St Ciaran’s College has achieved the Inclusive School Award with Centre of Excellence status.
Inclusive and Empowering Experience
St. Ciaran’s College provides students with an inclusive and empowering educational experience which equips them with the knowledge, skills and values to fulfil their potential and positively impact the world around them. The spiritual, moral, social and cultural life of the college is rich and varied, indicative of the inclusive ethos.
Fundamental to the successful education is the partnership between governors and staff, pupils and parents, the local parishes and the wider community. The inspirational Principal, Mr Lavery, sets the inclusive framework and, along with his senior team, together they ensure that staff focus on the needs of all students.
St. Ciaran’s College is an all-ability 11-18 school. At present they have 845 pupils and for September 2023 they have accepted 153 new pupils into their Year 8 cohort, their largest intake ever. There are a number of reasons for parents and children voting with their feet and making the choice to attend St. Ciaran’s. The school deepens and widens the horizons of their students, supporting them with high-quality information, advice and guidance, so that they may find their true vocation in life. They strive to provide a caring, secure environment in which each pupil can discover and realise their own potential.
Students are Very Happy
Students are very happy, articulate and positive and behave very well around the college and in lessons. They are self-motivated, mature and engaging and are a credit to the college and to the hard work of staff. They speak very highly of their school and its staff, for whom they have the greatest of respect. They know that they have a strong voice in the college and are genuinely consulted. Students explained confidently, eloquently, and with enthusiasm, the many ways in which they are provided with opportunities to develop their individual skills and talents and the support given to them whatever their needs.
High quality, inspirational teaching and warm relationships are at the heart of everything that the stakeholders at St. Ciaran’s do. They have a strong track record of delivering a well-rounded and ambitious curriculum enriched by a wide range of extra-curricular activities, educational visits and trips abroad, theatrical and musical performances, and sporting events.
There is a very clear teaching and learning policy, which is applied consistently across the college. Staff speak very highly of inclusive practices in the college. They share the inclusive vision and they feel they are listened to, consulted and supported in their work. They are encouraged and enabled to develop their skills through a range of CPD opportunities and a thorough and highly supportive process of lesson observation.
Teamwork is Exceptional
Teaching and support staff are valued and their hard work is recognised within the college. As a result, they work together superbly and teamwork is exceptional.
Our Assessor listened to senior leaders express their sincere wish to develop both strength of character and confidence in their students. Every adult spoken with knew their role in the bigger picture of seeking to educate the whole person, academically, socially, spiritually and morally through a curriculum based on Christian principles and centred on the needs and aspirations of their pupils.
The staff, with their strong subject knowledge, work tirelessly to ensure all pupils achieve their full academic potential. The primary success of their school is found in the excellent relationships between staff and students and the dedicated support of subject and pastoral staff. Pupils, therefore, feel safe and well cared for, and this is reflected in an ethos and culture amongst students of kindness and respect for others.
Detailed tracking of student progress helps to ensure that issues regarding individual students are picked up very quickly. Bespoke provision for the spectrum of all-ability students is strong and the various pathways on offer to all learners provide these students with challenge and support to further develop their skills. There is a very thorough system of data analysis, which is well understood and consistently applied by all staff.
Targets are set for students and an ongoing learner-centred tracking system ensures that students, who are not progressing well enough towards the aspirational targets, are targeted for a range of different interventions according to need. These include many after school booster and revision sessions to enable students to catch up on, or improve, their work.
The school’s dedicated staff work extremely hard, well beyond the school day for their students. As a result of this systematic approach and excellent teamwork by staff, students achieve very well at the college. Data shows that students with EAL and those with SEND achieve very well at the college and there are no significant achievement gaps between students on FSM and those who are not.
Excellent Incentive System
Our Assessor was fortunate enough to attend a Yea r10 merit assembly, (led by two very charismatic teachers). The excellent incentive system provides a variety of rewards and awards for students, ensuring that their broad range of achievements and talents are valued and recognised by the whole school community.
Pupils have a clear understanding of the college’s expectations on behaviour, bullying and harassment. High expectations and good behaviour are the norm in school evidenced by low exclusion figures. Bullying is low as a result of the pro-active approach. The college was awarded the Princess Diana Award showing their commitment towards anti-bullying. Where bullying does occur, swift intervention takes place, using the opportunity to change mindsets through counselling, reflection and reconciliation. Repeat or serious bullying is very rare.
There are a number of outside agencies used by the pupils for day attendance such as Gamechanger and BEAM. The school council and other pupil-to-pupil bodies provide an excellent vehicle for older pupils to express their opinions and to help younger pupils with social and emotional needs as well as acting as mentors in literacy and numeracy. The emphasis placed on the welfare of pupils and staff at St Ciaran’s is a major strength of the school.
“I feel confident at St. Ciaran’s and have made a lot of friends here. I have received tremendous support from all the staff. St. Ciaran’s is a caring community and I am not sure I would thrive in the same way if I went elsewhere,” explained a Year 10 Pupil.
Strong Relationships
The college has fostered strong relationships with parents and they find various ways to communicate with them and to involve them in the life of the college. Parents spoken to were delighted by the support they have received from the college and the way in which their children are able to enjoy and thrive at school.
One parent, for example, explained how invaluable the support given to her by the school had been when her daughter had some problems, while others mentioned the exceptional progress their children had made at the school. There is regular communication with parents to ensure that agreed action to support students where needed can be taken without delay. They described the college as an extended family, giving support and care way beyond their expectations. They were able to explain how the consistent, respectful, and supportive culture of the school was having a positive impact on home life. All explained how happy their children were, how safe they were and how their needs were being met in a very caring, nurturing environment. All had no doubt that their children would achieve their full potential at St. Ciaran’s.
