Inspection Summary Report - St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Keady

St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Keady

DE Ref No 503-6610

Inspection Summary Report - October 2025

The ongoing review of the school vision in response to the significant changes in staffing and the demographics is both timely and strategic. The emerging vision, which is informed by consultation with all stakeholders, is wholly child centred and aspires to infuse in the children a love of “Learning for life”.
The successful establishment of the Gaelscoil is a significant milestone and testament to the commitment and vision of the governors and principal, supported by the school community.
The school development plan focuses appropriately on embedding the recent school improvement work. The school leadership team are reinstating procedures for monitoring and evaluating standards. A strategic, well‑planned and collaborative approach to this work is needed to ensure that the strategies identified as being most effective in promoting successful learning are embedded consistently in practice.
The staff have worked collaboratively to develop very detailed long- and medium‑term planning across the literacy and numeracy curriculum. As a result, there is clear planning for progression in skills, knowledge and understanding across these curricular areas.
The planning, professional development and consistent whole-school approach underpinning guided reading and writing are a strength of the school’s provision. The children are confident in using and applying their oral and written communication skills across the curriculum. As a result, almost all of the children are achieving in line with their ability in literacy.
In the most successful learning, the children respond positively to assessment for learning strategies including oral and written feedback. They understand clearly how to improve their work and progress their learning. This practice needs to be developed further and embedded fully and consistently across all key stages.
The Irish medium classes in the school provide a high-quality immersion learning environment. The children’s receptive and oral language is of a good standard. The children are acquiring fluency in Irish, attain well in both English and Irish and engage readily in their learning.
The focus on improving the quality of the planning, provision and assessment of outdoor play-based learning, has resulted in high-quality play experiences for the foundation stage children which impact positively on the development of their language and investigative skills.
The children identified with Special Educational Needs (SEN) are supported well and make good progress in their learning and development from their individual starting points.
The sensory motor group interventions, delivered skilfully by the classroom assistants, support very well those children who have been identified as having difficulties with their co-ordination, concentration and attention, and enable them to engage more fully with their learning.
There is a rich and inclusive community of learning within the school and across the extensive partnerships which include parents, sporting and cultural groups and local enterprise. These collaborative efforts enhance the children’s learning experiences, support transitions and foster a sense of belonging and identity.
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 children in St Francis of Assisi Primary are learning in an inclusive and welcoming school environment where diversity is visible, valued, embraced and celebrated. The school is central to the local community, and the children are immersed in their cultural traditions. The inspection has highlighted an area for action as the next steps for the school to enable it to achieve its vision more fully. That is:

to develop the consistency in the quality of learning and teaching, including assessment for learning strategies.

The district inspector will monitor the schools’ progress in addressing the areas for action as part of ETI’s normal monitoring processes.