St Colmcille's Primary School

Overview

This sustaining improvement inspection was conducted during industrial action, meaning most teachers did not cooperate with inspectors. Consequently, the ETI could not fully evaluate the quality of learning and teaching or assure stakeholders of the overall education quality. The report notes that the school previously demonstrated a high level of capacity for sustained improvement.

Strengths

• Strategic leadership maintains a “child-centred focus for improvement” with comprehensive planning underpinned by consultation with staff, children, parents, and governors.
• Leaders “evaluate robustly the school’s internal data” to track development in mathematical language, conceptual understanding, and problem-solving skills.
• Improvement work, including fostering a “growth mind-set,” has been effective in raising mathematics outcomes, with “almost all children achieve as expected.”
• Year 4 pupils discussed mathematical concepts “confidently and enthusiastically,” demonstrating respect for peers and application of learning to real-life situations.
• Year 6 children spoke positively about their learning experiences, after-school activities, and their understanding of School and Eco-Council roles.

Areas to improve

• The report does not list specific areas for improvement but states the ETI is “unable to assure parents/carers... of the quality of education being provided” due to staff non-cooperation.
• Future inspection activity will reflect the inability to fully evaluate the line of inquiry and classroom teaching quality.

Safeguarding

The school provided evidence that safeguarding arrangements “reflect broadly the guidance from the Department of Education,” and children reported feeling safe, though the ETI was unable to fully evaluate the outworking of these arrangements.