Report of a Primary Inspection - Carryduff Primary School
DE Ref No 401-3044
September 2025
1. Introduction
A. Background Information
Carryduff Primary School is a controlled school located on the outskirts of South Belfast, almost all of the 196 children enrolled come from the local area. There are two long-established specialist units supporting children with social and communication needs. One-quarter (25%) of the children have free school meals entitlement and just over one-fifth (22%) have been identified as having special educational needs (SEN). The school offers an extensive range of after-school clubs, all of which are very well attended. They have a long‑standing shared education partnership with St Joseph’s Primary School and Moneyrea Primary School. The school is an accredited Forest School* and they achieved their third Eco Schools Green Flag* in June 2025. A pupil in the school was also awarded the Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council Eco Pupil of the Year* in 2025. In addition, they received the AwareNI Gold Investors in Mental Health Award* in 2024, and the school canteen staff have obtained Eat Them to Defeat Them campaign* awards in both 2023 and 2024.
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. A high-level summary of the questionnaire responses, including any concerns raised, was shared with the principal and a representative of the board of governors. Where the responses raised in the questionnaires align to the findings of this inspection, they are referenced within the main body of the report.
C. The process of inspection
The ETI worked alongside Carryduff 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 Controlled Schools’ Support Council (CSSC) has worked closely with the staff, governors, children and parents to review the school’s vision, the over-riding principle of which is one of nurture. The vision to nurture confident, curious, kind and resilient individuals is underpinned by the values of respect, kindness, honesty, diligence and happiness of which all stakeholders are aware and are promoted effectively by all of the staff. The highly complimentary feedback received from parents through the parental questionnaire praised the dedicated staff who ‘go over and above’ to ensure the child’s needs are met. They specifically mentioned how happy and confident their children are in school and how their emotional health and well-being is supported by all the staff. Parents explicitly referenced the ‘strong leadership and collaboration’ in the school where ‘every staff member knows each child by name’. The leader, a strong role model, leads by example, empowers staff, at all levels, to develop leadership skills and contribute proactively to the life and work of the school. She encourages and welcomes the engagement of all to the community of learners in Carryduff Primary School, where children are placed at the centre of the school. Excellent, supportive relationships exist between the staff and children. The consistent pastoral approach has created an environment where the children feel safe, happy and settle easily to their learning.
The school is in the second year of the 3-year school development plan (SDP) which has been informed through wide consultation with the staff, parents and children. As a result, appropriate key priorities for development have been identified to support the children’s progression that are carefully aligned to staff professional development. A succinct informative version of the SDP has been shared with parents and an appropriate child-friendly version available for the children.
The school governors are highly committed to the school and very proud of the inclusive environment which exists, enabling all children to thrive and contribute positively to their community. They welcome the range of opportunities they have to engage with the children, including the regular school ‘walk-arounds’ enabling them to see first-hand the SDP priorities in action. They play an active role in supporting the children with the maintenance of the school grounds through for example, planting vegetables and flowers. In addition, they hear directly from the children on the impact of their actions to improve the school, through for example the Eco council and the success of attaining their third Eco Flag. The governors bring a wide range of skills and experience to their role and provide effective support to the principal and staff.
B. Implementing and improving to achieve the vision
The school’s long- and medium-term planning guides learning and teaching effectively. The staff know the children exceptionally well and use tailored interventions and strategies to meet successfully the needs of all the children. In the more effective learning and teaching observed, the learning is well paced, learning
intentions are explicit, expectations are clear, and the children are given time to work independently or collaboratively, with appropriate support. In addition, carefully selected resources support the children’s learning and progression, differentiation is clearly evident, and the children are encouraged to take risks, learn from mistakes, and lead on aspects of their own learning.
Across the year groups assessment for learning practices are well-embedded, and plenaries at the end of the lessons are used well to revisit the learning and to consolidate understanding. The children make good use of self- and peer‑assessment, to reflect upon and improve their learning. ICT is well integrated into the lessons and the teachers use interactive whiteboards, QR codes, and a range of applications to support learning.
