De La Salle College: Associate principal appointed to work alongside senior staff

De La Salle College has about 1,100 pupils

An associate principal has been appointed to De La Salle College in west Belfast to work alongside the current principal and senior management.

It follows industrial problems at the school over the past few months.

The Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS) said Imelda Jordan had been appointed to the role.

A group representing parents of some pupils has called for management to be stood down.

The school's governors appointed Ms Jordan, a former principal at St Colm's High School, following discussions with CCMS.

She will take up the post on 4 April.

'Concerns'

"CCMS, alongside the board of governors and the unions, is involved in implementing a strategic plan for the school to address issues that have been identified by staff and all parties remain committed to this," CCMS said in a statement.

"CCMS is conscious of concerns that have been raised by parents regarding the impact of teacher absence on their children's learning and is anxious to address this issue as a matter of urgency to restore their confidence in the school's provision."

About a third of the 70-strong teaching staff at the school were absent for a number of days last week.

'Crisis'

A group of parents have been holding regular demonstrations outside the school, where they were joined for a short period last week by about 50 pupils.

The Concerned Parents Committee said the positions of the principal, vice-principal and board of governors were "untenable".

There has been an ongoing industrial dispute in the school over a number of months

The group released a statement on Tuesday night in which they said they had held meetings with political and religious representatives.

The parents' committee said there had been a "breakdown of confidence, trust, respect and communication" at the school.

"Managerial actions, approaches and strategies taken to date have contributed largely to the current crisis," the committee said.

"It is the view of this committee that the positions of the existing principal, vice-principal and current board of governors are untenable.

'Mutual resolution'

"And that, in order to facilitate the return of the full compliment of teaching staff, should therefore be stood down with immediate effect."

The current principal, Claire White, said in a statement she would continue to "work towards a mutual resolution".

In her statement, De La Salle principal Claire White said she wanted "to take this opportunity to reassure parents that we continue to remain focused on the education provision and emotional wellbeing of all our students".

"I understand that this is a pivotal time for many of our students, especially those who will shortly be sitting exams."

Some pupils' parents met the Children's Commissioner, Koulla Yiasouma, on Wednesday evening.

Speaking ahead of the meeting, the commissioner said she was "deeply concerned about the ongoing situation at De La Salle school, and the adverse impact this is having on pupils' education and on their mental health and wellbeing".

"For many of the pupils this is already a very stressful pre-exam period; to add additional pressure is simply not acceptable and obviously not in their best interests," she added.