Inspection Summary Report - Carnalridge Primary School, Portrush

Carnalridge Primary School, Portrush

DE Ref No 301-2049

Inspection Summary Report - December 2025

The school’s vision creates the conditions where learning is inclusive and nurturing, where the children feel safe and happy, while developing resilience as effective learners.
The school has well-embedded and effective processes for self-evaluation leading to improvement. Oversight is effective and there is scrutiny and feedback provided on: teachers’ planning, assessment outcomes and the quality of the children’s work in the books.
Planning for learning is thorough and driven by high expectations for all children, ensuring their needs, abilities and interests are met consistently. All of the lessons observed during the inspection met well the needs of all the children.
Trauma-informed practices are very well embedded, with staff trained to recognise, understand and respond appropriately to the children’s social, behavioural and cognitive needs. This is an area that should be shared with others.
The inspection endorses the school’s own self-evaluation around improving further the quality of outdoor play.
All children, including those with additional learning needs and those in the specialist classes, learn in a calm, reassuring environment where teachers and staff consistently model positive behaviours.
There is a careful and collegial approach to planning for adaptive teaching and this is an area that should be shared with others.
The school’s approach to embedding success allows the children to value learning, be happy, and thrive in this school. The children’s academic and other successes across, and beyond the school are well embedded and celebrated widely.
The children are friendly, confident, respectful and enthusiastic learners who work well with staff and each other.
The partnerships with parents, carers and the wider community are highly positive and built on trust and care for each child.
The organisation of staff learning is strategic and it connects clearly with the SDP priorities and with the school’s vision.
The school’s extensive and ongoing partnership work with the parents, carers and the wider community is highly effective and is rooted in: an understanding of the needs of each child; a commitment to their holistic development; and a commitment to the school’s vision, ethos and cultural traditions.
At the time of the inspection, the evidence provided by the school demonstrates that the arrangements for child protection align to the current statutory guidance.

Next steps

Carnalridge Primary School lives out well its vision where learning is inclusive and nurturing, where the children feel safe, happy and are ready to learn. Their trauma‑informed approach creates the conditions for inclusive learning and where the children’s well-being and happiness is paramount. This is a school that cares for its children and is eager to optimise their learning experiences. During the inspection, the inspectors saw children who were ‘learning to grow and growing to learn’.

As set out in the school’s current development plan, the next steps for Carnalridge Primary School are to take forward the following area for action: to improve further the quality of outdoor play.

Inspectors have highlighted two areas of highly effective practice, from which other schools may learn:

the impact of the school’s trauma-informed provision that places the child’s individual needs at the core of its work; and
the careful and collegial approach to planning for adaptive teaching.

The district inspector will continue to work with the school to disseminate these areas of highly effective practice and to monitor the school’s progress in addressing the next step as part of ETI’s normal monitoring processes.