Caring, Learning, Excelling Together

Welcome to Rathmore Primary School & Nursery

We give a special welcome to our new children across the year groups and of course all of our new P1 and Nursery children.

Rathmore PS and Nursery are on the journey towards transforming to become an Integrated School, as 82.3% of our parents voted ‘Yes’ to this direction in 2023. In January 2025, the Education Minister turned down our proposal but his decision has been challenged legally and is currently part of a Judicial Review. As a school, we will continue our transformation journey during 2025-2026, in line with our parents’ vote.

We understand the responsibility we share with you as parents and guardians, to guide and support our children as they grow and develop their skills of independence, self-management, personal responsibility, respect, confidence and self-esteem.

At Rathmore, we believe that a caring culture, where every pupil feels safe, secure and valued is the foundation for effective learning, both within class and throughout our whole school community. Following the success of our 2024-2025 UNICEF Silver Award for a Rights’ Respecting School, Intergenerational Programme, Shared Education Programme, Pupil Voice Councils, whole school House System and first Community Day, we aim to build and extend these aspects within Rathmore during 2025-2026, with your support.

We are pleased to support families by offering a Wrap-Around Care option from 8am to 5:45pm daily, with holiday provision in collaboration with YMCA (West Church).

We remain grateful to our PTA Fundraising Committee whose financial help last year provided outdoor space resources to enhance our children’s learning. During 2025-2026 we will target ICT, Literacy and Numeracy Resources with PTA help.

On behalf of the staff and governors of Rathmore Primary School, thank you for your ongoing support. Keep up-to-date with current information with our Newsletters, See-Saw, Videos & Social Media.

Yours sincerely,

Julie M Hardy

Principal

1 2 3 4

Rights Respecting School

Our Journey to Gold

UNICEF is recognised globally as the leading organisation championing children’s rights. The Rights Respecting Schools Award (RRSA) is given to schools that show a strong commitment to promoting children’s rights and ensuring that both adults and pupils value and respect the rights of others. A Silver Award is presented to schools that demonstrate significant progress in embedding the principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) into their ethos, curriculum, planning and everyday practice. In a Rights Respecting School, children learn about their rights, see them modelled by adults and experience them being upheld throughout the school community.

At Rathmore Primary School, we take great pride in being part of the Rights Respecting Schools programme. Working alongside UNICEF, we aim to ensure that children’s rights are understood, celebrated and actively lived out across our school. The RRSA framework supports us in placing the UNCRC at the centre of our policies, relationships and culture.

We achieved our Silver: Rights Aware accreditation in May 2025, becoming one of only 16 schools in Northern Ireland to hold this award. We are now working towards the Gold: Rights Respecting level.

Achieving Gold means demonstrating that children’s rights are firmly embedded in every aspect of school life, not only taught, but consistently practised, championed and used to guide decision-making.

Our journey towards Gold is a whole-school effort, with our Rights Respecting Ambassadors, staff, governors and the wider Rathmore community all playing an important role in helping children’s rights strengthen throughout our school.

Pupil Voice — Article 12: The Right to Be Heard

Our Rights Respecting Ambassadors began the year by leading a whole-school assembly on Article 12, which states that every child has the right to express their views and have them taken seriously. They introduced the ABCDE of Rights and helped set the tone for our Rights Respecting learning throughout the year.

Anti-Bullying Week — Article 19: The Right to Be Safe

During Anti-Bullying Week, our Ambassadors led an assembly focused on Article 19, reminding everyone that every child has the right to feel safe, respected and protected from harm. They highlighted the adults and systems in place to support pupils and encouraged everyone to speak up if they witness unkind behaviour.

Rights Around Our School — Article 24: The Right to Clean Water

As part of ensuring rights are visible in our environment, Ambassadors completed a Rights Respecting walk-through of the school. New displays were added across the building, including posters beside water fountains highlighting Article 24, the right to clean drinking water.

