HOLY FAMILY PRIMARY SCHOOL GAINS PRESTIGIOUS
ICT MARK AWARD
Children at Holy Family Primary School in Magherafelt are at the forefront of using Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to enhance their work, and that’s official!
Following an extensive external assessment by NAACE, the professional association for advancing education through the appropriate use ICT, Holy Family PS has been awarded the prestigious ICT Mark. The ICT Mark is an integral part of the Self-review Framework, which is an online tool launched in April 2006 to assist schools in identifying, improving and benchmarking the use of ICT in learning, teaching and management of schools. It is recognition of a school’s achievements in reaching a standard of maturity in their use of technology and is supported by The Department for Education.
The award recognises the school’s success in developing the strategic use of ICT in both administration and across the curriculum. Parents will have proof that their children are attending a school at the forefront of modern technology.
The Principal, Mr Peter Donnelly, commented “On behalf of Holy Family Primary School, I am delighted that we were awarded this prestigious ICT Mark. It recognises our positive approach to ICT and the benefits it is bringing to our children. We believe that ICT can be used in every aspect of learning and that it is essential our children are equipped for the modern world. We are very proud of the way the school community as a whole has developed and embedded ICT as a skill right across the curriculum.”
Mr Donnelly stated that whilst the school as a whole had embraced the development of ICT he also wanted to mention the excellent work of the ICT co-ordinators, Mrs McErlean and Mrs O’Neill who worked tirelessly to ensure the school as a whole was ready for the rigorous scrutiny of its standards this external assessment process.
The ICT co-ordinators involved in ensuring the school was ready for ICT Mark assessment, commented:
“We are really pleased that the presentation of this award shows recognition of the excellent ICT work that is taking place at Holy Family Primary School. Applying for the award really brought into focus the ICT work that we are doing each and every day. All the children and staff deserve credit for this achievement.”
Bernadette Brooks, Naace General Manager, said "Holy Family Primary School thoroughly deserves the accolade of an ICT Mark accreditation. They clearly demonstrated how important it is to take a whole school approach to using ICT in schools. We look forward to working with them to demonstrate how ICT can have a substantial impact on learner outcomes in the future. Examples of the diverse curriculum programme on offer at Holy Family Primary School, including their extensive ICT work can be accessed at www.holyfamily-ps.magherafelt.co.uk
The external assessment covered three main areas:
- Vision, leadership and organisational management
- Provision of ICT; quality and range
- Demonstrating impact on learning and teaching
In relation to the initial area the report stated that ICT is strongly embedded into the life and work of the school. It went on to say that the Principal has a firm belief that ICT enhances learning and teaching and is essential to the efficient management of the school. It stated that he ensures that time is allocated to staff development and that ICT provision is planned for within the school’s budget. The report also stated that the development of ICT is led by two very committed and efficient co-ordinators who provide strategic leadership and practical support for all staff.
Reporting on the second area of focus the report stated that teachers have a clear understanding of the statutory requirements for ICT. It went on to say that the school has established a set of ICT competencies for children from P1-P7 which ensures progression and continuity in children’s ICT skills as they move up through the classes. Also in all the work observed, there was clear evidence that the children routinely use ICT as an integral part of their learning across the curriculum.
Focusing on the final area the report stated that Holy Family Primary School encourages evaluation, discussion of what is working well and consideration of the impact of ICT on teaching and learning. In all the classroom work observed and in discussions with staff there was clear evidence of a belief in the potential of ICT to enhance learning. It also stated that ICT resources are used consistently and naturally utilised to support learning and there is no doubt that throughout the school children experience many ICT rich activities. Parents expressed strong support for the work of the school in developing the use of ICT. They agreed that the school provided an excellent range of ICT resources and experiences for their children.
