St Ronan's College

Overview

This sustaining improvement inspection was significantly limited by industrial action, as teachers refused to cooperate with inspectors. Consequently, the ETI could not evaluate classroom teaching or fully assess safeguarding practices, stating it is “unable to assure parents/carers... of the quality of education being provided.” The report relies on evidence from leadership, pupil feedback, and available data rather than direct observation of lessons.

Strengths

• The school fosters a culture of self-evaluation focused on “celebrating success together” and ensuring everyone is “encouraged and supported to be their best.”
• Academic outcomes are strong, with a majority of pupils attaining seven or more GCSEs at grades A* to C, and post-16 results showing an increase from 51.1% to 61.7% at grades A* to C.
• There is a “consistent whole school approach to planning for learning and teaching,” with a specific focus on differentiation in all-ability classrooms.
• Pupils report feeling safe and articulate clearly how their leadership roles and involvement in Shared Education Partnerships enhance their personal development.
• Staff capacity building continues through “distributed leadership,” with staff encouraged to collaborate and disseminate learning across the school.

Areas to improve

• The ETI was “unable to evaluate the quality of learning and teaching within the classrooms” due to non-cooperation by teaching staff.
• The inspection could not “evaluate fully the outworking of the arrangements for safeguarding” because of the industrial action.

Safeguarding

The school provided evidence that safeguarding arrangements “reflects broadly the guidance issued by the Department of Education,” and pupils report they feel safe and know how to raise concerns, though the ETI could not fully evaluate the implementation of these measures.