St Brigid's College

Overview

This sustaining improvement inspection was significantly limited by industrial action, as teachers refused to cooperate with inspectors. Consequently, the Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI) states it is “unable to assure parents/carers... of the quality of education being provided for the children.” The evaluation relies solely on evidence provided by senior leadership and pupils, rather than direct classroom observation.

Strengths

• Pupil attainment has improved, with “very high outcomes in public examinations at KS 4 and post-16.”
• GCSE English results have risen significantly, now performing “above the Northern Ireland (NI) average.”
• The curriculum is “flexible” and has broadened to include applied subjects and bespoke provisions for employment readiness.
• The Autism Unit features tailored timetables and clear strategic planning for future development.
• Pupils spoke “appreciatively” of pastoral support and felt “safe in school.”

Areas to improve

• The school must address the “sustainability of the post-16 provision” to meet current and future needs.
• The ETI was “unable to evaluate the quality of learning and teaching within the classrooms” due to non-cooperation.
• The school is working towards having a safeguarding schedule in place, though full evaluation was prevented by industrial action.

Safeguarding

The report states that safeguarding arrangements “reflect broadly the guidance issued by the Department of Education,” but the ETI was “unable to evaluate fully the outworking of the arrangements” due to the industrial action.