A message from Mr Beattie

Click below to view the school's current admissions criteria

The Diamond Primary School


The Diamond is a family. It's a community school and a friendly, happy school.
If we'd been able to host our usual Open Day, your child/children would have had the opportunity to play with our P1s in their fun-filled classroom, then they would have had the opportunity to meet the older kids in school and take part in a variety of our Friday Club activities - craft, ICT, science and cookery. At our usual Open Day, you would feel the wonderful warmth and fun in our friendly school atmosphere. You would hear the buzz of children learning and laughing together. You would have seen first hand the incredible staff team we have here and the commitment they show to every child.
But unfortunately, due to Covid-19, we're not able to host our usual Open Day - so this will have to do for now!
The Diamond Primary is a little school in the Cullybackey countryside but with big ideas and a lot of punch! It is a safe and happy place where the corridors and rooms are filled with the buzz of fun and excitement, smiles and laughter. That’s really important to us, not only because we love that buzz and we love to laugh and smile, but because we firmly believe that kids learn best when they are comfortable, excited and enjoying themselves and each other. Yes, it gets a little messy and noisy at times – but usually it’s a beautiful mess and a very rewarding noise.

Our Christian Ethos

At The Diamond Primary School we are committed to the care and education of the children regardless of race, religion, sex or status. Our ethos is founded on Christian principles where tolerance and respect for others is paramount. This ethos reflects and dovetails into our RE curriculum which uses the Christian Bible as its core text. It is our intention that everyone feels valued and our pupils are encouraged to develop their full potential in a caring and supportive atmosphere. The school is highly regarded by parents and the community; we aim to provide a high standard of care for our children in a friendly, positive and structured environment and to develop all pupils academically, socially, physically and emotionally, whatever their perceived abil​ities.

Overview

This little video highlights some of The Diamond's 'best bits' and the special way that we engage with and care for the
​children we teach every day...

Our Prospectus

At our Open Day, every family receives a copy of our school prospectus, which gives an insight to life at The Diamond. You can download a PDF version of our prospectus by clicking the link below. The prospectus outlines our aims & ethos and the type of learning you'd expect to experience at The Diamond, both as a child and as a parent, as you partner with us.
prospectus_booklet_nov_2020.pdf
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Learning at The Diamond

Numeracy and literacy are at the centre of our curriculum. We begin the formal processes in counting, reading and writing in Primary 1 and we aim to develop these skills throughout each child's primary school 'career'. We love being involved in this learning journey and we take so much pleasure in celebrating successes and achievements with all our children.

​Our rich curriculum develops high standards in ICT, including coding, video editing and presenting.  Children benefit from our computer suite and iPad resources as well as a range of child-friendly coding equipment.

The World Around Us incorporates geography, history and science in a topic based approach - children really enjoy immersing themselves in history and investigating the natural world through practical and creative classes.

Sport, music, art and hobby subjects provide so much excitement in school and give every child their opportunity to excel and display their unique talents.
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RE, PDMU and Assemblies encourage the children to grow spiritually and to understand differences. We encourage our children to treat everyone with love, respect and dignity regardless of background, race, religion or gender.

Support in school

We aim to challenge every single child and work alongside them to achieve success. Our system of learning support offers encouragement, reinforcement and challenge in any areas that children are finding difficult. We have seen so much improvement in school through our dedicated one to one programme and the processes put in place in class to help those with ASD or behavioural struggles.  This has been enhanced recently with the addition of a state-of-the-art sensory room. We have brilliant relationships with EA support agencies and we always adopt a 'team' approach to ensure we find the best plan for each child. 

ICT and Technology

​The Diamond may be a small rural school, but we are leading the way in ICT and technology. Fully kitted with interactive displays, a computer suite, a class set of iPads - we are well resourced! Our programmes and resources complement learning and enhance the quality of communication between home and school. These include;​

SEESAW - amazing daily communication of your child's successes through photos, videos and documents to your personal device
ACTIVE MATHS - Brilliant online numeracy games and quizzes to complement our class numeracy scheme
ACCELERATED READER and STAR READING - Reward based programmes, designed to motivate children to read
GL ASSESSMENT - Thorough standardised assessment packages, including Baseline at P1 and CAT4 cognitive tests
PARENTPAY - fantastic system for making all school payments online, including school meals orders

Home Learning

During periods of lockdown and closure, we have been able to continue teaching confidently using Seesaw's Home Learning platform. We have been making extensive use of this brilliant facility to ensure that children continue learning, supported by their teacher's instruction in videos, audio clips and resources.  Voice messages and feedback on work returned to children gives everyone the chance to celebrate success, even when they can't be in school. I am confident that our remote learning provision is second to none!

​We also use this platform for the submission of homework - meaning books don't have to travel from home to school and vice versa, keeping everyone a little safer during this pandemic.

The Diamond in Action
This short video will give you a glimpse of life in school from youngest to oldest...

Gallery 
Click an image to enlarge and scroll

Other Videos

Below, you'll be able to view our short Diamond promo video and the recent 'Lockdown Movie' we recorded for our kids
​featuring all The Diamond staff.

Register your interest!

If you'd like to register your interest in a Primary 1 place at the school, click the button below and complete the short form.
​If you have some questions, if you'd like to chat to the Principal, or if you'd like to arrange a visit to the school, please don't hesitate to contact us on 02825880709. We'd love to hear from you!