The leadership has identified, appropriately, the need to ensure the full range of self‑evaluation approaches contained within their monitoring timetable are re‑established to track the impact of actions to support school improvement.
The school has a strategic focus on the health and well-being of the children and the staff. This is promoted well by the school canteen staff through their creative and innovative approach to serving healthy school dinners. In discussion with the inspectors, the children showed a good understanding of the importance of following a healthy diet and participating in regular physical activity, as well as benefiting from the Heart Start* programme delivered by the British Heart Foundation. The wide range of sporting and non-sporting extra-curricular activities support further the holistic development of the children and their ability to develop friendships, resilience and confidence. The school’s participation in the Education Authority (EA) ‘Being Well, Doing Well’* programme is enhancing the mental health of both the staff and the children. The preventative curriculum includes age and stage appropriate content which is shared with parents. During discussions with the inspectors, the children were able to clearly articulate how to stay safe online. They spoke positively about the supportive staff team and how they can live out their school values of respect and kindness through their roles as playground buddies. There is a strong culture of mindfulness in the school and the children discussed the various strategies and resources that they can use within the school to manage their emotions and where necessary resolve conflict with their peers.
The leadership has put in place interim mitigation measures to reduce any risk to security at the school’s main entrance. They have applied to the EA for minor works to ensure a more permanent solution is put in place. It will be important that the EA give due consideration to this request.
C. Building equity
Inclusion equity and diversity are highly valued and are at the heart of the whole school community where each child is valued, respected and supported to be themselves and learn, grow and shine. The dedicated staff are responsive to the needs of the children, nurturing them and enabling them to thrive.
The provision for children with special education needs is highly effective. The children who require additional support are identified at an early stage and very appropriate support is put in place. The comprehensive whole school mapping for special education provision ensures that the children benefit from a range of effective reasonable adjustments and successful intervention strategies to support their academic, social and emotional development. The timely interventions provide personalised targeted support enabling most of the children to make very good progress in their learning.
The Social Communication* classes have been in place for over ten years and cater for children from foundation stage to key stage 2 who require specialist support to access the curriculum. The dedicated staff have created a highly inclusive nurturing and safe environment which impacts positively on all of the children and fosters their growth and learning. The staff work diligently as a team, know the children very well, have a very good understanding of the complexity of their needs and address them very effectively. They plan meaningful learning experiences, incorporate the use of assistive technology which enables the children to record and express their ideas independently and provide very skilful elbow support when required. The flexible timetables are informed by the needs of the children and are instrumental in helping children manage their own emotions. The excellent, well-planned opportunities for the children to reintegrate, when ready, with their peers in the mainstream classes and for whole school activities benefit all of the children. These opportunities enrich their learning experiences and help to further embed a culture of acceptance and inclusion throughout the school.
D. Defining, celebrating and embedding success
The children at the centre of the life and work of Carryduff Primary School. Relationships in the school are consistently positive, staff foster a nurturing tone, using regular verbal praise to affirm learning and behaviour. A culture of support and encouragement is evident throughout the school where the children are happy, settled and eager to learn. The children are confident and demonstrate respect for each other; sharing resources, taking turns, and engaging positively with peers and adults. Their behaviour is exemplary.
The staff model the correct use of mathematical language and specific vocabulary to support the children's learning enabling them to explain their thinking and articulate well their understanding and knowledge. A broad range of qualitative and quantitative data is used to monitor progress and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions and learning approaches. The schools’ internal data shows a year‑on‑year reduction in underachievement and by the end of key stage 2 most of the children are on or above target in literacy and numeracy.
Success is celebrated widely and meaningfully throughout the school. Teachers seize opportunities to acknowledge achievement through verbal feedback, classroom and corridor displays, assemblies, and across digital platforms. Rewards such as class treats and hot chocolate with the principal reinforce the school’s genuine interest in each child’s progress and well-being.
