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West Pembroke no longer working to rule

West Pembroke Primary School (File photograph by Akil Simmons)

A work to rule at West Pembroke Primary School quietly ended earlier this month, according to the Ministry of Education.

The action which launched in November came to an end on January 3.

A spokesman said: “Towards the end of November 2018, West Pembroke staff identified staffing for special needs students, standards-based grading and technology as the priority concerns for their work to rule action.

“Staffing for students with learning support needs was resolved by the provision of a learning support teacher who commenced work at the school today, and the staffing need for the ASD programme was resolved by the school.”

Staff at the school, along with those from primary and middle schools across the island, took part in a workshop on January 2 that focused on the standards-based grading system.

The spokesman said: “Ongoing training and support will be provided to all principals and teachers in the Bermuda public school system by the DOE’s steering committee for standards-based grading.

“In relation to technology concerns, plans are well under way to upgrade the bandwidth for West Pembroke and all schools. In addition, the DOE’s IT Section conducted a Functional Technology Classroom check at the school in December 2018.

“This involved room to room checks by DOE IT Technicians, interviewing teachers and checking technology in person.”

The checks revealed issues with a smart board, two computers and the library wi-fi, all of which have been resolved.

Principal Opal Wilson informed Kalmar Richards, the education commissioner that staff at West Pembroke ended their work to rule on January 3 as the staff’s concerns had been listened to and addressed.

Diallo Rabain, Minister of Education, said: “I would like to thank the commissioner of education, the principal, teachers, West Pembroke PTSA and the Bermuda Union of Teachers for all that was done to ensure the needs of our West Pembroke Primary School students have been met.”