Report of a Primary Inspection - Fountain Primary School and Nursery Unit

DE Ref No: 201-6564

October 2025

1. Introduction

A. Background information

Fountain Primary School and Nursery Unit is situated in the Fountain area of Londonderry. The children come from the Fountain neighbourhood and from the Waterside area of the city. There are currently 83 children enrolled in the school, including 24 children in the nursery unit. Of the total enrolment, 24% of the children have been identified as having special educational needs (SEN) and 8.5% of the children have a statement of SEN. Approximately 40% of the children have free school meal entitlement. The nursery unit operates as a single, full-time class and the primary school comprises three composite classes and a nurture intervention class which is funded by the Department of Education. The teaching staff includes a teaching principal, beginning his third year in the post, a recently appointed part-time teacher who provides principal release time three days per week, and four full-time teachers, one of whom has also been recently appointed.

In 2024, Fountain Primary School was recognised as a PATHS* Model School and was awarded PATHS® Model School status for its successful implementation of the PATHS (Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies) programme.

The school has a longstanding Shared Education Partnership with Longtower Primary School.

B. Views of pupils, parents and staff

The Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI) issued online confidential questionnaires to the children in year 7, 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 a representative of the board of governors.

C. The process of inspection

ETI worked alongside Fountain Primary School and Nursery Unit 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

Over the past two years, there has been a comprehensive review of the school’s vision and values in close collaboration with the whole school community. This inclusive process has laid a solid foundation for an approach to school improvement that is rooted in commitment to these guiding aims and is responsive to its unique context. As a result, a more collaborative culture is developing among the staff team. In their questionnaire responses, all of the teaching staff indicate that: their professional skills and knowledge are valued; and their views and ideas are sought and acted upon. Additionally, all of the teaching and non-teaching staff agree that they contribute positively to achieving the school’s vision and all of the parents who responded report that they know about the school’s vision and aims.

The shared vision and values are very much to the fore in the day-to-day running of the school; they inform well the strategic decision-making and whole-school self‑evaluation processes. The school leadership team has strengthened the approach to whole-school self-evaluation by broadening the scope of the sources of evidence used to inform it. The approach now includes the effective use of a wider range of assessment data, and meaningful and intentional listening that respects and responds to the views of the school community. This supports them better in identifying more accurately, and addressing specifically, the needs of the children. Whole-school priorities for improvement within the new three-year school development plan are appropriate. The staff now need to enhance further the procedures for whole-school self-evaluation by incorporating first-hand evidence of learning and teaching.

The approach to implementation of the school development plan has been considered thoughtfully as the staff team move forward, ensuring that strategic improvements within policy, practice and procedures are well paced and given sufficient time to embed over the course of the next three years.

The Board of Governors are committed to the school’s ethos and the holistic development of each child. They understand the challenges and opportunities within the school and the community and are proactive in their role in the school improvement process and in wider community engagement.

B. Implementing and improving to achieve the vision

The school provides an attractive and well-resourced learning environment for the children which is underpinned by their values of learning, equality and inclusion, caring, well-being, safety, family and fun.

The comprehensive whole-school approach to planning and assessment for successful learning guides effectively the work of the staff and ensures a breadth of experience and progression in learning for the children across the curriculum. The teachers’ medium-term planners for language and literacy and numeracy are appropriately detailed, well focused on the intended learning, and support progression in the children’s knowledge, vocabulary, skills and understanding. In the most effective practice, the teachers annotate their planners regularly in response to the children’s engagement and interests and their evaluations of learning inform future planning and support progression in learning across the curriculum.

A strength of the provision in the school is the connected nature of much of the learning. Where this is most impactful, the children have opportunities to consolidate their new learning and use their skills in literacy, numeracy and ICT through the thematic learning approach to the World Around Us curriculum. The skilled use of reading texts by teachers as a stimulus and context for learning across the curriculum provides further meaningful connections in the children’s learning, as do the good quality play-based learning sessions in the nursery unit and foundation stage. Across the school, where learning and teaching is most successful, and where the children are most engaged: the intended learning is clear, meaningful and relevant; lessons are well paced, active and appropriately challenging; the children have opportunities to solve problems and work collaboratively on purposeful and worthwhile tasks; and teachers interact skillfully with the children, posing well‑thought-out questions that extend the children’s curiosity, thinking and understanding. Current priorities for school improvement include improving: the children’s spelling skills; their mental mathematics; and their enjoyment of, and engagement in, mathematics lessons. The planned re-introduction of shared observations of learning and teaching across the school will support the staff in identifying and sharing the most effective and impactful strategies and approaches that support successful learning and improve further consistency in the quality of the learning experiences across all classes.

