A school at the heart of the community and a community with the school at its heart.
And for the new principal of Clare Primary, it has been “a privilege and an honour” to take over at the helm.
Emma Hylands arrived at Clare, near Tandragee, this week and has been overwhelmed by the warmest of welcomes.
And the new principal is delighted at the opportunities which the role brings, and the chance to get to know the children who attend.
As she settles in, joining the school after the half-term break, Mrs Hylands took the time to speak to Armagh I about her hopes for the future – and the journey which has brought her to Clare.
“It has been so, so enjoyable and everyone has been very, very welcoming,” she said. “The whole community has been so welcoming to me, from the staff, the pupils and the parents. It just has a lovely community feel.”
Mrs Hylands, who lives in Portadown with husband Adam and their daughter, Florie, grew up in Richhill.
And it was while attending school there, at Hardy Memorial Primary, that her career path was decided at such an early age.
“I had an inspirational teacher, for me that was just someone that was there to be a constant person in your life, and somebody there that was just a friendly face, that just valued you as an individual,” she explained. “And that person really inspired me to go into teaching myself. It’s not a job, it’s a complete vocation. It’s just something that you’re called to do. It’s not for everybody, but the joy that you get from the children every day, no matter how difficult your day is, it’s the joy that they bring that makes it all worthwhile.
“Seeing that wee light bulb moment, whenever a child finally grasps something that they’ve really struggled with and it’s you that has made that impact and difference to them is what makes it worthwhile. It is such a rewarding career, a very demanding career, a difficult career, but extremely rewarding.”
Mrs Hylands began her teaching career at Millington Primary School; she graduated from Stranmillis in 2014 and took up her first appointment at the Portadown school the following year.
“I actually did my teaching practice at Millington there and then got a permanent job there and was there for 12 years, predominantly as Key Stage 2 teacher, P 7 teacher,” she added. “I was ICT coordinator, numeracy coordinator, shared education coordinator, and a member of the senior management team – a lot of strings to my bow!”
Mrs Hylands and husband Adam were blessed with the arrival of baby daughter, Florie, in April 2024.
And the new principal told how she juggled impending motherhood and love for learning as she continued her studies.
“I actually did my Masters in Education back at Stranmillis when I was pregnant with her,” she said. “And on maternity leave, I had do my dissertation, my final 20,000 word dissertation. She was born in April and my dissertation had to be submitted that October. So I was very lucky to bring her alongside me to my graduation there that winter, last Christmas, and it was so lovely to have her there too.
“Everybody says sleep when the baby sleeps, however, I was very fortunate, very blessed, to have a child that did sleep and my motto was work and type whenever the baby’s sleeping to try and get everything done while she sleeps.”
The new principal’s husband is understandably delighted and proud of his wife’s achievements and provides great support.
“Adam is a business development manager for Sam Aerospace Company, so he would be high up in the leadership team too,” said Mrs Hylands. “So he’s a good person to bounce ideas off as well and to help keep me in the right direction and help guide and support me.”
It stands to reason that moving school was always going to be a big change. And the size and location of the schools – from town to country – is also going to make things very, very different…
“ My number one difference definitely is just the small community feel and it’s that everybody knows everybody, which is so lovely,” said Mrs Hylands.
“In Millington, we have over 600 children and to be a P7 teacher in Millington, you didn’t always get to know the children until they nearly came up to you into Key Stage 2 or unless they came to your after-school club.
“However, in Clare, with it being a school just at the heart of its community, where generations have come up through the school, it’s lovely to actually get to know every child by their first name, and their parents that drop them off and pick them up, whether that be mummy or a daddy or a granny or a granda.
“It just has such a warm community feel running through it and I think that’s lovely. It’s just a smaller rural country school that has great connections with its local community too.”
For now, it is all about getting settled into the role, getting to know the staff, the pupils, the parents. But Mrs Hylands is confident that they can make changes going forward which she hopes will benefit everyone.
She added: “I’m totally aware that staff, like all people, just sometimes do not like change initially and we’re all humans and we’re creatures of habit and everybody likes to keep going with what they already know and what they feel comfortable with.
“I have just really assured staff that my priority, for this first term anyway, is just to listen and to understand them and just to focus on stability, to ensure that I’m supporting their good practice here that already exists. When things are working well, it’s my job to protect and to strengthen those things.
“In the near future, yes, I’m sure there will be changes that would be made to the school to positively benefit the school. I think, because it’s a school in a rural area and it has such great space and land around it we could really develop that outdoor area to benefit our children, to bring the learning outdoors and to really create an outdoor classroom and getting them outside with nature.”
Mrs Hylands is very much ‘hands-on’, the definition of a “teaching principal”. She spends two days per week, Monday and Tuesday, in the office, and then teaching a Primary 6/7 composite class, from Wednesday through Friday. She is, it’s fair to say, loving every minute…
“It has been such a privilege to join this school community. I’d just like to thank everybody for such a warm welcome. It was very clear from the moment that I stepped in the school that there was such strong relationships already formed here and the school had a real sense of care for its children and that just matters enormously to me. That’s really helped shape the school into what it is today.”
As one who has worked so hard and with family life and baby daughter, alongside her new principal’s role, it’s safe to say that free time, ‘me days’, so to speak, might be few and far between.
But Mrs Hylands answers quickly, without any hesitation whatsoever, when asked how she likes to relax if and when time does permit.
“I love a holiday,” she adds. “I think that’s one of the best things about being in school, is that we have great holiday times, albeit though they might be twice as more expensive than they would be out of term time!
“But I love travelling. I absolutely love seeing the world. I’m an avid traveller. I used to live abroad in China. I taught over in China. I just love to see different cultures, different education systems, and if there is any option to get my suitcase packed and to go away, whether it be for a weekend, a week, a month, I am more than up for it.
“I just love exploring, love travelling to different countries, seeing different cultures… that is my number one.”
