Lighthouse School celebrates good OES rating

Cayman’s only public school for special needs children, The Lighthouse School, was recently awarded a ‘good’ rating by the Office of Education Standards (OES) and, as a result, the Ministry of Education held a special celebratory assembly at the school last Thursday.

Hosted by Education MinisterJuliana O’Connor-Connolly, the assembly for staff and students was also attended by the Governor, Martyn Roper.

Minister O’Connor-Connolly congratulated the school for its achievement and urged the staff and students to continue to improve on this success. She said The Lighthouse School was perhaps one of the most challenging of Cayman’s educational institutions, and achieving a good rating on two consecutive occasions spoke volumes about public education in the Cayman Islands.

“We have arrived at another milestone in our upward trajectory, and I am confident that with continued hard work and dedication, we will continue to improve on our ratings and the quality of education that we provide to the children of the Cayman Islands,” she said.

Governor Roper also congratulated the school for its success and recognised the various stakeholders for their part in the school’s achievement.

“’Good’ is the second highest performance rating that a school can achieve in an OES inspection. To be rated good for the second time is certainly an outstanding achievement. As such, I want to pay tribute to the students and staff of the Lighthouse School and the Minister for Education and her team for their fantastic efforts that have resulted in this remarkable achievement,” he said.

Acting Principal Janice Headley recognised the members of the school community for their support throughout the years, recognising past principals, Carla McVicar and Elroy Bryan, for putting systems in place that they had been able to develop in order to reap what she said was “this tremendous success.”

Ms Headley further recognised the members of her staff and the synergy of their combined efforts by way of a special presentation.

Students and staff took part in several performances and presentations, including songs from Yadah Miller and Shaquan Connor, a musical selection by The Lighthouse School ensemble and dance performances from a group of Year 7-9 students and National Festival of the Arts silver medallists Averie Bush and Donte Dunbar.

Dr Aidan Tumilty, MoE Senior Policy Advisor & Manager, Inclusion, delivered welcome remarks. LHS educator Andre Turner offered the opening prayer, and Acting Senior School Improvement Officer Elroy Bryan emceed the programme.