Basic Information Sheet (Bis) - Primary Schools

BASIC INFORMATION SHEET (BIS) - PRIMARY SCHOOLS

A. i. School: Groomsport Primary iii. Date of Inspection: W/B 03.04.06

ii. School Reference Number: 431-3001 iv. Nature of Inspection: Short B. School Year 2001/02 2002/03 2003/04 2004/05 2005/06 Year 1 Intake 2 3 2 5 3 Enrolments Primary 24 31 27 21 26 Reception 0 0 0 0 0 Nursery Class/Classes 0 0 0 0 0 Special Unit 0 0 0 0 0

The enrolment for the current year is the figure on the day of notification of inspection. For previous years it is the figure in the annual return to the Department of Education.

The calculations at C and D should be based on the total of the primary and reception enrolments only.

C. Average Attendance for the Previous School Year (expressed as a percentage): 97%

Primary & Nursery Special Reception Unit Unit

D. i. Number of Teachers (including the principal and part-time teachers): 4 0 0 (Full-time equivalent = 25 teaching hours)

ii. PTR (Pupil/Teacher Ratio): 1.13 NI PTR: 1:20

iii. Average Class Size: 13

iv. Class Size (Range): 10 to 16

v. Ancillary Support: Number of Hours Per Week: i. Clerical support: 8 ii. Official Making A Good 10 Start Support ( MAGS): iii. Making A Good Start funding 40 additional hours and other classroom assistant support: vi. Percentage of children with statements of special educational needs: 7.7

vii. Total percentage of children on the Special Needs Register: 38

viii. Number of children who are not of statutory school age: 0

ix. Number of families in the school: 19

x. Percentage of children entitled to free school meals: 19% GROOMSPORT PRIMARY SCHOOL (431-3001)

As part of the Education and Training Inspectorate’s (Inspectorate’s) programme of inspection for 2005/06, the above school was inspected in April 2006. The inspection was carried out using the procedures of the Short Inspection.

The school has received an oral report-back from the Reporting Inspector, Mrs B Lyttle, and the points noted below provide a written record of the key findings, which were identified during the inspection.

The Department of Education (DE) will publish the inspection report; copies of the report will issue to the school to forward to the parent(s)/guardian(s) of the children.

Groomsport Primary School is situated in the village of Groomsport, approximately four miles from Bangor, County Down. The enrolment has fluctuated over the past five years; the current enrolment is 26. The school was granted conditional integrated status in 2004. The main condition for approval of integrated status is that the school must achieve at least 10% of its year 1 intake in the first year, from the minority tradition, with the objective of achieving a minimum religious balance of at least 30% from the minority tradition in the future total enrolment. To date the school has enrolled four children from the minority tradition; at present one child is enrolled. Approximately 19% of the children are entitled to free school meals. Some 38% are deemed, by the school, to be in need of additional support with aspects of their learning.

The arrangements for the inspection of pastoral care and child protection included the completion of questionnaires by the parents, as well as a meeting with the children in year 6. Prior to the inspection, 19 questionnaires were issued to the parents; eight of these were returned to DE and six contained additional written comments. The responses from the questionnaire indicated that all of the parents regard highly the caring ethos of the school and the quality of the experiences provided for the children. The children indicated that they feel safe and secure in school.

The school does not have procedures in place which implement fully the guidance outlined in DE Circular 1999/10, “Pastoral Care in Schools: Child Protection” and in Circular 2003/13, “Welfare and Protection of Pupils Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order” and this situation needs to be addressed urgently to include, an update in training for all staff and appropriate consultation to take place with both the parents and the children in relation to its anti-bullying policy.

The strengths of the school include:

 the positive ethos and the good relationships between the teachers and the children;

 the attractive learning environment that is conducive to learning;

 the exemplary behaviour of the children, who are friendly and courteous to visitors;

 the quality of the teaching observed;

1  the strong sense of collegiality among the committed staff;

 the effective contribution of the ancillary staff to the life and work of the school; and

 the commitment of the Principal to the school and to the community.

The areas for improvement include the need to:

 make more effective use of performance data to inform school development and to improve the quality of learning and teaching;

 have procedures in place which implement fully the guidance outlined in DE Circular 1999/10, “Pastoral Care in Schools: Child Protection” and in Circular 2003/13, “Welfare and Protection of Pupils Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order”.

The school has some strengths in most aspects of the schools educational and pastoral provision. The areas for improvement need to be addressed if the school is to meet as fully as possible the needs of all the children. The Inspectorate will monitor and evaluate the progress made in addressing the issues raised in the report and a follow-up inspection will be carried out in due course.

A number of quantitative terms are used in the report. In percentages, the terms correspond as follows:-

More than 90% - almost/nearly all 75%-90% - most 50%-74% - a majority 30%-49% - a significant minority 10%-29% - a minority Less than 10% - very few/a small number.