Primary school wins top ICT award

Primary school wins top ICT award

29 March 2023

ST Brigid’s Primary School in Downpatrick has come top of the class in a competition for best ICT skills.

The school was the unanimous winner of the primary schools’ category in the seventh annual NI Schools ICT Excellence Awards, organised by Capita and the NI Education Authority.

Judges described the St Brigid’s pupils as “shining stars”, whose love and enthusiasm for ICT, aligned with the high-quality teaching and learning opportunities provided by the teachers, stood out. 

They said the children had access to a wide range of digital technologies to support their learning, including coding equipment, iPads, laptops and Chromebooks as well as state of the art Activ Panels in each classroom.

Developing their thinking skills and personal capabilities, children were provided with opportunities to become digital citizens, digital makers and digital workers of the future.

In their report the judges said ICT was evident in all curricular areas and embedded within school life at St Brigid’s.  This has been achieved at such a rapid pace due to integrating ICT in all core curricular action plans; numeracy, literacy, music and even PE.

Staff at St Brigid’s have embraced all teacher professional learning opportunities and have used the surface pros and Google Drive to engage in regular collaboration with colleagues, sharing best practice, building confidence and competence in all aspects of the ICT curriculum.

This year St Brigid’s has been fortunate to secure a place on the Nerve Belfast Primary Partnerships Programme through which it has had a digital audio music and sound focus, where all staff have been trained to plan, teach, assess and monitor high quality teaching and learning opportunities across all key stages. 

The use of ICT as an assessment tool has proved extremely valuable to the teachers. Foundation Stage staff have found the use of the Seesaw app beneficial for tracking the acquisition and development of early key skills.

In PE, where staff have focused on performance analysis, the use of ICT again has made this process more engaging for children and teachers have noted the positive impact this is having on their evaluations and future planning.

Children can monitor their performance and then through self and peer assessment they can improve and perfect their techniques, providing opportunities for further tracking of performance analysis. 

Speaking at the recent awards presentation in The Merchant Hotel, Belfast, Professor John Anderson, chair of the Innovation Forum, said St Brigid’s was at the forefront of the digital movement in Northern Ireland. 

Corinne Latham, Interim Director Curriculum and Assessment, CCEA, also congratulated the school on achieving the accolade. 

She said St Brigid’s was “ahead of the curve” and that their winning video was “extremely insightful”, particularly regarding the leadership and strategy of educational technology in their school. 

Mrs Dolores Miller, principal of St Brigid’s, commented: “As principal, I am extremely proud to receive this prestigious award from Capita.

“It is a great recognition of the ICT journey that St Brigid’s has been on in recent years.

“This award celebrates the team ethos that permeates through our school and highlights how the children are at the heart of everything we do.

“We are excited for the future of ICT development within our school."