Having opened his weeklong tour of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland’s (PCI) Presbytery of South Belfast at Lowe Memorial Presbyterian in Finaghy on Sunday – where he worshipped with his family from the 1970s – PCI’s Moderator, Right Reverend Dr Richard Murray, paid a visit to Fane Street Primary School, where, by coincidently, his late mother attended. He described the school as “one of the most diverse and unique schools in the city.”

Dr Murray spent the morning with the principal and chair of the school governors, where 89% of the children attending the primary school come from overseas speaking 47 languages (including English) and 75% of those are classified as ‘Newcomers’. Situated off the Lisburn Road, the Moderator was welcomed on his arrival by a choir who sung two songs for him.

Speaking about his visit, Dr Murray said, “I had a wonderful and very special welcome from one of the most diverse and unique schools in the city. In our resolutions to our General Assembly over the years, we have often praised the work of schools and encouraged their teachers and governors across this island, especially during and after Covid. The dedication and care of the staff at Fane Street for the children, many of whom, through no fault of their own, have been uprooted from their homes and all that which was once familiar to them to come to Northern Ireland, was a joy to see.

“It was a very happy place, but not without the problems and issues that other schools face, and some that are unique to it. I was astounded to discover that in any one year, there is roughly a 50% turnover in children due to the transitional nature of their families’ circumstances.”

During his visit, Dr Murray was accompanied by Cecil Graham OBE, LVO, Fane Street’s chair of governors for the past six years, who like the Moderator’s late mother, was a pupil at the school in the early 1940s. The principal, Hilary Cunningham also gave him a tour of the school where he met teachers and children in a number of classes.

Mrs Cunningham, who has been principal for the past 10 years thanked the Moderator for coming and explained that at the moment the school had 296 children, a figure which can fluctuate depending on the status and circumstances of the children’s families.

She also explained that the figure could go down to 200 or up to 350, due to a number of factors, from parents leaving Queen’s University where they had been studying, or working, to return home with their children, to families who are seeking asylum being moved to other accommodation, or Roma families whose lives are traditionally transient. “While we face many of the challenges that other schools face, in many respects we are a very unique school, with unique challenges.

“We have a long tradition of educational excellence here at Fane Street and our vision is not just to care for our children, but to care pastorally for the families as much as we can. Every morning myself and the vice principal, Mr Nicholl, meet the children at the front door, as we want them to arrive happy and leave happy. In the teaching of English, we are very strategic and have a synchronised approach, which we try to make fun. For example, the children who have limited or no English, are taught separately during the time their friends in class, who are more advanced, are being taught, and it works. Afterwards they all come back together again.”

Talking about the school’s pastoral approach, Mrs Cunningham said that they try to support the whole family, and one important support mechanism is the recently appointed Family Co-ordinator who supports families to get others to listen, be it the immigration service, or health service, or directing them to clothing and foodbanks. “Some of the children have experienced considerable trauma in their journeys here and need additional, patient support. It hasn’t been an easy year, and I am very proud of my staff team who are resilient, and our children too, especially after what happened during the summer,” Mrs Cunningham said.

As a controlled school, Mrs Cunningham told Dr Murray that they were open to all, and welcome children of all faiths and none. “We are a richly diverse and inclusive school, with a Christian ethos, which is important. Like other schools, we have just had an assembly for the Hindu festival of Diwali, we had one for Muslim festival of Eid, and we are looking forward to celebrating Christmas with a whole range of activities.”

Thanking Mrs Cunningham and her staff for their warm welcome, the Moderator said, “Today has been a great experience. I sit on the board of two schools near Ballymoney as a governor, and the challenges that we face are similar, but at the same time, worlds apart. I really want to commend the work, not just the teaching that is being done at Fane Street, but the Christian heart of the school in being so welcoming, supporting and nurturing of the children, and their families, in such a diverse environment.”

The Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, the Right Reverend Dr Richard Murray, has praised the work of the Special Educational Needs (SEN) sector, and expressed the Churches’ ‘great appreciation for the dedicated and compassionate way that staff provide such a vital service for some of the most vulnerable in our society…” adding, ‘especially in such difficult and constraining times.’

Dr Murray was speaking during a visit to Roddensvale School in Larne, as part of a week-long series of engagements as part of his tour of PCI’s Carrickfergus Presbytery, which takes in the town. “I really want to thank the school’s principal, Mr Madden, for taking the time to show me and my colleagues around the school, introducing us to some amazing children, and staff, who work so hard to help each one to fulfil their full potential,” he remarked.

Originally opened as Larne Special Care School in 1964 with a group of six pupils, today there are 255 children and young people with a range of special educational and physical needs, from the ages of 3-19. While the current school opened on the site in 2005, with further development promised, the Moderator found that resourcing and space was still a major issue.

“It was great to take part in a P7 assembly quiz, and talk to some of the children and staff, and hear how as a controlled school the non-denominational Christian ethos was important, as was being part of the broader local community,” Dr Murray said.

“Talking to Mr Madden, I was really struck by the complex challenges and the increasing need that there is, and how the school is trying to meet those needs. While great work is being done, it is being undertaken in very difficult and pressing circumstances. For example, a store room has become an additional classroom, as have other rooms. The teachers have also given up their staff room, which is  a classroom now. ‘Needs must’, Mr Madden said, when telling us about it.”

The Moderator continued, “A good working relationship with Larne High School, which is close by, has meant that seven refurbished classrooms are now used by older Roddensvale students, which eases some of the pressure. While there has been investment, more needs to be done.”

