DRUMACHOSE IMARY scHoO BOARD OF GOVERNORS REPORT 201712018
The Board of Governors is responsible for the overall management of the school and among its responsibilities is the oversight of the curriculum, selection of staff, personnel issues, admissions policy, school maintenance, implementation of new legislation, fostering links with the local community and pursuing the objectives of mutual understanding. With a fully delegated budget the Board of Governors is responsible for the financial management of the school based on the budget allocation provided by the Education Authority.
Governors for the period September 2014 to August 2018 are as follows:
Principal: Mr Kilgore Nominated by Board: Mrs S Hill Mr P Kingston Nominated by Transferors: Rev S. McCracken Canon S. McVeigh Mrs P. McLean Mrs J Gault Parents’ Representatives: Mr J Butcher Mr D Mornin Teachers’ Representatives: Mr M Kelly
Dear Parent,
As Chairman of the Board of Governors of Drumachose Primary School it is with great pleasure that I present to you the Annual Report.
This will be the last report for the present Board of Governors and I would like to thank them for giving this school their time, support and expertise.
This report is a summary of the events of the past year at Drumachose Primary School. May I take this opportunity to congratulate the whole school community in regard to the recent ETI inspection. To achieve ‘Outstanding,’ in all three areas is special. Credit goes to everyone associated with the school, to the pupils, parents and staff. ETI has affirmed what we all know. The pupils of this school get a great deal.
I wish to say a special thanks to the PTA who continue to raise much needed funds for the school, at a time when school budgets are under severe pressure.
The school continues to be a ‘centre for excellence’ in the Roe Valley area and I know it will continue to reflect upon its practise and strive for improvement in the years ahead.
Yours sincerely
Canon S. McVeigh (Chairman of Board of Governors)
The Principal, teaching and ancillary staff wish to express sincere thanks to the Board of Governors for the support to them and the school over this past year. Under the Chairmanship of Canon McVeigh, they have worked tirelessly to promote the school in the community and provide resources and a safe environment for our staff and pupils during very challenging times. The Board has overseen the maintenance of the high level of excellence in education, which has long been the norm at Drumachose Primary School. Unfortunately, the final phase of refurbishment has been shelved due to the financial constraints of the Education Budget. The recent inspection affirmed that the school delivers high quality teaching and learning. However, the accommodation is not fit for purpose and the Governors continue to lobby DENI, EA and our local MLA’s for the completion of this work.
Enrolment
During the school year 2017/18 the enrolment was 339. It is pleasing to report that the average attendance for the year was 96.6%, well above the Northern Ireland average.
Staffing
The teaching compliment was 14.6 teachers, including the Principal. Mrs Kelly was appointed as our Learning Support Teacher. Miss Lindsay covered Mrs Cullington’s maternity in Year 3.
Ancillary Staff
The ancillary staff complement was as follows:
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Full time secretary
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Full time caretaker
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Four learning support assistants
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Five special needs learning support assistants
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Four part- time cleaners
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Six supervisory assistants
The Board of Governors would like to thank all the ancillary staff for their contribution in ensuring the needs of the children in their care were met.
Curriculum & Staff Development
The staff were actively involved in various curricular areas led by the SDP, subject and class action plans.
The Literacy Core Team continued to work collaboratively on areas for improvement in Literacy. They robustly analysed performance data to set targets for underachievement and low achievement. A review took place of the school handwriting scheme and comprehension through guided reading. Staff looked at how we teach reading comprehension skills as well as simple and complex inference.
Pupils continued to receive support from Jill Borland, Speech and Language Therapist. Unfortunately, this resource ceased from April 2018 due to funding issues.
The numeracy core team looked at a range of teaching strategies including RUCSAC for use when problem solving. Teachers worked to ensure the effective use of data between year groups, making changes to the teaching in the classroom ensuring real impact to the pupil’s learning. All staff participated in a problem solving workshop led by Tim Doyle. A review of KS2 financial capability took place and a new scheme of work was drawn up to ensure progression from year group to year group.
