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Dear Parent
I am pleased to have the opportunity to present to you the Annual General Report of the Board of Governors of Ballymoney Nursery School for year 2016/17.
The following document is part of the wider picture to keep you informed of your child’s schooling and education.
If you wish to have any additional information, or would like to clarify any details contained within the report, please forward your request in writing to me before Wednesday 14thJune 2017.
I commend the Report for your consideration.
Yours faithfully
Mrs Martina Martin
Principal
This report is produced by the Governors of Ballymoney Nursery School and is an account of the work that we have undertaken in carrying out the responsibilities of the management of the school.
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BOARD OF GOVERNORS
The Board of Governors is made up of eight voting members plus the school Principal who is a non-voting member.
Term of Office ends:
DENI Representatives -Mrs J Pethick June 2018
(Chairperson)
Mrs M McKenna June 2018
(Vice Chairperson)
EA Representatives -Mrs F Frew June 2018
Mrs T Pollock June 2018
Mrs L Maclean (from April 16)
Parents’ Representatives -Mrs Lesley Loughridge April 2017
Mrs Nicola OsborneApril 2017
Teachers’ Representative- Mrs J McClelland
Principal -Mrs M Martin
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STAFF MEMBERS
Principal-Mrs M Martin
Teacher-Mrs J McClelland
Part-time Teacher-Ms N McCarron
Nursery Assistants-Mrs K Simpson
-Mrs A Hollis
-Miss D Johnston
Building Supervisor-Mrs S McMillan
Clerical Officer-Mrs J Peden
SELECTION AND ENROLMENT
The children enrolled in the school are selected in accordance with criteria approved by the Education Authority.
A copy of the criteria is contained within the “Admission to Pre-School Education 2017: A Guide for Parents”. This booklet is made available in conjunction with the commencement of Open Enrolment in December each year.
The Nursery can cater for 104 children, which is composed of:
2 x Part-time morning sessions 9.00am - 11.30am
2 x Part-time afternoon sessions 12.15pm - 2.45pm
Intake is staggered to ensure a smooth transition from home to school.
The children in our Nursery School transfer to a variety of Primary Schools. School selection is detailed below:-
Ballymoney ModelCIPS 38Leaney PS 7
St Brigid’s PS 12 Landhead PS 1
Knockahollet PS 4 Balnamore PS 2
Damhead PS 6 Bushvalley PS 5
Lislagan PS 8 Garryduff PS 2
Straidbilly PS 1Ballysally PS 1
William Pinkerton Mem PS 1Kilrea PS 1
Armoy PS 1Hezlett PS 1
To ease the transition from Nursery to Primaryeducation, nursery staff facilitate as many opportunities as possible for nursery pupils to visit primary schools e.g. going to Dress Rehearsals at Christmas and Primary One teachers to come in and read to the children. In addition, Year One staff from a number of local schools visit the Nursery School in June before the children make their initial visit to their new schools. Transition reports for each final pre-school age child are sent to the relevant Primary Schools in June. Parents also receive photographic and written evidence of their child’s time in Nursery School.
PARENTAL SUPPORT & INVOLVEMENT
In Ballymoney Nursery School, it is our intention to provide an open, welcoming environment for Parents.
The Staff and Governors thank our Parents for the interest in all the school does and the support which has been shown to both ourselves and the children.
SCHOOL FUND ACCOUNT
Balance as at 1 May 2017:£3,763.66
Parental support this year, as in other years, has been outstanding.
The following fundraisers were planned – monies raised at each event are detailed below:-
November Cancer Fund for Children Coffee Morning - £300.00
JanuaryRSPB - £75.00
February Sponsored Cycle – £1882.40
March Biggest Breakfast (Cancer Research UK) - £170.00
Cats Protection NI - £40.00
JuneCancer Fund for Children Hats and Shades Day - £120
RNLI - £50
TOTAL - £2547.40
ORGANISATION AND MANAGEMENT
The Board of Governors are required to meet at least once per term for a formal meeting of the full Board of Governors.
