St Patrick's Primary School

Overview

This sustaining improvement inspection was significantly constrained by industrial action, as staff refused to cooperate with inspectors. Consequently, the Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI) was unable to fully evaluate the quality of education or assure stakeholders of its standards. The school is designated as a high priority for future inspection with no further notice.

Strengths

• Year 6 pupils were observed to be "welcoming and respectful" to one another and visitors.
• Children spoke "enthusiastically" about their enjoyment of school, particularly regarding health, well-being, and creativity in art and design.
• Pupils highlighted their active role in the School Council, including fundraising for additional ICT equipment to enhance learning.

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" to address current and future needs.
• The school must address the impact of industrial action which prevented the evaluation of self-evaluation, school planning, and classroom teaching quality.

Safeguarding

The report states that safeguarding arrangements "reflect broadly the guidance from the Department of Education" and children feel safe, but the ETI was unable to fully evaluate the outworking of these arrangements due to the industrial action.