St Francis of Assisi Primary School

Overview

St Francis of Assisi Primary School is described as an inclusive and welcoming environment where diversity is "visible, valued, embraced and celebrated." The inspection highlights a strong sense of community, effective collaboration with parents and external partners, and high-quality provision in both English and Irish medium streams. While the school demonstrates significant strengths in literacy, numeracy, and supporting children with special educational needs, the report identifies a need to ensure consistency in teaching quality and assessment practices across all key stages.

Strengths

• Children display "good levels of confidence and competence" in reading, writing, and talking and listening skills, supported by a consistent whole-school approach to guided reading and writing.
• The Irish medium unit provides a "high-quality immersion learning environment" where children acquire fluency and attain well in both languages.
• An inclusive ethos ensures that children with special educational needs are "wholly involved in all aspects of the life and work of the school" and make good progress from their individual starting points.
• High-quality play-based learning in the foundation stage positively impacts the development of language and investigative skills.
• Strong community links and collaborative initiatives, including Shared Education and Extended Schools funding, broaden opportunities for children and staff.

Areas to improve

• The school must "develop the consistency in the quality of learning and teaching, including assessment for learning strategies" across all key stages.
• In-class assessment processes and feedback need to be "developed further and embedded fully and consistently" to ensure all children understand how to improve their work.

Safeguarding

The report states that "the arrangements for child protection align to the current statutory guidance."