A SCHOOL whose inspection was interrupted by industrial action has been praised for its quality of care, education, leadership and safeguarding.
St Dallan's PS in Warrenpoint believes it was heading towards an outstanding inspection grade.
It will have to wait for a final outcome, however, due to action involving teachers across the north.
All main unions are refusing to cooperate with the Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI). Teachers are angry, having rejected a pay offer that would see staff receive no across the board pay rise for 2015/16, and a 1 per cent cost of living uplift for 2016/17.
Since the action began in January, inspectors have begun their visits and reported as usual, but many reports have gaps and contain no overall grade.
Inspectors reported that they were unable in some instances to assure parents "of the quality of education and safeguarding being provided for the children" - but they had no such concerns about St Dallan's.
During the inspection, "the school provided evidence that arrangements for safeguarding reflect the guidance issued by the relevant departments".
In discussions with inspectors, a group of Year 6 children reported "that they feel safe and secure in school and know what to do if they have any concerns about their well-being".
Principal Una Farrell said the school had provided a lot of information ahead of the ETI visit, meaning the inspection itself was about three-quarters complete.
ETI was unable to visit classrooms, meaning it could not evaluate progression in the children's learning and the children's wider skills and dispositions.
It could partially evaluate the standards attained by pupils.
It reported: "The school's internal data shows that most of the children, including those who require additional support with aspects of their learning, are achieving in line with expectation in English and mathematics. A group of children from Year 7 read fluently and expressively. They were able to reflect maturely and give insightful views on a range of books they enjoy; the children used competently a varied range of strategies to make meaning within more complex texts."
Inspectors also evaluated a limited range of children's writing and the quality was "very good".
"A group of children from year seven demonstrated high levels of flexibility and understanding in their mathematical thinking and were able to apply their mathematical skills confidently to solve a range of unfamiliar mathematical problems."
The report continued, based on the evidence available at the time of inspection, the ETI evaluation was that "there can be a high degree of confidence in the aspects of governance evaluated".
"The governors have a very good range of complementary skills and carry out their roles with rigour. They monitor well the outworking of the school development plan (SDP) and provide appropriate support and challenge to the senior leadership team.
"The SDP is comprehensive, devised though extensive consultation and evaluation with all key stakeholders. The SDP identifies appropriate priorities along with clear action plans to bring about improvement in the learning experiences for, and the outcomes achieved by, the children."
Bill Reilly, chairman of the board of governors, said the ETI was one of the strengths of the education system.
Governors, however, were disappointed with the final paragraph of the report - a "catch-all statement" that did not take into consideration all the positives.
Under the heading `overall effectiveness', the ETI wrote that "owing to the impact of the action short of strike being taken by the staff, the ETI is unable to assure parents/carers, the wider school community and stakeholders of the quality of education being provided for the children".
Mr Reilly said: "This generalisation has appeared at the bottom of every report. The individuality of schools has been lost."
Ms Farrell added: "Irrelevant of the ETI, we are a good school producing good results. We are heading in a very positive direction."
