St. Oliver's Child Education and Development Centre
The Glebe, Tuam, Co Galway · H54 KX77 · Roll number 20330J
St. Oliver's Child Education and Development Centre is the only one of the special schools in or within 3 km of Tuam. Every school in and around Tuam →
What stands out about St. Oliver's Child Education and Development Centre
- 40 pupils, near the middle for special schools in Ireland (the median is 58).
- Teaches through English, with Irish as a subject.
- Growing: 40 pupils, 25% more than the 32 of 2019/20.
- Its patron is Ability West; its ethos is other.
- The only special school in Tuam or within 3 km of it.
Pupils over time
2015/16 to 2025/26St. Oliver's Child Education and Development Centre had 40 pupils in 2025/26, against 24 in 2015/16 (+67%). Girls are 43% of them. Its roll rose in 8 of the 10 years.
Department of Education enrolments at 30 September each year; girls and boys where the lists give them.
No letter for St. Oliver's Child Education and Development Centre
Ireland publishes no exam results school by school, and section 53 of the Education Act 1998 restricts comparing schools by them, so this school has no letter and nothing here ranks it. Its facts are the Department of Education’s; its inspection reports are linked below.
What the Department of Education does publish for St. Oliver's Child Education and Development Centre is on this page: its pupils each September since 2015/16, girls and boys, its patron and ethos, whether it teaches through Irish, whether it is in DEIS, and its inspection reports.
Newspapers print lists of how many of a school’s leavers go on to college. Those count destinations, not exam results, and depend on who a school takes in; we don’t use them.
Inspection reports on St. Oliver's Child Education and Development Centre
The Department of Education’s Inspectorate visits schools and publishes its reports. The reports describe what inspectors saw; they give no overall grade, and we don’t make one. Reports for this school on gov.ie ↗
Inspectors visit every kind of school. Whole-school evaluations look at teaching and learning, leadership and management; subject inspections look at one subject; follow-through inspections check whether earlier advice was taken. Each report is published on gov.ie with the school’s response.
Getting a place at St. Oliver's Child Education and Development Centre
Every school admits under its own published admission policy; no admissions numbers are published.
Places at St. Oliver's Child Education and Development Centre follow a professional report on the child’s needs; the National Council for Special Education’s local special educational needs organiser helps families apply.
A school with more applicants than places admits on the criteria in its admission policy, often brothers and sisters, the area it serves and, for post-primary schools, its feeder primaries. A family refused a place can appeal.
Places in special classes and special schools are allocated with the National Council for Special Education.
No figures on applications are published, but the roll shows demand: St. Oliver's Child Education and Development Centre has grown by 25% since 2019/20. All the schools around Tuam together changed by +14%.
Pupils since 2019/20
Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018; Department of Education enrolments 2019/20 and 2025/26 (preliminary).
Side by side with the nearest special schools
2025/26The nearest schools of the same kind, as the crow flies: their pupils, ethos and language. No results: none are published.
St. Oliver's Child Education and Development Centre has more pupils than any of the 1 nearest special schools.
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Oliver's Child Education and Development Centre | 40 | +25% | Other | English | ||
| Ábalta Special School | 30 | – | Multi-denominational | Some subjects in Irish | 25 km |
The other 6 special schools in Co. Galway
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scoil Aine | 45 | – | Catholic | English | 28 km | |
| Rosedale School | 75 | +12% | Catholic | English | 28 km | |
| Lakeview School | 76 | +85% | Catholic | English | 28 km | |
| St Josephs Special Sch | 80 | +16% | Multi-denominational | English | 29 km | |
| St. Teresa's Special School | 47 | +74% | Other | English | 47 km | |
| Tígh Nan Dooley Child Education and Development Centre | 19 | – | Other | English | 57 km |
Living in Tuam
The town’s figures, not this street’s.
Homes in the H54 Eircode area
Housing in Tuam →The median sale price rose from €220,000 in 2023 to €295,000 in 2025 (+34%).
New against second-hand, 2023 to 2025
Property Price Register sales in the H54 Eircode routing area, 2023 to 2025.
Renting in Tuam
Cost of living in Tuam →New tenancies in Tuam averaged €1,331 a month in 2025, against €1,232 in 2024 (+8%).
Residential Tenancies Board rent index, new tenancies, 2024 and 2025.
Location
Directions ↗Tuam, H54 KX77
Special schools near St. Oliver's Child Education and Development Centre
Nearest first, as the crow flies, up to 25 km. Each school’s own admission policy decides who gets a place.
Questions about St. Oliver's Child Education and Development Centre
Is St. Oliver's Child Education and Development Centre a good school?
We don’t grade it: Ireland publishes no exam results school by school, and section 53 of the Education Act 1998 restricts comparing them. Its inspection reports on gov.ie, a visit and a talk with the principal will tell you more than any table could.
How many pupils does St. Oliver's Child Education and Development Centre have?
40 pupils in 2025/26. That is +25% since 2019/20.
Does St. Oliver's Child Education and Development Centre teach through Irish?
No: St. Oliver's Child Education and Development Centre teaches in English, with Irish as a subject.
Who runs St. Oliver's Child Education and Development Centre?
St. Oliver's Child Education and Development Centre has a other ethos. Its patron is Ability West.
How do pupils get a place at St. Oliver's Child Education and Development Centre?
Apply to the school directly. It publishes an admission policy and a yearly admission notice with its dates; if more children apply than it has places, it admits on the criteria in its policy.
Which schools of the same kind are near St. Oliver's Child Education and Development Centre?
The nearest are Ábalta Special School (25 km).
Sources: Department of Education, school lists 2025/26 (preliminary) and enrolments since 2015/16, CC BY 4.0 · inspection reports on gov.ie, linked by roll number. Under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).
Facts from the Department of Education’s school lists. Listed with Tuam; nothing here rates the school.
Contains Central Statistics Office (CSO) data, Census 2022, and Tailte Éireann boundaries (CSO Urban Areas, Small Areas, local electoral areas, constituencies), under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).