapers to highlight events and activities. A recently designed app for smart phones is now also being heavily used for promotion of events. The Library Department works closely with over ninety primary schools, thirty post primary schools as well as crèches and pre school groups across the County to promote the full range of services available. Live broadcasts from Lyric FM, RTE, Newstalk and other national stations have also recently served to promote the library services on a broader platform.

The library website also offers a 24/7 service to children from the specially designed Children’s Zone http://www.southdublinlibraries.ie/childrens-zone  which includes What’s On @ My Library, Festival Fun and Event’s News which directs children and parents to the range of daily activities delivered specifically for them. A full programme of quality, free events catering for all ages is prepared throughout the year, including:

 In addition to festival events libraries across the County are currently offering on a daily basis activities for teenagers and children which include: