Ballycarrickmaddy Primary School

Overview

The report details a sustaining improvement inspection conducted in May 2018, noting that the previous inspection had evaluated the school as “very good”. However, because teachers engaged in industrial action and refused to cooperate with inspectors, the ETI was unable to fully evaluate the quality of education or the school’s capacity for improvement. Consequently, the inspectorate cannot assure parents of the quality of education provided, and the school is designated a “high priority for future inspection with no further notice”.

Strengths

• A small group of year 7 children reported that they “enjoy the wide range of learning experiences and extra-curricular activities available to them in school”.
• The school provided evidence that safeguarding arrangements “reflect broadly the guidance from the Department of Education”.
• Pupils interviewed reported that they “feel happy and safe in school” and know who to talk to if concerned about their safety.

Areas to improve

• The report states the ETI was “unable to evaluate fully” the quality of learning and teaching within classrooms due to non-cooperation.
• The inspection could not assess the extent to which the school demonstrates its “capacity to effect improvement through self-evaluation and effective school planning”.
• The school must address the impact of industrial action which prevented a full evaluation of educational provision.

Safeguarding

The report states that while arrangements reflect departmental guidance and pupils feel safe, the ETI was “unable to evaluate fully the outworking of the arrangements for safeguarding in the school” owing to the action short of strike.