Lisnagelvin Nursery School aims to create and maintain a caring, supportive and stimulating environment in which every child in its care can achieve his or her potential.
Partnership between school staff and parents/guardians is encouraged in order to ensure that a solid foundation is laid for each child upon which he/she can build for future educational achievement.
Lisnagelvin Nursery School in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, is purpose built and has fully qualified staff.
The school is located in its own grounds at 48 Richill Park, Londonderry, and offers its children excellent outdoor and indoor facilities.
Opened by Lord Melchett in 1978, the school has earned praise from School Inspectors, Parents, School Governors and the local community which it exists to serve.
In order to make best use of our school, staff and parents work as partners together with established senior citizen, past pupil and gardening groups.
We fully intend to maintain and improve, where possible, our high standards and levels of service.
If you wish to pursue your enquiry further, please do not hesitate to contact the principal, Mrs Margaret Aiken, at the school:
Lisnagelvin Nursery School,
48 Richill Park,
Londonderry BT47 5QZ
Telephone Number: (028) 7134 2764
Email: lisnagelvin_nursery_school@welbni.org
Welcome to Lisnagelvin Nursery School where we intend that your child will have an enjoyable and excellent start to his / her education.
We are proud to offer you a purpose built Nursery School with fully qualified staff which has earned high praise from School Inpsectors, Parents, School Governors and the community at large which it exists to serve.
In order to make the best use of school it is necessary that staff and parents work as partners. This partnership ensures optimum use is made of the Nursery School year, giving your child the best possible beginning in his / her school career.
We hope you enjoy browsing this brief overview of our philosophy and educational activities. Please feel free to take your enquiry further by discussing it or any points arising with the Principal.
Constructive suggestions will always be welcome!
Margaret A. Aiken
Principal
Children who are not normally resident in Northern Ireland will not be considered for places until all children who live in Northern Ireland have been considered.
The Board of Governors have determined that in the event of there being more applicants than places available, the following criteria as defined in The Education (Northern Ireland) Order 1988 will be applied, in the order set down, to select children for the available places.
and who at the time of their proposed admission will not have a pre-school education place, whether full-time or part-time, at another school or any other premises.
If there are more pupils satisfying the last criterion which can be applied, then selection for the available places will be on the basis of:
It is important that parent(s)/guardian(s) when submitting the application form give all the relevant supporting information and written evidence that may be needed including the child's birth certificate.
If a place is offered on the basis of incorrect or misleading information then the Board of Governors may withdraw the offer. All criteria will apply as at closing date on application form.
The admissions criteria will be applied by a Selection Committee consisting of the Principal and three Governors. The resulting list of successful applicants will be subject to the final approval of the Board of Governors. If parents have any difficulty in completing the form then they should consult the Principal of the school.
The same criteria will be used for the part-time admissions as for full-time admissions.
Parents considering sending their children to this school are invited to make a prior visit to see the school and to talk to the Principal and teachers. The admission arrangements as set out in the Western Education and Library Board booklet on Nursery Education will be used. Application forms are available from the school or Board offices.
After selection parents and children are invited to take part in the school induction programme. Parents are invited to meet the staff, to complete our enrolment form and share information relevant to the placement.
An 'Open Afternoon' is arranged during the month of June when parents and children can once again visit the school. This provides an opportunity to become familiar with the nursery environment prior to starting school in September.
The current policy is to admit children selected for enrolment in small groups during the months of September and October. This ensures a smooth and happy transition from home to school. Parents are encouraged to remain with their children until the children have settled in.
It is the intention of the school to provide experiences which stimulate, challenge and support learning appropriate to the abilities and needs of each child. Opportunities are also provided for social and personal development. These experiences and opportunities are provided within the school by a flexible, developing, learning environment organised by the professional staff.
The school aims to build upon the learning experiences which have already taken place in the home by introducing a degree of formality into the child's play and learning. Teachers plan, organise and structure the curriculum which is based upon the practical activities and interests of the individual child. This curriculum lays the foundation for the work at Key Stage 1 in primary education.
The curriculum is planned with a view to the promotion of:
Many parents involve themselves in the school curriculum by giving talks and demonstrations about their work or ethnic traditions, accompanying the children on educational visits, joining the environmental group and supporting the Schools' Educational for Mutual Understanding Programme.
It is the policy of Lisnagelvin Nursery School to:
Much careful thought and planning has gone into the provision of imaginative and extensive outdoor play facilites.
Included in the garden are nature trails, a garden pond, wild flower areas, herb beds and natural habitats for birds.
The project represents a considerable investment for the school and provides a stimulating and exciting learning environment which reflects nature and the changing seasons.
This educational facility ensures an opportunity for children to enjoy fresh air, sensory experiences and physical activity in a safe and natural environment.
To facilitate courses and group meetings a Parents' Room has been added to the school. Reference books, information pamphlets and a computer are provided.
This room also houses a Toy Lending Library for pre-nursery school children.
Under the guidance of the Family Caring Trust, parents are invited to take part in an eight-week course entitled "What can a parent do?"
Topics discussed range from behaviour management, communication and discipline to quality time with your child.
The purpose of the course is to give help and support to all parents in an informal and non-critical atmosphere.
This course has proved to be both popular and beneficial and has inspired parents to organise further information seminars on topics of interest.
'Read to Succeed', 'Count on Success' and 'Learning to Learn' courses are also offered to parents. These courses give parents an understanding of how children learn and how parents can play an important role.
For many years we have successfully organised a lending Library for our pupils. Each Monday the children choose a book from the Library to take home.
Library Bags are provided for carrying the books which are returned to school on Thursdays.
This service encourages the children to take a special interest in books. They select, and are responsible for, their own book. It also gives an invaluable opportunity for you and your child to share time together each day.
These 'lending' books belong to the school and thoughout the year fund raising events take place to finance this facility.
This competition was open to all schools in Northern Ireland. The School and grounds were inspected by a panel of judges representing the Northern Ireland Amenities Council and Shell UK.
Our School, judged to be the 'Best Kept Small School, 2001' in the Western Board Area was presented with a perpetual Trophy, a prestigious School Sign and a cheque.
During the 1999/2000 summer term the school was honoured by a visit from the Mayor, Councillor Joe Miller and the City Council Environmental Officers.
The Mayor presented the school with an Environmental Commendation in recognition of the excellent learning environment created in the garden.
The competition was open to all Schools in the Western Board Area.
The school building, grounds, resources and Policies on:
were inspected by a panel of judges.
The judges represented the W.E.L.B. Westcare Business Services and the Western Group for Environmental Health.
The School ws presented with the Gold Award.
Our web site is conceived as an online prospectus for prospective parents of children at the school. In time it is hoped to expand it to include copies of the termly school newsletter for current parents and staff.
We should like to thank the Western Education and Library Board for hosting these pages and Gunter Liszewski for his assistance.
The site was created by Martin Peck using an XML source document and XSL stylesheets, and completed April 2002. It has been tested with IE 5.5 and 6.0, Opera 5.0 under Linux, Netscape (no versions of which display it perfectly) 4.08, 4.7 and 6.0, Lynx, and on a Palm500.
This site is due to be officially launched at the school on Tuesday 16th April. This page will present one or two photos from the occasion.