Killylea Primary School Governor’s Report 2012 - 2013 150 Killylea Road Co Armagh BT60 4LN

Dear Parent

I am pleased to have this opportunity to present to you the Governor’s Report for 2012-13 for Killylea Primary School. It is our intention that you should be kept informed about your child’s progress at school and this report is one of a number of ways in which this information will be provided.

This report can only be a snapshot of what goes on in the school, but once again Killylea Primary School has enjoyed a busy and successful year with many highlights. School enrolment figures have continued to rise and within this report you will see that In-service courses have been attended by staff during the year helping to ensure that our teaching methods, resources and activities are relevant and up-to-date. The Principal Mr. Hutchinson strives to keep everybody well informed through the school website (killylea.educatr.com),text-service, newsletters and local press.

The report also shows the achievements attained by the school during the course of the 2012/13 year and an indication of the variety of work undertaken. A wide range of After School activities including a ‘Stay Late’ Club for Primary 1 and 2 pupils has benefited the children.

Please browse through the report and if you have any queries please contact the Secretary (Mr. Hutchinson) or myself as Acting Chairman of the Board of Governors.

I commend this report for your consideration.

Yours faithfully

Mr C Rollston Acting Chairman.

KILLYLEA PRIMARY SCHOOL’S BOARD OF GOVERNORS Acting Chairman Mr C Rollston Knappagh Lodge 41 Knappagh Road Killylea Armagh 0789185320

Acting Vice Chairman Mr William Watterson 164 Navanfort Road Killylea Co Armagh 02837569978

Secretary Mr D Hutchinson Killylea P School 150 Killylea Rd Armagh 02837 568621

Transferor (Trustee) Representatives SELB Representatives Mr W Watterson 2009 2013 Mr C Rollston 2009 2013 Mrs J Kennedy 2009 2013 Mr N Donnelly 2009 2013 Mrs H Bloomer 2009 2013

Parent Representatives Mrs J Rollston 2009 2013 Mr M Anderson 2009 2013

Assistant Teachers Representative Mrs J Moore

PRINCIPAL (Non Voting) Mr Derek Hutchinson

Each Governor’s name is followed by the date on which his/her term of office expires. The next election of Governors will be 2014.

WHAT ARE THEIR MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES

SELB Scheme of Management for Controlled Schools

'This document outlines the statutory functions of the Board of Governors, Committees and Principals in relation to the management of controlled schools.' http://www.selb.org/governors/resources/Schemeof%20Man0913Controlled.doc

The Governors are ultimately responsible for the overall management of the school. They are required to meet for a minimum of three times each year but in practice meet more often than this. Some of their duties include:

1. The oversight of the Curriculum 2. To oversee Special Education Needs 3. The control of the Budget 4. The provision of information to parents 5. The selection and management of staff 6. The maintenance of the premises. (Shared responsibility with SELB) 7. The Admissions Policy 8. Fostering links with the local community and pursuing the objectives of Mutual Understanding. 9. Reporting to parents 10. School Inspections 11. Preparation of a School Development Plan. 12. Making Health & Safety Recommendations 13. Making recommendations on discipline and behaviour.

(Pupils participate in a project with The Water Bus)

Reflection of 2012-13 Academic Year

The school year 2012/13 has been both busy and productive, with much progress being made in all aspects of school work.

The continued implementation of the Curriculum was further reinforced. This again has provided the school with valued assistance from the Southern Education & Library Boards Advisory & Support Service.

During the past academic year the Staff attended various meetings and courses. These included:

Numeracy Co-Ordinator Literacy Co-Ordinator S.E.N. Clusters Child Protection Training Whole School Dyslexia Training SpLD Training C2k Training (Assessment Manager) CCEA Assessment C.A. Training CRED Roadshow Principal Updates

In addition to external staff development, the teachers continue to meet weekly to discuss and collaborate on all aspects of school educational and pastoral life. Killylea Primary School continues to develop caring relationships and fosters a ‘creative and proactive’ approach to each educational and social interaction.

The 2012-13 school year was another busy year and storage facilities were improved with an extension to our school hall (table/chair store) and a new purpose built mobile classroom/resource room. These have been extremely useful assets to our school.

My sincere thanks and congratulations to all the teaching, ancillary staff and Board of Governors for their continual hard work on behalf of our pupils and to our pupils for their efforts, attendance and achievements in all curricular areas.

The Academic Year proved to be a very busy and exciting year in the life and overall development of our school. Our pupils have continued to achieve pleasing results and compare favourably with the N.I. averages in Numeracy, Literacy and now ICT (see appendix 1). Our involvement of P4 and P7 pupils in the voluntary ICT Accreditation Scheme stretches back over many years and ensures our pupils ICT skills are keeping up with the ever changing age of technology. Congratulations and well done!

As a school connected closely to its community, the school choir sang at Harvest services in both local churches and held a whole school harvest service in which all parents and governors were invited. Produce donated was shared around our elderly in the community and this was greatly appreciated by them. Thanks to all families who donated shoe-boxes for Noleen’s Helping Hands .

