Derry's Holy Family Primary and Nursery School secures a world first with Diversity and Inclusion recognition

The Derry school has a long history of securing prestigious awards for their innovative and child-centred practices including: The BDA Dyslexic Friendly Schools’ Award; The Investors in People Gold Award; The Marjorie Boxall Nurture Quality Mark Award and The PATHS Model School Award.

However, this latest award sets another first for the school and one which is highly significant at the present moment in time.

School principal, Garry Matthewson, highlighted that: “The culture of our school has always been about recognising that every child is unique and that as educators we must strive to cater for these individual needs as much as possible. When we saw the content of the Diversity and Inclusion (ISO 30415) system, we immediately knew that this could help us to provide even greater differentiation and individual support for our pupils. Accordingly, we took up the challenge of being rigorously assessed for our diversity and inclusion practices.”

External assessor, John Mulholland (PDQ solutions) conducted a detailed on - site visit, staff interviews and assessment process prior to releasing a report that stated: “Staff are well led, demonstrate a sense of empowerment and autonomy, and as a result they are highly motivated and strongly committed to the school and its pupils.”

“Significant investments have been made in staff development over the years with a range of bespoke programmes delivered, all focusing on relationships with pupils, and the outcomes they achieve.”

“Holy Family is aptly named as there is a clear feeling of family. There is a huge sense of collegiality and staff are supported through the highs and lows. People are respected as individuals and treated as individuals and although Holy Family is a Catholic primary school diversity manifests itself in many ways and inclusion is fostered in day to day interactions with staff, pupils, parents and the wider community.”

A summation of why Holy Family secured this challenging award is best provided by a member of staff who stated, “I still love it. It’s about the people you work with and making sure the children are given the best opportunities possible.”

Any parent who would like to find out more about how Holy Family secures the best for their pupils should visit the school on the Open Day which takes places on Thursday January 12 from 10am until 12 noon or contact the school office on 02871267798 for an individual visit.