Inspection Summary Report - St Ciaran’s College

St Ciaran’s College

DE Ref No 523-0152

Inspection Summary Report - September 2025

The school’s vision, Inclusion, Aspiration, Growth and Success, is owned and understood by pupils, staff and parents and provides a clear direction for individual success. It is underpinned by the school’s Catholic ethos and motto ‘Fortis in Fide’ and supports well the mission “Including everyone, Inspiring all to succeed”.
The highly effective school development planning process is informed by extensive consultation and rigorous self-evaluation of first-hand evidence.
The highly motivated pupils live out well their school’s STAR values of service, teamwork, ambition and respect for others, through exemplary behaviour, social responsibility, pride in their school community, extending welcome to others and being kind.
Proactive, strategically planned internal and external, evidence-based and research‑informed staff professional learning ensures a transformative approach to learning and teaching. The impact of focusing on relational learning and restorative practice is evident in the excellent pupil staff relationships.
Most pupils experienced success in their learning in the lessons observed through the teachers’ individualised positive interactions, clear explanations, effective probing questioning, interactive strategies, ongoing feedback and meaningful plenaries.
Pupils progress well in their learning, displaying strong self-management skills, participating confidently in whole-class discussion and well-structured pair and group work, taking on roles maturely and applying subject concepts and skills with precision.
The whole school provision for special educational needs (SEN) and newcomer support is pupil-centred and through the staff’s collective commitment to inclusion, all pupils are supported to participate, belong and achieve. Inclusion is central to the school’s vision and is exemplified in the integrated model of support, of which staff and pupils are justifiably proud.
The pupils across all key stages have access to a well-planned and equitable curriculum that enables them to succeed and progress. A particular strength of the curriculum is the provision of modern languages, which is resulting in high uptake.
The staff provide a wealth of opportunities to support the pupils’ health and well-being and give them the tools and attributes to stay safe and lead happy, fulfilling lives in the modern world.
The school’s strategic vision in developing digital skills is reflected in the significant investment in digital technology. Staff share best practice regularly, which is enabling the effective development of the pupils’ digital skills so that they achieve relevant qualifications across all pathways.
In establishing a rich community of learning, all the pupils benefit significantly from how the school forges innovative and extensive links with a wide network of businesses, charities, educational partners and external agencies. A notable strength is the impactful involvement of and support from, former pupils.
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

St Ciaran’s College, through a faith based, pupil-centred approach and a focus on transformative pedagogy, is realising very effectively its vision of Inclusion, Aspiration, Growth and Success to ensure success for all pupils in the school.

The school is well placed to take forward the appropriate priority areas in its school development plan which includes, and as identified as an area for action during this inspection, the review of departmental planning.

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

Inspectors identified the highly effective practice below which should be disseminated more widely:

the inclusive ethos which supports the whole school to embrace diversity, alongside a wide range of effective strategies which reduce barriers to pupils’ learning; and
the innovative strategies used to create and sustain highly effective partnerships with the local and wider community.