St Clare's Prospectus 2023 : simplebooklet.com

Mission Statement In St. Clare’s primary school, we will strive to educate our children and develop their full potential in a safe, happy environment that is inclusive of all, with the support and involvement of our parents and parish. AIMS In our living Catholic ethos we aim, •To promote the spiritual, moral, cultural, intellectual and physical development of our pupils. •To give each pupil an awareness of his/her own talents, skills and abilities. •To provide opportunities for pupils to achieve success in a variety of contexts, promoting positive self-esteem and self-image. •To create a love of learning, a knowledge of how to learn and the motivation to produce his/her best work. •To provide a broad and balanced curriculum appropriate to the needs of each pupil at his/her stage of development. •To develop an attitude which leads to self-discipline, independence, courtesy, good manners and a respect for everyone. •To develop a knowledge and understanding of the wider world in which we live, of the interdependence of individuals, groups and nations, and a tolerance of other religions and ways of life. •To foster and develop close relationships between home, school and community. Our Crest St. Clare, the Patron Saint of our school, loved Jesus. She knew that He was the Way, the Truth and the Light. Our school crest reflects this. At the centre is the Host with the Light shining out. This is surrounded by the flames of the Holy Spirit and underneath is our school motto Pax et Bonum – Peace and Goodness.

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Dear Parents, It is my greatest pleasure to welcome you and your child to St. Clare’s Primary School. It is our hope and our wish to provide a warm and caring atmosphere in which your child can flourish and grow. St. Clare’s is a community, where home, school and parish work together to create a school of excellence. In the following pages you will see the many opportunities that exist within the life of the school for us all to play our part in collaboration to achieve our goals for our children, achieving beyond what we would normally expect. We are one of the very few schools in Belfast who has a designated teacher for children with English as an additional Language. Last year the school was awarded the prestigious Quality Mark for Inclusion.. We are blessed in this school with a most talented group of practitioners from teachers to support staff. They understand our children and strive to ensure that each child learns the strategies to allow them to reach their fullest potential. Our links within the community, in particular MUMO, also allows us to access additional support for all our learners and also for our parents and families. We are a progressive school and a happy one and working with you the parents as partners, we are achieving amazing results for children academically, socially and pastorally. We are proud to be a Catholic School with a Catholic Ethos and our partnership with the Parish is most important and something we hold close in everything we do. So come on in and see what we can offer you and your child in the most important formative years of their education. See even more on our website www.stclaresps.com Welcome from the Principal

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C. O’Doherty Principal St. Clare’s Primary school is a newly built school, which was completed in March 2005 and is the amalgamation of St. Catherine’s, St. Gall’s and St. John’s primary schools. The school houses twenty classrooms, a gym, a dining hall and kitchen. There are offices for the principal, vice-principal, secretaries and the caretaker. There is also a library, a medical room and a multipurpose room. There is a resource area used for structured play and two resource areas used as computer suites. We also have a Sensory Room and a Nurture Room. Building and Accommodation

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Outside there is a large enclosed play area and a number of quiet courtyards off the downstairs classrooms, which can be used to bring the curriculum outside. We also have large landscaped areas, which can be used to enhance the curriculum where appropriate. The school is occupied by Foundation Stage, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 pupils (P1 – P7) Our Nursery Unit is just opposite the main building on Cupar Street. One visit to this inspiring atmosphere will convince you that this is where your child needs to be. Our Nursery staff, our Head of Nursery in particular, has been identified by ETI as having practice which is a model for others. Like the primary school, the relationship between the staff, pupils and parents are what makes us successful. Very few settings have the facilities which we process or provide children with as many learning opportunities. Nursery

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Our Nursery is a secure site and has within it so many learning opportunities. It is vibrant, where Parents are encouraged to play a part and where through the various courses on offer, we prepare families for those important first steps through their child’s educational journey. The Nursery Curriculum The nursery curriculum, for the purpose of planning, assessment and record keeping is set under seven areas: • Language Development • Early Mathematical Experiences • Creative/Aesthetic Development • Personal, Social and Emotional Development • Physical Development • Knowledge and Appreciation of the Environment • Early Experience of Science Technology Our role in the nursery is to provide opportunities, experiences and resources which will enable the children to develop in each of the seven areas at their own pace and in accordance with their needs. Young children learn through play and through carefully planned play activities we aim to help the children develop positive attitudes to learning and to acquire essential skills to become active listeners and learners. Through careful observation of the children at play we will be able to assess how the children are coping and how they are achieving in all areas of the curriculum. By keeping records of your child’s progress, we will be able to tailor activities to meet their individual needs and to keep you informed of their progress. Principal Mr C O’Doherty Vice-Principal Mr B Birt Teachers P1 Mrs Campbell Miss Meighan P2 Miss McLaughlin Miss Welsh Aims In the nursery we aim to provide a rich and varied curriculum which takes account of the fact that children develop rapidly during the early years – physically, intellectually, emotionally and socially. We also take account of the fact that children develop and learn at different rates and therefore plan and provide accordingly so that children can develop at their own pace. We aim to make your child’s time in nursery school happy. Staff