One comment from a parent put it succinctly: “They need to keep doing what they’re doing, it’s working brilliantly!”
The role of the college in the local community is also excellent and students make a very positive contribution to it, for example, through charitable projects to help local people and with their sister school in Zambia. Our Assessor spoke with 6th form students on the tour of the school about this project and other aspects of their tenure at St. Ciaran’s. They said they always felt supported, included, and explained that the culture at the school made it hard not to flourish given the support and focus on their personal development and welfare.
Induction Programme
Our Assessor was fortunate enough to visit the school as they hosted a LGFA Year 8 inter-schools’ blitz on the Thursday and on the Friday when it seemed like all of County Tyrone descended upon Ballygawley to either play in, or watch, proceedings during this year’s prestigious Primary 7’s Canavan Cup. The school appreciates transferring from primary school can be delicate and so they have an excellent induction programme in place, led excellently by Mrs McGirr and Mrs McMahon.
Every year two Celebration (Prizegiving) Evenings are held with staff, pupils and parents present. A variety of awards are presented to the pupils to acknowledge their achievements. The events not only celebrate the success of the pupils but also the work carried out by staff.
Visiting the Art department on external moderation day, our Assessor was blown away by the creativity of the students at St. Ciaran’s. Art at St. Ciaran’s is clearly not static, and its purposes, materials and methods are always evolving. Pupils at St. Ciaran’s make progress in the art curriculum because it is designed so that they build practical, theoretical and disciplinary knowledge and learn the connections between them. A high-quality art and design curriculum sequences this knowledge and the exhibition of outstanding artwork showcased its impact.
It is clear that staff and students take great pride in their environment. Words of encouragement, messages of success and celebratory images of student achievement adorn the walls. Classrooms are welcoming places and are very well organised and set out. The school exterior is well landscaped with green spaces which are welcoming and give students calm and relaxing areas to play sport and interact socially between academic lessons. The chapel is a welcoming and bright area. It is the hub of the school and is always open for the students.
The catering staff were very proud to show how they have gone the extra mile for their students. The team were bubbly, inviting and proud of the service and standards they offer. A Michelin Gold Star should adorn the walls of their canteen. The meal that our Assessor was served was first class.
The governing body is also fully committed to the college’s vision and plays a very positive, active and supportive role in the college. They are aware of all aspects of the inclusion agenda and are active participants in the school’s efforts to include and to care for all students. Examples of discreet support for pupils were offered. They also spoke with great passion about the impressive progress and forward developments the college has made over recent years. They were appreciative of the hard work and dedication of staff, particularly with regards to making sure that the comeback from the pandemic years is significantly greater than the setback suffered by all.
‘Fortis in Fide’
The motto of the college, “Fortis in Fide” is evident throughout policy, practice and ethos. In all classrooms students are happily engaged in learning and the college applies its inclusive principles to every aspect of its work. A great sense of faith, optimism and belief abounds, coupled with humility and respect. As a result, the college is an energetic, happy and harmonious place in which to learn.
Some pupils may require additional support alongside high-quality teaching in order to make good progress. The evidence indicates that the SOLAS and one-to-one interventions are a powerful medium for supporting these pupils. The vision for the LSC was that pupils would have access to LSC specialist provision as well as access to the mainstream setting where appropriate. The close-knit LSC staff believe that all pupils can achieve and echo a culture of high expectation. They foster excellent relationships to ensure that pupils become the very best they can be. The school use a finely honed integrated model which aims to promote a family ethos, social inclusion for pupils and a differentiated curriculum for pupils. St Ciaran’s prepares all of their pupils to lead fulfilling and purposeful lives, becoming responsible citizens who will go on to contribute positively to society.
The school had four strategic aims outlined in their school development plan. Whilst the remit of the assessment doesn’t enable our Assessor to evaluate the outcomes of the aims, he did however analyse the levels of inclusivity undertaken by the school through the various approaches taken to ensuring school improvement is taking place. The foci were upon high-quality teaching, targeted academic support and wider strategies (such as improving future performance and engagement levels of boys) to aid school leaders’ existing planning efforts.
The best available evidence indicates that great teaching is the most important lever schools have to improve pupil attainment. Ensuring every teacher is supported in delivering high-quality teaching is essential to achieving the best outcomes for all pupils, particularly the most disadvantaged among them. The school are seeking to do this through Vorsprung durch Technik – advancement through technology. They are taking a whole school approach to maximising the use of their teacher Microsoft Surface Pro devices in order to enhance teaching, learning and assessment.
It is important that all schools consider how children learn, how they develop knowledge and skills, and how they can be supported to lay firm foundations for later learning. Our Assessor was an invited guest into a Maths lesson taught by Mr Watson and his classroom assistant. He is one of many deep and reflective practitioners in the school. Here our Assessor saw at first-hand the thought, planning and outstanding delivery that goes into teaching in St. Ciaran’s. It was refreshing to see learning in action and to discuss cognitive load theory with Mr Watson. Teaching approaches that ensure long-term retention of knowledge, fluency in key skills, and confident use of metacognitive strategies are crucial. The explicit teaching of cognitive and metacognitive strategies is integral to high-quality teaching and learning.
The outworking of the school’s policy of inclusion is a strength, evidenced by the high level of good quality support programmes provided to those pupils dealing with personal, medical, mental health and other issues; the school works to good effect to ensure they have the resilience to continue with their studies, enter examinations and attain appropriate qualifications.
Find out more about the IQM Inclusive School Award
If your school is interested in obtaining the IQM Inclusive School Award or you wish to talk to a member of the IQM team please telephone:
028 7127 7857 (9.00 am to 5.00 pm)
or email: [email protected] for further details.
Want more information on the IQM Award? Click here to request your free IQM information pack.
• Our inaugural National Inclusion Conference will take place on the 27th November, for further details click here.