Within the nursery, almost all of the children have settled well into the class and are following routines with ease. They are becoming increasingly independent in their self-management at registration and snack time and at key transition points in the school day. The children are supported skillfully by the staff who develop consistently the children’s language and thinking skills through their interactions. There are very good relationships for learning within the nursery, and a culture of positivity and praise permeates the nursery classroom. The observations the staff make of the children’s learning are very detailed and used effectively to monitor the progress the children make across the pre-school curriculum.

The whole-school Personal Development and Mutual Understanding (PDMU) curriculum prioritises the emotional well-being of the children, their safety and happiness. The PATHS programme is implemented consistently and supports the children very effectively as they learn to: manage their emotions; recognise and understand the feeling of others; and build confidence. Targeted nurture interventions within key stage two include planned well-being check-ins, nurture in five and, connect and nurture programmes which support further the children’s emotional health and well-being. The staff collaborate regularly with a range of external support agencies to enhance the preventative curriculum within the school, and this work supports well the pastoral needs of the children.

During their discussions with inspectors, the children spoke knowledgeably about the importance of eating healthily, drinking water and engaging in physical activity to support them in being healthy and happy. They spoke about the promotion of healthy breaks in school and the range of enjoyable opportunities they have to exercise in the playground. The children also told us that they enjoy physical activity during PE lessons, in particular, dance, and opportunities to play different games and sports. They expressed a desire for further PE experiences, including swimming.

All of the children who spoke with inspectors, and all of the year 7 children who responded to the ETI questionnaire, agreed that there were adults they can talk to if they are worried or have a problem. Almost all of the parents who responded to the questionnaire agreed that they: are happy with the learning experiences of their child; feel that their child is making good progress in their learning; and are content with the pastoral care and support given to their child.

C. Building equity

The school staff strive to provide a safe and welcoming environment for every child, fostering inclusion visibly through the promotion of their values of ‘equality and inclusion’ in classrooms and in home-school communications.

The school has reviewed recently its SEN policy and the personal learning plans (PLP) for the children who need additional support with their learning and development. The PLP process now has an appropriate focus on capturing the views of the child, and parental consultation is a valued part of the process of setting targets and evaluating the progress the children make.

Regular absence from school is recognised by the staff as a significant barrier to learning. The bespoke school initiative “Every Day Counts” is highlighting successfully the importance of full attendance at school, encouraging children to achieve 100% attendance one month at a time. This programme is impacting positively on the children’s attendance levels. The school is monitoring the impact of this strategy and continues to work with the parents and when necessary, outside agencies, to support those children whose attendance levels are impacting on their progress in learning.

All of the staff in the school have participated in training in nurture informed practice. The school nurture class (Rainbow Room) has a clear focus on supporting the social, emotional and behavioural needs of the children. The children attending the nurture class have made measurable progress as evidenced by the detailed analysis of monitoring information relating to their social, emotional and developmental needs. They are thriving in a well-structured and calm environment and their reintegration into their mainstream class is considered carefully through the effective use and analysis of a range of assessment tools, alongside the professional judgement of the staff team. In conversations with inspectors, the children articulated confidently and proudly the significant progress they have made in the “Rainbow Room”. Across the school, all of the staff would benefit from further professional learning to equip them with a wider range of strategies to support children with social, emotional and behavioural needs.

D. Defining, celebrating and embedding success

Throughout the school, almost all of the children approach their learning with enthusiasm, engage well, and respond positively to class routines. Consequently, the children make good progress across the curriculum from their individual starting points. The school’s own assessment data reflects that most children achieve well in line with their ability.

Within the Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1, the children achieve well as they develop their language and literacy skills through well-planned modelled and shared reading experiences. As they engage actively in the reading process, they develop their listening skills and acquire, and use, new vocabulary with increasing confidence. Through regular, planned exposure to fluent and expressive reading the children improve their understanding of rhyme, rhythm and meaning in texts. They confidently make predictions, retell and sequence events, and draw meaningful connections to their own experiences, showing developing comprehension. Where stories are used to connect learning across the curriculum, the children respond with high levels of enthusiasm and creativity, producing independent writing that reflects their comprehension and understanding of language. The active learning experiences in the World Around Us (WAU) curriculum are also connecting learning successfully across the curriculum and developing well the children’s knowledge, curiosity and enjoyment of learning.

