Kilcooley Primary School

Overview

The inspection was significantly limited by industrial action, with teaching staff refusing to co-operate with inspectors. Consequently, the Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI) states it is “unable to assure parents/carers... of the quality of education being provided” and assigns no performance levels to key areas.

Strengths

• Year 6 pupils were observed to be “courteous, welcoming to visitors and proud of their school.”
• Children demonstrated high aspirations and spoke “very positively about their experiences in school.”
• Pupils are “very aware of their rights and responsibilities” through the ‘Rights Respecting School’ initiative.
• Children highlighted enjoyment of “extra-curricular activities” and opportunities for leadership roles.
• Safeguarding arrangements were reported to “reflect broadly the guidance from the Department of Education.”

Areas to improve

• The report does not list specific areas for improvement as the ETI was “unable to evaluate” outcomes, provision, or leadership due to non-co-operation.
• The school is designated a “high priority for future inspection with no further notice.”

Safeguarding

The report states that arrangements “reflect broadly the guidance from the Department of Education” and children felt safe, though the ETI was “unable to evaluate fully the outworking of the arrangements” due to the industrial action.