`Hunger is no longer a factor in the classroom," says a relieved principal. Providing the students of St Bernadette's Junior School with an early breakfast is a small initiative but a crucial one as far as Breda Bonner is concerned.

"All of the teachers have been concerned that a significant proportion of children coming to the school are hungry," says Bonner, who came here to teach in the early Eighties. She's been principal for the past two years.

The early breakfast, introduced almost two years ago, "addresses the problem of the hungry ones. You do notice the difference. The feed-back from the teachers is that the children are attending to school," Bonner reports. Geraldine Kelly, treasurer of the parents' association, is in at 8.15 a.m. buttering brown bread. "Every child in the school gets it," she says emphatically. "I would know a lot of the families and some of them just don't have the money. It could be through bad management."

Kelly, who has a son in low infants, works with two other women in the morning. "It's no hassle," she says. "It does require the goodwill of the teachers." She stays on after the early breakfast to help in the classrooms.

Today, the children munch away happily and settle in to the day. They get a glass of milk, a thick slice of buttered wholemeal bread and an apple or an orange, courtesy of the St Vincent de Paul Society.

"They not asking for their lunches like they were before, " reports Bonner.

"Before, the hungry ones would be looking at the sandwiches (which are supplied by the Department of Education and Science to disadvantaged schools) from the time they came in."

There are almost 300 young students at St Bernadette's in Quarryvale, north Clondalkin, Dublin. Under a low, grey sky at midday, a number of classes are outside running around on a break. They skip and jump and shout.

Two little boys run up to Bonner. "He hit me," says the blubbering five-year-old. The other little fellow stands by guiltily. She joins their hands together for a few seconds and then she takes them each by the hand, walks them into a little circle, bending down as they confer for a minute and then the three of them walk on.

There are other problems in the area, says Bonner. For example, there are no facilities, she says. Eilis Dolan teaches junior infants. "If you bring them somewhere - to the park, the farm, the beach, somewhere ordinary," she says, "they are so excited. The parents are very appreciative. I love it - I've been here since 1985."

They've also taken them to museums, art gallerys, the panto and plays.

Inside, the big colourful murals along the corridors turn the school into a bright, cheerful place. There are 16 teachers working alongside Breda Bonner. Out at the back, there are 60 pre-school children, under the Early Start programme.

Father Ciaran Enright, school chaplain, has dropped in to the staffroom on one of his routine visits. He talks about "the heart and the spirit of people" in the Quarryvale community. "There's a huge concentration of young people. Their hopes centre around the young people. They're the focus for the future.

"All the publicity is negative and people find that frustrating. The good side of life is never portrayed. The schools are really places of excellence and the community value that and see them as central to a future of hope for the children."

Dr Michael Joyce, the new chairman of the school board of management, explains how "we sat down to see what we could do. The influence of the home is a major factor."

The parents' association was formed and a new dimension in enthusiasm, energy and commitment was provided. "The most important thing in the students' lives are the parents - that hasn't been a view held generally in schools. Education is a long-term thing, a generational thing. That's why we need the parents to get interested."

Fund-raising is a major function of the parents' association. Last year it raised more than £2,000 through table quizzes, raffles, sales of work and a mini-marathon. Most of the money is used to fund the trips.

"Parents have also been involved in getting funding from statutory bodies," says Bonner. She points to a parents' room where a range of classes are run. "We are here morning, noon and night," says Kelly with a grin. Bonner smiles too. They look like two delighted conspirators who have only started to shake things up.