Literacy and Numeracy intervention groups continued using the Learning Support Teacher and F/S Staff. Staff put togetheran intervention programme in consultation with the class teachers.
There was a review of Safe and Effective use of ICT and Social Networking Policies. Staff planned and delivered an e-safety week to pupils and parents, as well as holding an internet safety workshop facilitated by the Dry Arch. Staff re-trained in the use of epipens and how to deal with other medical conditions in class. The whole staff reviewed the Preventative Curriculum as well as the RSE Policy. All new staff received Child Protection Training led by Mrs Fleming.
The Safeguarding Team met on two occasions to monitor and evaluate Safeguarding, Care and Welfare, whilst overseeing the completion of the Safeguarding Proforma.
Staff continued to monitor and evaluate the learning and teaching. Coordinators monitored planning, action plans and class books. All staff
completed PRSD cycles with targets linked to the School Development Plan.
Staff continued to target set, with data analysed at individual, class and whole school level. They met regularly to review education plans and create class and subject action plans.
The Governors sincerely thank all those volunteers who helped with reading partnership, paired reading, book fairs, toddler group and at the various class trips. Sincere thanks to all our staff for their continued dedication in providing quality learning and teaching experiences to all our pupils.
Building and Repair
The senior playground had a makeover during the year with new fencing being erected between the playground and driveway.
The Governors wish to pay tribute to Mr Quigg and the cleaning staff for all the outstanding work during the year, especially in preparation for the new school term. A special word of thanks to Mr D Loughery and his staff from the Grounds Maintenance Team.
Shared Education
Shared Education grew from strength to strength with more pupils coming together from Drumachose and Termoncanice. Year 1 pupils worked collaboratively to complete STEM activities based around fairy tales.
Year 5 pupils met on a number of occasions. They worked together on an Art Project about themselves, participated in a games afternoon and multi-sport day. They held a Table Quiz and Celebration Day to bring the programme to an end.
The year 6 pupils produced an iMovie News report about the Titanic disaster. The pupils worked in groups to plan, write, create, edit and present their iMovie. They visited Titanic, Belfast and held a Celebration Day to share their work with each other.
Our Year 7 met to write a story based on the Famine and produced an animated version of the story using iPads. Each school took turns to write a section sharing via the Goggle Classroom App. They used the I Motion App to create their animation. They had a trip to the Ulster American Folk Park to research their topic and a showcase morning was held with the children sharing their completed animated stories.
Staff from each school met to plan and evaluate the programme in the third term. Year 2, 3 and 4 teacher’s collaborated looking at areas of study for 2018/19.
Many teams participated in cross community events throughout the year. These included cricket, netball, football, hockey and athletics.
A joint non uniform day was held by all primary schools in the Limavady area to support the Rotary Tree of Remembrance.
Special Education Need Provision
Mrs Cullington, our SENCO ensured that appropriate education plans were in place and reviewed regularly. The SENCO met on a regular basis with pupils and parents to review targets and inform of progress. Guidance and practical support was given by Mrs M Martin, Education Psychologist, ASD Team, The Reading Centre and Mr Scholes from the hospital school. Mrs EJ Kelly provided learning support three days a week supported by the Foundation Staff two afternoons per week.
Physiotherapists, diabetic nurses and occupational therapists offered support and advice throughout the year.
Miss J Boreland, Speech and Language Therapist worked in school supporting staff, pupils and parents in regard to language development.
The Governors would like to acknowledge the advice and support given by Mrs P Haughey, EA Western Region, Mrs M Martin (Educational Psychologist) and Mrs J House from the Reading Centre as the school endeavours to meet the needs of all its pupils.
Music & Drama
The year commenced with the Annual Harvest Service led by the school choir. They led the Carol Service held in Christchurch with
performances from our ensemble, P4’s and class readers. They were very busy over the Christmas period performing at Thackery Nursing and Day Care, Cornfield, Probus, Rotary, Edenvale and 2[nd] Limavady Presbyterian Church.
