Islandmagee Primary School

Overview

This baseline monitoring inspection evaluated how leadership uses self-evaluation to drive improvement following the school’s 2016 amalgamation. The report notes that industrial action prevented full cooperation from teachers, limiting the ETI’s ability to fully assess education quality. Despite this, the inspection found positive engagement from pupils and structured support for special educational needs, alongside identified gaps in strategic planning.

Strengths

• Pupils spoke “enthusiastically” about their sense of identity and the benefits of a “wider friendship circle” in the new school.
• There is a “well organised yearly overview” for special educational needs, with individual education plans containing “appropriate targets” focused on skill development.
• Children reported feeling “happy and safe” and were clear about behaviour expectations and who to contact with concerns.
• Staff and parents showed high satisfaction with how the amalgamation is being led and managed.

Areas to improve

• Plan more strategically to embed a shared vision, culture, and ethos among the whole school community.
• Track progress resulting from planned interventions for numeracy and literacy.
• Complete risk assessments to minimise health and safety risks on both campuses and monitor implementation.
• Develop a rigorous approach to self-evaluation and action-planning, ensuring targets are clear and measurable.

Safeguarding

The report states that safeguarding arrangements “reflect broadly the guidance from the Department of Education” and that pupils feel safe and know how to raise concerns.