A Modern School With A Traditional Approach
The school, which opened in 1956, has been regularly extended to accommodate its increasing population. It is set in extensive grounds between Finaghy and Dunmurry and boasts modern facilities, including interactive whiteboards in every classroom, two computer suites, a music room, two libraries, a room for Personal Development and Mutual Understanding and a medical room.
St Anne’s is staffed by the Principal, the Vice-Principals, thirty class teachers and three Special Needs teachers. Each Primary 1 and Primary 2 class has a Classroom Assistant. The school also includes a purpose-built Nursery Unit, accommodating two classes with a total of fifty-two pupils.
The school also operates a Breakfast Club for P1 – P7 Pupils. The supervised breakfast club is situated in both dining halls and offers a range of healthy breakfast options, including cereals and toasted pancakes. Opening times – 8.30am – 9.00am.
Nurturing Pupils To Fulfil Their Potential
We strive for high academic, sporting and artistic achievement on the part of all our pupils. Our staff recognise each child as an individual, with individual needs, which we seek to meet and with individual talents, which we seek to nurture. The overall quality of the teaching in St Anne’s has been recognised as a strength of the school by the Education and Training Inspectorate.
The school delivers the full range of the Northern Ireland Curriculum to the highest standards, in accordance with statutory requirements. As stated in the conclusion of our most recent inspection report from April 2013, ‘Overall, the school is meeting very effectively the educational and pastoral needs of the children and has demonstrated its capacity for sustained self-improvement’.
We also place a high emphasis on the pastoral care of our pupils and promote their social and emotional well-being. ‘The quality of the arrangements for pastoral care in the primary school is outstanding and the school has an inclusive and welcoming ethos with effective working relationships at all levels’ – ETI report, April 2013. We follow a Positive Behaviour Policy and pupils are expected to maintain a high standard of behaviour at all times. A Healthy Break Policy operates throughout the school.
Building A Positive Wider School Community
At St Anne’s we value and encourage links with all our parents. We have parents’ curricular meetings, formal parent-teacher meetings and informal parent-teacher discussions. Regular newsletters inform parents of the life of the school and parents are invited to school events.
We have a very active and supportive Parents’ Association, which organises a range of successful social and fund-raising events throughout the year, as well as after-school activities. Primary 1, 2 and 3 pupils can participate in the “Body and Mind” programmes and a range of other after-school activities. Primary 4 to Primary 7 pupils can enjoy basketball, netball, dance, soccer, guitar, arts and crafts, Gaelic football, camogie and hurling.
The school also engages in cross-community programmes & events and we also have international links with schools in Europe. We encourage our pupils to participate in public competitions, we organise visits to educational facilities and invite interesting educationalists into school.