Our P1 and P2 pupils presented ‘A Wriggly Nativity’ to full houses in December.
The Governors wish to pay tribute to all members of staff who willingly gave of their time and talents to provide the children involved with an unforgettable experience.
During the year peripatetic music teachers continued to teach and inspire our young musicians in brass and woodwind. All year 5 pupils received an instrument and tuition free of charge. The Governors are very grateful for their co-operation and interest.
Club & Societies
An extensive range of after school activities continued throughout the year for pupils in P1-7. Many pupils took the opportunity to develop their skills in football, judo, hockey, netball, athletics and monkeynastics. Other interests were catered for through scripture union, choir, art club and language club.
Our football teams had a successful year. The boys team won the Limavady Youth Tournament and the girls team were beaten in the final of the same Tournament. The netball team reached the N.W School’s Final and our swimming team won the Roe Valley Schools Swimming Championship. Our cross country teams again participated in the Springwell Cup Series. The judo team participated in the NW School’s Tournament and our cricket team won the Limavady School’s Kwik Cricket at Limavady Cricket Club. The hockey team participated at the Coleraine H.C Tournament for the first time winning two matches, drawing one and losing one.
Charlie Nicholl won the Hope NW ICT Poster Competition.
The school council continued to meet regularly supported by Mr O’Doherty and the newly formed ECO Club met in term 3 under the supervision of Mrs McCracken.
The Governors would like to thank all those parents who helped transport pupils to various events. A special work of thanks to Mr R O’Donnell from IFA and Mr McCluskey from ICU, as well as all those coaches who facilitated the amazing after school experiences.
Charities
Charity Donations 2016/2017
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Rotary Christmas charities - £1500 Royal British Legion - £25.00 PWSA - £725.00 Superhero Day – Down Syndrome - £314.00 Shoe Box Appeal
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Harvest Donations distributed to Mullagh House
P.T.A
The P.T.A had a very enjoyable and productive year, raising much needed funds for school. The very enthusiastic and hard working committee organised the following events.
- Autumn Term Disco, Supper with Santa and Rickety Wheel Spring Term Disco, Break the Rules Day and Fashion Show Summer Term Sponsored Walk and Drumachose Has Got Talent
As always the money raised was used for the benefit of all our pupils. Funds were used to cover costs for Jo Jingles, M&M Theatre, Sports Day medals, reading resources, leaver’s hoodies, numeracy resources and numerous class trips.
The Governors thank all the committee members for their huge support over the past year.
The financial statement reflects the invaluable work by the PTA committee.
Other Events
September
The start of another year and another round of clubs. We welcomed new members to the PTA Committee under the Chairmanship of Roy Nutt. Our P5 classes visited Riverwatch in Londonderry and our P6 pupils participated in Orienteering workshops.
October
We welcomed ETI to school in early October. The Year 3’s visited the Country Park in search of the Gruffalo and held a meeting for parents in regard to Phonics. Classes participated in the Halloween Lantern Project and our Year 7 pupils visited RADAR in Belfast to explore many important health and safety issues. The annual book fair arrived raising funds to purchase more books for our Accelerated Reading Programme, M&M Theatre performed ‘Beauty and the Beast’ and the choir led our Harvest Celebrations. The first round of Parental Interviews took place and the first PTA event, our Halloween Disco was a roaring success.
November
Our Shared Education Programme commenced with Termoncanice Primary School, pupils in years 1, 5, 6 and 7 collaborating together on various projects. We had a visit from the Royal British Legion holding a special assembly to celebrate Remembrance Day. Our P4’s visited Springhill as part of their WAU topic, the P5’s welcomed the Fire Brigade and the P6’s began a series of workshops facilitated by Hope UK. The school participated in ‘Antibullying Week’ with special assemblies and class activities. The week finished with our now annual BLUE DAY. Our school Open Evening took place for prospective P1 parents and we finished the month with a Non Uniform Day for the Rotary Tree of Remembrance.
