Ballymacash Primary School

Overview

This report details a Sustaining Improvement Inspection conducted in January 2017, which was significantly compromised by industrial action. Because staff refused to cooperate, the Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI) was “unable to assure parents/carers... of the quality of education and safeguarding being provided for the children.” Consequently, the inspection could not evaluate the school’s capacity for improvement or address previous priorities, leading to the school being designated a “high priority for future inspection with no further notice.”

Strengths

• The report identifies no significant areas for improvement.

Areas to improve

• The ETI was “unable to evaluate an area for improvement” from the 2013 inspection regarding “communication and the working links between management at all levels.”
• The school must address the lack of cooperation that prevented the evaluation of “self-evaluation and effective school development planning.”
• The school requires a follow-up inspection within six weeks to fully evaluate safeguarding arrangements.

Safeguarding

During the follow-up visit in March 2017, the school provided evidence that “satisfactory arrangements for safeguarding reflect broadly the guidance issued by the Department of Education,” and children reported that they “feel safe and cared for in the school.”