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P3 Mrs Clarke Miss McCann Mrs Quinn P4 Mrs Bell Ms Quinn Mrs Cushnan P5 Miss Dynan Miss Casey P6 Mrs Conlon/Mrs Campbell Mrs Logue Miss McConnell P7 Mrs Shaw Mr McAteer Special Educational Needs Mrs Welsh Mrs McAvoy Mrs McClean Ms Harrison Ms Lees (Engage) Nurture Room Mrs Corey Nursery Teachers Mrs Corrigan Mrs Bogues/Mrs McLoughlin Classroom Assistants Miss Bloomer Mrs Bunting Mrs Monaghan Mrs McLernon Mrs McDonnell Ms O’Hara Mrs McAuley Ms Rooney Miss McKenna Ms Benalia Miss Park Mrs Urbanska Mrs McNeill Miss Barkley Mrs Harrison Mrs O’Connor Mrs Rabbett Miss Canning Ms McCann Mrs McCabe Ms Ginley Mrs Regan Miss Brennan Ms Matusiak Ms Mc Erlean Mrs Lynch (Nurture) Mrs Brennan (EAL) Mrs Notaro (Nursery) Miss Wilkinson (Nursery) Ms McCoubrey (Nursery) Secretaries Building Supervisors Mrs Norah Goodman Mr Jim Brennan Mrs Linda Harvey Ms Michelle Pick (Nursery) Cleaning Technicians Supervisory Assistants Ms Fitzpatrick Mrs O’Prey Ms McKenna Ms McKeown Ms O’Hara Mrs Farrell Ms O’Prey Ms Fitzpatrick Kitchen Mrs Dolores Murray (Unit Supervisor) Miss Pick Mrs McFadden Ms Mallon Ms Curley Ms McCarthy Ms Cush Ms Dynes School Development Plan 2022-23

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The entire staff works together on a School Development Plan. The plan is shaped and informed by the staff’s own analysis of teaching and learning. This is an objective way of determining priorities and coordinating all aspects of school planning: curricular, financial, personnel, equipment and accommodation. We use this as a way of identifying roles and responsibilities. The main areas of focus this year are Numeracy focusing on planning and problem solving, literacy focusing on guided reading, questioning techniques across the curriculum, ICT and Safeguarding. While these areas will be the basis for staff and curriculum development, the staff continue to maintain high standards in the teaching of the other curriculum areas of The World Around Us, the Arts and Physical Education. A summary of our Child Protection Policy and Practice is given to parents and you are welcome to request the full policy from the school at any time. Parents can also request a copy of any other completed school policies by contacting the Principal. The action plan is continually monitored and reviewed and further action stating priorities for development are planned. Within our School Development Plan, we also review our Pastoral Care Policy incorporating Child Protection, Positive Behaviour and an Anti-Bullying Policy. Our Sensory Room is also timetabled to meet the emotional needs of the pupils. In St. Clare’s, pastoral care permeates all aspects of school life. It reflects the attitudes, beliefs and practices of our Catholic faith and involves all members of our school community – children, parents and all other adults who contribute to the wellbeing of each child. We strive to create an atmosphere where: • God’s love is experienced by all members of the school community through their relationships with each other. • Christ is the example to all. • Children are helped to develop to their full potential. Pastoral Care

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The atmosphere in the school is based upon good relationships between staff, pupils and parents. As a staff we work as a team, respecting each other’s roles and recognising individual talents and expertise. We recognise and value the important role that parents play in their child’s education. Every effort is made to ensure that parents feel welcome, that they are aware of the school’s aims, objectives and policies and of their child’s individual needs, progress and achievements. We expect you our parents to co-operate fully with us in achieving these goals. Maintaining close contact with our church is important to us as it is through our religious work that we help our children grow and develop in a loving relationship with Christ. Our parish priest Fr Devlin is regularly and actively involved in the school and our pupils take part in Mass in our church. Through our ‘Grow in Love’ programmes we prepare our children for the sacraments and teach them about the life of Jesus. This is integrated with different kinds of prayer and reflection so that together, with the gradual process of maturity, pupils will learn about themselves and how their behaviour impacts on others. A member of staff has been allocated responsibility for Pastoral Care however; it is an area in which every member of staff has a contribution to make. Our Designated Teacher with responsibility for Child Protection matters is Mr Birt with our Head of Nursery Mrs Corrigan and Mrs Welsh from the Primary School acting as Deputy Designated Teachers.

