Inspection Summary Report - St Eithne’s Primary School, Derry

St Eithne’s Primary School, Derry

DE Ref No 203-6473

Inspection Summary Report - February 2026

The shared vision for high quality education in St Eithne’s Primary School is wholly child‑centred and rooted firmly in a commitment to the ethos of Catholic education. It is shaped by high expectations and deeply held values that permeate leadership, classroom practice, teamwork and day-to-day decision making.
The processes of whole-school self‑evaluation and school improvement are extensive, thorough and embedded securely into practice. The new three-year school development plan is vision-led and evidence informed.
The whole school planning for learning is highly effective. It provides a coherent and inclusive curriculum framework that supports very well the learning and teaching across the school and is responsive to meeting the needs of all of the children.
Successful learning is supported by positive relationships and characterised by: the effective use of assessment for learning strategies; well-planned opportunities to connect learning across the curriculum; purposeful paired and group work: and well‑established routines within the classrooms.
Through the process of self-evaluation, the school has identified the opportunity to make greater use of the outdoor environment to enhance further the children’s learning experiences. The inspection endorses this as an appropriate area for action moving forward.
The highly strategic and well-co-ordinated approach to school improvement is having a significant impact on the children’s learning and achievement across the curriculum. The children’s attitudes and dispositions for learning are consistently positive. They understand what successful learning looks like.
The graduated response to delivering special educational needs (SEN) provision is fluid and responsive to the children’s needs. SEN support and interventions begin in the classroom, ensuring that all children benefit from highly inclusive practices and can participate meaningfully in school life.
The children develop their digital skills to a high standard by year 7. They develop digital proficiency across the curriculum and in real-life contexts.
The children read with confidence and expression, produce high-quality writing across a range of genres, and articulate their ideas with clarity.
The children engage confidently with mental mathematics and numeracy; they apply problem-solving strategies accurately, and work at appropriately challenging levels through differentiated activities.
The school’s internal data shows that most of the children are making good progress in their learning.
The children enjoy participating in a wide range of creative and expressive learning experiences, including the school choir, and school shows and musical productions. These enhance the children’s confidence and develop their collaboration and communication skills.
There are strong and purposeful partnerships with parents, the community and a range of external agencies. Well-embedded partnerships strengthen very effectively the school’s community of learning, broaden the opportunities available to the children, and support the school in realising successfully its vision.
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

In St Eithne’s Primary School, success has been embedded through the commitment to vision, collegial work practices, a reflective culture of self-evaluation, and by keeping the needs of the children to the fore. The children are empowered to make progress, achieve and develop their character through all aspects of school life, and to “Dream, Believe, Do…. Repeat.”

As set out in the school’s current development plan, the next step for St Eithne’s Primary School is to take forward the following area of action: to make greater use of the outdoor environment to enhance further the children’s learning experiences. The district inspector will monitor the school’s progress in addressing this area for action as part of ETI’s normal monitoring processes.

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

the vision-led, strategic approach to the development of a highly effective community of learning, underpinned by high expectations;
the strategic and well-co-ordinated approach to school improvement; and
the ‘in-school-first’ approach to identifying and addressing SEN.