Report of a Primary Inspection - Ballylifford Primary School

DE Ref No 503-2208

December 2025

1.       Introduction

A.       Background information

Ballylifford Primary School is a co-educational, maintained primary school situated in the rural community of Ballinderry, County Tyrone.  The enrolment has increased in recent years and stands currently at 78 children.  Fourteen percent of the children have free school meals entitlement, and a similar proportion has been identified as having special educational needs (SEN). The school comprises three classrooms, including a newly opened modular classroom, a multi-purpose room, assembly hall, calm space, sensory den and an attractive outdoor environment that supports learning across the curriculum.  The school offers a breakfast club and a variety of extra-curricular activities, including an after-school club from 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm for the younger children.

The school has a long-established shared education partnership with Coagh Primary School and, more recently, Derrychrin Primary School, and collaborates with four other primary schools within the Loughshore Learning Community.

The school has achieved the following awards: Take 5 Level 2*, Eco Schools Green Flag*, Junior Entrepreneur Programme Award* and the Education Authority’s (EA) Being Well Doing Well Introductory Level Award*.

B.       Views of pupils, parents and staff

The Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI) issued online confidential questionnaires to the children in year 7, parents and staff in advance of the inspection.

The responses to the questionnaires are referenced, where relevant, within the main body of the report.  A high-level summary of the questionnaire responses, including any concerns raised, was shared with the principal and three representatives of the board of governors.

C.       The process of inspection

ETI worked alongside Ballylifford Primary School to consider how well the school:

• has identified and articulates its vision;
• prioritises actions to achieve the vision;
• overcomes the main challenges it faces;
• monitors and reviews progression to define, celebrate and embed success; and
• grows and develops an inclusive community of learning.

2.       Main report

A.       Setting the vision

The shared understanding of, and commitment to, the school’s vison of Nurturing Potential, Achieving Together creates a strong sense of loyalty and belonging to a welcoming, supportive and inclusive school community where the vision and values are lived out by all.  It is clear from the questionnaire responses and from our discussions, that the staff, parents and governors work together to support the holistic development of the children.  A child-friendly version of the school’s values, which are embedded in the school prayer and reinforced in assemblies and across the curriculum, supports the children in living out the school’s core values, so that they contribute meaningfully to making their school a happy and safe place where they celebrate success for all.

The school development plan (SDP), informed by extensive consultation and robust self-evaluation, sets out a clear and evaluative baseline and the priorities for development and associated action plans, which focus on learning and teaching, support the school well in achieving its vision.  The staff are taking forward a collegial and graduated approach to monitoring and evaluating the impact of the actions for improvement through the gathering of first-hand evidence, which will include shared observations of learning and teaching.

The governors bring a wide range of experience and skills to their role, they are highly committed to the school’s vision and support, guide and challenge, as appropriate, and in the best interests of the children.  The governors value the support of parents and the local community and welcome the staff’s collaboration with others to enhance the learning experiences for the children.

B.       Implementing and improving to achieve the vision

The staff plan for and manage skilfully the composite classes; they tailor the learning carefully to the needs and abilities of the children and use effective questioning consistently, giving the children time to think, develop and extend their responses and express their views. Where planning, teaching and assessment for learning were most effective, the lessons were well structured, the learning intentions were clear and the child-friendly success criteria enabled the children to reflect on, and consolidate, their learning in meaningful plenary sessions.  On occasion, the focus was on the completion of activities, rather than on the learning. The long-term planning for literacy and numeracy ensures a breadth of experience across the curriculum, with appropriate progression of skills and knowledge.  The development of the children’s digital skills is well planned for and integrated seamlessly across the curriculum.  The provision for play has been identified as an area under review and development, and the inspection endorses this work as an appropriate priority. The school has made significant investment in developing the outdoor learning environment to enhance specifically the provision for play and, more generally, outdoor learning across the curriculum.

The staff give a high priority to the children’s health, well-being and safety.  Alongside the school’s participation in EA’s Being Well Doing Well Programme, the Take 5 Ambassadors promote emotional health and well-being across the school and the year 7 buddies have an important role in providing care and support for the youngest children.  In discussions, the children shared road safety messages from a recent assembly and told us that the staff create a safety net around them.  All of the parents who responded to our questionnaire said that their children are happy at this school and that they are content with the pastoral care and support.

C.       Building equity

Staff create an inclusive learning environment where the uniqueness of each child is valued.  The children enjoy positive relationships, help and praise one another readily and are confident asking for help and support.  In the year 7 questionnaire, all of the children said that everyone is welcomed, valued and respected and one child reported feeling part of a bigger family.

