A KILCLIEF teacher who makes a “life-changing” impact on her pupils has been recognised in the prestigious Pearson Teaching Awards.
Agnes Monan, of St. Malachy’s Primary School, received a Distinction Award as runner-up in the Northern Ireland region of the recent competition.
At St. Malachy’s for 12 years, Miss Monan combines her teaching duties with that of the key post of Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) for the school, and it is in this role that she has been recognised in the Pearson Teaching Awards.
Principal Chris O’Neill said Miss Monan was characterised by the high standards she set
herself and her commitment to ensuring each child within her care fulfilled their full potential.
“Her innovation and dedication has delivered lasting results for the pupils of St. Malachy’s and has made a significant contribution to maintaining the high standards of achievement at Kilclief,” he said. “We are very proud of her achievements in these teaching awards.
“During her time in S.t Malachy’s Kilclief, Miss Monan has had a life-changing impact on many children across all classes in her role as Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator.”
Mr. O’Neill said Miss Monan’s commitment to early intervention and finding individual child-centred solutions underpinned her daily work.
“She was instrumental in introducing the Reading Partnership Scheme to the school to support existing teaching,” he said. “Miss Monan is passionate about her work as SENCO and was recently completed the DENI training programme, Certificate in Competencies in Educational Testing, and has recently begun the Maths Recovery Training Programme to ensure that the pupils in St. Malachy’s benefit from the latest research and teaching methods.
“She is selfless in her support of the children, their parents and other staff, always willing to provide advice or a listening ear as well as managing and mentoring the Reading Partnership volunteers.”
Mr. O’Neill added: “Exceptional teachers make all the difference, whether they inspire a love of a particular subject or encourage youngsters to develop in confidence and gain their full potential, the influence of a great teacher can last a lifetime.”
The Pearson Teaching Awards are the result of ‘thank you’ nominations, which can be made to their website (www.teachingawards.com) all year round. This year they received 24,000 nominations. Oscar-winning actress Emma Thompson is president of the association.