News

Seven controlled schools were offered Partnership Grants as part of The Royal Society’s 2020 application round. Many of the successful projects will be part of The Royal Society’s ‘Tomorrow’s Climate Scientist’ programme.

The Controlled Schools’ Support Council (CSSC) advocates on behalf of controlled schools. Part of this advocacy includes celebrating the achievements of our pupils, staff and schools. Given the circumstances of the last six months it is essential that the work of the sector is recognised. 

Nurture approaches emphasise the importance of understanding what lies behind a child’s behaviour and, in assessing the child’s learning needs, the importance of understanding their social and emotional needs. 

The Controlled Schools’ Support Council (CSSC) welcomes the appointment of an Expert Panel to examine the links between educational underachievement and social disadvantage and looks forward to engaging with the Panel and will assist this important work in any way we can.

Grange Park Primary School were very fortunate that they had previously established online learning practices. Teachers were proficient, having had systems in place for many years. This developed further as the school explored even more ways of keeping in touch during lockdown.

Augher Central Primary School said farewell to their Primary 7 class of 2020 with a creative message to inspire pupils as they headed off to begin the next chapter in their educational journey.

CSSC has been inspired by recent stories from controlled schools and how they reflect their school ethos. A number of Principals kindly shared their experiences with us in a series of videos. 

Victoria Park Primary School opened in September 2008. The new school was the amalgamation of a number of schools in the Sydenham area of East Belfast, including Mersey Street Primary School, Sydenham Infants and Strand Primary School. The schools merged into the old Strand building, clearing the Sydenham site for a new state-of-the art school which was opened in 2014.

We continue with the CSSC series of news stories on schools while they operate in varied and exceptional circumstances.  This week we hear from Mr David Thompson, Principal, Dungannon Primary School. 

CSSC wishes to acknowledge the hard work, dedication and commitment of the teaching community within controlled schools. Thank you to the Principals that have shared their thoughts on teaching in lockdown with us.