The Governors have overall responsibility for the effective management of the school.
They have particular responsibilities in relation to:-
(a)The curriculum
(b)Appointment and dismissal of staff
(c)Discipline
(d)Admissions to the school
(e)School finance
(f)Maintenance and upkeep of the building
(g)Security of pupils and staff and also the school premises
(h)Health & Safety
(i)Special Needs
CURRICULUM POLICY
The fundamental aim of Ballymoney Nursery School is to provide an appropriate education for all the children suited to their age, aptitude and ability.
Our Mission statement is:
“The best way to prepare children for their adult life is to give them what they need as children.”
It is hoped to provide our children with experiences which will inspire and enhance their understanding of the world about them.
The learning environment in our Nursery School is contained within six elements:
-Language Development
-The Arts
-Early Mathematical Experiences
-Personal, Social and EmotionalDevelopment
-Physical Development and Movement
-The World Around Us
The core essence of this programme will be the child, in the hope that a foundation will be laid to foster a positive attitude to learning, coupled with a sense of adventure.
BROADENING THE CHILDREN’S EXPERIENCE
During your child’s year here at Ballymoney Nursery School we have endeavoured to make it as exciting and interesting as possible. In addition to providing a rich curriculum and stimulating environment we have enlisted the support of several parents, individuals and groups who have come and shared their expertisewith us over the year. When possible we follow up these visits with additional work/activities in the classroom to reinforce what we have seen and heard.
Here are some of the highlights from this past year:
On 14th October, we had a visit from Action Cancer Puppet Show to inspire the children to develop a healthy lifestyle and to be aware of personal safety. Before finishing for the Hallowe’en break, all parents were invited for individual interviews with the class teachers and received a “Settling In Report and Action Plan” for their child.
As part of the “Getting Ready to Learn” initiative the nursery school received funding to deliver “The Big Bedtime Read”. In addition to purchasing a large number of additional books for our lending library, enabling the children to borrow 3 books per week, we were delighted to welcome guest speakers including Leah, the librarian from Ballymoney Library and Kate Gilliland, a senior lecturer in literacy at St Mary’s University Belfast to deliver presentations. Both events were well attended and the feedback from the evaluations was very positive. On 18th November we held ourHug-In-A-Mug Coffee Morning to which parents and friends were invited. The aim of this event was to raise funds for the Cancer Fund For Children by providing coffee and Christmas cards for sale. It was well supported. On 22ndNovember all classes enjoyed a presentation fromRev Gareth Maclean, a parent and minister of First Ballymoney Presbyterian Churchin which he shared his experiences of his recent support visits to Zimbabwe. On 24th November, Paula Elder from Crotchets and Quavers entertained all classes with a range of musical activities and on 30th Novemberwe held a very successful Open Afternoon and Open Evening.
As ever December was a busy month. In addition to inviting local P.1.teachersinto the nursery school for coffee and mince pies, we attended dress rehearsals of the Christmas productions in some of the local primary schools. Leah,our local librarian came to the school to read some festive stories and Rev Gareth Maclean visited the school and shared the nativity story.
In addition, each child ‘wrote’ a letter to Santa outlining specific requests for presents to be delivered on Christmas Eve. Each class then took it in turn to walk to the Post Office where the letters were carefully dropped into the post box.
A few days later, despite being very busy, the man himself managed to take the time to visit us and even brought each child a gift.
The first term ended with a party for each class and a visit from Banyan Theatre Company with a performance of “Goldilocks and the Three Bears”. The children thoroughly enjoyed the lively and interactive performance.
At the end of January we enjoyed a visit froma representative from the RSPBwho shared lots of interesting stories and information with us about caring for birds in winter. Following this visit the school participated in the “Big Schools Birdwatch”; an exercise which proved very popular as well as very informative for everyone who participated.
