Specialist Teachers

Working closely with the SENCOs and class teachers, my role as the Learning Support teacher is to provide support to individuals and small groups to help them overcome whatever challenges they might face in their learning. One of the rewarding aspects of my job is to see the tangible progress the children make on a daily basis. 

Although I am a relative newcomer to the Methody family, I have worked in education for almost 25 years across various departments including primary, secondary and further education. Despite being a native of Northern Ireland, I spent 21 years teaching in an international school in sunny Cyprus and I particularly appreciate the diverse international character we have in Downey House. 

I teach French and Spanish at MCB both in Downey and in the college. It is a great opportunity to see pupils grow in their language learning as they progress through the school. 

Pupils learn French from P1-P7 and get to experience the joy of learning a language and engage with different aspects of French culture. Pupils learn how to have short conversations on many different topics and to describe the things around them in French.  

It is amazing to see the enthusiasm and ability shown in the language from a young age and this provides them with many advantages and opportunities going forward.  

I have been teaching PE in MCB Prep department for nearly 20 years. My ethos centres around ‘sport for all’; encouraging full participation and making sport accessible and enjoyable for all pupils.

I teach Preschool through to P7 every week, comprehensively covering all aspects of the PE curriculum, co-ordinating Friday games sessions and after-school sports clubs including hockey, athletics, netball, football, tennis, rugby and cross-country. PE is delivered both indoors in the school gym and outdoors around the school grounds, depending on the activity.

As pupils build on their fundamental movement skills and further develop their experiences, there are many opportunities to compete for their school at both a local and interprovincial level. As a school we have achieved many successes across Northern Ireland in numerous sports.

One of the best parts of my job is to see an individual experience the excitement of mastering a new skill, to watch them embrace and overcome challenges while having fun in a safe and encouraging environment.

I am a keen skier, having enjoyed the slopes, scenery and snow since I was a child and continue to do so now with my own family.

As the Performing Arts Co-ordinator for Downey House, my job entails teaching Music and Drama twice a week to every class from Preschool to P7, as well as leading the choirs, orchestras and recorder groups.

In Foundation and Key stage 1 we learn through listening, singing and performing lots of different songs and stories using our voices and playing different percussion instruments.

In addition to this P4 and Key stage 2 classes also learn how to play the recorder.

Providing an opportunity to perform on a stage is very important to us, therefore, every child in the school will be given the chance to be on the stage at least once each year – this is one of the many lasting memories every child has after they move on to secondary level education.