Sullivan Upper School

Overview

This Sustaining Improvement Inspection was conducted in November 2018 while teaching unions were engaged in industrial action, limiting the inspectorate’s ability to fully evaluate classroom practice. The report notes that the school is refining its self-evaluation strategy, particularly regarding learning goals and data usage, but concludes that the ETI is “unable to assure parents/carers... of the quality education provided for the pupils” due to the strike action.

Strengths

• Pupils “continue to sustain high standards at key stage (KS) 4,” with over three-quarters attaining seven or more GCSEs at grades A* to B.
• Students spoke “confidently and positively about their learning experiences” and the “well-targeted support and evaluative feedback” they receive from teachers.
• The school has “collated and evaluated a range of internal and external data” to inform strategic planning and identify pupils at risk of underachievement.
• Pupils acknowledged opportunities to take on “leadership roles and responsibilities” and participate in a “wide range of after-school activities.”

Areas to improve

• The proportion of pupils achieving three or more GCE A levels has decreased and is now “below the Northern Ireland average for similar schools.”
• The “open access to the site and school buildings” identified in the minor works proposal “needs to be addressed urgently.”

Safeguarding

The report states that safeguarding arrangements “reflect broadly the guidance issued by the Department of Education” and pupils feel safe, though the ETI was “unable to evaluate fully the outworking of the arrangements” due to the industrial action.