St Mary's Primary School

Overview

The inspection was conducted during industrial action, meaning teachers did not cooperate with inspectors. Consequently, the Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI) was “unable to assure parents/carers... of the quality of education being provided for the children.” The report states that “no performance level available” for outcomes, provision, or leadership, and the school is a “high priority for future inspection with no further notice.”

Strengths

• Safeguarding arrangements “reflect broadly the guidance from the Department of Education.”
• Year 6 children “know what to do if they have any worries about their well-being” and understand their roles as “anti-bullying ambassadors.”
• Children “know how to keep safe online when at school or at home.”
• The principal and board of governors representatives “co-operated with the inspection team in relation to their safeguarding responsibilities.”

Areas to improve

• The ETI was “unable to evaluate” outcomes for learners, quality of provision, and leadership and management due to staff non-cooperation.
• The school must address the inability to assure stakeholders of education quality, resulting in a high-priority status for future inspection.

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 for safeguarding in the school” owing to the industrial action.