UNICEF OutRight Campaign — Article 6 & Article 22: The Right to Life, Survival & Protection in Emergencies

Our P4 Ambassadors took part in this year’s UNICEF OutRight Campaign, learning about why international aid is vital and how children’s rights must be protected during crises. This work links strongly with Article 6 (the right to life and development) and Article 22 (protection for children in emergency situations).

Local Community Engagement — Article 12: The Right to Have a Say in Decisions

At the end of January, some Ambassadors met with members from the Ards and North Down Borough Council and pupils from Strangford College to discuss how the borough could become more child-friendly. This gives pupils a real opportunity to use their voice beyond school, demonstrating Article 12 in action.

Visit from NICCY — Article 4: Duty of Government to Uphold Rights

In February, our Rights Respecting Ambassadors proudly showcased their ongoing work as we welcomed Chris Quinn, Northern Ireland’s Commissioner for Children and Young People. During the visit, pupils demonstrated how children’s rights are embedded throughout school life—how they learn, how they treat one another and how they take action in their community.

To recognise their outstanding leadership, each Ambassador received a special ‘Rights Defender’ badge from the Commissioner. The visit was an inspiring and encouraging experience for pupils and staff alike, celebrating our continued commitment to fostering a caring, inclusive and rights-respecting environment for all.

This visit supports Article 4, which requires government and public bodies to ensure children’s rights are realised.

Community Day — Linking to Articles 29 and 6

At our Community Day, our Rights Respecting Ambassadors will be running a fun and engaging competition, “Who can name the most children’s rights?”, and a fundraising stall to support the UNICEF Shop. This connects closely to Article 6, the right to life, survival and development, as the resources purchased through UNICEF help protect children’s health, safety and wellbeing around the world.

The money raised will help provide essential items such as:

Soap to support cleanliness and good health
Blankets to keep babies warm and safe
School supplies so children everywhere can access education
Clean water kits to ensure families have safe drinking water
Vaccines and first-aid supplies that protect children from illness and disease

Through these activities, pupils are not only learning about their rights but actively upholding the rights of others, showing empathy, global awareness and a strong sense of responsibility.

Rathmore Calendar

Find Out What’s On

Rathmore Payments

Cashless School System

Rathmore Documents

Important Documents & Downloads

At Rathmore, we believe in giving our pupils a first class education, focused on a child-centred approach to learning. Across all three key stages, Rathmore pupils learn the knowledge, skills and attitudes that they will need to live

Foundation Stage

As the name suggests, the Foundation Stage (P1 & P2) puts in place the building blocks for a lifetime of learning. Through practical activity, pupils have the freedom to explore, create and experience learning in a variety of contexts. The basis for learning at this stage is play. Pupils are encouraged to engage in a wide range of play-based activities that will form the basis for effective communication and early literacy and numeracy concepts. The teaching staff and classroom assistants work as a team to provide a structured yet flexible programme in line with the Northern Ireland Curriculum.

Key Stage 1

During P3 and P4, pupils consolidate the early literacy and numeracy concepts. Through guided and shared lessons, they develop independence in reading and writing, and extend their understanding of mathematical concepts. It is this knowledge that pupils begin to apply to problem solving with support from the teaching staff. It is at this stage that formal assessment begins further shaping the provision each child receives. The cross-curricular skills of Communication, Using Mathematics and Using ICT are assessed at the end of this Key Stage.

Key Stage 2

The final three years of the primary school phase culminate in the preparation for transition to the secondary phase. P5, P6 and P7 combine the acquisition of knowledge with the development of skills to form independent, confident learners who can use multiple approaches to problem-solving. In a challenging and supportive environment, teachers integrate practical activity with direct instruction to cultivate the learning and attitudes to learning that empowers pupils to be responsible decision-makers and successful in the future. The Key Stage 2 phase embeds effective assessment of the cross-curricular skills throughout, further identifying the abilities of each pupil.