BoG 12:06
OUR LADY AND ST PATRICK’S COLLEGE, KNOCK
ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS
2010 - 2011
A copy of this report may be obtained free of charge by contacting the College or from www.knock.co.uk
Dear Parents
I enclose the Annual Report of the Board of Governors to parents for the academic year 2010-2011. It contains some essential information about the Board’s involvement in the life of the College over the last academic year.
The report chronicles the work of the College and in many ways reflects the leadership and management of the Board of Governors, the Principal and the teaching and support staff who are entrusted with the care and education of our students. As Principal of the College I have always been continually encouraged by the professional approach of staff and the vibrancy of the student body. This is reflected in the wide range of activities and opportunities that are on offer to students through the commitment of the staff.
In June 2011 Mrs Rosemary Caulfield retired after 36 years of dedicated teaching service in the Modern Languages department and the College community wish her every happiness in the future. We welcomed eight new members of staff to the College: Mrs Patricia O’Hanlon (English and Drama), Ms Elena McAuley (English and Drama), Mrs Caroline Morgan (Home Economics), Philippe Fretigny (French Assistant), Sian Evans (Science Technician), Martin Soutar (Technology and Design Technician) and Elaine Bates and Siobhan Swan as Classroom Assistants.
The College celebrated its 25th Anniversary during the period of this report and we celebrated our achievements of the past quarter of a century with a series of events including a gala evening of music and song in the Ulster Hall on 1st March 2011.
Undoubtedly, the high point of the past year was taking possession of the new £25m new school building on 31 March 2011. After many years of lobbying and planning, construction of the accommodation first commenced in May 2009. Nearly two years later we are delighted to have transferred from the old building and 32 mobile classrooms into our new state-of-the-art premises. We are indebted to the Trustees, Board of Governors and the Department of Education for their work and commitment to secure such excellent facilities for our young people and staff.
This report summarises the results of important examinations and the academic progress of our students. Other sections of the document give you an insight into some of the main events and opportunities afforded to our student body over the past school year. It cannot fully reflect the wide range of activities and student successes.
We keep parents, past students and friends of the College informed of activities and successes through the pages of our newsletter, Communiqué, by regular updates on our website and our e-magazines. As a school committed to, and recently accredited with, Investors in People, it is always helpful to reflect back on what was a very successful year and to use its content to plan for future events.
I hope you find the report’s contents informative and interesting.
Yours sincerely
Dermot G Mullan
Correspondent to the Board of Governors
Our Lady and St Patrick's College, Knock
120 Gilnahirk Road
Belfast
BT5 7DQ
Annual Report of the Board of Governors
FOR THE COLLEGE YEAR 2010 - 2011
1. INTRODUCTION
The College’s Mission Statement indicates that, “Our Lady and St Patrick's College, Knock cares for young people in a way that encourages them to develop to their full potential within a supportive Christian community. We seek to prepare our students to play an active and responsible role in society and to use their talents for the service of others”.
This Mission Statement guides us in the task of enabling our students to realise their full potential. It stresses the importance of relationships. Students are to be cared for and their talents developed in a harmonious manner. They are to be encouraged to use these talents for the benefit of others.
Our Lady and St Patrick's College, Knock aims to:
· develop the “whole person” as a follower of Christ;
· promote the philosophy and values of Catholic Education;
· develop positive attitudes in an atmosphere of co-operation, justice and mutual respect;
· prepare young people to be confident and creative contributors to society;
· enable students to realise their full academic potential and to develop all their gifts
and talents;
· prepare students for adulthood by enabling them to acquire the relevant knowledge
and skills;
· engage positively with the local and wider community.
Our aim therefore is to provide a school where each member of the school community enters fully into the life of the College and where all students are happily and enthusiastically involved in a wide variety of work within a well structured but flexible framework.
2. ORGANISATION AND MANAGEMENT
The Board of Governors has overall responsibility for the management of College affairs. It consists of eighteen voting members and the Principal.
The Board met on seven occasions during the year. In addition, sub-committees of the Board met to deal with issues such as the curriculum, appointment of teachers, matters relating to finance, the auditing of accounts, staffing, premises, discipline and the admission of students.
The Principal leads a senior management team of nine teachers comprised of the two Vice Principals and six senior teachers. The teaching and support staff catered for the needs of 1275 students on roll.
