Main points for action
1. The education authority should review the health and safety issues identified in report.
Generally good progress had been made in implementing this recommendation.
A number of steps had been taken to restrict pupils’ access to the main road when leaving the school grounds. These measures had produced a significant reduction in the number of pupils using a largely unprotected and unmanned gate facing the main road. Closing this gate at the end of the school day would further reduce these numbers. Restrictions on vehicular access to the school playground were clearly displayed at the appropriate entrance. Planned improvements to ventilation in the dining area and the boys’ toilets were due to be completed before the end of the current session.
2. To improve attainment in writing the school should review its programme and include more opportunities for creative and extended writing at the upper stages.
The school had made very good progress towards meeting this recommendation.
Staff had reviewed the policy and the programme for writing. They had benefited from worthwhile staff development activities and were making effective use of new resources. Staff and older pupils had worked with a local author to promote and develop writing. At the upper stages pupils had produced a variety of extended pieces of imaginative writing. They displayed a high level of confidence and enthusiasm in class and group discussions on writing. Staff had introduced a system for tracking pupils’ attainment to help identify where support for writing should be targeted most effectively. Initial indications showed an overall improvement in attainment in writing across the school.