BOARD OF GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT 2017/18

This report has been produced by the Governors of Ballycarrickmaddy Primary School and is a summary account of the work that undertaken in carrying out our responsibilities for the management of the school during the year 2017/2018.

BOARD OF GOVERNORS’ MEMBERS

Period of Office: September 2014 – June 2018

The Board of Governors is comprised of nine voting members, ie four transferor (local church) representatives, two parent representatives, two representative and one teacher representative, plus the school Principal, Mr D Spratt (non- voting member).

Transferor Representatives Mrs M McCoy Rev T Cleland Rev A McCullough Mrs N Parker

Education Authority Representatives Dr J Doherty Miss P Best

Parent Representatives Mr P Parker Mr P Reid

Teacher Representative Mr P Dunbar

OFFICE BEARERS

Chairperson Mrs N Parker Vice Chairperson Mr P Parker Hon. Secretary Mr D Spratt

The next election for parents’ representatives to the Board of Governors is due to take place during the Summer Term 2018.

GOVERNORS’ MEETINGS

During the school year 2017/18 the Governors met formally on a monthly basis to discuss school business. To contend with specific issues arising from school life some Governors were also involved in informal discussions. Some governors also were involved in training sessions from the Education Authority.

Governor Responsibilities

The Board of Governors are responsible for the Appointment of Staff, Discipline, Grievance and Suspension/Dismissal Procedures and devolved responsibilities in the overall management of the school, this also includes the following areas – The Curriculum, Special Education Needs, Assessment, Admissions, Child Protection, Security and Personal Safety, Finance, Staffing, Internal Maintenance, Annual Governor’s Report and the Prospectus.

Sub-Committees

Sub-committees have been formed to consider reports and to make proposals for consideration by the whole Board in the following areas of responsibility:

• Complaints Committee • Staffing Committee • Finance Committee • Appeals’ Committee

Final decisions are reached by the full Board of Governors. Overall responsibility for the day to day running of the school continues to rest with the Principal and he is also responsible for the monitoring of school spending and for advising the Board on any problems that may arise.

STAFFING 2017/18

PRINCIPAL Mr D Spratt BEd (Hons) PQH(NI)

VICE PRINCIPAL Mr P Dunbar BS (Hons) MSc PGCE PQH (NI)

TEACHING STAFF

Primary 1 Mrs J Dougherty and Mrs O McKillop Primary 2 Mrs C Anderson and Mrs B Dark Primary 3 Mrs A Robinson Primary 4 Mrs J Snape and Mrs O McKillop Primary 5 Mrs C Faulkner and Mrs R Stewart (Oct to March sickness cover) Primary 6 Miss L Kennedy (cover for Miss M McKane) Primary 7 Mr P Dunbar

LEARNING SUPPORT TEACHERS Mrs O McKillop (SENCO) Mrs B Dark Mrs J

CLASSROOM ASSISTANTS Mrs W Scott Mrs R Bann Mrs J Ferguson Mrs I Dodds Miss S Kavanagh Mrs E Fleming Miss L Allen Mrs S Graham Mrs R Willis Miss A Megarry Mrs A Loughran Mrs L Foote Mrs G Grattan

SECRETARY Mrs J McCourt

BUILDING SUPERVISOR Mr G White

CLEANER Mrs D Robson (until May 2018) Mrs C Cunningham (from June 2018)

LUNCH TIME SUPERVISORS Mrs S Graham Mrs G Grattan Mrs W Scott / Miss L Allen Mrs D Moore

CATERING STAFF Mrs L Vayro Mrs C Cunnigham

ENROLEMENT AND ATTENDANCE

Academic P1 Intake Total Attendance Free School Year Enrolment % Meals % 2015/16 29 178 96.9% 21.3% 2016/17 30 180 97.4% 21.1% 2017/18 30 189 96.1% 18.5%

Admissions Criteria for Year 1 Intake

The following criteria will be applied in the order set down, 1 to 5, by the Board of Governors of Ballycarrickmaddy Primary School in selecting children for admission to Y1.