This was followed shortly after by our annual visit from the school photographer who took individual, family and class photographs. Both the children and the adults thoroughly enjoyed a session with Joe & The Gathering Drum following our return to school after the mid-term break. Early March, as part of our topic on People Who Help Us, the children enjoyed visits from several parents. These included two nurses, twoGPs, an optician, a dentist accompanied by her dental nurse and a grandad who is a vet. In addition two local PSNI Officers visited and talked with the children about their role in the community and raised awareness of Stranger Danger and representatives from Northern Ireland Electricity, Cats Protection and Water Aid spoke to all classes.
On a more energetic note we completed our sponsored cyclemid-March and raised a grand total of £1882.40. Parents were once again invited in to the school for individual parent interviews during which they were given an oral and written update on their children’s progress. As part of our continued endeavourto raise the children’s awareness and ensure eco-schools activities are integral to our curriculum, the children contributed to the painting and planting up of recycled pallets with vegetables. A special thanks to Robert McBlairs in Coleraine for sourcing and supplying safe pallets for us and to Ms Muriel McConaghy, a retired teacher who supported us with preparing the containers for planting.
Towards the end of March we enjoyed a visit from “Zoolab”who, in addition to introducing several exotic animals including a tree frog and a tortoise the presenter talked to the children about animals in spring as part of an hour long workshop with each class.
Before finishing up for Easter break wehad a visit from the Education Authority dietician who spoke to each class about the importance of making healthy choices with regard to food and exercise and we all enjoyed ‘The Biggest Breakfast’ fundraising event for Cancer Researchan Easter Egg Hunt and party to finish the term.
Shortly after returning from our Easter holidays, the children were thrilled with the arrival of some caterpillars which they observed closely over three weeks before the butterflies emerged. We enjoyed visits from representatives from Cancer Focus NI and Action Cancer, both of whom focus their presentations on reinforcing the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and each class enjoyed walking toBallymoney Libraryover 3 different dates to explore the books on offer and listen to stories.
In June we all enjoyed participating in a “Hats & Shades Day” in conjunction with the Cancer Fund For Children. Participating in this event is a great way to increase the children’s awareness of the importance of taking care in the sun whilst raising vital funds to support local children diagnosed with cancer and their families. Before we finish the third term, Jenny from RNLIis scheduled to visit the nursery to explain about the work of RNLI as well as using visual aids to talk about dangers near and in water.
Wehave booked to visit the ‘Can Can’ recycling base mid-June andare hoping to fit in a Teddy Bears’ Picnic providing the weather is kind to us. Joe and The Gathering Drum and Banyan Theatre Company are returning to visit us the last week of term and we also anticipate that some children will be visited by, or have the opportunity to go and visit their newYear One Teachers.
During the academic year we have provided work placements for students from Our Lady of Lourdes High School in Ballymoney, Ballymoney High School, Northern Regional College and Stranmillis University College.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your participation and support in the following schemes during the year: Recycling with All-Tex, Cat Food Appeal and in supporting us through the various school-initiated fundraising initiatives. Hopefully the generous contributions of Sainsbury’s “Active Kids” vouchers will provide some new and stimulating resources.
We would also like to take the opportunity to say a special thank you to Sarah McConaghie, Lewis’ mum, who very generously shared her professional expertise through facilitating a training session with the staff in the nursery school in the use of the “SeeSaw” App. This application is successfully used in several nursery and primary schools in Northern Ireland to record individual observations of the children in relation to their curricular achievements. The nursery school is planning to introduce it in the 17/18 school year.
It is hard to believe that the school year has passed so quickly. It has been a pleasure to work with each and every child, celebrating their achievements and sharing their successes. For many it has been their first step along their educational path and we trust it has given them the confidence to move on to “big school” with a feeling of excitement and a sense of anticipation.
We thank you as parents for all your support during this past year and wish you all a relaxing summer break.
STAFF DEVELOPMENT
Throughout the year, staff attended various courses and in-service training, details of which are itemized below. In addition to this the staff participate in regular school based meetings and cluster groups to ensure all aspects of the Nursery are reviewed, updated and extended to best meet the needs of the pupils we have.