Before going onto visit a local food bank and specialist farm, Dr Murray said, “I really want to express our church’s great appreciation for the dedicated and compassionate way that staff provide such a vital service for some of the most vulnerable in our society, across the sector, and here at Roddensvale in particular, especially in such difficult and constraining times.”

Mr Madden, who received the MBE for services to education and children with special educational needs in this year’s King’s Birthday Honours, welcomed the opportunity to show the Moderator around. “We are very much a part of the local community and some of the local ministers in the town, and surrounding area, would come and support us in different ways, so it was great to have Dr Murray and his colleagues visit us,” Mr Madden said, who has been at Roddensvale for 22 years, and a teacher for over 30 years.

One of those ministers, the Rev Peter Bovill of Islandmagee Presbyterian Church, would take assemblies at the school from time to time. He accompanied the Moderator and took the opportunity to see his son who is in P4.

Mr Madden continued, “Our main purpose at Roddensvale is to provide the most appropriate education for our pupils within a safe and secure environment, and we have worked hard to create a shared ethos and we are committed to developing a school which meets the personalised learning and emotional needs of every child in our care.

“At the same time, we also recognise each pupil’s strengths and weaknesses, and endeavour to fulfil the full potential of the ‘whole’ child. That means having the appropriate resources available. While there has been investment, I sincerely hope that the two programmes that will lead to an additional 14 classrooms will be fulfilled.”

He concluded, “As I explained to the Moderator, it is isn’t just about bricks and mortar, across the SEN sector support services and specialisms like occupational therapy, physiotherapy and clinical psychiatry, need to dovetail seamlessly with the service that each school provides to produce the best possible outcomes for children and young people. At the moment, especially with clinical psychiatry, there is a resource issue, which has implications for the small percentage of pupils who are in most need of this service.”

In response to a request for comment from the News Letter, on the National Secular Society’s survey on collective worship in England, Dr Andy Brown, Chair of the Transferor Representatives’ Council (TRC), said:

“This survey by the National Secular Society is drawn from responses from teachers in England, which has, in the main, a very different culture and attitude towards faith. As we have said before, collective worship, and indeed RE in Northern Ireland, gives space for children to learn about faith within the Christian ethos of our schools, which encourages and promotes the importance of recognising and respecting the different views of those of other faiths and none.”

“The two constants in any community, no matter how small, are the local church and the local school,” Dr Andy Brown noted as he opened the first in a series of Preparing for Reconstitution events for clergy, school governors and church members held just after Easter.

The Transferor Representatives’ Council’s roadshow, in Lisburn, Coleraine and Enniskillen encouraged Church of Ireland, Presbyterian and Methodist congregations to choose good candidates for the role of governor, as the reconstitution of boards of governors approaches later this year.

Controlled schools been well-served by the three Churches over the last century, following the transfer of most of their schools into state control. Whilst there is a clear missional opportunity and rights are enshrined in legislation to promote, maintain and defend our schools’ Christian ethos, TRC Chair Dr Brown reminded attendees that we are there to serve our schools and communities.

Setting the scene in a keynote address, Evangelical Alliance’s Northern Ireland Director David Smyth outlined some major trends that are shaping society and the opportunities to make a difference in the communities which churches and schools both serve.

“We are living in a moment where it is very hard to keep up with life,” David remarked. Three words can help to sum up a prevailing attitude in society:

• I – individualism
• Buy – consumerism
• Stuff – materialism

There’s a widespread desire to find fulfilment in possessions, such as a slightly better house or car, although a desire to put broken things right shows “a good and healthy yearning for justice and redemption.” The internet and social media have dramatically changed education and employment, and a sense of ‘perma-crisis’ confronts young people – who experience crises around identity, truth, trust and relationships as they try to find their way in a changing world.

Wider society is forming our children and young people “in ways that we are only beginning to understand.” Trust in civic institutions is lower, debates on a range of contentious issues continue, and budgets are under immense pressure in a region which has lacked political leadership in recent years.

Amid these challenges, teachers, principals and pupils are always “doing their best in the amazing schools that we have here.”

A significant proportion of Northern Ireland’s population still identifies as Christian – 79.7% in the 2021 Census, compared with 46.2% in England and Wales in the same year. Evangelical Alliance’s survey-based research report, Good News People, published in February, found that one in two people in Northern Ireland described themselves as practising Christians, and 57% agreed or strongly agreed that faith should have a role in education.

For many people here, their lives are shaped by a very different story than what is told by secular culture – one which “provides redemption and forgiveness far beyond what is offered by the world around us.” Churches have great opportunities to shape the moral formation of young people, in its widest sense, advocating for what is true, good and beautiful.

At each event, a local principal shared some ways in which transferor governors strategically, practically and pastorally help their schools – with examples including:

• A supportive and sympathetic understanding of the complexity of the principal’s role.
• Being aware that schools pick up the consequences of problems that other public services in society are unable to deal with.
• A ‘joined up’ approach to service with other community partners.
• Training in health and safety, finance, and child protection.
• Looking around creatively for funding sources.
• Helping families to find help with living costs – groceries, fuel, and small, simple gifts.
• Pastoral and spiritual support with the principal and members of staff.

Governors can be the channel for random acts of kindness from your congregation – from end-of-term boxes of chocolates to remembering times when staff will feel under particular pressures, and asking about their well-being.

The principal, as the leader of the school, has a key role in relationships between churches and schools so it’s essential that he or she trusts their governors. And the best approach, Andy Brown related, is for churches to pull their sleeves up and “go in and give, and ask for nothing in return.”