St Joseph's Grammar School, Donaghmore

Overview

This Sustaining Improvement Inspection was conducted in May 2018, following a 2015 evaluation of the school as ‘very good’. Due to industrial action involving non-co-operation with the Education and Training Inspectorate, the inspection was severely limited, with only the principal and vice-principal participating. Consequently, the report states that the ETI is ‘unable to assure parents/carers... of the quality of education being provided for the pupils’.

Strengths

• The school demonstrates a ‘well-planned programme of staff development’ focused on pedagogy and diverse pupil needs.
• There is effective ‘transition work with primary schools’ and thorough analysis of pupil views from surveys.
• Significant effort has been invested in developing a ‘consistent approach to the promotion of numeracy across the curriculum’.
• Key stage 3 mathematics schemes of work have been revised to provide ‘greater challenge’ and reflect new GCSE specifications.
• Pupils spoke positively about support for learning and how ‘extra-curricular and enrichment activities develop their wider skills’.

Areas to improve

• The report identifies no specific areas for improvement, as the ETI was ‘unable to evaluate fully the lines of inquiry’ due to the industrial action.

Safeguarding

The school provided evidence that safeguarding arrangements ‘reflect broadly the guidance issued by the Department of Education’, and pupils reported feeling safe, though the ETI was ‘unable to evaluate fully the outworking of the arrangements’.