Short Inspection

PRIMARY INSPECTION

Dromintee Primary School,

Newry Education and Training

Inspectorate

Report of an Inspection

in June 2013

In this report, proportions may be described as percentages, common fractions and in more general quantitative terms. Where more general terms are used, they should be interpreted as follows:

Almost/nearly all - more than 90% Most - 75%-90% A majority - 50%-74% A significant minority - 30%-49% A minority - 10%-29% Very few/a small number - less than 10%

In assessing the various features of the provision, Inspectors relate their evaluations to six descriptors as set out below:

DESCRIPTOR Outstanding Very Good Good Satisfactory Inadequate Unsatisfactory

SCHOOL CONTEXT

Dromintee Primary School is situated in the parish of Dromintee, County Armagh. The children attending the school come from a wide rural catchment area. The enrolment has risen over the past four years and stands currently at 174. The school has identified 18% of the children as requiring additional support with aspects of their learning. At the time of the inspection, 30% of the children attending the school were entitled to free school meals.

FOCUS

The inspection focused on:

• the children’s achievements and standards in literacy and numeracy;

• the quality of provision for learning; and

• the quality of leadership and management including the school’s processes for self-evaluation leading to improvement.

OVERALL FINDING OF THE INSPECTION

In the areas inspected, the quality of the education provided by this school is very good. The school is meeting very effectively the educational and pastoral needs of the children and has demonstrated its capacity for sustained self-improvement.

KEY FINDINGS OF THE INSPECTION

Achievements and Standards

The quality of the children’s achievements and standards is very good.

• In English and mathematics, most of the children attain standards in line with their ability or above expectation. The children are confident in talking and listening; they read with enthusiasm, expression and write with fluency in a range of genres and contexts across the curriculum. They are competent in their use of appropriate mathematical language and are able to employ a range of thinking strategies when presented with a mathematical problem.

• The children identified with special educational needs (SEN) make very good progress in learning across the curriculum and almost all reach the standards of which they are capable by the end of year 7.

• The children achieve very good standards in information and communication technology (ICT), including attainment in external accreditation.

Provision for Learning

The quality of the provision for learning is very good.

• Almost all of the children are very well behaved; they are highly motivated and enjoy learning, respond positively to their teachers and work effectively independently and collaboratively in pairs and groups. The children reflect regularly on their learning and set appropriate targets for their own progress.

• The quality of the teaching observed ranged from satisfactory to very good. Almost all of the teaching was good or better and in over one-half it was very good. In the best practice, the teachers plan well to meet the needs of all the children and have appropriately high expectations of what the children can achieve. The teachers make very good use of questioning to extend the children’s thinking skills and to help them evaluate their own learning. The classroom assistants support well the children’s learning.

• The quality of the arrangements for pastoral care is very good. The well-planned Personal Development and Mutual Understanding (PDMU) programme provides the children with appropriate, effective opportunities to explore their feelings and develop their self confidence. Through the work of the year 7 Pastoral Care Team and the close links made with the local community organisations, the children learn to support and guide each other and take on roles and responsibilities, with maturity and confidence. The children’s work and achievements are celebrated in the high quality displays throughout the school and through whole-school reward systems.

• The provision for those children identified as having SEN is very good. The children’s needs are identified at an early stage and the staff use a very good range of appropriate intervention strategies to support the children in their learning. The progress made by each child is monitored and reviewed regularly by the special educational needs coordinator (SENCO), the teachers, parents and children.

• The teachers use play-based learning well to develop the children’s learning in all aspects of the curriculum; in particular, the children’s creativity is developed through the regular plan, do and review sessions.

• The school gives very good attention to promoting healthy lifestyles through, for example, the taught programmes, healthy breaks and the regular opportunities provided to participate in physical activities.

Leadership and Management

The quality of leadership and management is good.

• The Principal and Vice-principal have managed effectively the development of, and transition to, the new school building and have ensured that the school is a vibrant, child-centred learning environment. During the period of transition, they have also focused clearly on raising standards through the quality of learning and teaching.

• The co-ordinators work hard to promote improvement within their respective areas of responsibility. They use teacher observation and performance data to identify low and underachievement and to prioritise areas for improvement within the school development plan. The leadership team and co-ordinators now need to work more collaboratively to develop a more coherent and strategic approach to whole-school planning and self-evaluation, including the more rigorous monitoring and evaluation of the school’s overall provision and more regular consultation with the wider school community.

• The school has comprehensive arrangements in place for safeguarding children. These arrangements reflect the child protection guidance issued by the Department of Education (DE).

CONCLUSION

APPENDIX 1

BASIC INFORMATION SHEET (BIS) - PRIMARY SCHOOLS

A. i. School: Dromintee Primary iii. Date of Inspection: W/B 03/06/13

ii. School Reference Number: 503-1088 iv. Nature of Inspection: Short

B. School Year 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 Year 1 Intake 25 23 21 31 29 Enrolments Primary 164 169 161 169 174 Reception 5 5 7 0 0 Nursery Unit 0 0 0 0 0 Special Unit 0 0 0 0 0 Irish Medium 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 are based on the total of the primary and reception enrolments only.

C. Average Attendance for the Previous School Year (expressed as a percentage): 95.8% NI Avg Att: 94.7%

Average Attendance for those children on the Special Educational Needs Register: 95.8%

Primary & Nursery Special Irish Medium Reception Unit Unit Unit

D. i. Number of Teachers (including the principal and part-time teachers): 8 0 0 0 (Full-time equivalent = 25 teaching hours)

ii. PTR (Pupil/Teacher Ratio): 24.6 NI PTR: 20.2

iii. Average Class Size: 25

iv. Class Size (Range): 19 to 31

v. Ancillary Support: Number of Hours Per Week: i. Clerical support: 25 ii. Foundation Stage Classroom Assistant Support: 20 iii. Additional hours of other classroom assistant support: 15

vi. Percentage of children with statements of special educational needs: 0.02%

vii. Total percentage of children on the Special Needs Register: 18%

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

ix. Percentage of children entitled to free school meals: 30%

x. Percentage of children at the end of Key Stage 2 for 2011/12 English Mathematics Irish who attained level 4 and above in English and mathematics, 91.66% 83.34% N/A and Irish (in Irish-medium schools):

APPENDIX 2

THE VIEWS OF THE GOVERNORS, PARENTS, TEACHERS, SUPPORT STAFF AND CHILDREN

The arrangements for the inspection included the opportunity for the parents, the teaching and support staff to complete a confidential questionnaire prior to the inspection. Of the 106 questionnaires issued to the parents, 52 (49%) were returned to Inspection Services Branch (ISB), including 29 which contained additional written comments. Most of the parental questionnaires expressed high levels of satisfaction with the life and work of the school. In particular, they acknowledged the high level of care provided by the staff, the high regard the school is held within the community and their appreciation of the new school building. A minority of the written responses, however, raised concerns with aspects of the school’s provision. An analysis of the findings and the written comments were discussed at length with the senior management of the school. All of the teaching and support staff responded to the staff questionnaire; their responses were wholly positive.

The inspectors also met with a group of the year 6 children; they talked positively and enthusiastically about their experiences at school and are aware of what to do if they have worries about their safety and well-being.

The chairperson of the board of governors met with the inspection team and expressed strong support for the work of the Principal and staff. He emphasised the pivotal role the school plays in the parish community.

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