Holy Cross College

Overview

Due to industrial action by teaching unions, the Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI) was “unable to assure parents/carers... of the quality of education being provided for the pupils.” The inspection relied on limited evidence, as only the leadership team co-operated, preventing a full evaluation of teaching, learning, and care. Despite these constraints, the report highlights strong pupil outcomes and a positive school ethos.

Strengths

• Pupils are described as “articulate and confident” with “significant levels of participation and achievement” in sporting, musical, and cultural activities.
• Examination results at GCSE and A Level are “consistently above the Northern Ireland average” for similar schools, with high progression to higher education.
• Parents and staff reported high satisfaction with the “caring and supportive learning environment” and the school’s “friendly and inclusive ethos.”
• The curriculum is “broad and balanced,” and pupils appreciate the “high quality facilities” and careers guidance.
• Governors are “highly supportive” and work proactively, with confidence expressed in the aspects of governance evaluated.

Areas to improve

• Action plan targets are “not specific enough and should be more time-bound and measurable.”
• Data could be “used more effectively to measure the progress of action plans against the targets.”
• Governors need to “continue to promote greater accountability and challenge through a range of first-hand evidence.”

Safeguarding

The report states that safeguarding arrangements “reflect broadly the guidance from the Department of Education,” though there is a need to review policies to ensure they “reflect more fully” this guidance, as full evaluation was not possible.