A key feature of celebrating and building on success in the school is clearly reflected in the positive behaviours of almost all of the children. Inspectors observed how the children can use the skills they have developed through the PATHS programme to compliment one another, express their thanks and resolve conflicts. The children collaborate well during lessons to think and share ideas, and almost all are confident and respectful in their engagement with adults. Their achievements are celebrated through: the ‘Pupil of the Day’ award linked to the whole school PATHS programme; and the ‘Star of the Week’ award in each class, which makes visible and celebrates the values that the school community are promoting in their day-to-day work. These awards also encourage the children to try to live out those values during their time at school. The staff share and celebrate the children’s successes and achievements with parents and carers through, for example, the school website.

Opportunities for music and the arts are highly valued within the school community. The school’s well-established music and dance programmes are supported by a longstanding relationship with the Londonderry Bands’ Forum* and Bready Ulster Scots*. These learning opportunities: successfully facilitate the development of physical co-ordination, confidence and cultural appreciation; support well the development of the children’s performance skills; and enrich their children’s social, emotional, and artistic development across the key stages. In Highland Dance classes, from the foundation stage, the children are able to perform both individually and in team dances with fluency and control. They are confident in the way they use space, can keep time with the music and their enjoyment is evident as they dance. As they progress through the key stages the children refine their performance, show greater awareness of audience and can perform a more complicated series of movements and steps with increased co-ordination and balance. The children who spoke with inspectors told us how much they enjoyed the Highland Dance lessons.

Similarly, the children in Years 5, 6 and 7 who spoke with inspectors talked to us about learning to play the flute and opportunities they have to perform in front of audiences at public events. In years 5, 6 and 7 the children have the opportunity to learn how to read music and their improvement is monitored so that their progress can be celebrated. Placing a focus on reading music has a strategic intent in that it gives the children the skills they need to learn other musical instruments as they progress to post-primary education. The children who danced and played the flute for the inspectors did so confidently and with pride and enthusiasm.

E. Growing a community of learning

The school is very much a part of its local community and strives continually to maintain and strengthen partnerships with local businesses, services, organisations and other schools, to support the staff to provide holistic learning experiences for each child.

The longstanding Shared Education Partnership with Longtower Primary School and the city-wide cluster groups attended by curriculum co-ordinators, in which most of the staff are involved, provide opportunities for the staff and the children to build friendships and professional relationships, and broaden the learning experiences of the children. The children told inspectors of their success competing in a local choir competition alongside their shared education partner school. Additionally, the staff told us how the school benefits from involvement in cluster work with other local schools. For example, the local nurture cluster group facilitates opportunities for professional learning such as sessions to explore the potential for learning in the outdoor environment. This engagement supports the priorities on the school development plan.

The school values the importance of working in partnership with the parents and continues to be proactive and strategic in exploring ways of enhancing parental engagement as part of a whole school strategy to further raise standards, improve attendance and create a positive and inclusive school culture. The parents are kept fully informed through, for example, the informative, attractive and accessible school website; monthly newsletters with curriculum updates; and regular use of social media platforms which support them to understand better what their child is learning. Parents are actively encouraged and invited to participate in their children’s education and in the wider community life of Fountain Primary School and Nursery Unit.

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 staff in Fountain Primary School and Nursery Unit are committed to their vision and the community they serve. The children are learning in an inclusive school environment in which the shared values of the school community are very much to the fore.

The inspection has highlighted a number of areas for action as the next steps for the school to enable it to achieve its vision more fully. These include:

to enhance further the procedures for whole-school self-evaluation, including monitoring the impact of improvement work by incorporating first-hand evidence of learning and teaching; and
to provide staff professional learning opportunities to further equip all staff with the knowledge and strategies they need to support consistently the children who have social, emotional and behavioural needs.

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

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 140 in an urban 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

PATHS*

The PATHS® Programme is an evidence-based, early intervention and prevention, social and emotional learning programme aimed at children aged 2 to14 years. The programme teaches pro-social skills, emotional understanding, social problem-solving, resilience and self-control.

Page 5

Londonderry Bands’ Forum*

The Londonderry Bands’ Forum is one of 16 Band Forums throughout Northern Ireland. The aim of the forum is to build the relationships and capacity of bands by sharing good practice, providing training, developing common policies and procedures, fostering good relations and acting on behalf of member bands on relevant issues.

Bready Ulster Scots was established in 2003 and is a charitable organisation with the main purpose of promoting and preserving the Ulster Scots culture and heritage of local people.