Inspection Summary Report - St Ninnidh’s Primary School

St Ninnidh’s Primary School

DE Ref No 203-1880

Inspection Summary Report - September 2025

The school vision, captured by the motto ‘Hand in hand, we will achieve’, is lived out in the vibrant, inclusive learning community where all children are nurtured and supported to achieve academically and develop as caring, responsible lifelong learners.
Led by the inspirational leadership of the principal and governors, the learning environment has been transformed, both inside and outside, and provides a creative and inviting educational setting in which the children thrive.
The wide range of high quality, robust monitoring and evaluation procedures inform well the strategic priorities for the school improvement process.
Planning, teaching and assessment for learning are driven by high expectations for the children and a shared commitment to the school’s ‘Aim high’ ethos. There are aspects of planning to be developed further, as identified through the school’s rigorous self-evaluation processes.
The children are keen and enthusiastic learners who value the wide range of interesting, active, and fun learning experiences that their teachers provide for them. They have high expectations of themselves, are resilient and focused learners, and work well independently and in groups.
The children benefit from a broad, balanced, and well-connected curriculum, which promotes their creativity, enterprise, and real-world application of skills.
Digital storytelling and computational thinking are embedded in the curriculum. By the end of Key Stage 2, the children demonstrate high levels of digital competence.
The child-led, sector-leading podcasting project ‘The Derrylin Diaries’ provides a powerful platform for purposeful communication, where the children develop advanced digital skills, confidence in public speaking, and real-world understanding. The children create engaging, structured content and lead interesting and informative conversations with local and national role models.
The strategic commitment to promoting the emotional, physical and spiritual well-being of the children is reflected clearly in the school’s inclusive ethos and embedded within its culture and operational routines.
The high priority given to early intervention ensures that each child’s pastoral, developmental and educational needs are identified and supported by the well‑considered and carefully structured year-one transition programme.
A consistent approach to observation and monitoring by the teachers and classroom assistants informs the structure and use of the bespoke and child-centred movement and sensory breaks, which are highly effective in supporting the children with additional needs.
The children attain very good standards across the key curricular areas and take pride in their work, and in their wider achievements.
The children participate confidently in assemblies and in class and engage readily with adults, each other, and visitors to the school. They clearly enjoy singing and perform to a very high standard.
The children are curious, well-informed learners who articulate their career aspirations at an early stage, and understand their responsibility to protect the environment, both locally and globally.
The ethos, culture and relationships for learning are highly effective and contribute to the collective commitment to realising the school’s 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

Transformative leadership, excellent working relationships, high educational ambition and purposeful community connections which are rooted in cultural identity, underpin the success of St Ninnidh’s Primary School. Together the school community is empowered to realise the shared vision, ‘Hand in hand, we will achieve.’

As set out in the school’s current development plan, the next step for St Ninnidh’s Primary School is to take forward the development of aspects of planning, as identified through the school’s rigorous self-evaluation processes.

During the inspection, inspectors highlighted areas of highly effective practice from which other schools may learn:

the sector-leading use of podcasting for purposeful communication and the development of children’s advanced digital skills, confidence in public speaking, and real-world understanding;
the structured, child-centred and purposeful use of movement and sensory breaks to support both the emotional regulation of the children and their key learning and development priorities; and
the highly strategic approaches to developing the learners’ skills, knowledge and understanding of the environment, society and economy, enriched by meaningful partnerships with the wider community.

The district inspector will continue to work with the school to disseminate these areas of highly effective practice and to monitor the school’s progress in addressing the next step as part of ETI’s normal monitoring processes.