1. Children of compulsory school age, who have a brother/sister, half-brother/half- sister, step-brother/step-sister in attendance at Ballycarrickmaddy Primary School. 2. A child of a parent/guardian who previously attended the school or a child whose parent is a member of the school staff. 3. Children whose brother/sister/half-brother or sister is a former pupil of the school. 4. Children who live closest to the school, as the ‘crow flies’ from the centre of their home to the front gate of the school as measured by the online OSNI Map Shop “Linear Distance Measurement Tool” will be given priority. 5. Other children of compulsory school age.

Please note: It is parents’ responsibility to ensure that any information which may be relevant to the above criteria is included on the Application Form or is attached to the Form.

Duty to Verify The Board of Governors reserves the right to require such supplementary evidence as it may determine to support or verify information on any application form. If the requested evidence is not provided to the Board of Governors by the deadline given, this will result in the withdrawal of an offer of a place. Similarly, if information is supplied which appears to be false or misleading in any material way, the offer of a place will be withdrawn.

SCHOOL DEVELOPMENT PLAN

The school has a detailed School Development Plan which sets the school’s targets for improvement 2017/18 is year 1 of the school’s three year development plan (2017-2020). The implementation of this development plan is reviewed by the Board of Governors.

The School Development Plan outlines the self review process at Ballycarrickmaddy Primary School. It develops a system to monitor, evaluate and review the school’s performance in all significant areas and standards of provision. The document is reviewed annually and areas for improvement are identified. The areas for improvement feed directly into our yearly action plans and form the basis of whole school development for the next school year.

Areas of improvement/development are derived from the following processes: • Co-ordinator Audits • Feedback from ETI inspection reports • Curriculum/non-curricular development provided by SEELB • Department of Education NI (DENI) initiatives • Staff development training provided by DENI, CCEA, Education Authority or other agencies • Parent and pupil feedback questionnaires • Whole school audits • ETI ISEF self-evaluation audit tool

All staff members have relevant input into the self-review process and it is managed by the Senior Management Team.

STAFF/CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

In the academic year 2016/17 staff and curriculum development addressed the following areas: • Increasing pupil Reading Comprehension skills • Introducing Accelerated Reading programme to P4 to P7 • Improving Problem skills within Numeracy • Use of Effective Questioning in lessons to improve pupil learning • Use of Peer/Self Assessment • Use of teacher formative feedback when marking (tickled pink/green for growth strategy) • Improving observations at FS and KS1 during PBL and ABL lessons • Progression in PBL and ABL and sharing good practice • Use of Booster groups • Use of Assessment data PTE, PTM and CAT4 • Progressive use of ICT – ipads • Effective use of CCEA UICT tasks to assess pupils in ICT • Develop teaching of internet safety

To support curriculum development teachers met in Key Stages and as a whole school. These meetings took place in weekly directed time staff development meetings, during Baker Days and on school development days. The governors wish to place on record their appreciation of the work carried out by all the staff to improve the teaching and learning in the school.

POLICY REVIEW

The policies listed below were reviewed, amended as appropriate and approved by the Board of Governors during the 2017/18 academic year. • Child Protection Policy • Volunteers and Visitor Policy • Administration of Medication Policy • Critical Incidents Policy • First Aid Policy • Drugs Policy • Attendance Policy • Code of Conduct for Staff and Volunteers • Relationships and Sexuality Policy • Complaints Policy • Social Media Policy • Pastoral Care Policy • E-Safety Policy (Including acceptable use of the internet)

SHARED EDUCATION

This year we successfully applied for a Shared Education link with St Patrick’s PS in Lurgan. The focus of the partnership was ICT and STEM based (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths). The partnership was highly successful and will continue to develop over the next few years.

ASSESSMENT/ACHIEVEMENTS The school is very proud of the achievements of its pupils. End of Key Stage assessment results are detailed below. All pupils and teachers (P1-P7) are to be congratulated for their high level of commitment and hard work.

END OF KEY STAGE ASSESSMENT RESULTS (2016/17)

Key Stage 1 (P4) % Communication Using Mathematics Using ICT BCM NI average BCM NI average BCM NI average Level 2+ 90 88.2 85 89.3 90 89.9

Key Stage 2 (P7) % Communication Using Mathematics Using ICT BCM NI average BCM NI average BCM NI average Level 4+ 88 78.8 88 79.6 92 84.2

Most schools did not submit levels to DE due to industrial action therefore Northern figures are not available.

