St Mary's Primary School

Overview

This sustaining improvement inspection was significantly constrained by industrial action, as staff refused to co-operate with the Education and Training Inspectorate. Consequently, the report states that the ETI is “unable to assure parents/carers... of the quality of education being provided for the children.” The school is designated as a “high priority for future inspection with no further notice.”

Strengths

• Year six pupils spoke “very positively about their learning experiences,” citing “interesting topics” and involvement in a “shared education partnership.”
• Children reported “good opportunities to develop their leadership capabilities” through roles in School and Eco-councils, as “playground buddies,” and as “anti-bullying ambassadors.”
• The principal co-operated regarding her safeguarding responsibilities, and 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 online” and are aware of procedures if they have safety concerns.

Areas to improve

• The report does not list specific areas for improvement; however, it notes the ETI was “unable to evaluate” the quality of learning and teaching or the school’s capacity for self-evaluation due to non-co-operation.

Safeguarding

The report states that while arrangements “reflect broadly the guidance from the Department of Education” and children feel safe, the ETI was “unable to evaluate fully the out-workings of the arrangements for safeguarding in the school” owing to the industrial action.