New principal at primary school in Downpatrick

New principal at primary school in Downpatrick

23 September 2020

AS pupils returned to St Colmcille’s Primary School in Downpatrick after the lockdown, one ‘new’ boy was making his own return.

Principal Stephen Austin started the new school year as principal, four years after he was seconded to Scared Heart Primary School in Dundrum, also as principal.

He took over the position in May, technically speaking, several months into the closure of all schools due to the coronavirus pandemic.

It’s a welcome return for the 35 year-old Co Armagh native who lives with his family in Dromara.

Mrs Marianne Dempsey is now his trusted and respected vice-principal after she spent a few years as acting principal. 

The return to St Colmcille’s — which was the second school Mr Austin taught at after teaching for eight years at St Mary’s Primary in Banbridge — feels like the closing of a circle for him.

“It feels fantastic to be back. I am truly honoured and privileged to lead St Colmcille’s,” he said.

“From the initial stages in my leadership journey, which began in St Colmcille’s, I aspired one day to lead the school.”

Things have changed at St Colmcille’s in the time he has been away — for the better.

St Colmcille’s is now Downpatrick’s second largest school with 315 pupils, with another 20 new pupils joining over the summer months.

It has recently secured funding for a fourth learning and support centre which helps pupils with moderate learning difficulties, an extra facility which pupils and parents really appreciate. 

While he no longer teaches, Mr Austin leads a combined staff of around 60 teachers, teaching assistants, catering and administrative staff.

However, he acknowledges that while he has taken over a very well run and high performing school, he says moving schools during the lockdown and its impact on education has been “challenging”.  

“It was a very busy time and there was little time to be reflective on the emotions experienced moving between schools,” said Mr Austin.

“I directed my energies upon arrival towards building relationships with the school community, sustaining home learning, communicating with staff regarding their roles and responsibilities and ensuring health and safety practices where at a high level. Then it was working to insure a safe return to school for everyone. 

“I was warmly welcomed on my arrival and have a fantastic working relationship with Mrs Dempsey. I have received excellent support from a hardworking senior management team and staff, knowledgeable and supportive governors and parents.”

Like many people who aspired to the teaching vocation, Mr Austin has long wanted to emulate teachers who taught him.

“I was fortunate enough to have met some fantastic teachers along my education journey, I drew inspiration from them and hoped that some day that I could have the same positive influence on children in a similar manner.”

During the school closure, Mr Austin says his staff were “extremely busy” maintaining education for children during the lockdown and ensuring that all children continued to have access to services like speech and language or counselling.

The school also continued to provide lunches to children who received free school meals – an important service that many families depend on. 

In June, ahead of the Education Minister’s late announcement of all schools to reopen, Mr Austin told parents that he and the school’s Board of Governors were committed to fully opening the school come September.

“At one point, I considered moving desks from classrooms if it came to that as I would rather have the children using clipboards or be creative with the use of our whole school premises rather than them not at school and not learning,” stressed Mr Austin.

Like other principals he has introduced a range of measures to ensure optimum safety from the virus. 

“We are teaching children in the protective bubble of their own classroom, we have staggered break, lunch and collection times, we have a one-way system throughout the school, sanitising stations, designated quarantine area for any child that is perhaps showing systems,” detailed Mr Austin. 

“We have invested heavily in PPE for all staff, most importantly worn for any intimate care or first aid, additional cleaning and sanitising rotas, with our teachers and classroom assistants sanitising in three key intervals throughout the day, social distancing, we introduced a class-less system in the school and carried out substantial work doing our risk assessments.” 

If the new way of education in the school may seem strange to the older pupils and staff, the days of the comforting hug of reassurance from the teacher has been curtailed for new P1 pupils.

Mr Austin said that while things may be different, the youngest pupils are still getting that friendly reassurance.

“In these sensitive times our P1 teachers do their best to reduce their physical contact with the children,” he acknowledged. “Nonetheless they would still always comfort a distressed, anxious or injured child in the normal, caring manner. 

“Our teachers have been creative teaching children new strategies to self regulate and show affection towards their friends. 

“Children have been taught self hugs, air high fives and thumbs up as a way of comforting themselves and others. Our P1 pupils have settled excellently into their new school and are very happy.”

Despite the covid restrictions, Mr Austin still has very high ambitions for his school and pupils.

The main things he wants to achieve for his pupils are that they feel “happy, safe and valued” and are exposed to “a modern curriculum which prepares them for the 21st century workplace”.

“My key goal is to deliver the highest standards possible in Catholic education, to give the pupils of St Colmcille’s every chance of reaching their fullest potential at a holistic level – academically, morally and spiritually – during their time at school and into the future and to continually enhance the profile of the school in the local community and beyond,” said Mr Austin.

He added: “High quality relationships are always in place between the main stakeholder groups who work collaboratively to continually improve school performance. 

“St Colmcille’s remains a focal point of the community of Downpatrick with strong links to community organisations such as sporting clubs and local businesses. It’s essential that teachers are continuously developed as educators to sustain a culture of continuous learning and that children have access to the latest resources and facilities for maximum development.”