STANDARDISED ASSESSMENTS

Ballycarrickmaddy Primary School carries out Standardised tests for Y3-7 in May each year as part of our screening process for low and underachievement, tracking of pupils and individual pupil target setting. The main assessments carried out are:

• GL Progress in English (PiE) • GL Progress in Maths (PiM) • GL Cognitive Ability Test (CAT4) – computer based

TRANSFER TO POST-PRIMARY EDUCATION

Ballycarrickmaddy Primary School enjoys an excellent working relationship with post- primary schools throughout Lisburn and the Greater area. In June 2018 pupils of transfer age moved on to the following schools: • • Crumlin Integrated College • Fort Hill Integrated College • Friends’ School • Hunterhouse College • Laurelhill Community College • Lisnagarvey High School • Lurgan Junior High School • Methodist College • Parkhall High School • Royal School • Wallace High School

72% of pupils transferring obtained places.

CHILD PROTECTION AND SAFEGUARDING

Designated Teacher: Mrs O McKillop Deputy Designated Teacher: Mr P Dunbar Designated: Mrs N Parker and Rev T Cleland

The area of Child Protection is one that Ballycarrickmaddy takes very seriously. Concerns are investigated thoroughly, appropriate action taken whenever necessary. As a matter of course Governors are briefed on relevant issues.

Parents/Volunteers/After school club leaders who wished to assist in the work of the school continue to complete Access NI forms thus helping to ensure that all adults who have contact with our pupils have had the necessary police checks completed.

Strategies have also been put in place to ensure that all pupils are aware of who can help them if they have any concerns. The issue of ‘Bullying’ and what this is, what you should do and why, is raised throughout the school year in morning assembly, during Circle Time sessions in individual classes and through curricular areas such as PDMU. Posters dealing with this issue are displayed throughout the school.

All staff received updated Child Protection training in August 2017.

An annual report about Safeguarding/Child Protection for 2017/18 was presented to the governors at a meeting in May 2018. Throughout the academic year 2017/18 the school participated in the NSPCC ‘Keeping Safe’ programme.

The school employs many strategies to promote Safeguarding/Child Protection at Ballycarrickmaddy, these include: • Dedicated “Child Protection” and “E-Safety” pages on the school website • Monthly reminders in assembly to all pupils about what to do if they have a concern • “Problem Solver” box for pupils • Regular reminders in the weekly newsletter about who the Child Protection team are • Annual review of the Child Protection Policy • Use of external agencies such as NSPCC, PSNI, Love for Life.

SECURITY

The school is surrounded by fencing on all sides and the entire building has been fitted with an electronic alarm system. Pupils are always supervised by adults at play-time and exit gates from the playground are monitored. External doors are secured during the school day to prevent access from the outside. All visitors must report to reception upon arrival.

PASTORAL CARE

The pastoral care extended throughout Ballycarrickmaddy Primary School is excellent, and fulfils the school's aim of creating an environment in which pupils are happy, secure, confident and valued.

Relationships between pupils and staff, and among pupils themselves, are extremely strong, and a caring and friendly atmosphere is clearly evident throughout the school. The pupils are well mannered, and adults are excellent positive role-models. SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS PROVISION

Ballycarrickmaddy Primary School prides itself on the provision of high quality education for all the children attending the school. Some children at various stages of their development require a little additional help when they experience difficulties with a particular aspect of their work. In order to help these children a number of strategies have been employed during the year.

Classroom intervention - The needs of the vast majority of children are met within the classroom, and where it is felt necessary Education Plans are drawn up, in consultation with pupils and parents, to target specific areas of weakness.

One to one withdrawal support - Mrs McKillop (SENCO) along with Mrs Dark and Mrs McMurray provide additional learning support/teaching throughout the year to specific pupils. External peripatetic teachers also provided support to pupils as part of the Education Authority – North Eastern Region’s Literacy Teaching Support Service outreach.

