For DRI EDITING

For DRI EDITING

BASIC INFORMATION SHEET (BIS) - PRIMARY SCHOOLS

A. i. School: St Colum’s Primary iii. Date of Inspection: W/B 23/10/06

Portstewart

ii.School Reference Number: 303-2231 iv. Nature of Inspection: Short

B.

School Year / 2002/03 / 2003/04 / 2004/05 / 2005/06 / 2006/07
Year 1 Intake / 26 / 23 / 32 / 26 / 31
Enrolments
Primary / 184 / 189 / 195 / 195 / 196
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):95.88%

Primary &NurserySpecial Reception Unit Unit

D. i.Number of Teachers
(including the principal and part-time teachers):800
(Full-time equivalent = 25 teaching hours)

ii.PTR (Pupil/Teacher Ratio):24.5 NI PTR: 20.5

iii.Average Class Size:28

iv.Class Size (Range):24 to 31

v.Ancillary Support:
Number of Hours Per Week: i.Clerical support:32.5

ii. Official Making A Good

Start Support: 15
iii. Additional hours of other

classroom assistant support:75

vi.Percentage of children with statements of special educational needs:2.04%

vii.Total percentage of children on the special Needs Register:6.6%

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

ix.Percentage of children entitled to free school meals:6.6%

ST COLUM’S PRIMARY SCHOOL, PORTSTEWART, CO LONDONDERRY BT557EF (303-2231)

St Colum’s Primary School is situated on Lever Road, Portstewart. Most of the children come from the surrounding area; at present, there are 196 children attending the school.

Approximately 7% of the children are entitled to free school meals, with a similar number identified by the school as requiring additional support for their learning in English and mathematics.

The arrangements for the inspection of pastoral care included the completion of confidential questionnaires by the parents, requested meetings with a representative of the Board of Governors (BoG) and a group of parents, and meetings with a group of children from year 6 and the children’s School Council. Prior to the inspection, 152 families were provided with questionnaires on the life and work of the school. Approximately 39% of the parents responded to the questionnaire, with 19 of them providing additional written comments. The majority of the parents expressed strong support for the work of the school; they commended, particularly, the nurturing ethos and the dedication of the Principal and the staff. The inspection findings confirm these views. The small number of matters of concern raised by individual parents have been brought to the attention of the Vice-Chairperson of the BoG and the Principal. The children report that they feel safe and secure within the school and that they know whom to turn to if they have any concerns.

There are many strengths in the quality of the arrangements for pastoral care and child protection. The school has procedures in place which implement the guidance outlined in the relevant Department of Education Circulars and has identified, appropriately, the need to update the child protection training for the designated teacher. It will be important that the school consults with the children, parents and staff in the planned review of the positive behaviour policy, including the anti-bullying policy.

The school gives good attention to promoting health and well-being and has appropriate programmes in place which encourage the children to adopt healthy lifestyles. There are opportunities for all the children to participate in a wide range of physical activities. The children demonstrate a good understanding of the importance of making healthy life choices.

The school has significant strengths, which include:

  • the high quality of the pastoral provision which promotes effectively the children’s confidence and self-esteem;
  • the strong sense of team-work which pervades the life and work of the school;
  • the dedication of the teachers to the children’s welfare and development;
  • the quality of the teaching observed, which was always good and in a significant minority of the lessons it was evaluated as excellent;
  • the Principal’s effective leadership; she has a consultative approach to leadership and is strongly supportive of the staff;
  • the contribution to learning and teaching provided by the support staff;
  • the school’s involvement in the Northern Ireland Numeracy Strategy that has resulted in improved standards in mathematics;
  • the effective use of a range of information for monitoring and evaluation, including performance data for target-setting, as an integral part of the school’s self-evaluation processes;
  • the good standards achieved by most of the children, in line with their abilities; and
  • the strong support of the BoG and parents for the Principal and staff of the school and the central role it has within the community that it serves.

The school has major strengths in its educational and pastoral provision. The educational and pastoral needs of the learners are being well met. The parents and local community can have confidence in the school’s capacity for sustained self-improvement.

No follow-up inspection is required.

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.

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