Inspection Summary Report - Dominican College, Portstewart

Dominican College, Portstewart

DE Ref No: 342-0068

Inspection Summary Report – February 2026

The school's vision, aligned to the Dominican ethos, creates a thriving learning environment that values the development of each child’s individual talents and character, leading to highly effective relational teaching and excellent pupil dispositions.
Most aspects of learning and teaching are effective and characterised by consistently positive working relationships and purposeful planning.
Across the key stages, the pupils are ready to learn. They are happy, quietly confident and articulate young people who are proud of, and deeply loyal to, their school.
The pupils benefit from a broad, balanced, flexible curriculum, enriched by a wide range of co-curricular opportunities.
The preventative curriculum responds well to current and emerging issues, equipping pupils with the knowledge, skills and attitudes they need to support their mental and emotional well-being, and stay safe.
The work to review and re-energise the careers provision is well-planned and an appropriate priority for whole-school improvement.
The school's rich diversity fosters inclusive learning and the culture of valuing, accepting and supporting every individual is deeply embedded and reflected in the pupils’ deep sense of belonging.
The staff's monitoring of the progress of pupils with special educational needs (SEN) will benefit from a more robust and systematic approach to reviewing the SEN pupils’ Personal Learning Plans and evaluating the extent to which individual pupils are meeting their agreed targets.
The fostering of the pupils’ digital skills is a strength of the school and reflected in: discrete ICT provision; sound infrastructure; and pupil attainment in public examinations at all levels.
In 2025, most (80%) of the year 12 pupils achieved seven or more A* to C grades (or equivalent) including English and mathematics, which is in line with the school’s target.
At post-16 in 2025, the school is focusing appropriately on increasing the proportion of pupils attaining three or more GCE A levels at grades A* to C (or equivalent).
The emerging programme of staff professional learning (SPL) is beginning to build relevant staff expertise. However, it is inconsistent and stronger strategic co‑ordination will ensure high-quality support for pupils facing barriers to learning.
The school uses its extensive engagement with a range of collaborative networks and enrichment provision to extend pupils’ learning experiences providing them with real-life learning experiences that are transformative.
At the time of the inspection, the evidence provided by the school demonstrates that the arrangements for child and adult protection align with the current statutory guidance.

Next steps

Dominican College, Portstewart demonstrates a clear commitment to ‘creating a safe and welcoming environment where pupils can thrive’, thereby living out its vision well. This inspection found the school to be inclusive and nurturing, where the Dominican ethos, which is displayed on the walls, is tangibly lived out daily in the halls. The school is well placed to move forward in ‘renewing its Dominican commitment to adapt, in order to remain relevant, dynamic and vibrant’.

As identified in the school’s own self-evaluation, the next steps for Dominican College include the following areas for action:

to develop a consistent whole-school approach to meeting pupils’ needs through a strategic SPL programme, including the consistent use of inclusive adaptive teaching strategies to support pupil progression; and
to develop further the careers provision to ensure there is a more coherent and planned approach to the pupils’ learning experiences.

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

Inspectors identified aspects of highly effective practice from which others may learn. The aspects of practice which should be shared more widely are:

how well the Dominican vision creates a thriving learning environment that values the development of each child’s individual talents and character, leading to highly effective relational teaching and excellent pupil dispositions; and
the highly effective collaborative networks and enrichment provision.