Bangor Integrated Nursery School received the Tiny Learners award from charity TinyLife NI last Friday.
The certificate, which was presented by the charity’s school liaison officer Catherine Black, recognises that school staff have completed a programme of training about how best to support children who were born early and that policies and procedures within the school have been adapted to make sure all children, including those who were born prematurely or started life in a neonatal unit, are enabled to reach their full potential.
Pamela Algie, the school principal, said she has 78 places in the school and every year has a number of children within that 78 who were born early.
“We do our very best to support all the children in our school and the TinyLearner’s training has helped us as a school to build on that good practice,” she said.
“Now that we have completed the Tiny Learners Award we are in an even better position to support those children in our school who were born early.”
She added: “TinyLife is a charity that is close to the hearts of many of the staff too so it’s been extra special to partner with them as we worked towards the award too.”
The TinyLearners Award Programme is funded and supported by the Department of Education to enhance the skills and training of professionals in schools across Northern Ireland, strengthening the links between health and education.
The programme enables educational settings to provide a learning experience that works for their setting and pupils who have been born pre-term and their families, creating a supportive culture and awareness of their birth story and potential support needs throughout their educational journey.
It also provides educational settings across the country with the opportunity to support children in their classroom, empowering futures and to make a real impact in educational underachievement in Northern Ireland.