Our work within the community and beyond has seen us support a variety of fundraising from those referred to above and to RAF Wings Appeal, Oxfam, Poppy Appeal, British Heart Foundation, Brainwaves, N.I. Cancer for Children and money raised was forwarded to these very worthy causes.

In November and December rehearsals took place for the performance of, Prickly Hay and The 12 Days of Christmas in St. Mark’s Church Hall, Killylea. This was a huge success and enjoyed by many parents and friends. All the children worked very hard making a significant contribution to its success.

The Annual Open Day was on 17th December 2012 and was well attended. The children displayed a wide range of talents from gymnastics, dance, singing to ICT and Cookery.

Reading Partnership took place in Term 1 for 3 of our pupils with Miss Graham over a period of 10 weeks for 15 minute sessions per week. Parents of these children also worked with their child at home to support the work of school. The children’s reading ages improved greatly and this reflects how worthwhile the partnership was.

Paired Reading was led by Mrs Moore and involved interested parents attending a Literacy evening in school in January, before engaging in the 8 week (7 days per week) programme. Every child participating, significantly improved their reading ability as the positive results indicated.

Mrs Moore also involved some P2 pupils in the Numeracy Catch-up programme, which again helped their confidence of Number work and involved parents in supporting their child’s understanding of Numeracy.

We have continued to offer a wide range of Sport throughout the school year through our teaching staff and external coaches. Christine Russell has been in school weekly throughout Terms 1 and 2 coaching Hockey. The children from P3- 7 have been working towards their Stick Star Certificates and P1-2 participated in developing their hockey skills before Easter for 6 weeks. The wide range of after school provision has seen our talented staff provide opportunities for our pupils to develop further skills such as in swimming, Rugby, football, netball, ceramics/pottery, orienteering, archery, volleyball, cycling proficiency and cookery. A PTA ‘Sportathon’ was held in June which brought a wide variety of external coaches and staff together offering our pupils and community opportunities to participate in sport e.g. Tug-of-war, archery, tennis, volleyball.

The school also held an annual Football Tournament attended by 6 local schools and participated in many other tournaments throughout the year in Hockey, Rugby and Football.

Sports Day took place on 31st May with everyone having a great day running, jumping and throwing on the grass pitch.

A number of Bible Clubs were held throughout the year through CEF (led by Ruth Lavery), John Hewitt (Youth Worker), Colin Tinsley and The Amazing Journey organised by The Baptist Church, Armagh. Every Wednesday a whole school Assembly is held with a minister invited weekly from local churches and Christian organisations. An R.E. inspection takes place annually and the Rev. B. Paine visited on the morning of 31st May. The children really enjoy these visits and links with the local community and Christianity.

Many trips took place reinforcing topics being studied within the different classes and for seasonal fun such as a trip to the cinema during film week, the Pantomime in The Market Place Theatre and Santa’s Ice-Capades at Navan during Christmas. The Manchester Residential (21st May to 24th) in partnership with neighbouring small Primary Schools was one of the highlights for some of our P6 and P7 pupils, visiting Old Trafford, Ski slopes, Roman Museum and Alton Towers.

The school photographer attended school to take the children’s photographs.

Educational Psychologist and Psychology Assistant visited school during the year to use screening tests with some pupils. Also 4 pupils benefited from the Peripatetic teacher, Deirdre Duffy’s support throughout 2 terms and all children made pleasing progress.

The Educational Welfare Officer attended to review children’s attendance and other welfare issues. He also spoke to P.7. pupils on transition from Primary to Secondary School, ‘Moving on, Moving Up’.

Mrs Scott continues to teach piano lessons for our pupils interested from P4-P7 every Tuesday/Wednesday.

Tiny Tots Playgroup and new P.1. pupils visited our Christmas Concert dress rehearsal and attended a Teddy Bears Picnic in preparation for September 2014.

(Children enjoy cookery classes ABOVE and Ulster Scots Workshops after school BELOW)

STAFFING COMPLIMENT FOR 2012-2013

Teaching Compliment Mr Derek Hutchinson P6/P7 Principal, SENCO And ICT Co-ordinator, Child Protection Officer.

Miss Paula McClean P3/P4 WAU Co-ordinator

Mr Andrew Rainey P5 E-Safety & P.E. Co-ordinator

Mrs Lynda Kerr Foundation P1, P2, First Aid Job Share Music Co-ordinator Mrs Joanne Moore Literacy Co-ordinator and DDCPO

Miss Sharon Graham SENCO/Numeracy Co-ordinator

Mrs Wendy Hall (On Career Break) Principal Release Mr Nathan Riddle covered

Ancillary Staff Mrs V Lockhart Secretary

Mrs L Maguire Caretaker

Mrs L Spence Cook

Mrs R Gray Classroom Assistant

Miss K Little Classroom/Domestic Assistant

Mrs T Miller Classroom/Domestic Assistant

Mrs K Bentley Classroom/Domestic/Supervisory Assistant Mrs L Durand Classroom/Supervisory Assistant

ANNUAL ATTENDANCE

Attendance at the school was generally good although there were still a few instances of unsatisfactory patterns of absences.

