St Mary's Primary School

Overview

The inspection was conducted during industrial action, with teachers refusing to cooperate with inspectors. Consequently, the ETI was unable to evaluate the quality of education, stating it is “unable to assure parents/carers... of the quality of education being provided for the children.” The school is designated a “high priority for future inspection with no further notice.”

Strengths

• Safeguarding arrangements “reflect broadly the guidance from the Department of Education.”
• The school maintains a “systematic review programme of safeguarding policies and procedures.”
• A group of year 6 children reported that they “felt safe in school and knew what to do if they had any concerns about their well-being.”

Areas to improve

• The employing authority, governors, and staff must “plan for, and manage, issues related to the sustainability of the school provision and school budget.”
• Address the “significant risk” posed by the lack of disabled access from the foundation stage classroom regarding emergency evacuation.
• Resolve ongoing drainage and septic tank problems that have required part of the play area to be fenced off.

Safeguarding

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