St Joseph’s Primary School in Belfast to receive first ever Northern Ireland ‘National Nurturing School Award’

On the 13^th April at 10am, St Joseph’s Primary School will receive the first ever Northern Ireland ‘National Nurturing Schools Award’. This accolade is awarded to schools who demonstrate exemplary practice in embedding a nurturing culture throughout their school, enhancing teaching and learning by focusing on emotional needs and development in a whole-school environment.

The National Nurturing School Award is awarded to schools who successfully complete the National Nurturing Schools Programme, a two-year course to develop and embed a nurturing culture throughout the school. St Joseph’s is the first school in Northern Ireland to complete the Programme and to receive the Award.

Speaking ahead of the Award presentation, Principal Mairead Weir said:

“We are thrilled to be the first school in Northern Ireland to receive the National Nurturing School Award. We have seen how a nurturing education is the great equalizer, helping children blossom and grow into the people they are meant to be. It provides us all with the knowledge, skills and personal resources to overcome the everyday challenges in life.

Every day I walk into St. Joseph’s, I am met with people who in my view are the living embodiment of Nurture in their generosity of spirit and big heartedness. Through embarking on the Nurturing Schools programme, staff continue to embed a nurturing culture, enhancing their teaching and learning skills, promoting healthy outcomes for all our children and families, developing positive relationships with each other, our wonderful children and their families.

Two years ago St. Joseph’s was the recipient of the Nurture Quality Mark for our Nurture Unit. This was due to the dedicated work and care of our staff for our children. At that time, we knew we were firmly on the road to become an entire Nurturing School because nurture is about education and education is about having high standards. Nurture has become part and parcel of relationships with all in our school community. To be the first recipient of the Nurture Quality Mark in Ireland is certainly a wonderful moment for us all. We are delighted to have achieved this accolade and recognize that the principles of nurture continually permeate our work with pupils, parents/families, teachers, school and wider community. All of us benefit and continue to benefit from our school’s nurturing culture.

Of course, this would have been impossible without the guiding hand of the Nurture Group Network, the Education Authority in N.I., the Department of Education for N.I. and our colleagues in the other Belfast Schools piloting Nurture provision. We will be eternally grateful for their advice, friendship and professionalism. It is essential that the message of the Nurture family is extended further afield. Nurture only leads to confidence, the building of self-esteem and ultimately aspiration and success.”

Chief Executive of the Nurture Group Network, Kevin Kibble, said:

“We are delighted to award St Joseph’s Primary School with the first ever National Nurturing School Award in Northern Ireland. This award recognizes the outstanding and inspirational work of their whole staff team in embedding nurturing principles throughout the school.

“The beneficiaries of their hard work every day are the children attending the school, their families and the wider community. Our standards to achieve this award are exacting and many congratulations are due to the staff, pupils and everyone associated with the school.

“We look forward to working with many more schools to help them to embed principles to support the emotional and behavioural needs of their pupils and to help more schools to achieve this prestigious award.”