Inspection Summary Report - St Oliver Plunkett Primary School and Nursery Unit, Toomebridge

St Oliver Plunkett Primary School and Nursery Unit, Toomebridge

DE Ref No 303-3303

Inspection Summary Report - September 2025

The school vision has been reinvigorated, in consultation across the community of learning, consequently, the vision, mission and ethos statements provide a shared focus and strategic direction to the work of the school.
The governors are highly skilled and provide sound strategic oversight, using effectively their experience to provide appropriate levels of support and challenge.
The curriculum planning for learning meets well the needs of the children. Staff work creatively to provide learning opportunities which ensure the children can make connections in their learning and apply their knowledge and skills in meaningful ways.
There are effective opportunities for the children to develop their knowledge and understanding of how to keep safe and strategies to support their well-being are provided through a well-considered and holistic preventative curriculum.
The staff engage with and maintain strong links with parents/carers and a range of external partners to provide carefully targeted, purposeful support programmes which are monitored and evaluated well.
Information held by the school shows that, by the end of year 7, most of the children, including those requiring support in learning make appropriate progress relative to their starting points.
The children’s personal learning plans are informed well by a range of pastoral and assessment data, ensuring the views of the child, parent/carer and other stakeholders is used well to evaluate progress and inform next steps.
The children embrace diversity; they value and accept each other and are happy and engaged in their learning. They respond well to the structures and routines for learning.
The intentional, proactive and suitably varied approach to staff professional learning, which includes effective partnership working with other schools, the Education Authority, external consultants, and a range of community partners are empowering and impacted positively on the quality of learning and teaching across the school.
A highly effective community spirit exists across the school. The school engages well with all members of the school community, including the active participation of the children in the life and work of the school.
Each child contributes to the whole school circle time initiative which has been instrumental in forging positive relationships and developing effectively the children’s social skills.

Next steps

St Oliver Plunkett Primary School and Nursery Unit is successful in living out its core values and achieving its vision for education: providing an inclusive child-centred education; embracing change to achieve excellence; and powerful collaboration with parents and the wider community. These elements are evident across all aspects of the life and work of the school.

As identified in the school development plan, the area for action is:

to re-introduce the practice of gathering first-hand evidence to inform further the school’s process of self-evaluation.

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