Friday afternoons in most schools can feel thrilling, with a buzz about the teachers and pupils for the weekend - but the Friday feeling at a school in West Belfast exceeds most.
St Gerard's School and Support Services is a special school catering for children aged three to 19 with a range of additional needs. All students at the school are referred by the Education Authority and have a Statement of Special Educational Need.
Behind the walls of the Black's Road school, is a dedicated team of teaching and learning assistant support staff, as well as children who bring joy to each corridor they walk down, or classroom they enter.
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Michael McCullough, joined the school community pre-Covid and says it is a joy to be around the children and staff.
"It is just such a welcoming place, and you can see that nobody here is embarrassed, or afraid to have fun," he said.
"Teaching in other schools, there is an ethos of 'everything for the kids' but you really get that here in St Gerard's. Everybody goes above and beyond for the children. When I first came here, I was on a part time basis and there's something about it that once you are here, you don't want to leave.
"You never get teachers wanting to leave here - and you can clearly see why. We can have tough days, the children have particular needs, but our staff know how to deal with those needs. Something that might be traumatic to someone outside of here, we just get on with it here and all support one another.
"On the good days, you could get anything and I have seen some of the craziest things here. At any given day you have different departments running different activities. Everything is about our kids having the best experience."
And looking towards Christmas, the team at St Gerard's are preparing to turn their own school into a Winter Wonderland, and somewhere their children can come, feel safe, and enjoy the magic of the festivities.
Living with additional needs, a trip to the local Belfast Christmas Market, may prove distressing, but in true St Gerard's spirit, that won't stop them from making their children have fun.
"For everyone in Belfast, their Christmas starts with a trip to City Hall, to the Christmas Market, our kids can't experience that," Michael added.
"We came up with the idea of doing our own Christmas market. Straight away, the Balmoral came on board. We put out a Twitter message and straight away, we had around 35 people wanting to come and have a stall. It has grown from that, and no matter what we do, it seems to get massive support.
"We are just getting bigger, and this year we wanted Christmas lights so I reached out to a company and they gave us lights for free. It's that goodwill that goes towards our kids, we can't thank the community enough.
"I have to mention Danielle Shields from the Housing Executive. Through their funding we have been able to supply swimming and gymnastics to over 100 kids from hugely different backgrounds and religions. That not only helps combat falling into a sedentary lifestyle or obesity but also helps top nail down life skills such as hygiene and getting dressed
"Caroline Fulton from Halifax has helped with funding which will see over 100 of our kids experience trips to the likes of the Zoo and W5. Without their help, the children may never have got the chance to go to those places."
Speaking to Belfast Live, Tracey, who is head of middle school, has worked at St Gerard's for 25 years, starting when it was at their old Springfield Road site.
"Although the old school was not cosmetically pleasing, it was the most warm and nurturing, happy environment" she said.
"At that time we had in and around 160 children when I first started. We had about 8-10 classroom assistants too. Over the years it really has developed and now have 379 pupils. We now have 120 classroom assistants.
"We are in the site around seven years, and it was the best move. We are looking to develop the outdoor space for the children because a lot of our kids have sensory needs.
"Our children have the same opportunities to learn, as they would in a mainstream school, but it is at their own individualised and bespoke level.
"My experience is, when you come to work at St Gerard's, the children get into your blood. They become like your own children. We watch them on their full journey, as they grow. When people come into St Gerard's, they will remember they have been here."
Video by Belfast Live videographer Harry Bateman.
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