Inspection Summary Report - Comber Primary School and Nursery Unit

Comber Primary School and Nursery Unit

DE Ref No 401-1588

Inspection Summary Report - November 2025

The school vision, captured in the motto, learning to love, loving to learn, promotes a holistic, values-driven ethos that is reflected clearly in the children’s exemplary behaviour, love of learning, and pride in their school experience.
The senior leaders have begun to plan for a new three-year development plan. To ensure improvement work is well-paced, focused, and impactful, leadership at all levels needs to strengthen the arrangements for school improvement planning, informed by the full range of monitoring and evaluation processes.
To realise the vision of high-quality education, the governors and senior leadership team need to review the length of the school day to ensure time is managed to maximise learning opportunities for all and that it is in line with statutory guidance (as per Department of Education Circular 2013/09). Improvements to accommodation, including building upkeep and adequacy of resources, are also required to meet the needs of the children and staff.
Across all classes, a notable strength is the children’s sustained focus and high levels of engagement in their learning. The learning and teaching is well planned, appropriately differentiated, and enriched through purposeful experiences, including outdoor learning in the recently developed ‘Big Bear Wood’.
The children achieve well across the curriculum, with most of the children achieving expected outcomes or above in literacy and numeracy.
The effective use of assessment for learning strategies, including constructive verbal and written feedback, enables the children to understand how they learn and what they need to do to improve.
The children benefit from a range of well‑planned opportunities that promote their physical and emotional well-being and encourage positive attitudes towards healthy lifestyles and environmental responsibility.
There is a supportive and inclusive ethos that reflects a clear commitment to meeting the diverse needs of all of the children. Classrooms are nurturing environments where the children are supported well to achieve.
The school has made a positive start in promoting learner participation through a range of leadership roles for the children. There is a clear recognition of the importance of the learner voice, and the staff have identified appropriately the need to strengthen this aspect further.
The children’s self-management skills and ability to work collaboratively with peers is a key strength. The children demonstrate consistently high levels of respect, empathy, and cooperation in their interactions with both peers and adults.
The staff have identified appropriately the need to strengthen whole-school opportunities for collaboration, sharing effective practice, and engagement in continuous professional learning to enhance the community of learning within the school.
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

The school’s vision is centred appropriately on a holistic, values-driven ethos, captured in the motto of learning to love, loving to learn. This ethos is reflected clearly in the school’s nurturing environment, where the children feel safe and supported. The children are proud of their school, enjoy warm and respectful relationships with the staff, and are achieving well across the curriculum.

The next steps for Comber Primary School and Nursery Unit are to take forward the following areas for action:

to establish a robust school development planning process, informed by a full range of monitoring and evaluation processes; and
to strengthen the community of learning among the staff through strategically planned opportunities for collaboration, the sharing of effective practice, and continuous professional learning.

ETI will monitor the progress of Comber Primary School and Nursery Unit in addressing the areas for action. There will be a progress inspection.