The average attendance for the year 2012/13 was 94%

The Curriculum Under the Education Reform Order, the responsibility of Governors for the curriculum i.e. what is taught in the school has been increased. The day to day organisation of the curriculum remains the Principal’s responsibility. The Governors’ control of the curriculum is, however, more apparent than real as much of what is to be taught has now been determined by law. (Ulster Scots Dancing Workshop)

It is our responsibility to ensure that a broad and balanced learning experience is provided for all pupils under new Revised Curriculum guidelines and all staff continue to avail of training available.

The Special Educational Needs Policy was implemented once again during the 2012/13 academic year. Children’s needs were identified as early as Primary 1 and their names entered on the S.E.N Register. Individual Education Plans were drawn up for children who were having difficulties with Literacy and Numeracy and Miss Graham continued to work with individual children and withdrawal groups. Effective record keeping systems which record the steps taken to meet childrens’ special needs have been developed.

The Staff continue to work closely with the school psychologist in assessing the needs of various children.

The Northern Ireland Curriculum is being implemented in every Classroom. The Primary Phase of the Northern Ireland Curriculum comprises of:-

The Foundation Stage Years 1 and 2 Key Stage 1 Years 3 and 4 Key Stage 2 Years 5, 6 and 7

The Curriculum for the three Key Stages is set out in six areas of learning comprising of:-

1. The Arts (including art and design, music and opportunities to incorporate drama). 2. Language and Literacy (including talking and listening, reading and writing and opportunities to incorporate drama). Schools are also encouraged to each additional languages. 3. Mathematics and Numeracy (focusing on the development of mathematical concepts and numeracy across the curriculum). 4. Personal Development (focusing on the development of emotional development, learning to learn, health relationships and understanding in the local and global community). 5. Physical Education (focusing on the development of knowledge, skills and understanding through play and a range of physical activities). 6. The World Around Us (focusing on the development of skills and knowledge in Geography, History, Science & Technology).

It is important that parents remember that the N.I. Curriculum is a skill based curriculum and are kept informed of all further changes and implications for the children.

During the 2012/13 Academic Year parents have been kept informed of any changes regarding the N. I. Curriculum.

Child Protection In keeping with the aims of the school, the Staff of Killylea Primary School continue to protect every child from violence and harmful treatment. This includes whole staff adherences to the Southern Education & Library Board’s Child Protection Policy Procedures. Mr. Hutchinson (Designated Child Protection Officer) and Mrs Moore (Deputy Designated Child Protection Officer) continue to keep up-to-date with training and keep Governors informed.

Assessment and Outcomes

The statutory subjects offered in Killylea Primary School continue to be taught. Progress in a selected number of subjects within the Northern Ireland Curriculum are formally assessed and the results provided to parents. The assessment outcomes of pupils at the school are included in the Appendix. Also pupils of P4 to P7 participated in NILA and NINA Assessments in the Autumn Term and the results were shared with parents during interviews in November.

The Governors are pleased to note the caring emphasis that is at the heart of school life and the respect which the children are encouraged to develop for themselves, other pupils and adults.

School Liaison

During the Summer Term, Primary 7 paid a visit to The Royal School Armagh, City Of Armagh High School and Aughnacloy College. These were extremely helpful and the children were very enthusiastic about their activities.

Many of our children also attended the Open Nights of City of Armagh High School, Aughnacloy College, Royal School Armagh and Markethill High School. These visits were found to be very beneficial.

Within our own school each parent received an individual invitation to meet class teachers and to attend Annual Parents Meetings.

Sports 2013 Well done once again to all those who won Certificates, Trophies and Medals. This year the following cups and shields were awarded :

James Bothwell Shield Zara Linton/Louis Anderson

Crookes Shield Janaya Crozier

Tinsley Cup Julie Gillanders

Jack Martin Cup Sarah Gillanders/Beth Anderson

Vallelly Cup (ICT) Dylan Anderson

Class Of The Year Shield P5

Halls Eco Shield Lee Irvine

Pearl Sleeth Shield Adam Donaldson The World Around Us Foundation Stage

The Arts Shield Beth Anderson

Kelsall Cup Daryl Foster

Congratulations to all the pupils who passed their Cycling Proficiency and received the ICT Accreditation Certificates. We are indebted to the Road Safety Branch for their help and support. Congratulations also to all the pupils who won trophies and awards from Armagh Show.

Nine children transferred to Secondary Education. Three attend Armagh Royal School, three attend City Of Armagh High School, two Intergrated and one Aughnacloy College

The Governors would like to take this opportunity to thank the Principal and Staff of the school (teaching and non teaching) for their commitment and hard work over the past year.

Thanks are also due to the Southern Education & Library Board’s Advisory Staff and to the representations of the various external agencies who visited the school during the year especially Mrs Olive Scott (Music Tutor). Mrs. Anne- Marie Flynn (Literacy)