St Mary's College

Overview

This Sustaining Improvement Inspection was conducted during industrial action, with teachers refusing to co-operate with inspectors except regarding safeguarding. Consequently, the Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI) was unable to evaluate the quality of learning and teaching or the school’s capacity for improvement. The report concludes that the ETI is “unable to assure parents/carers... of the quality of education provided” and designates the school a “high priority for future inspection with no further notice.”

Strengths

• The previous 2015 inspection evaluated the overall effectiveness of the school as “good.”
• The school provided evidence that safeguarding arrangements “reflect broadly the guidance from the Department of Education.”
• Pupils reported that they “feel safe in school” and are aware of procedures for raising safety concerns.

Areas to improve

• The school did not demonstrate how it had addressed previous requirements to “improve the standards in public examinations, particularly in GCSE mathematics.”
• There was no evidence of progress in developing the “consistent use of formative assessment” to better meet pupil needs.
• The report highlights the need to “monitor and evaluate more rigorously the quality of provision” and to “broaden the curriculum choices at key stage 4.”
• Stakeholders must plan for the “sustainability of the school provision and the school budget” to address current and future needs.

Safeguarding

The school provided evidence that safeguarding arrangements broadly reflect Department of Education guidance, though the ETI was unable to fully evaluate their implementation due to the industrial action.