Walker Memorial Primary School

Overview

This inspection was conducted during industrial action, meaning teachers did not cooperate with inspectors. Consequently, the Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI) was unable to evaluate most aspects of the school’s performance and states it is “unable to assure... of the quality of education being provided.”

Strengths

• The school development plan is described as “comprehensive” and devised through consultation with stakeholders.
• The plan “identifies appropriate priorities to bring about improvement in the learning experiences for, and the outcomes achieved by, the children.”
• Year 6 children reported that they “feel safe, happy and cared for in school” and know how to raise wellbeing concerns.
• Safeguarding arrangements were found to “reflect broadly the guidance from the Department of Education.”

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.”
• The ETI was unable to fully evaluate strategic leadership, middle leadership, or actions to sustain improvement due to the industrial action.

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 outworking of the arrangements for safeguarding in the school” owing to the action short of strike.