Booster groups – (small group teaching) Classroom assistants take pupils before school to support their learning and reinforce basic concepts. Class teachers and the SENCO identify pupils for booster groups using available data in both Literacy and Numeracy. Progress is monitored and most children make very good progress.

The school liaise with a number of external agencies to support pupils identifies with SEN, these include: • RISE NI (formerly ASCET) • EA Hearing Impaired service • EA South Eastern Region Literacy Support Service • Time to Read

In the Department of Education’s October 2017 annual census, 25% of the children enrolled at the school were on the Special Education Needs’ Code of Practice.

FINANCIAL REPORT

Under the terms of Local Management of Schools (LMS), the Board of Governors are responsible for managing the entire delegated school budget.

The amount of money allocated to the Governors to run the school (common formula funding) depends largely on the number of pupils on rolls, with other factors such as the internal area of the school premises and the number of Newcomer pupils and pupils with Special Educational Needs also being taken into account.

Many of the school’s financial commitments are actually predetermined by outside factors, eg basic staff costs, maintenance costs, etc, leaving the Governors a limited amount of the school’s overall budget to allocate according to the school’s priorities.

A summary of the school’s finances for 2017/18 is listed in the statement below:

Total delegated budget £555,572 Net Expenditure £536,873 Balance carried forward to 2018/19 £18,699

SCHOOL FUND ACCOUNT

In addition to the delegated budget from the Education Authority, the school also has a “School Fund” account - each year the parents/carers are asked to make a voluntary contribution to school fund of £20 per year.

In the 2017/18 academic year, £1996 was given by parents/carers. The school is very appreciative of the financial support given to the school by parents/carers. This money was used to purchase additional resources for the school.

EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVTIES

Extra-curricular activities are a hugely valuable dimension to the children’s school experience. All children receive physical education, music and art within the curriculum and a wide range of after school activities provides further opportunities to develop particular skills and interests. This year the clubs included: • Football • Choir • Tennis • Hockey • Knitting • Eco-Club • Kindergarden Cooks • Good News Club • Spocket Rocket • Cycling Proficiency • Multi-Sports • Drums • Lab Rats Science Club

Our range of after school clubs is extended throughout the year through using a range of outside agencies.We had football and cross country teams who took part in a range of local competitions.

Pupils from Year 5 to Year 7 participated in weekly swimming lessons and the annual Swimming Gala at Lisburn Leisureplex.

Our children had the opportunity to develop their musical talents by availing of the services provided by a range of music teachers providing tuition in • Violin • Piano • Clarinet • Singing • Flute • Guitar

EDUCATIONAL VISITS

All classes undertook at least one day visit during the school year as part of their curriculum programme. This year’s visits included: • Parkanaur Forest • W5 • Tayto Faxctory • Greenmount • Mac Theatre • Lisburn Linen Museum • St Patricks Primary School • RADAR • Stormont • Belfast Hills – Black Mountain

RESIDENTIAL TRIPS This year P7 pupils enjoyed a residential trip to Carrowmena Outdoor Pursuits centre outside Limavady on the North Coast.

PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT

CURRICULUM INFORMATION EVENINGS

Parent/carers were given to the opportunity to attend Curriculum Information sessions. These were held in the evening during early September.

INFORMATION EVENTS The school holds a number of information workshops/talks/seminars throughtoutr the year to help involve parents in their child’s education and in school life, these include: - Super Learning Day (Numeracy focus) - Residential trip information session - NSPCC internet safety talk - PSNI internet safety talk - P1 induction talk - Open Night - Transfer to post primary information talk

PARENT/TEACHER INTERVIEWS

Parents are offered the opportunity to meet with their child’s teacher to discuss their educational progress or other relevant matters twice per year in Term 1 (October) and Term 2 (February).

TEXT MESSAGE/EMAIL SYSTEM

Teacher2Parents provide this vital service to us. It has proved an invaluable tool for reminding parents of important school events, communicating emergency information (eg closures due to severe snow) and keeping parents informed.

SCHOOL WEBSITE

The school website has been updated and enhanced to make it more modern and appealing. It showcases life at our school with photos and videos, but also gives parents immediate access to important information such as: - Weekly newsletters - Policies - After school clubs - Dinner menu - Child Protection Information - Holiday dates

WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

A weekly newsletter is emailed (or paper) to parents every Friday and is available from the school website.