The children have a range of opportunities to develop their leadership skills through for example the eco council, digital leaders and buddies. They embrace these responsibilities with enthusiasm and during their engagement with inspectors they highlighted the pride they have in assuming these roles.
E. Growing a community of learning
A strong, palpable community spirit and partnership exists in the school. The children, staff and governors have well-established respectful and nurturing relationships with each other.
The staff have participated in appropriate professional learning and development. Whole school staff development in well-being training is having a positive impact on supporting the social and emotional development of all the children. The staff would welcome additional opportunities to cluster with other primary schools to share and deepen their knowledge and skills across the curricular areas to enhance further the high quality of teaching and learning that exists in the school.
The school welcomes parents/carers into the school for coffee mornings and other celebratory events such as the annual school performance, nativities and choir performances. The parents/carers are updated regularly on their child’s progress through social media and digital apps. The parent-teacher association makes a highly effective contribution to school life by organising a wide range of social and fundraising events which are very well attended and strengthen the sense of community. As a result, the PTA are able to subsidise educational trips and have successfully secured additional educational resources, including iPads, which is supporting learning and teaching in the school. Strong, well-established links with the adjacent pre-school support the smooth and successful transitions of the children into year 1. The year 7 children benefit from their participation in the 'Together: Building a United Community' (TBUC)* programme which enhances their learning experiences and develops their social interactions through well-planned activities with children from two local primary schools.
Carryduff Primary School is at the heart of the wider community. They engage with the local residential housing and care homes through an intergenerational programme which helps the children develop an appreciation and connection with the older generation and enriches their learning.
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
Carryduff Primary School is successfully living out its vision to nurture confident, curious, kind and resilient individuals through their highly effective child-focused approach to learning and teaching. The staff identify and work relentlessly to meet effectively the needs of each child and ensure they experience success in their learning.
Carryduff Primary School is well placed to take forward the area for action noted in the report, namely:
to re-establish the practice of gathering first-hand evidence to further inform the school’s self-evaluation processes.
ETI will continue to work with Carryduff Primary School, including to share the example of highly effective practice from which others may learn, namely:
the highly effective approaches and strategies delivered sensitively within the long-established specialist provision which meet the complex needs of the children.
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: Notes
Page 1
Forest School*
Forest School is a child-centred inspirational learning process, that offers opportunities for holistic growth through regular sessions. It is a long-term program that supports play, exploration and supported risk taking. It develops confidence and self-esteem through learner inspired, hands-on experiences in a natural setting.
Eco Schools Green Flag*
The Eco-Schools Green Flag is an internationally recognised award for excellence in environmental action and learning.
Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council Eco Pupil of the Year*
The award is given to a student who demonstrates outstanding dedication and commitment to environmental education and action
AwareNI Gold Investors in Mental Health Award*
An accolade given to organisations, schools, and community groups in Northern Ireland that demonstrate exceptional commitment to promoting positive mental health and well‑being.
Eat Them to Defeat Them*
A UK-wide school caterer led initiative to get children eating more vegetables.
Page 3
British Heart Foundation Heartstart programme*
A scheme that provides emergency life support training, primarily to young people and in schools, teaching skills such as calling for emergency services, CPR, and the use of defibrillators.
Education Authority’s Being Well Doing Well*
The programme aims to support schools (nursery, primary, post primary, special and EOTAS) to develop a whole school approach to emotional health and well-being.
Page 4
Social Communication Classes*
Specialist provision within schools is now called SPiMS (Specialist Provision in Mainstream Schools). The provision within Carryduff Primary School supports children with Autism and Social/Communication needs.
Page 5
Together: Building a United Community (T:BUC)*
The Together: Building a United Community Strategy represents a key building block in the implementation of the Programme for Government 2011-2015 and reflects the Executive’s commitment to improving community relations and building a united and shared society.