ANNUAL REPORT
2014/2015
WINDMILL INTEGRATED
PRIMARY SCHOOL
CHAIRMAN’S FOREWARD
Reading this report about all the excellent work that goes on in Windmill IPS gives only part of the story. I am very impressed, as were the ETI Inspectors in January 2015, with the care and respect for all the pupils and the commitment of the Principal and all staff to set and achieve the highest personal, academic and social goals for your children. This is an inclusive, integrated school where every child is valued and can feel safe in a caring and supportive environment. The Board of Governors thank and congratulate the Principal and all the staff, teaching and non-teaching for their constant hard work and dedication to your children.
Although I only joined the Board of Governors at Christmas 2014 I find myself the new Chair and writing this introduction to this very comprehensive Annual Report. I want to start by thanking our previous Chair, Shane Kennedy, whose valuable expertise and leadership was very much appreciated. We are a relatively new Board with Miss Jane Hamill, Mrs Ethel McIvor, Mrs Una Taylor and Mrs Dervla Weir all new this year. They all bring their energy, skills and time to the complicated task of managing this marvellous school. But we need more parents to become governors. Your interest and involvement in the progress of your children along with the skills and understanding you bring would certainly strengthen and enrich your Board of Governors and help make Windmill Integrated Primary School an even better school.
Vivien Kelly, Chair of the Board of Governors
PRINCIPAL’S REPORT
It has been an absolute pleasure working alongside such dedicated and conscientious staff, all of whom support the academic, social, emotional and physical growth of your children and I would like to thank them for all their hard work. The report below gives you a synopsis of yet another busy and successful year at Windmill.
Board of Governors Membership and Responsibilities
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 much more frequently than this.
Some of their duties include:
The oversight of the curriculum;
The control of the budget;
The provision of information to parents;
The selection of staff;
The maintenance of the premises;
The Admissions Policy;
Fostering links with the local community and pursuing the objectives of Mutual Understanding.
This year the Board welcomed Mrs Vivien Kelly, Miss Jane Hamill, Mrs Ethel McIvor, Mrs Una Taylor, Mrs Dervla Weir and said a fond farewell to Mr Brendan Kerr and Mr Philip Junk. The Board would like to take this opportunity to thank both gentlemen for the dedication and commitment they demonstrated whilst serving on the Board and for all that they brought to the table in order to help move Windmill Integrated Primary School and Nursery unit forward.
Enrolment
Forty-six children enrolled in Primary One in September 2014. An ‘Open Afternoon’ was arranged in December 2013 for prospective parents and pupils who wished to enrol in future years. This afternoon afforded parents the opportunity to visit each of the classrooms and speak with teachers and support staff. This event proved very successful and we had a large number of parents availing of this opportunity to visit the school.
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 mainly determined by the government. It is however our responsibility to ensure that a broad and balanced curriculum is provided for all pupils. To this end the school implements the statutory requirements of the Northern Ireland Curriculum. Teachers continued to thoroughly plan, deliver and evaluate all aspects of the Northern Ireland Curriculum. Parent Interviews were held in October and March and yearly reports to parents were forwarded in June. An information afternoon for parents was held in all classes in early September.
Attendance
Attendance at the school continued to be very good with the average attendance being 94.6%. Congratulations to Drew Archer, Daniel Bennett, Zygi Bernikas, Lea Marshall, Caitlin McCann, Alannah Mulholland and Sarah Taylor who achieved full attendance during 2014/2015.
Management
The school was inspected in January 2015 and received ‘Very Good’ across all areas in the Primary School and ‘Good’ in the Nursery. Report of the Inspection is attached.
During 2014/2015 School development work was undertaken in the following areas:
Language and Literacy (including Talking and Listening, Reading and Writing: schools are also encouraged to teach additional languages)
Weekly French lessons for P1 – P7 classes continued throughout the whole school year. Such an opportunity has prepared the Primary 7 pupils for transferring to secondary education. Language and Literacy is seen as central to the curriculum in this school. Money raised through the annual Book Fair enabled the purchase of additional reading texts to promote children’s enthusiasm and develop their skills. The Reading Partnership Programme was implemented. Mrs Sharon Cleary was appointed Literacy Co-ordinator for the whole school for 2014/2015 academic year.
Mrs Cleary and Mrs Hughes participated in the SEN CPD Literacy project. The project had 2 strands: face to face training sessions for Mrs Cleary and Mrs Hughes and seven online sessions for the whole school. The project helped teachers identify children’s literacy strengths and address their weaknesses and developed each teacher’s competence and confidence in matching interventions to individual learning needs.
Mrs Cleary marked World Book Day by undertaking a reading quiz with each year group. Pupils dressed up as a character from their favourite book. Prizes wereawarded to those chosen.