The membership of the Board of Governors (2009 – 2013) is detailed as follows:
Trustee Governor / Most Rev Donal McKeown (Chairperson)Trustee Governor / Mrs Maeve Toner (Vice Chairperson)
Trustee Governor / Very Rev Ciaran Feeney
Trustee Governor / Mr Gerry Hennity
Trustee Governor / Mr Pat McCartan
Trustee Governor / Mr Leo McKenna
Trustee Governor / Dr Denis McMahon
Trustee Governor / Vacant
DENI Governor / Ms Anne Marie Duffy
DENI Governor / Ms Jennifer Harrison
DENI Governor / Mr Stephen O’Brien
DENI Governor / Mr Leo O’Reilly
DENI Governor / Mr Robert Sinclair
DENI Governor / Mrs Christine Swail
Parent Governor / Ms Laura Lundy (Elected)
Parent Governor / Ms Grace McCarthy (Elected)
Teacher Governor / Ms Michaela Collins (Elected)
Teacher Governor / Mrs Fiona Knight (Elected)
Correspondent / Mr Dermot G Mullan (Principal)
The next election of parents to the Board of Governors will be held in 2013
3. Responsibilities of Governors
In particular the following areas of responsibility were dealt with by Governors.
Finance
The School Revenue Account for the year ending 31st March 2011 was prepared by the Finance Committee of the Board of Governors. The Board are responsible for securing the efficient and effective management of all of the school’s resources and expenditure, including funds provided by the Department for capital assets, equipment and personnel. We enlisted the help of Moore Stephens, Certified Accountants appointed as Auditors in full accordance with the Audit Code for Voluntary Grammar Schools.
The Bursar and Principal had the responsibility of monitoring and dealing with the allocated Department of Education budget of £5,591,556 and were directed and advised when necessary by the Board of Governors’ Finance, Staffing and Premises and Audit Committees. These monitored the delegated budgets given to subject departments and discussed proposals regarding the most expedient use of finance in the delivery of the curriculum. Ideas and suggestions were passed on to the Board of Governors’ Committees which met on various occasions to monitor and decide how the budget should be used efficiently and effectively. It may be noted that 87.6% of the overall expenditure was spent on the salaries of teachers and support staff and that the College ended the year with a deficit of £80,451. A summary of the annual accounts is provided in Appendix A.
Accommodation and Resources
The maintenance personnel and caretaking staff continued to look after the College buildings and grounds, and minor improvements were carried out to the fabric of the buildings. Mr D G Mullan, Mrs R Sullivan (Vice Principal) and Mr S Hyland (Bursar) attended numerous meetings to advance the building and out-fitting of the new PPP/PFI school accommodation. The lack of outdoor playing space and sports pitches placed an additional strain on resources and internal facilities throughout the year. Working with the PPP provider (Belfast Educational Services) and the main contractor (O’Hare and McGovern, Newry) the College managed to maintain the project to the agreed time scale and it is pleasing to report that Phase 1 the new College opened on 31 March 2011. The new premises provides for a safe and secure environment for students and staff meeting all Building Control regulations and Health and Safety guidelines.
Transfer Procedure 2010 from Key Stage 2 to Key Stage 3
A total of 275 students from our contributory primary schools applied for admission to Year 8 in September 2010. In total, 180 students were admitted by the sub-committee of the Board of Governors.
Applications / AdmissionsGrade A / 194 / 180
Grade B1 / 27 / 0
Grade B2 / 24 / 0
Grade C1 / 09 / 0
Grade C2 / 13 / 0
Grade D / 04 / 0
Others / 04 / 0
TOTAL / 275 / 180
College Staffing and Appointments
In order to deliver the curriculum effectively, the Board of Governors employed 84 full-time teachers, 6 part-time teachers, 5 administrative staff, 10 technicians, 7 classroom assistants, 1 librarian, 1 study supervisor, 1 nurse, 4 maintenance/caretaking staff, 11 canteen staff and 20 cleaners.
