Wallace High School

Overview

This report details a sustaining improvement inspection conducted in September 2019, which was significantly constrained by industrial action involving non-cooperation from almost all teaching staff. Consequently, the Education and Training Inspectorate was unable to fully evaluate the quality of education, learning, or teaching, nor could it assess the school’s capacity for self-evaluation. The inspection proceeded primarily to monitor safeguarding responsibilities, which the senior leadership team did cooperate with.

Strengths

• Year 6 pupils report having "very good opportunities to develop their leadership capabilities" through initiatives such as the pupil council, playground pals, and house captain roles.
• Children express that they are "very proud of their school" and value the "wide range of extra-curricular, sporting and creative arts experiences available to them."
• Pupils report that they "feel safe in school" and are aware of the procedures to follow if they have concerns regarding their safety or welfare.

Areas to improve

• The report states the school is a "high priority for future inspection with no further notice" because the ETI could not assure stakeholders of the quality of education provided.
• The inspection was unable to evaluate a line of inquiry from the development plan or the quality of classroom learning and teaching due to staff non-cooperation.

Safeguarding

The school provided evidence that safeguarding arrangements "reflect broadly the guidance from the Department of Education," although the ETI was unable to fully evaluate the outworking of these arrangements due to the industrial action.