Report of a Primary Inspection - Mullaglass Primary School, Newry
DE Ref No 501-1019
May 2026
1. Introduction
A. Background information
Mullaglass Primary School is a controlled primary school located in a semi‑rural area on the outskirts of Newry. The school currently has an enrolment of 84 children. Nineteen percent of the children have free school meal entitlement. Twenty percent of the children have been identified with special educational needs (SEN), a small number of whom have a statement of educational need.
The outdoor facilities were enhanced recently to include a refurbished playground, grass pitch, nature area, outdoor classroom and Recobox, all of which support both curricular and extra-curricular learning experiences. The school provides a daily breakfast club and afternoon wraparound care. It has achieved multiple awards, including the Eco‑Schools Green Flag, Northern Ireland Forest School status and the Irish Football Association School Quality Mark (Gold Award).
B. Views of children, 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 was shared with the principal and three representatives of the board of governors.
C. The process of inspection
ETI worked alongside Mullaglass 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 school has a clearly defined and well-embedded vision and set of values, centred on truth and endeavour, which have been developed collaboratively with the school community and are integral to the life and work of the school. The school’s core values, ‘respect, kindness, community, endeavour, truth and enjoyment’, are reflected clearly in the positive, respectful and inclusive ethos observed across the school. All of the children from years 3, 5 and 7 who met with us spoke confidently about the values, what they mean, and how they guide their behaviour and interactions.
The new three-year school development plan has been developed through extensive and purposeful consultation with the school community. It identifies clear and appropriate whole-school improvement priorities, with focused targets on improving learning in the school. Further refinement of the success criteria within the action plans is required to ensure they are specific, measurable and clearly aligned to the intended outcomes. This will better support the middle leaders in monitoring and evaluating effectively the impact of their work on the outcomes of the children.
The governors who met with inspectors possess a broad, complementary range of professional expertise and are well-informed through the detailed reports provided by the principal. They have a clear and commendable focus on the wellbeing of both the children and staff. The governors speak with immense pride about the school's reputation, describing Mullaglass Primary School as a "little jewel in the crown of the community”. All of the parents who responded to our questionnaire said they would recommend this school to others.
B. Implementing and improving to achieve the vision
Warm, positive relationships between the staff and the children create a supportive environment in which the children collaborate confidently and support one another. In the most effective practice, teaching is characterised by clear, child-friendly learning intentions, concise explanations and well-paced lessons. The teachers make good use of subject-specific vocabulary and carefully chosen resources, including real-life data, to support the children’s progression. Assessment for learning strategies are applied consistently and effectively, including the sharing of learning intentions, well-structured plenary sessions, and regular opportunities for self-and peer assessment. To build further on this effective practice, there is a need for staff to develop more coherent long-term planning to ensure greater consistency and clearer progression across all stages. This should include increasing the level of appropriate challenge to maximise the outcomes for all the children.
The school’s focused approach to improving spelling, including the development of a bespoke programme tailored to meet the children’s needs, has led to measurable improvements in the children’s outcomes. Recently introduced timetabled library sessions for each class are promoting effectively reading for pleasure. In discussions with us, the year 7 children spoke enthusiastically about their favourite books and authors and expressed a desire for a wider range of reading materials.
The children benefit from increasingly regular opportunities for outdoor learning, which is enhancing their engagement, interest and enjoyment. In discussions with us, they explained how these experiences support their understanding of concepts such as time, shape and number in meaningful and enjoyable ways. There should be more consistent opportunities for the children to make connections with the wider world, including clearer links to real-life contexts and potential future career pathways.
In discussions with us, the year 3 and year 5 children demonstrated a mature understanding of how to stay safe online, including, using child-friendly search engines, protecting personal information, and recognising scams. They use technology for a range of purposes, including research on Paddington and the weather, and creating presentations. By the end of Key Stage 2, the children are developing well their computational thinking skills, including debugging, alongside growing confidence in word processing and creating digital content such as animations. The Digital Leaders in year 7 support the younger children, for example with animation work, while also extending their own skills, including working with a 3D printer. A current focus on film and animation is strengthening the children’s digital creativity. The staff have identified appropriately the need for a whole-school progression framework to ensure continuity in the development of the children’s digital skills.
The children engage positively in their learning experiences and benefit from initiatives such as ‘Feel Good Friday’ and educational visits, which support their wellbeing and enhance their enjoyment of school.
They also value the broad physical education programme and opportunities to participate in inter-school competitions, which promote teamwork, resilience and pride in representing the school. A wide range of after-school activities, including rugby, hockey, table tennis, boxing and football, supports further the children’s physical development. There is a strong and well-embedded culture of safety across the school. All the children who met with us said they feel safe in school and know who to speak to if they have a worry or concern.
