Inspection Report - Lough Road Key Stage 4 Education Other Than At School (EOTAS) Centre

Lough Road Key Stage 4 Education Other Than At School (EOTAS) Centre

Inspection Report - April 2026

Lough Road Key Stage (KS) 4 EOTAS Centre caters for pupils of 14 to 16 years of age. It is situated in Lurgan and the pupils come from a range of referring schools in the wider locality.
The centre is realising well its vision to enable pupils to overcome barriers to their learning and build self-belief, resilience, and confidence through a personalised and inclusive approach, positive working relationships, high expectations, and a culture of mutual respect.
The centre’s development planning process, informed by a comprehensive understanding of the pupils’ complex needs, is underpinned by honest self-evaluation which has identified appropriately ongoing curriculum review and pupil attendance as important priority areas for development. The inspection endorses the priority area of attendance, given the significant minority of pupils with low or non-attendance.
Planning, teaching and assessment for successful learning is effective, well informed and provides a clear framework to support the pupils’ progression. The staff have an in-depth understanding of the pupils’ needs, interests and aspirations and adapt learning experiences skilfully and flexibly to support the pupils’ engagement, wellbeing and progress, including their social, communication and digital skills.
The friendly, well-behaved and respectful pupils interact positively with staff and each other enhanced through ‘link sessions’ with their tutors, mentoring, youth work interventions, educational visits and curriculum ‘options time’ with art, woodwork, sport and music.
Ongoing curriculum review equips the pupils who attend to progress successfully from their baseline position on entry to the centre across a core curriculum offer to further education or work-based learning. The majority of the pupils attain in public examinations in line with their individual targets. Appropriately, the centre has identified the need to improve the pupils’ outcomes in their vocational skills qualification, provided by an external agency.
The pupils who met with us spoke about the impact of relevant work experience opportunities for their motivation and aspirations. They value their access to careers advice from a careers adviser from the Department for the Economy, work-related events involving parents/carers, and ongoing up-to-date information and milestones to support their career planning and next steps.
The preventative curriculum, including relationships and sexuality education, equips the pupils well in addressing relevant and contemporary issues, including their understanding of healthy relationships, appropriate boundaries and in keeping themselves and others safe.
The staff provide a safe, inclusive, nurturing, and stimulating learning environment for the pupils which enhances their wellbeing and readiness to learn through reducing anxiety and supporting them to manage their emotions. The parents who met with us highlighted the palpable impact of this intensive specialist support on their child’s wellbeing and life chances.
The pupils who attend experience success in their learning and holistic development, which is celebrated creatively and widely through compliments, awards, imaginative displays, options time, trips, mentoring sessions, reflection assemblies, dynamic ongoing feedback from staff and recognition of their intergenerational community-based learning project with a local Men’s Shed organisation.
The centre’s enriching community of learning, including staff professional learning (SPL), is aligned well to centre improvement priorities. The strong, cohesive and creative staff team work well in how they use their personal and professional learning and interests to complement and enrich the pupils’ learning experiences for life and work. This includes trauma-informed practice, attachment-aware approaches, relational learning and restorative practice.
The pupils’ views inform their personal learning and wellbeing plans effectively to prioritise goals; the student council provides opportunities for pupils to shape their learning experiences, and daily conversations encourage the pupils to express their needs and suggest aspects that need to improve.
Meaningful collaborative networks support the pupils’ holistic development, enhance the provision, support SPL and help the centre achieve its vision. The pupils develop a sense of social responsibility in the local community through intergenerational learning. They exercise active citizenship skills which enhance their confidence, and promote teamwork, resilience, and active participation in their community.
The representatives from referring schools who spoke to inspectors, value the support from the staff and how well the centre seeks to promote links for their pupils, where appropriate, through proactive and regular ongoing communication. The centre and referring schools now require prompt Education Authority (EA) and multi-agency support to address the low and non‑attendance of a significant minority of pupils.
At the time of the inspection, the evidence provided by the centre demonstrates that the arrangements for child protection align to the current statutory guidance. The pupils told us that they feel safe in the centre and know what to do if they have any worries or concerns.

Next steps

Lough Road KS 4 EOTAS Centre is realising well its vision to enable pupils who attend to overcome barriers to their learning and build self-belief, resilience, and confidence through a personalised and inclusive approach, positive working relationships, high expectations, and a culture of mutual respect. The staff are taking forward appropriate priority areas informed by the pupils’ needs and aligned to the centre’s vision.

As set out in the centre development plan, the next step for Lough Road KS 4 EOTAS Centre is to take forward the following area for action:

improve further the attendance of a significant minority of pupils with prompt support from the EA and multi-agencies.

The District Inspector will monitor the centre’s progress in addressing the area for action, as part of ETI’s routine monitoring processes.