Inspection Report - Rathmore Education Other Than At School (EOTAS) Centre

Rathmore Education Other Than At School (EOTAS) Centre

Inspection Report - April 2026

Rathmore EOTAS Centre caters for pupils of 11 to 14 years of age in Key Stage 3 of their education. It is situated on the outskirts of Antrim and the pupils come from a range of referring schools in the wider locality. The centre provides a partnership programme for pupils who attend the centre part-time for a defined period of time while attending their school. The centre also provides outreach support to schools in the locality.
The centre’s vision to “nurture, inspire and empower its pupils through a pupil-centred culture of inclusion” is informed well by the pupils’ complex needs in partnership with their referring schools, parents/carers and multi-agency supports.
The centre has an inclusive ethos, and the staff have created a nurturing learning environment, using the indoor and outdoor provision and links with others, to enrich the pupils’ learning experiences.
The centre’s development planning process is under review and with changes in staffing, it is focusing appropriately on embedding the centre’s values of openness, respect, reflection and responsibility. This process now needs to be informed by the staff’s evaluation of the pupils’ learning to enhance further the provision for literacy, numeracy and information and communication technology (ICT).
The friendly pupils interact positively with staff and each other enhanced through their engagement in nurture breakfast time, tutorials and educational visits. Through engaging, purposeful and fun interactions with staff, they live out the centre’s values in openness to new perspectives, being respectful, and reflection on their learning and on how they can communicate effectively and take responsibility for their actions.
Most of the pupils who attend experience successful learning through how the staff interact positively with the pupils and plan individualised learning through ongoing questioning, feedback and choice for the pupils. The pupils engage well with active and experiential learning. For example, we observed them using their instructional communication skills while tie-dyeing T‑shirts, using the interactive whiteboard to teach each other, and applying their understanding to ask searching questions to staff, and leading groups.
The pupils would benefit from more opportunities to: extend their writing beyond templates; and apply their mathematical and ICT skills practically in relevant contexts. They would also benefit from more explicit marking of their work by the staff to support their learning.
The pupils’ core curriculum of English and literacy, mathematics and numeracy, ICT and personal development is enhanced by the effective strategies to support the pupils to manage their emotions and their readiness to learn. The co-curricular provision extends the pupils’ social and communication skills, personal development, confidence, resilience and independence through bouldering, cookery, horticulture and horsemanship and outdoor pursuits, regular access to counselling, including creative and expressive therapy.
The pupils are supported well in eating more healthily and engaging in physical activity, with a focus on drinking water regularly and understanding the positive impact of exercise on their brain function, responses and self-regulation. The proactive preventative curriculum, including relationships and sexuality education, supports effectively the pupils’ personal development and understanding of relationships, health and safety, including how to respond appropriately in emergency situations through the British Heart Foundation Heartstart Schools Programme.
The pupils are supported effectively to overcome barriers to their learning. The staff have a comprehensive understanding of the pupils’ complex needs through a range of diagnostic baseline data, ongoing monitoring and daily assessments. The personalised learning and wellbeing plans are informed well by the views of the pupils and their parents/carers. The targets require further precision through the staff using their ongoing evaluation of the pupils’ literacy, numeracy and ICT skills.
The centre and their referring schools require prompt support from the EA and multi-agencies to improve further the pupils’ attendance.
For the pupils who attend, their success in their learning and holistic development is celebrated widely through ongoing praise and encouragement by staff, ‘Wow’ certificates, displays, Friday choices, birthday celebrations and staff actively seeking to “catch them being good” which is communicated with parents/carers and their referring schools. The pupils are making good progress in line with their targets in managing their emotions and their social and communication skills.
The centre’s strong community of learning is enhanced through the positive working relationships between staff, who support each other collegially, professionally and with humour. The staff reflect well as a team daily on the pupils’ progress and adaptations required and apply effectively their staff professional learning (SPL) in trauma-informed practice, relational teaching strategies and restorative practice.
The centre places high priority on its partnership with the pupils’ referring schools through its outreach support and shares practice with these schools in meeting pupils’ social behaviour and emotional wellbeing needs. The representatives from the pupils’ referring schools who spoke to us value the staff’s support and proactive communication.
The centre is outward focused and fosters skilfully collaborative networks which focus well on meeting the pupils’ needs through fostering positive ongoing communication with parents/carers, wider EA services, the Health and Social Care Trust’s Emotional Wellbeing Teams in Schools and other external agencies.
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 they feel safe in the centre and know what to do if they have a worry or concern.

Next steps

Rathmore EOTAS Centre’s vision to “nurture, inspire and empower its pupils through a pupil‑centred culture of inclusion” is informed well by the pupils’ complex needs in partnership with their referring schools, parents/carers and multi-agency supports. The pupils are supported well to live out the centre’s values of openness, respect, reflection and responsibility.

The next step for Rathmore EOTAS Centre is to take forward the following area for action: develop further the provision for literacy, numeracy and ICT in improving the pupils’ opportunities for extended writing and applying their mathematical and ICT skills practically, informed by staff’s evaluation of the pupils’ learning.

The centre and their referring schools require prompt support from the EA and multi-agencies to improve further the pupils’ attendance.

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