SCHOOL EVENTS FOR PARENTS

There are a number of events organised in school during the year for parents and the Community, these include: - Christmas performances/concert - PTFA events (see below) - Open Night - P7 leavers performance - Spring Concert - P1 parent coffee morning - Super Learning Day

PARENT, TEACHERS AND FRIENDS ASSOCIATION (PTFA)

The PTFA continues to support the school in many varied ways giving generously of their time and expertise to enrich the daily life of our school. The varied programme of events organised by our PTFA provides pupils, parents and staff with an array of opportunities to meet and socialise outside the classroom – something that adds much to the ethos of our school.

PFTA events in 2017/18 included: • Discos • Hamper raffles • Ladies Night for Christmas • Tea with Santa • Sports Night

The commitment of the PTFA committee that makes it the great success it is. Sincere gratitude is extended to all PTFA members for donating their time and energy to organise opportunities to raise money for all of our pupils at Ballycarrickmaddy. The funds they raise are invaluable to Ballycarrickmaddy and the ability to continue to provide the teaching of Spanish throughout the school has been very much welcomed by pupils and teachers alike.

PTFA funds this year were used to purchase a new, state of the art, 75 inch touch panel interactive LCD screen to replace the old IWB in P1.

COMMUNITY SCHOOL

During 2017/18 we were delighted to welcome various sections of our community to use our school premises: -

- Kindergarden Cooks - Play for All after school care - Church prayer group - Lisburn Council Summer Scheme - Lab Rats Science Club - Royal Horticultural Society (teacher training venue)

The school also offers a Breakfast Club and After-School Care every day.

CHARITY FUNDRAISING: This year the school was involved in raising funds for the following charities:

ROYAL BRITISH LEGION (POPPY DAY) £unknown

NI CHILDREN’S HOSPICE £510

ETI SUSTAINING IMPROVEMENT INSPECTION

In May 2018 ETI informed the school that it would be carrying out a “Sustaining Improvement Inspection”. However due to “Action Short of Strike” by teaching staff, as instructed by the four teaching unions which make up the Teachers’ Council (NITC), the inspection was unable to be completed by the ETI inspection team.

The ETI did inspect the school’s arrangements for Child Protection/Safeguarding. They stated:

“… the school provided evidence that the arrangements for safeguarding children reflect broadly the guidance from the Department of Education (DE). The inspector met with a small group of year 7 children; they reported that they feel happy and safe in school and know what to do and who to talk to if they are concerned about their safety or well- being…”

NEW SCHOOL LOGO The school council, in consultation with parents, staff and pupils worked with a designer to produce a modern, updated school logo to replace the old one on letterheads, signage and school uniforms. The pupils wanted the new logo to represent the school’s rural locality, the importance of learning and caring – all with the children at the centre.

BUILDINGS AND MAINTENANCE

The school building is generally sound. The Board of Governors, along with the school Health and Safety team, survey the buildings regularly and identify any maintenance work required. The Board of Governors carries out an annual inspection which informs the Education Authority – South Eastern Region of any repairs required or ongoing Health and Safety issues with the school building and grounds.

The Governors remain concerned about the poor state of the external paintwork on the school building and the lack to visible car/bus parking lines and will continue to request the Education Authority take action to maintain these.

The Building Supervisor continues to take great care of the building and is to be congratulated for this.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion the Board of Governors would like to thank the Principal and all the staff for their hard work, dedication and co-operation during the 2016/17 school year. We are extremely fortunate to have such a dedicated and enthusiastic team of teaching and non- teaching staff working in our school. Each making a vital contribution to the running of the school and the education of our pupils and for this we are extremely grateful.

We also recognise the very important contribution that parents/carers, make to our school. Your ongoing support highlights the importance that you place on your child’s education and is something we are truly grateful for.

The Board of Governors are confident that high levels of learning and teaching are being maintained despite funding issues across the education sector. We look forward to what the next academic year will bring as we continue to develop and drive the school and our children towards further successes.

Chairperson: Mrs N Parker