Report of a Primary Inspection - Denamona Primary School, Fintona
DE Ref No 201-2660
June 2026
1. Introduction
A. Background information
Denamona Primary School is a controlled, co-educational school situated in Fintona, County Tyrone. The majority of pupils who attend the school come from the surrounding rural area, with the remainder coming from the nearby town of Fintona. Denamona Pre-school is located within the primary school building; all of the children who attend the pre-school transition into the school. The current school enrolment stands at 85 and 22% (19) of the children have free school meal entitlement. Twenty-two percent (19) have been identified as having special educational needs (SEN); a small number of these children have a statement of SEN. There are four classes, three of which are composite (a foundation stage years 1 and 2 class; a Key Stage (KS) 1 years 3 and 4 class; and a KS 2 years 6 and 7 class).
The staffing complement consists of a teaching principal, three full-time teachers, all of whom are now permanently appointed, a part-time teacher who provides principal release, and the wider staff team, which includes eleven classroom assistants.
The school is actively involved in its local cross-phase Extended Schools* cluster group. Additionally, the school is involved in a Shared Education* partnership with Sacred Heart Primary School, Tattyreagh and St Lawrence's Primary and Nursery School, Fintona.
The school community is proud of its Eco Schooland Forest School achievements. It holds an Active Travel School Bronze Award from the Walk Wheel Cycle Trust.
B. Views of children, parents and staff
The Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI) issued online confidential questionnaires to the children in year 7, and all 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 representatives of the board of governors.
C. The process of inspection
The ETI worked alongside Denamona 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
Denamona Primary School’s vision focuses on the holistic development of each child and guides very effectively the work of the school. It was informed by consultation with all of the school’s stakeholders and is shared by the whole school community: “Our vision for Denamona Primary School is that through our nurturing and inclusive environment all children will feel valued, happy and safe, enabling them to reach their full potential”. The underpinning values of respect, honesty and resilience are actively lived out and inform a collective effort to develop the children to “become lifelong learners and confident contributors to their community”.
The school development planning process has been informed well by consultation with all stakeholders. A three-year School Development Plan (SDP) is in place for the 2025-28 period. Measurable progress has been made towards the long-term objectives during the first year of the plan. The priorities for school improvement are appropriate and have been identified by robust self-evaluation processes: first-hand evidence of learning, including lesson observations, oversight of curriculum planning, and the children’s work; skilled use of quantitative and qualitative information; and educational research. Key priorities include digital literacy, outdoor learning, problem-solving in numeracy, and provision for children with SEN.
The full-time teachers have taken on co-ordinator roles for literacy, numeracy, digital skills and outdoor learning. Through their highly collegial working practices and the sharing of effective practice, they contribute positively to the school’s improvement work. The action plans for the identified priorities are well-considered and regularly monitored; as necessary, they are updated to ensure the focus remains on improving the children’s learning experiences and outcomes. For example, the school has now identified the need to track and capture more systematically the children’s attainment and progression in the development of their digital skills. Professional learning has been prioritised to enable the staff to strengthen further their confidence and expertise in planning for, and supporting, the development of the children’s digital skills.
The governors are highly committed to the success of the school and are actively involved in school life. They are well-informed about the identified priorities for improvement and provide appropriate support. They are proud of the school’s achievements and its central role within the local community.
B. Implementing and improving to achieve the vision
Comprehensive long- and medium-term planning guides the staff well in ensuring the children experience breadth and balance in their learning. Planning is reviewed and evaluated regularly, with a clear focus on monitoring its effectiveness in meeting the needs of the children and planning for their continued progress. The calm and purposeful learning environment in the school is characterised by positive relationships, well-established routines and smooth transitions.
In all of the lessons observed, the teachers use learning intentions and success criteria very effectively, enabling the children to understand clearly what they are learning, what success looks like and the next steps they need to take. This practice is embedded consistently through the collegiate approach to developing shared assessment for learning strategies. The teachers use questioning skilfully to build on the children’s thinking, address misconceptions and extend learning. The children respond by participating actively, taking risks and working together very effectively in pairs and groups to reach shared decisions.
