Irish Society's Primary School

Overview

This sustaining improvement inspection was significantly limited because all teaching staff, including the principal, refused to cooperate with inspectors due to industrial action. Consequently, the Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI) could not fully evaluate the quality of education, learning, or teaching. The report concludes that the ETI is “unable to assure parents/carers... of the quality of education being provided” and designates the school as a “high priority for future inspection with no further notice.”

Strengths

• Year 6 pupils were observed to be “friendly, confident and spoke well,” expressing positive views about their school experiences.
• Children were “very appreciative of their teachers’ care and support” and enthused about subjects such as mathematics, creative writing, and science.
• Pupils commended the “extra-curricular provision,” noting its “broad variety of offer and high participation levels.”
• Students highlighted opportunities to develop leadership roles through the School Council, peer mediation, and as ‘digital leaders’.

Areas to improve

• The report states the inspection was “unable to focus on evaluating the extent to which the school is capable of demonstrating its capacity to effect improvement.”
• The ETI was “unable to evaluate fully... the quality of learning and teaching within the classrooms.”
• The school is identified as a “high priority for future inspection” to determine the actual quality of education provided.

Safeguarding

The school provided evidence that safeguarding arrangements “reflect broadly the guidance from the Department of Education,” and pupils stated they feel safe, though the ETI was “unable to evaluate fully the arrangements for safeguarding” due to the industrial action.