St Patrick'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 levels are available for outcomes, provision, or leadership.

Strengths

• The school has a “long standing involvement in a shared education partnership” and recently received the “Eco-Schools’ Green Flag Award.”
• Safeguarding arrangements “reflect broadly the guidance from the Department of Education.”
• Year 6 children reported that they “feel safe in the school” and know what to do if they have safety concerns.

Areas to improve

• The school must address the impact of staff non-cooperation, as the ETI could not evaluate learning outcomes, curriculum quality, or leadership effectiveness.
• A risk assessment is required for the “condition of the disused mobile” in the accommodation.
• The school is designated a “high priority for future inspection with no further notice” to verify improvements.

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.