December
The school began the month celebrating the ‘Outstanding’ report from ETI, stating that we have a high level of capacity for sustained improvement in the interest of all the learners. The P1 and P2 Christmas Show ‘A Wriggly Nativity’ played to full houses. The PTA organised a very successful ‘Supper with Santa’ and the choir went on their travels performing at numerous venues around the Roe Valley area. The annual
Carol Service took place in Christ Church and a number of year groups visited various events including LCDI, Ice Skating, Cinema, Riverside Theatre and Brunswick.
January
The new year began with the P3 Trip to Carrickfergus Castle and the start of the P3 Paired Reading Programme. Race 2 of the Springwell Cross Country Championships took place in Limavady with boy and girl teams representing the school. The staff took part in Defibrillator training and our Foundation Stage Staff visited a school in Belfast to observe STEM activities in P1 and P2.
February
The Book Fair returned for the second time and a very successful Valentine Disco was organised by the PTA. The netball team commenced their league matches ending equal 1[st] overall. The hockey team took part in the Coleraine Blitz and cricket coaching was introduced for our P5 pupils. Auditions commenced for ‘Drumachose has got talent’ with entries from every year group.
March
The final of ‘Drumachose has got talent’ took place to a full hall with P1 pupil Isaac Gallick and P2 pupil Logan Pinkerton winning the public vote. The PTA held a Fashion Show with pupils, parents and staff showing off their natural talent on the ‘catwalk.’ The P6’s took over from the P5’s for cricket coaching and the P4’s visited Armagh Planetarium as part of their space topic. Our P7’s embarked upon the Young Enterprise Initiative with the help of Leona Kane. They planned, designed and sold their products after much consultation. The school hosted 30 Principals from Jerusalem who were on a study visit to see how our Shared Education Programme works.
April
The P7 school trip departed for a fun filled week in Scotland. The N Ireland Water Bus visited P5 and P6 and the P7 pupils completed their animation movies.
May
The school hosted an e-safety week with a parental workshop for parents facilitated by the Dry Arch. We held our celebration day in the Leisure Centre to say thank you to all the pupils for their hard work during the inspection and throughout the year. The Netball team participated in Final’s Day in Londonderry and the weather favoured us for our annual Sponsored Walk. Our Kwik Cricket won the local competition and we had talks from NSPCC and Rural Health & Safety.
June
The year came to an end with a very busy month. We held P1 Induction, Sports Day, Swimming Gala, Mini World Cup, Public Speaking and our P7 Leavers Assembly. The swimming team won the inter-schools gala at Roe Valley Leisure Centre, the boys football team won the Limavady Youth tournament with the girls defeated in their final. Our P6’s participated in Peace 4 After School Event and our P4’s organised an amazing ‘Superhero Day’. Pupils had tremendous success at the Roe Valley Speech and Drama Festival. Special mention must go to Rebecca Carson (P2) and Harry Butcher (P3) who won their respective classes. Unfortunately, the weather put pay to the Fun Night but what an amazing year for Drumachose Primary School.