Primary 7 pupils travelled to W5 in Belfast for the official launch of the ‘Around The World in Story Tales’ programme. This was a programme funded by DENI and the British Council. Our Primary 7 class was only one of 7 Key Stage 2 classes to have gained a place on the programme. The class was paired with a language assistant from France. During their visit to W5 the children met their language assistant and got to learn about the culture, language, places and food in France. They also got to visit the W5 exhibition.
The language assistant returned to school along with Elaine Steele from W5. The children got an opportunity to delve deeper into French culture. They also developed their understanding of Global Citizenship and learned how to create drawings for comics, working through the many stages to produce their own drawings of a super hero. Once the children had written their comics, Elaine Steele from W5 and the French Language assistant returned to help them produce animated versions using ipads. Our very own French teacher, Mrs Diane Daly also assisted with the project.
Mrs Ferguson, Mrs Donnelly, Mrs Tate, Mrs Creggan and Mrs Mullan were trained on Star Reading within the Accelerated Reader Programme. All the pupils from P3-P7 were tested using the Star Reader test which is compatible with the ipad. Outcomes from the tests will enable staff to ensure that pupils access reading material at their reading level. ( Zone of proximal development). All staff were trained to implement Accelerated Reader. Children undertake a quiz within 24 hours of having read a book.
Primary 1 to Primary 3 children continued using Bug Club.
Mrs Ferguson, Mrs Carmichael and Mrs Joy Loughran attended a 2 day course entitled ‘Talking Partners’. The course is to help those children with speech and language problems. The programme involved Mrs Loughran working with 3 identified children as a group for 15 minutes 3 times a week for a period of 10 weeks.
The school purchased Language Link and all children from P1 to P3 were tested.Information gleaned from the programme was used to plan for the needs of individual or groups of children. The programme ties in with the ‘Talking Partners’ Programme.
Mrs Sharon Cleary and Mrs Samantha Ross attended a CCEA course on ‘Communication Skills’ on 6th November. This is the area that the school was to be moderated on this academic year.
Mrs Cleary attended a course for Literacy on Thursday 27th November. Time was spent looking at Action plans and the monitoring of these in relation to an inspection.
Mathematics and Numeracy (focusing on the development of mathematical concepts and numeracy across the curriculum).
Many practical experiences are used particularly in the early years to develop knowledge, skills and understanding in Mathematics. This year the school continued to use Heinemann Active Maths, an activity led maths subscription service for schools using the Northern Ireland Curriculum at Foundation, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. Real- life examples from Northern Ireland’s local cities, towns, rivers, hills and football teams make the programme unique to Northern Ireland. It is a totally interactive programme incorporating online software and games, printable resources and teaching plans. This year saw the introduction of a new weekly lesson plan format for the whole school which was highly praised by the Inspectorate during our recent inspection in January 2015.
Staff also continued to use Adaptive Learning Teaching and Assessment Mathematics (ALTA Maths), an assessment and recording system designed for P3-P7 pupils to support and enhance teaching and learning. Pupils were able to conduct practice tests and confirm level tests, as well as adaptive tests which suitably challenged individual abilities in all areas of Mathematics i.e. Number, Measure, Shape & Space, Data Handling & Algebra. It builds up a formative assessment record and profile to show the level of progress made and to identify areas of difficulty which can assist teachers in planning individual tuition for class. Children are encouraged to use it at home as well as in school. The teachers continued to investigate many web-sites and programmes which could be used via the Interactive White Boards/ipads to further enhance the learning experiences of the children.
Mrs Ross and Mrs Angela Lynch attended a course based on the Numicon Approach. It is hoped that this will be rolled out to Primary1 and then throughout the whole school.
Mrs Samantha Ross and Mrs Ferguson attended ‘Data Analysis- Numeracy’ on Tuesday 25th November. Time was spent looking at Action plans and the monitoring of these in relation to an inspection.
This academic year the whole school focused on developing problem- solving throughout the school. There are 7 different problem-solving strategies for eg. Making a list, Guess, Improve and Check. All staff focused on a problem-solving strategy per half term at an age appropriate /ability level for their class.
The Arts (including Art & Design, Drama and Music)
The school has a strong tradition of musical and dramatic productions. At Christmas the pupils and parents very much enjoyed the P1 production and the Key Stage 2 (P5-P7) production of ‘The Apprentice’. All the staff and pupils from Primary 4-Primary 7 went to see ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ at the Millennium Forum, Derry/Londonderry for their Christmas treat.
Primary 2 and Primary 3 children went to Ritz cinema in Cookstown to see Paddington. Primary 5 and Primary 6 children participated in a drama workshop on ‘Waste Management’ facilitiated by BEAM.
Many pupils were entered for the individual verse speaking section at the Dungannon Music and Drama Festival.
