Blaine Stewart, the new principal of Kesh Primary School, has been settling into his role well having taken up the post late last September after moving on from Derrygonnelly Primary School, where he had been a teaching principal since June, 2019.

“I’ve really been enjoying it, it’s been so busy but so rewarding, and I’ve had a very kind, warm welcome from the people here, whether it be the staff, or the people in the community,” said Blaine, speaking to The Impartial Reporter about his experience in Kesh PS so far.

He added: “We’re still navigating Covid-19 and the new variant, with all the hassles and heartaches it causes, but I’ve been really enjoying things and have settled [in] well.”

Originally from Portadown, following secondary school Blaine studied a Bachelor of Education, in Primary Education and PE at Stranmillis University College, graduating in 2011.

Talking about his teaching history following his graduation, Blaine said: “I started out in Dungannon and taught there for a few years before moving on to Armagh.

“I taught in the Royal School, Armagh, Preparatory Department, and spent five years there before getting my first Principal post, that being in Derrygonnelly PS.

“I just decided to have a fresh start in Fermanagh and moved to Derrygonnelly,” said Blaine, who during his time in Derrygonnelly PS, was selected from thousands of nominations to be honoured with a Pearson National Teaching Silver Award, receiving The Lockdown Hero Award for Learner and Community Support, which acknowledged his outstanding commitment to changing the lives of the children he works with every day.

“I was enjoying things there [in Derrygonnelly] and then the opportunity for the job in Kesh [came up].”

Blaine went on to explain that the principal role in Kesh PS offered him the opportunity to work with a larger team and in a larger community.

“When I saw the opportunity here in Kesh, I just thought I should go for it.

“I’d heard great things about the team and the community here, and I’d worked in the past with Jayne Thompson [Head of Northern Ireland, Parentkind] who spoke so highly of the area.

“I just felt it was an area I’d love to get my teeth into and see if I can help,” he said, adding: “I’m just looking forward to this new challenge.”

When asked how he finds being solely a principal compares to being a teaching principal, Blaine said: “In Derrygonnelly I was a teaching principal and it’s a lot []of work and responsibility].

‘Many hats’

“You just have so much to do, and you have to wear many hats, whereas – luckily – here I’ve been able to finally learn the skill of delegation, because there’s a much larger staff.

“Not having to teach any more, it’s a wrench, because I miss the classroom. With Covid, I still nip in and out; I was covering nursery [recently], that was a change of pace.

“I do miss teaching, having that hands-on experience with the children, but you can drive so much more being principal full-time, rather than having to wear both hats of teacher and principal.”

When asked about his plans for the future of the school, Blaine noted that in the short-term, it’s “continuing to navigate Covid”; however, long-term, it’s about providing opportunities again.

“Getting back to the things that the school used to be able to do, whether that be sporting tournaments, musical pursuits or getting the pantomimes back up and going.

“Trying to hopefully ease things back in, back to normal. I’d also like to further raise the profile of the school,” said Blaine, explaining that he has recently created social media pages for the school, on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and it also has a “very active” website.

“I’d like the school to be more accessible to parents, I want it to be a very parent-friendly school. I feel that, with Covid, parents have suddenly been thrust into the role of teacher.

“I’d really like to take advantage of the parents’ experience of remote learning and try to keep them on board and informed of what’s going on in school so they can further support at home, just so that all the children can reach their full potential,” he told this newspaper.