The children who experience barriers to learning benefit from dedicated care and bespoke interventions which develop their confidence and independence and enable them to progress and experience success. All of the parents who completed the questionnaire agreed that the staff support their children with any difficulties they have with their learning.  There are effective Individual Education Plans in place for the children with SEN; the targets are clear and concise and the strategies to support the children are used successfully in the classroom.  The classroom assistants fulfil a valuable role in providing pastoral and academic support for the children and the learning logs they keep are integral to monitoring the children’s progress.  Staff professional learning is responsive to the individual needs of the children and is impacting positively on the children’s experience of school and the progress they make.  A well-equipped sensory room is proving beneficial for calming a small number of children to make them ready to learn.  The school highlighted its appreciation of the support from the EA’s SEND Local IMPACT Team* which is helping a small number of children.

D.       Defining, celebrating and embedding success

The children are well-motivated and happy learners, and the attendance is high, at a rate of 95% in 2024-2025.  The children work well in pairs, show and talk about their learning confidently and engage maturely in self-and peer-assessment. The children’s digital skills are very well developed; during the inspection, the children delighted in showing us their digital animations and presentations, and the digital leaders explained how they help develop the skills of the younger children.  Evidence in the children’s books shows how they write for a range of audiences and purposes, apply their learning in numeracy in real-life contexts and are enabled to connect their learning across the curriculum.  We observed the children having fun and engaging enthusiastically in learning Irish.  The school’s data shows that almost all of the children achieve in line with or above their ability. All of the parents who responded to the questionnaire said that they receive helpful information about their children’s progress.

Attractive displays throughout the school highlight the children’s successes and the children enjoy celebrating the success of others.  Achievements both inside and outside school are acknowledged and shared with the wider community via social media and detailed monthly newsletters.  Regular assemblies reward progress, effort and participation; importantly, the staff acknowledge and praise the children for living out successfully the school’s core values.

E.       Growing a community of learning

Across the school, the children carry out a range of important roles and responsibilities maturely which enables them to contribute meaningfully to aspects of decision making and school improvement.  The children articulated how these roles develop skills such as communication and teamwork and create a sense of community and family.  The children embrace opportunities to contribute to their local community through, for example, fundraising and acts of charity.  They told us that they enjoy opportunities to learn beyond the classroom, highlighting their recent trip to Belfast to see the pantomime and shared learning experiences with the children from their shared education partner schools.

A strong sense of teamwork and collegiality among the staff came across clearly in our discussions with staff and in their questionnaire responses.  Collaboration is impacting positively on the learning experiences and outcomes for the children and is helping the school achieve its vison.  Working with the four other schools in the Loughshore Learning Community provides the principal, staff and children with strategic and creative approaches to learning with and from others.  The children are at the centre of this joint working, which focuses on improving learning outcomes, broadening opportunities for the children and celebrating their achievements within this wider learning community.

The school values the support from the parents/carers; the Friends of Ballylifford have raised significant funds to enhance the children’s learning, through the provision of resources, including digital devices.  A weekly ‘Tots and Tea’ group held in the school and led by parents fosters positive community involvement with the school.

F.       Child protection

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.

3.       Next steps

The children of Ballylifford Primary School are experiencing success and achieving very well across the curriculum. They learn and grow in a nurturing and inclusive environment, where the vision and values are lived out by all. 

As reflected in the school development plan, the next step for the school is to take forward the area for action, which is to develop further the provision for play.  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 an area of highly effective practice from which others may learn, namely:

• the school’s strategic and creative collaboration with others, including within the Loughshore Learning Partnership, to support professional learning and enhance the provision.

4.       Appendices

Appendix 1: Quantitative Terms

In this report, proportions may be described as percentages, common fractions and in more general quantitative terms.  Where more general terms are used, they should be interpreted as follows:

                                Almost/nearly all    -   more than 90%

                                                 Most    -   75% - 90%

                                          A majority    -   50% - 74%

                         A significant minority    -   30% - 49%

                                          A minority    -   10% - 29%

                   Very few/a small number    -   less than 10

Appendix 2: Small Schools

In all schools where the enrolment number is below the minimum number of 105 in a rural setting, as set out in the Department of Education’s Sustainable Schools Policy, it will be important that the employing authority, school governors and the staff plan for, and manage, issues related to the sustainability of the school provision and school budget, in order to address the current and future needs of the children and the staff.

Appendix 3: Notes

Page 1

Take 5*

An initiative to improve mental health, promoting five actions for well-being (Connect, Keep Learning, Be Active, Take Notice and Give).

Eco Schools Green Flag*

An internationally recognised award for excellence in environmental action and learning.

Junior Entrepreneur Programme*

An all-Ireland programme to promote real-life business learning through the creation and marketing of a service or product from scratch.

Being Well Doing Well*

A programme to support schools to develop a whole-school approach to emotional health and well-being.

Page 3

SEND Local IMPACT Team*

EA’s new model of support for children and young people at stages 1 and 2 of the Code of Practice, which brings previously separate support services together through a network of local IMPACT teams.