Our Lady and St Patrick's College

Overview

This monitoring inspection was conducted during industrial action, with the majority of teachers refusing to cooperate with inspectors. Consequently, the Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI) states it is “unable to assure parents/carers... of the quality of education and safeguarding being provided for the pupils.” The report notes that evaluations are based solely on the limited evidence made available at the time.

Strengths

• The school has “built on and consolidated purposefully its tradition of liaising with a number of primary schools” to improve transition arrangements for Year 8 pupils.
• Closer links with primary schools facilitate the transfer of data to “better inform target setting, departmental planning and the early identification of underachievement.”
• Literacy is a key priority in the development plan, with departments targeting “written presentational skills” and “oral and verbal communication skills.”

Areas to improve

• Leadership must “continue to monitor the implementation of the literacy initiatives to ensure they are promoted consistently across all subject areas.”
• The school needs to “evaluate their impact on the pupils’ learning experiences and outcomes” regarding literacy strategies.

Safeguarding

The report states that “satisfactory arrangements for safeguarding pupils are in place” and pupils feel safe, but the ETI was “unable to evaluate fully the outworking of the arrangements” due to the industrial action.