4. WHOLE STAFF TRAINING and INSET ARRANGEMENTS
(Directed Day) / · Review of School Improvement Plan and Objectives
· Child Protection Training for all staff
· Meetings with Heads of Departments and Department
· Whole school/department self-evaluation
25 August 2010
(Exceptional Closure Day) / · Chrysalis (Drug Awareness) training for tutors
· Alcohol Harm Reduction training for tutors
· Mental Health training
· Dyslexia training
· Pastoral Issues: Senior School Merit Scheme
31 August 2010
(Exceptional Closure Day) / · Self-evaluation, ETI Inspection and Monitoring and Evaluation Calendar
· Use of Data and Target-setting
· Effective Questioning Training
· PRSD Objectives setting
· Examination target-setting
· Literacy and numeracy
· Assessment for Learning
1 November 2010
(Exceptional Closure Day) / · E-Learning, Learning NI
· Departmental development work
22 December 2010
(Directed Day) / · Staff Welfare
4 January 2011
(Directed Day) / · Assessment and Reporting of cross-curricular skills
· Scheme of Work Development
· Coursework monitoring
· E-Progress Files
5 January 2011
(Exceptional Closure Day) / · Gifted and Talented students
· E-Learning
· Professional Development Time
4 April 2011 (Directed Day) / · Department reorganisation for transition to new school building
· Induction into new school premises
21 April 2011
(Directed Day) / · GCSE/A-level Coursework and controlled assessment Internal Standardisation meetings
· UCAS training
30 May 2010
(Exceptional Closure Day) / · End of Year departmental and pastoral teams’ self-evaluation.
· Review of School Improvement Plan
· Preparation and planning for next year.
5. SUMMARY OF CURRICULUM POLICY 2010 - 2011
The Curriculum reflected the aims and objectives of the College and conformed to all statutory requirements. A copy of the daily timetable is included as Appendix B.
Junior School - Key Stage 3 (Years 8 - 10)
Junior students were introduced to academic discipline in the prescribed Learning Areas. Year 8 and 9 students studied the following subjects:
Art and Design, Drama, English, Employability, Geography, History, Home Economics, ICT, Local and Global Citizenship, Mathematics, Music, Physical Education, Religious Education, Science, Technology and Design. In addition to these subjects, students chose two Modern Languages from: French, German, Irish and Spanish.
All Junior School students were involved in Education for Love programmes, and in Year 10 Careers Education classes were introduced. There were Personal Development classes for all Key Stage 3 students and Year 8 students had in addition, the Student Mentor Programme. The merit system in Junior School continued to recognise and reward students for high standards of work and behaviour.
A very successful Junior School Awards Ceremony was held on Wednesday 6 October 2010.
Senior School - Key Stage 4 (Years 11 and 12)
The curriculum catered for a wide range of interests. All students studied at least 10 GCSE subjects which included the compulsory core element of five subjects and an optional element of a further five subjects. In addition, a number of students were selected on the basis of end of Year 10 Mathematics assessment test to study Additional Mathematics as well as GCSE Mathematics. This allowed them to be entered for GCSE Mathematics at the end of Year 11 and to be entered for Additional Mathematics in Year 12.
An ECDL course taught by College staff was also arranged for a number of Year 11 students. A ‘fast-track’ Music course was offered as an additional GCSE subject during lunch periods.
The Senior School Awards Ceremony was held on Tuesday 16 November 2010.
Core GCSE Curriculum - Studied by all students:
Careers* / Mathematics / Learning For Life and WorkEnglish Language / Religious Education / Tutorial Programme*
English Literature / Physical Education* / * = non-GCSE courses
Optional Curriculum - Students chose 5 subjects from the following list:
Art & Design, Biology, Business Studies, Chemistry, Drama, Engineering, French, Geography, German, History, Home Economics, I.C.T, Irish, Music, Physical Education, Physics, Science (Double Award), Spanish, Technology & Design.
Upper School (Years 13 and 14)
All students in Year 13 studied for Advanced Subsidiary level (AS-level) examinations. The module examinations were taken at the end of Year 13.
Year 14 students pursued Advanced Level (A2) courses and were entered for modular examinations in January and June. Some Year 14 students studied a combination of AS and A level subjects. Students who did not take A-level Religious Education were required to take a modular, certified course in Religious Education. Careers Education and the Tutorial Pastoral Care Programme were compulsory for all Year 13 and Year 14 students. The Education for Love Programme (Life Issues) continued for all Year 13 students and the Certificate Of Personal Effectiveness was offered in Year 13.