The teachers make very effective use of digital technology to enrich the children’s learning experiences and support them in reviewing their own and others’ work, critically, respectfully and constructively. As a result, the children develop the confidence and language to recognise and talk about what they are doing well; they also respond well to feedback from their teachers and each other. As they move up the school, they take increasing responsibility for the quality of their learning, managing themselves responsibly.
There is clear evidence of the positive impact of the improvement work undertaken to date for the identified SDP priority area of outdoor learning. The staff make creative use of the outdoor learning environments available to them, in the grounds of the school and at the local rectory nearby, to enrich and enhance the learning experiences across the curriculum. Well-planned lessons allow the children to experience enjoyment and excitement, facilitate the development of their thinking skills and personal capabilities, and contribute positively to their overall wellbeing.
The school places a very high priority on promoting the children’s health, wellbeing and safety. All the children who responded to the questionnaire, and those who met with us in focus groups, told us that they feel safe in school and know who to speak to if they have any worries or concerns. Online safety is prioritised across the school and the children have a very good awareness of how to stay safe online from an early age.
Healthy lifestyles are promoted through the well-embedded healthy break-time routines, regular exercise and the appropriate use of external agencies and programmes. These include an Education Authority (EA) transition workshop for the year 7 children moving from primary to post-primary and the Love for Life programme* to support further the children’s wellbeing and personal development.
C. Building equity
The inclusive ethos of the school places it firmly at the centre of its community and is articulated clearly in the school motto, “Together We Succeed”. The school thoughtfully and sensitively supports the pastoral and broader needs of the children and their families, responding very effectively to reduce barriers to participation. Initiatives include a uniform exchange, at-elbow support for parents applying for free school meals, subsidised transport to sporting events, flexible ‘pay-in’ options for end-of-year trips and funded ‘Fruit Fridays’. The staff also engage in strong home‑school communication to reinforce the importance of school attendance. The attendance rate at the time of the inspection was above the Northern Ireland 2024/25 primary sector attendance level of 93.5% and stood at 95.6%.
The provision for the children with SEN is a notable strength of the school. Close working relationships with the pre-school support the early identification of need and inform the provision of timely and appropriate interventions when the children transition into the school. This impacts positively on their learning and development and the children with SEN are supported very well to make sustained progress.
The school’s use of the Education Authority (EA) Graduated Response Framework to develop further its provision for children with SEN is an identified SDP priority. The focus is on using the framework effectively to ensure there is a structured, evidence-informed and child-centred approach to meeting individual needs. The impact of interventions is closely monitored. The children contribute to the development and review of their Individual Education Plans (IEPs), and they understand the targets set for them. The targets in the IEPs are specific, measurable and support the staff very effectively in assessing progress and identifying the next steps for each child.
The approaches and strategies used to support the children with SEN include the effective use of assistive technology which enables the children to access the curriculum and to succeed. The children talked positively about how this technology helps them with their learning.
D. Defining, celebrating and embedding success
The children’s behaviour and dispositions for learning are excellent; they are attentive, responsive, engage confidently and participate well, learning with and from one another. They are encouraged to reflect on their learning and set their own termly targets in key areas of learning. Across KS 1 and KS 2 the children confidently discussed with us how they select their targets and monitor their progress throughout each term. The school’s internal assessment information shows that almost all of the children are making year-on-year progress across the curricular areas.
There is a clear and purposeful focus on developing the essential foundations for writing, including correct letter formation and the development of phonics skills. As they progress through the school, the children are able to discuss different genres and features of writing. They plan, redraft and improve their work, with very good use of grammar, punctuation and spelling. Their work is presented with care, reflecting pride in their learning. To strengthen the quality and consistency of the whole-school approach to writing, the school should ensure that the children have more frequent, progressive and purposeful opportunities to write independently, beginning in the foundation stage.
The purposeful use of drama and digital technology provides meaningful contexts for the children to rehearse, perform, record and share their work. The children in year 6 and year 7 show confidence and enjoyment in creating, writing and presenting their own poems and dramatic scenarios; they are developing their expressive skills, awareness of audience, creativity and self-esteem. Across the key stages, the children talk about reading with great enthusiasm and are able to speak with confidence about their favourite books and authors.