Principal – Mrs Martina Martin
Overview of Wellcomm / 30/08/16GRtL Implementation Session / 28/09/16
Promoting Positive Behaviour in Pupils with ASD / 10/10/16
Pre-School Curricular Guidance / 31/01/17
GRtL / 01/02/17
Assessment within a Problem Solving Framework / 06/02/17
FONT Annual Conference – Circle Time / 04/03/17
Supporting Transitions in the Early Years / 23/03/17
Refresher Training – Child Protection CPSSS / 28/04/17
Training – SeeSawLearning Journal App / 03/05/17
Primary Movement Refresher Training / 12/05/17
Child Protection Refresher Training – In house / 17/05/17
ETI Quality Indicators and Inspection Findings / 25/05/17
Training – new EA Integrated Finance System (iFS) / 01/06/17
Assistant Teacher– Mrs Julie McClelland
Guidelines on SEN Policy and Roles for the Pre-School Setting / 24/01/17Pathways and Partnerships / 03/03/17
Self-evaluation and Action Planning for SEN and Inclusion / 23/05/17
Training – SeeSawLearning Journal App / 03/05/17
Child Protection Refresher Training – In house / 17/05/17
Assistant Teacher– Ms Norah McCarron
Training – SeeSawLearning JournalApp / 03/05/17Child Protection Refresher Training - In house / 17/05/17
Mrs Simpson
Training – SeeSawLearning Journal App / 03/05/17Child Protection Refresher Training / 17/05/17
Mrs Hollis
Training – SeeSawLearning Journal App / 03/05/17Child Protection Refresher Training / 17/05/17
Miss Johnston
Anaphylaxis Training, Epilepsy & Emergency Medication Training & Diabetes Awareness Training / 31/08/2016Mrs Peden
Training – SeeSawLearning Journal App / 03/05/17Training – new EA Integrated Finance System (iFS) / 01/06/17
Mrs Boyd
Anaphylaxis Training, Epilepsy & Emergency Medication Training & Diabetes Awareness Training / 31/08/2016SPECIAL NEEDS
It is our policy at Ballymoney Nursery School to integrate the children with special needs as fully as possible with all other pupils. The broad and balanced curriculum provided will be adapted accordingly to ensure all children can make progress during the year.
In the case of a child with identified special needs or some area of concern, an individual programme will be devised for that pupil which will be discussed with the parents before implementation.
If necessary we will engage the help and expertise of other professionals; the speech therapist, the physiotherapist, the occupational therapist, the educational psychologist. We will endeavour to incorporate their suggestions in the programme of work we outline for these children.
This year we had two children with a Statement of Special Educational Needs on our roll and a number of children were referred to Educational Psychology. We appreciate that it can be difficult to accept that your child may be encountering problems. However with early intervention from all appropriate agencies, many potential hurdles can be crossed before entering Primary School.
It is important to realise that some of the difficulties can be overcome in a relatively short space of time whilst others will have longer lasting implications.
BUILDING MAINTENANCE
In the 2016/17 school year no minor works were carried out by the Education Authority.
The following visitors to the school were funded:
Paula Elder (Crotchets and Quavers Club)£250
Joe and the Gathering Drum £450
Banyan Theatre Company £400
Catherine Gilliland (St Mary’s University)£150
Mr Hullabaloo£300
SECURITY
Security systems are in place to protect both pupils and staff. These include a buzzer entry system and video intercoms.
A fire drill is carried out termly to ensure all staff and children are aware of procedures should such an event occur.
FINANCIAL STATEMENT
Below are the figures for this year
1 April 2016 / 31 March 2017
TOTAL BUDGET£227,557.00
TOTAL SPENDING£231,661.00
(Including staff costs, heating, rates,
internal and grounds maintenance,
equipment and sundry expenses)
BALANCE carried forward
CHARGES AND REMISSION POLICY
The Board of Governors have adopted the following Charging and Remissions Policy:
Charging Policy
A small charge is made for the actual cost of a snack at break-time plus other incidental items.
Remissions Policy
The Board of Governors reserve the right to seek voluntary contributions from parents or others in support of any school activity or for the benefit of the school.