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The Northern Ireland Curriculum includes the teaching of the following subjects in each year group. English and Literacy Mathematics and Numeracy The World Around Us – encompassing these subject areas • Science and Technology • History • Geography Creative and Expressive – encompassing these subject areas • Music • Art and Design Personal Development Physical Education Religion Cross Curricular Themes Health Education Information Technology Cultural Heritage A Skills Based Curriculum A major review of the curriculum has taken place in recent years and the new Northern Ireland Curriculum has been in place since 2007. The revised curriculum is being implemented throughout the school. There is now a greater emphasis on developing children’s skills and capabilities and their capacity to learn for themselves. Curriculum

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There is also greater emphasis on Personal Development and Life Skills. School Holidays All parents will be given the school holiday list before the summer holidays. Some parents have adopted the practice of taking children on holiday during term time. We understand that in some cases savings can be made by going on holiday out of ‘peak holiday times’ however we ask parents to give serious consideration to this. It affects certain aspects of your child’s learning whether he/she has started a new topic or project or consolidating work. The school policy is that we do not give a child work to take on holiday. It is considered by the Education Board’s Welfare Officer as an unauthorized absence and parents have to accept that their child missing out on his/her education is their responsibility. Attendance We closely monitor the attendance of each and every pupil in our school. We do-not accept that children should have poor attendance in school and we actively encourage daily attendance and work closely with the Educational Welfare Office in supporting families where attendance has become an issue. This will include house calls and intervention strategies where this is applicable. We have high expectations for every pupil and these can only be realized through full attendance. Curriculum continued

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Throughout our school our pupils’ learning is carefully monitored. The outcomes of this form the basis for action and further evaluation. Formal and informal assessment is undertaken as part of teaching. We use the results of assessment to confirm and modify teaching and learning strategies and to improve the performance of the individual pupil. Standardised Tests in Literacy and Numeracy are used once a year to inform teachers of pupil achievement within their year group and will also be used to assess progression from year to year. Cognitive ability tests will be carried twice for each pupil during their P4-P7 years. P1 children will also undertake an online baseline assessment to provide the receiving P1 teacher with as much information as possible regarding the skills and abilities of each new pupil to the school. Teachers will also devise their own class tests on topics covered and use this as part of their diagnosis and Homework We see homework as an extension of the work done in school. When done properly it helps children’s concentration and personal qualities such as perseverance. It also gives parents the opportunity to see what their child is doing in school. Our policy is that each child has homework every night but not at week-ends. This will vary from class to class but will usually consist of some reading, spelling, writing and/or maths. The content will also vary in that it might be science based or concentrate on listening skills or taken from our religion programme. It will also increase in difficulty and completion time as your child gets older. This is detailed in our homework policy. We ask parents to assist only in their child’s homework and to sign it every night. Where a parent has any concerns or worries about it they can contact the class teacher at any time. Assessment

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remediation. This information is passed to each teacher from year to year to ensure that their planning takes into account the various requirements of individual pupils resulting in a differentiated approach to teaching and learning. While we strive to provide our pupils with a broad and balanced curriculum we see the necessity to broaden children’s experiences developing their talents and inter personal skills and at the same time promoting positive self-esteem. We currently offer a wide range of after school activities to all our pupils. E.g. Art & Craft, Drama, Hurling, Gaelic, Soccer, and ICT (including coding). We have a Breakfast Club every morning which is provided by our kitchen staff and is fully supervised. They also have a range of games, books and drawing material to keep them occupied. There is a charge for the Breakfast Club of £1 Per day. There is also the ‘123 Club’ which runs from 2.00pm-3.00pm for our foundation stage and P3 pupils. Our ‘Sunshine Room’ was awarded the prestigious Marjorie Boxall Quality Mark Award in November 2016. It is staffed by an accredited teacher and assistant. The’ Sunshine Room’ provides a safe, secure environment. It has a kitchen and living area, a work area and a well- resourced play area. We aim to provide a ‘Home from Home’ experience, working closely with parents and carers and supported by Outside Agencies. Out of School Hours Nurture Provision – The Sunshine Room and Sensory Room

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As a Nurturing School, we aim to embed a nurturing culture which enhances the teaching and learning for our children, and helps children to learn to behave appropriately, to use their curiosity constructively, to improve their self-esteem and develop confidence, through forming close and trusting relationships with adults. We address the emotional needs and development as well as academic learning. Nurture UK define the six principles of Nurture as: • Children’s learning is understood developmentally. • The classroom offers a safe base. • The importance of nurture for the development of self-esteem. • Language is a vital means of communication. • All behaviour is communication. • The importance of transition in children’s lives

