St John's Primary School

Overview

The report details a Sustaining Improvement Inspection conducted in May 2017, which was significantly impacted by industrial action involving non-cooperation from staff. Consequently, the Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI) was unable to evaluate the quality of learning, teaching, or the school’s capacity for self-improvement. A follow-up visit in September 2017 addressed safeguarding arrangements, which had previously not been evidenced as satisfactory.

Strengths

• The original 2010 inspection had evaluated the school’s overall effectiveness as “very good”.
• During the September 2017 follow-up, the school provided evidence that safeguarding arrangements “reflect broadly the guidance issued by the Department of Education”.
• Children reported that they “feel safe in school” and know “what to do and who to talk to if they are concerned about their safety or well-being”.

Areas to improve

• The ETI was unable to evaluate “the lines of inquiry” or “the quality of learning and teaching within the classrooms” due to staff non-cooperation.
• The school failed to provide evidence of satisfactory safeguarding arrangements during the initial May inspection.
• The ETI could not fully evaluate “the outworking of the arrangements for safeguarding” owing to ongoing industrial action.

Safeguarding

The report states that while the school provided evidence of arrangements reflecting Departmental guidance during a September follow-up, the ETI was unable to assure parents of the quality of safeguarding provided due to the impact of industrial action.