REVISED BUDGET NOTIFICATION 2017-2018 WELB Ref 20469 Drumachose Primary 201-6029 rn8vady DENI Rel Lkls O Mr E O'Kane VVELB Clrd cOni1 Arqa Emp Authority TOTAL BUDGET SUMMARY 2017-2018 Total Funding Allocated 2017-2018 DE Additional Fundin Nurture Units LiteracylNumerac CPD Total Class Sizè Policy Enriched Curriculum Pilot Pro Irish Medium Contin ency plus Split Site EMAS Closin Schools Funding Ad-ustments Funding Correth'ons- Other Schciol Of Sanctua Entitlement Framework Pot 1 + Pot 2+ Prim Pilot SC Area Learning Communities- Strategic Development Fund Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme Achieving 6elfastlAchieving Der Pr ramme TravellLibra costs Extended Schools Total Getting Ready To Learn Shared Educab'on Pilot Earf Years ILeaming to Learn Su Final Accruals March 17 Total £844.607 £0 £0 £0 £0 £0 £13.893 £0 £0 to £0 £0 £0 £0 ramme £0 £0 £0 £0 £0 -£68.992 ort Clusle Total Delegated Resources £789,508 £0 S".mSl701B LMSV LMS FUndj 5umw2017-2018 IUnked8MCI.xlsxlBud9et N(th 1910412018
Drumachose Parent Teacher Association Statement of Income and Expenditure for the year ended 31st August 2018
| Balance carried forward | Balance carried forward | £14,643.56 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Out | In | Balance | ||
| October | Fees | £71.93 | £14,571.63 | ||
| M&M Theatre | £242.10 | £14,813.73 | |||
| P5 Trip to Riverwatch | £72.00 | £14,741.73 | |||
| Musgrave - Halloween Disco | £500.69 | £14,241.04 | |||
| Halloween Disco Income | £743.20 | £14,984.24 | |||
| Halloween Disco Income | £48.50 | £15,032.74 | |||
| November | Tesco - re. open night and supper with santa | £39.64 | £14,993.10 | ||
| Sandy Arthur -P4 Trip | £210.00 | £14,783.10 | |||
| Tesco - re. open night and supper with santa | £14.00 | £14,769.10 | |||
| Cash for Supper With Santa Presents | £1,500 | £13,269.10 | |||
| December | Supper with Santa | £1,098.00 | £14,367.10 | ||
| Supper with Santa | £2,890.45 | £17,257.55 | |||
| Kingsbury Packaging | £23.90 | £17,233.65 | |||
| Musgrave | £229.98 | £17,003.67 | |||
| Sandy Arthur | £890.00 | £16,113.67 | |||
| Fees | £30.95 | £16,082.72 | |||
| January | Direct Debit PTA | £105.00 | £15,977.72 | ||
| February | Valentines Disco | £706.35 | £16,684.07 | ||
| Valentines Disco | £123.04 | £16,807.11 | |||
| Musgrave | £214.16 | £16,592.95 | |||
| March | Sandy Arthur | £120.00 | £16,472.95 | ||
| Chq to EA | £8,460.00 | £8,012.95 | |||
| Fashion Show | £784.00 | £8,796.95 | |||
| Fashion Show | £253.10 | £9,050.05 | |||
| Break the Rules | £960.50 | £10,010.55 | |||
| Fees | £41.90 | £9,968.65 | |||
| April | Sandy Arthur | £340.00 | £9,628.65 | ||
| Drumachose Has Got Talent | £786.30 | £10,414.95 | |||
| Drumachose Has Got Talent | £47.12 | £10,462.07 | |||
| May | Partridge Peartree - re P7 Hoodies | £512.99 | £9,949.08 | ||
| Sponsored Walk | £4,684.70 | £14,633.78 | |||
| Sponsored Walk | £202.00 | £14,835.78 | |||
| Sponsored Walk | £338.02 | £15,173.80 | |||
| June | Jo Jingles | £400.00 | £14,773.80 | ||
| T&F Framing - Sports Day Medals | £670.00 | £14,103.80 | |||
| Floats for Fun Night | £850.00 | £13,253.80 | |||
| Lynas re. Fun Night | £114.50 | £13,139.30 | |||
| Fees | £40.88 | £13,098.42 |
| July Hope Education £35.51 RFCA NI Climbing Wall £250.00 Translink - P2 Trip £201.00 Cash at Hand - Float £475.00 Balance as at 30/07/2018 |
£13,062.91 £12,812.91 £12,611.91 £13,086.91 |
|---|---|
£13,086.91 |
Certified to be a true reflection of the income and expenditure for the above association for the year end 31 August 2018
Mrs S Signed Pollock Mr M Kilgore Treasurer Chairman