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Parents are kept regularly informed about school business by our ‘School Newsletter’ which is also uploaded to our website www.stclaresps.com. We will also e-mail the Newsletter to parents upon request. We also have a school web-site which will inform parents and others in the community about our school. A local text service is also employed for keeping parents up to date with important events. This is why it is most important that all contact details are kept up to date. Parents will be invited to a teacher parent interview about their child’s progress and will be given a written report on this later in the year. We plan to have curriculum meetings and workshops for parents throughout the year. These will be linked to the subject areas focused in our School Development Plan. We have a most active Parents Association which helps with raising the profile of the school and organising signature events such as the Christmas Fayre, school discos, fun runs and pupil competitions. They also provide a great link between the parent body and the school. We hope to extend pupils’ curricular experiences and personal and social development through regular opportunities to contribute to the wider community and in turn draw on its resources. These will include groups working in charities, the arts and the environment. We are always looking for ways in which we can create aspiration among our pupils and we have many links to the Private sector. A lot of our efforts are concerned around the area of information Technology and we are working with companies such as Goliath and government run schemes such as Springvale Training who extend our ability to train our pupils in aspects of ICT such as coding. We see this as an important step in allowing our pupils to realise that there is a world outside our local community which can provide career opportunities and again is an important part of our goal to raise the expectation of our pupils at St. Clare’s and to enable them to become Links between the school and the community CROSS-CULTURAL We feel it is important for children to value and respect their own religion and culture and also that of others and to appreciate the interdependence of people from within and outside our society. It is important to extend our pupils’ knowledge and experience of other societies and cultures. It is our belief that if we establish well rounded and self-assured children, who are confident in their own cultural identity and place in society, those same children will develop in to adults who will be able to accept and embrace other people’s cultures and identities. We are proud of the close links we have established with Springfield Primary School, especially through our partners in the MUMO programme and we take every opportunity to ensure that this collaboration is enriched with many shared education experiences throughout the year.

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the future workforce of our country and beyond. The colours in our school uniform are grey, white and purple. • White shirt or blouse • Grey tie with purple stripes • Purple jumper or cardigan • Grey trousers/skirt or pinafore • Black shoes • Black plimsolls for indoor use • There are also purple reversible fleeces available (this is optional) P.E. Gear • White polo Shirt • Black Tracksuit Bottoms (available from most stores) • Indoor shoes The uniforms are available from Truly Fare, Monagh Fashions and Chaplin's School uniform School Times 8.55 – 12.00 (P1 – P4) 8.55 – 12.20 (P5 – P7) 12.40 – 2.00 (P1 – P3) 12.40 – 3.00 (P4) 1.00– 3.00 (P5 – P7) Children are supervised in the playground from 8.40am until school starts at 9.00am. We ask parents not to leave children to school before 8.40am unless attending the breakfast club as they will not be supervised. As part of our Extended Schools programme, we offer a fully supervised Breakfast club. This is the only legalised supervision available before 8:40a.m. There is assembly every morning at 8.55am in the yard (weather permitting) School Meals We offer a balanced nutritious variety of meals and parents are given a menu at the beginning of each year. Children who are not entitled a free meal can purchase their meals on a daily basis or bring a packed lunch to school. Healthy Break As part of our programme we encourage all children to bring in a piece of fruit for break. Children should bring in a drink of water to sip through the day. P1 and P2 children will have their break provided for them every day. This costs £10 per month and any additional money is used to pay for their school trips, visitors, etc.

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In St. Clare’s Primary School, we place a high importance on the voice of the pupil. It is vitally important that we allow pupils to have a say in what our school provides to all our community. To this end, pupils are elected on to the council by their peers. Both pupils and staff take this responsibility seriously and like any council, meetings are minuted and action plans are set. Pupils will meet monthly with the Principal and the RRSA teachers on the staff and together we explore how we can continue to improve what we provide for all our school community. The school has home and emergency numbers for all pupils so that parents can be contacted at any time. The school has a texting service and will contact parents with a range of information through this. The school service will automatically text the main contact number only. This is why it is vital to ensure that all numbers are up to date and accessible. If a parent has any concerns or worries about their child, they can arrange to meet the teacher or Principal at any time. We would appreciate this arrangement by appointment as teachers are not available during class time. We also have a wonderful classroom to home texting and imaging app known as Seesaw which gives us the opportunity to share with parents highlights of the day that their child has enjoyed, allowing us to celebrate their success with home immediately. The staff are committed to providing a caring atmosphere where pupils can achieve their best, enjoy learning and are happy for the time they spend with us. Parent Contact Rights Respecting Council

St Clare's Prospectus 2023

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