| Back in 2002, 23 teachers – more than half of the school’s teaching staff – enrolled for the MSc in Education (Pastoral Care and Development) and, four years on, all but three have completed their Masters with two more set to graduate during the winter ceremonies later in the year.
Proud principal David Mehaffey is full of admiration for the efforts of his colleagues, who have proved that they are top of the class.
“This really is a tremendous achievement and something which each individual involved and the school community collectively can be very proud of.
“It is impressive that so many teachers took on such a major commitment in the first place and a great tribute to them that almost all of them saw it through.
“This wasn’t simply some short course with a certificate at the end but a fully-fledged Masters programme which took four years of intense and sustained study.
“It has been a completely unique exercise which has been very successful and brought benefits for our teachers themselves, present and future pupils and the school community in general.”
This innovative approach to continuing professional development was established in partnership with the University of Ulster’s School of Education and the Southern Education and Library Board.
The three-year pilot programme has been described as a vision for the way forward for staff development and is a model of good practice for schools.
At a time of much curriculum change and educational debate on how best to prepare young people for life and work, this partnership has been a beacon in responding to the need for teachers to be effective classroom practitioners and classroom leaders of pastoral care.
This Masters in Education, with its pastoral care emphasis, was delivered in the school after hours by Eileen Donnelly, SELB adviser on Personal, Social and Health Education.
Mrs Donnelly said: “This partnership provides a blueprint for ensuring that staff can make a significant impact on classroom practice as a result of staff development.”
Adding her congratulations to the successful ‘students’, SELB Chief Executive Helen McClenaghan said that the programme had proved “enormously enriching” for those who had taken part and reaffirmed the school’s ethos of excellence in learning and teaching.
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