Tuition in Brass instruments was provided weekly by Mr Kenneth McAree, whilst tuition in the stringed instruments was provided by Mrs Ann Speed, peripatetic teacher from the Southern Education and Library Board.
The pupils at Windmill Integrated Primary School designed their own Christmas cards. Parents were given the opportunity to pay for their child’s design to be printed at a reasonable price.
Primary 4 pupils undertook an Art Project with Mrs Millie Patton on 4 different days. The children examined their hopes and aspirations and using this as a stimulus made large 3D masks.
Mrs Stephanie Hazelton undertook an Art Club with pupils from Primary 5-Primary 7 throughout the course of the year. One of the many items produced was a large wall mural depicting our locality ‘Town of Dungannon’. This takes pride of place in the main entrance hall of the school.
The World Around Us (WAU) (focusing on the development of knowledge, skills and understanding in Geography, History and Science and Technology)
Staff completed a new WAU weekly planner for their year group. This planner is very much skills based. As well as sound teaching in all areas Primary 6 & 7 pupils participated in a STEM workshop at Windmill facilitated by Sentinus.
The school obtained £200 from Kick Start funding and this enabled the Primary 7 class to attend a CSI workshop at The South West College in March as a means of celebrating National Science and Engineering week.
On Tuesday 16th June, Primary 7 pupils: Ellie Wilkinson, Alex Kennedy and Theo Cunningham represented Windmill at The Science and Technology Challenge which was held in Dungannon Primary School. The children had to design and construct a bridge that would hold a given weight.
Daniel Junk, Joseph Boyd, Shaleigha McGurgan and Louis Walker represented Windmill Integrated Primary School at the K’Nex Challenge, held in St. Patrick’s College on 12th May. The children had to make 2 aliens and 2 items using K’Nex.
Mrs Mitchell ( WAU co-ordinator) completed an inventory of WAU resources. Resources were placed in the cupboards in Key Stage 2 resource area with a list of the contents in each cupboard placed inside. Books and other materials were given to relevant members of staff.
Mrs Niblock invited Mr Peter Lant , Education Officer at Ranfurly House to come into Windmill to speak to the Primary 6 class on Dungannon and its history as part of their WAU topic ‘Our Locality’.
Mrs Karen Niblock and Mrs Sharon Cleary attended an ‘ENTHUSE AWARD’ course on ‘Outdoor Play’. Mrs Niblock organised a very successful outdoor activity day on Tuesday 10th March 2015 for all classes which focused on developing the children’s literacy and Numeracy skills. After participating in the various Maths activities the children got the opportunity to toast their marshmallows and drink hot chocolate.
Mrs Mitchell also attended an Enthuse Award course entitled ‘A Pinch of Salt’.
The school applied to and received £5,000 from NGO Challenge fund to create an Outdoor classroom and sensory garden area. A new mud kitchen and raised beds were erected as part of the funding along with some outdoor seating.
Representatives from the Diary Council delivered a presentation to Primary 5 and Primary 6 pupils on Wednesday 18th February.
Mr Jonathan Harty undertook a gardening and planting workshop with all pupils for eg P1- potatoes, P2-beans, P3 peas etc on 24th February 2015.
W.I.P.S was involved in the Tutoring in Schools programme with the University of Ulster. Miss Catherine Winters worked alongside us to develop our Outdoor Learning.
Primary 6 pupils attended the Moy Park Challenge held at Cohannon Inn on Friday 20th March.
Primary 1 SC visited Tannaghmore Gardens as part of their World Around Us topic on ‘Spring’
Primary 1 LC visited Annaginy Farm as part of their World Around Us topic on Thursday 23rd April.
Primary 1SC went to Site of Benburb Primary School to participate in a gardening workshop on 5th May.
Personal Development and Mutual Understanding (PDMU) (focusing on Emotional development, social skills, learning to learn, health, relationships and mutual understanding in the local and global community).
PDMU was approached through everyday life in school and the examples that were set by staff as well as specific lessons from the Living Learning Together year group boxes and circle time activities. P7 pupils attended the SELB Love for Life programme.
This year all classes from Primary 1 to Primary 7 were linked to their counterparts in Bush Primary School. Each year group undertook a number of activities which complemented the delivery of our PDMU programme particularly Strand 2 as well as covering aspects of World Around Us regarding our locality.
Mrs Niblock and her Primary 6 class teamed up with the Primary 6 class in St. Mary’s Primary School, Cabragh to participate in a CRED programme facilitated by Speedwell, Parkanaur and the PSNI. Both classes attended a team building programme at Speedwell on Tuesday 16th September. The Primary 6 class from St. Mary’s, Cabragh visited Windmill Integrated Primary on Thursday 6th November and participated in activities run by the PSNI.