The children have regular opportunities to engage in problem-solving and are developing their ability to reason, explore patterns and relationships in number, work logically and approach tasks methodically. The children spoke enthusiastically about their enjoyment of mathematics, particularly the practical aspects of the problem‑solving activities; they would benefit from the level of challenge in these activities being adapted more precisely to reflect their different starting points. Problem-solving in numeracy is appropriately identified as a priority in the SDP, underpinned by ongoing professional learning and a well-paced, collegial approach to improvement.
All the children’s achievements, both within and beyond school, are valued and celebrated. Through established reward systems, including house points and ‘Star of the Week’, the children are recognised for living out the values of the school. The displays throughout the school celebrate success, embrace difference and give prominence to the children’s achievements, helping them to feel valued, included and proud of their contributions.
E. Growing a community of learning
The school has created a strong and inclusive community of learning where collaboration, continuous improvement, and lifelong learning are valued.
A key strength is the school’s strategic approach to staff professional learning which is closely linked to its SDP priorities. Staff are given a high degree of autonomy to identify training that meets their individual and collective needs, and which focuses on continued improvement of the children’s learning experiences and outcomes. Staff skills and expertise are being developed well through purposeful engagement with a range of external partners. For example, a collaboration with a local post‑primary school has strengthened staff confidence in using information and communication technology and exploring new technologies, including artificial intelligence.
Parents speak very positively about the quality of communication and the many opportunities they have to become involved in school life. Almost all parents who responded to our questionnaire indicated that the staff had explained how they could help their child with learning and that they receive helpful information about the planned learning activities for their child. In the questionnaire comments, they expressed their appreciation that as a result they are able to support meaningfully their children.
The priority given to the voice of the child in the school promotes independence, self‑reflection, and motivation. The children contribute to wider school decisions through the School Council and Eco Council and assume leadership roles such as house captains. They value these opportunities and focus groups of the children who spoke with us stated that they feel that their views are listened to.
The school benefits from a wide range of collaborative partnerships, including those of its Extended Schools cluster group and Shared Education partnership. Through a range of meaningful partnerships with organisations and businesses from its local community, the school receives support for its educational initiatives and fundraising activities. There is a strong understanding of the needs of the wider community beyond the school gates, and the staff have frequently taken a leading role within the Fintona area to sensitively and creatively generate support for families and charities. One large scale piece of work undertaken with DKMS resulted in a significant and impactful record-breaking recruitment campaign, which continues to benefit people accessing the world’s largest stem cell donor registry. This work reflects the school’s core values and provided the children and their families with meaningful opportunities to develop an awareness of their role in helping others and contributing positively to their community and wider society.
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 rich ethos, culture and relationships in Denamona Primary School unite the school community in a shared commitment to its vision. The children thrive in a caring learning environment where they are supported very effectively to progress and experience success as they journey towards realising the vision of becoming ‘lifelong learners and confident contributors to their community’.
The next step for Denamona Primary School is to take forward the following area for action: to ensure that the children have more frequent, progressive and purposeful opportunities to write independently.
The District Inspector will monitor the school’s progress in addressing this area for action, as part of ETI’s routine monitoring processes.
Inspectors also identified an aspect of highly effective practice from which others may learn. The aspect of practice which should be shared more widely is:
- the embedding of Assessment for Learning strategies consistently across the school.
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
Extended Schools*
Extended Schools provide funding for schools to offer services before, during and after the normal school day to help the children achieve their full potential.
Shared Education*
Shared Education is a formal collaboration in which two or more schools work together so that children and young people from different religious and socio-economic backgrounds can learn together on a regular, sustained basis. It is designed to promote inclusion, improve relationships across communities, and deliver clear educational benefits.
Page 3
Love for Life programme*
The Love for Life programme delivers Relationship and Sexuality Education (RSE), aiming to help young people understand healthy relationships, value themselves and their choices, and learn to make wise decisions through age‑appropriate presentations and resources for both schools and families.
Appendix 4: Health And Safety
The school has identified concerns with the lack of storage facilities, the condition of the fixed play equipment and the school grounds which they deem to be health and safety risks; these have been well-documented with the EA. The school has put in place interim measures to mitigate these risks.