St Patrick's Primary School Dungannon

Overview

St Patrick’s Primary School is a large, diverse Catholic primary school in Dungannon with a strong commitment to inclusion, particularly for children from East Timor and those with special educational needs. The inspection highlights a “caring, nurturing, inclusive and diverse learning environment” where children feel a strong sense of belonging and make good progress despite complex challenges.

Strengths

• The music curriculum is a “notable strength,” with high-quality provision supporting language acquisition and celebrating diversity through multilingual singing.
• Staff provide “unwavering, sensitive and compassionate support” to families, helping them navigate language barriers and access essential services.
• Children learn in a “calm, nurturing and inclusive environment” characterised by trusting relationships and respectful interactions.
• A “proactive, bespoke approach” in the nursery identifies children’s needs early, enabling effective intervention and reducing barriers to learning.
• The school fosters a “community of learning” with strong staff collegiality, effective professional development, and successful collaborative networks with local organisations.

Areas to improve

• Enhance the robustness of self-evaluation processes through the “systematic use of first‑hand evidence obtained from direct observation of classroom practice.”
• Strengthen consistency and balance in the curriculum, specifically by improving provision in art and design to ensure equitable entitlement for all children.
• Embed assessment for learning across the school, addressing under-developed questioning and marking for improvement in some lessons.

Safeguarding

The report states that “arrangements for child protection align to the current statutory guidance” and that children feel safe and know who to talk to if they have a concern.