Roan St Patrick's Primary School

Overview

This report details a sustaining improvement inspection conducted in January 2020, which was significantly limited by industrial action. Because teachers refused to cooperate with the inspection, the Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI) could not fully evaluate the quality of education or the school’s capacity for improvement. Consequently, the ETI states it is “unable to assure parents/carers... of the quality of education being provided for the children.”

Strengths

• Pupils spoke positively about the “variety of learning and cultural experiences” available, including project-based activities and sports.
• Children reported benefiting from the school’s focus on supporting their “well-being and mental health.”
• The school promotes an “inclusive ethos,” with pupils noting good opportunities to develop leadership skills through the school council and eco-committee.
• The school was previously evaluated as “outstanding” in 2013 and won ‘Cumann na MBunscol Small School of the Year’ in 2019.

Areas to improve

• The report does not list specific areas for improvement because the ETI was “unable to evaluate fully” the quality of learning and teaching or the school’s development plan priorities due to staff non-cooperation.

Safeguarding

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