Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School

Overview

Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School is described as having a “values-driven” vision rooted in its Catholic ethos, creating a “safe, caring and positive environment” where children are “valued and supported as individuals.” The inspection highlights a “highly positive culture” underpinned by “highly positive relationships” between staff and pupils, resulting in a calm and inclusive setting where children “thrive.” The school demonstrates a “clear understanding of how well it is doing” through robust self-evaluation and strong community engagement.

Strengths

• “Highly positive relationships” and a “deeply embedded culture of safeguarding” ensure children feel “safe, cared for and respected.”
• “Active and well paced” lessons result in “sustained engagement” and “positive attitudes towards learning.”
• A “robust and well-embedded self-evaluation process” informs coherent decision-making and sustained improvement.
• “Exemplary behaviour” and attendance levels consistently above the Northern Ireland average.
• “Strategic and collaborative approaches” to nurturing “collegial and respectful relationships” across the school community.

Areas to improve

• Develop the World Around Us curriculum further through “more deliberate use of the local area’s rich geographical and historical features.”

Safeguarding

The report states that “arrangements for child protection align to the current statutory guidance” and that there is a “deeply embedded culture of safeguarding” where emotional health is actively promoted.