C. Building equity
The staff are wholly committed to promoting equity, equality and inclusion through a welcoming ethos and inclusive practices. Evidence from the ETI questionnaire responses indicated that the year 7 children feel valued, respected and fully included within the school community; they attribute this to the approachable and "kind" staff, the supportive classroom environments, and the strength of peer relationships. The children benefit from small group and one-to-one support and parents value the ‘‘Wrap Around’ provision and the ‘uniform recycling scheme’ which reduces barriers and enables equitable access to resources and opportunities for all children. The staff also place a clear emphasis on promoting regular attendance, which is systematically encouraged, recognised and celebrated; the attendance rate of 95.3% in 2024 to 2025, which is above the Northern Ireland average, demonstrates the effectiveness of this approach.
The Personal Learning Plans are comprehensive and identify clearly each child’s strengths and individual needs. The staff incorporate meaningfully the views of the children and their parents/carers, setting realistic, measurable targets, supported by well-matched strategies that enable the children to access learning, make meaningful progress and experience success.
Comprehensive whole school and individual SEN provision maps enable the staff to monitor and evaluate effectively the support provided for children with special educational needs, resulting in targeted and impactful interventions. As a result of reading partnerships, sensory-motor provision and personalised withdrawal support the children are making measurable progress from their starting points. The well‑resourced sensory room has a positive impact on the children, supporting their sensory regulation, promoting their wellbeing and enhancing their engagement in learning.
The classroom assistants play a vital role within the school; they work effectively alongside the class teachers. They implement adaptive strategies, provide skilled at‑elbow support for the children and contribute to the effective communication between home and school. Staff professional learning in SEN, including training in behavioural management, sensory circuits, and the Graduated Response Framework, has had a positive impact on supporting children with SEN.
D. Defining, celebrating and embedding success
The children are consistently well-mannered and display excellent behaviour, supported by well-established routines and high expectations. The school’s ‘Value of the Month’, currently focusing on kindness, is embedded effectively and evidenced by the children’s daily interactions and positive attitudes towards each other.
The school’s internal assessment information, together with evidence from the children’s books, indicates that the children achieve very good outcomes in literacy and numeracy. The children’s oral language skills are well developed through regular opportunities for discussion and presentation; as they progress through the school, they use increasingly rich and descriptive language when talking about their work and achievements. The children engage positively in writing across a wide range of genres, with clear evidence of improvements through the drafting and redrafting process. The presentation of their work is of a high standard. To build further on these strengths, there is a need to reduce reliance on overly structured templates, which can limit both the extent and creativity of the children’s writing. In mathematics and numeracy, the children explain their thinking clearly and apply their skills across a range of contexts, including outdoor learning. They use mathematical vocabulary accurately and engage thoughtfully with tasks, including word problems. To build further on this effective practice, there is a need to increase opportunities for the children to engage in open-ended investigations to promote deeper reasoning, creativity and challenge.
The school has a well-embedded culture of celebrating achievement. The staff promote and share actively the children’s successes, including through social media, to ensure these are recognised widely across the school community. The children report that they value the wide range of positive reinforcement strategies in place, including rewards, recognition displays and certificates. The weekly assembliesprovide joyful and meaningful opportunities to celebrate the children’s achievements both within and beyond the school.
E. Growing a community of learning
The children are well supported to express their views and take on meaningful roles within the classroom and across the school, including as Digital Leaders and members of the school and Eco councils. This fosters their independence and develops their leadership skills. In discussions with us, the year 7 children spoke with pride about how the school council led in decisions about playground equipment, demonstrating their active contribution to school life. The children’s voice should be developed further through consultation on what is in the curriculum and how they learn best.
The staff have accessed a range of external courses on outdoor learning and effective teaching through the Education Authority’s Pathways in Partnership programme, alongside eight local primary schools, providing valuable professional learning opportunities. To build on this, there is a need to prioritise and strengthen staff professional learning further through strategic, planned opportunities aligned with the school’s development priorities. In particular, the school should develop further the internal community of learning through the more systematic identification and regular sharing of effective practice in teaching and learning across the curriculum, with a clear focus on evaluating the impact on the quality of learning and teaching.
The staff maintain highly effective communication with parents through a wide range of platforms, fostering strong partnerships and a shared sense of community. All of the parents who responded to the ETI questionnaire reported that they are well informed about their child’s learning. Regular opportunities for parental engagement, and the practice of sending home the children’s work, further strengthen communication between the school and parents, enabling them to celebrate and support their child’s progress. This strong partnership is reflected in the high levels of parental involvement in school events. The school’s well-established ‘Mullatots’ toddler group supports early learning and strengthens the school’s relationship within the local community. Links with local businesses and churches provides the children with learning opportunities and helps them to feel connected to their community. The children also benefit from a wide range of opportunities to participate in events such as sporting tournaments, music festivals and the Newry Show, which provide valuable experiences to compete and showcase confidently their diverse talents.
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
Mullaglass Primary School’s vision ‘to be a community where respect and kindness guide our actions, and a love of learning inspires every individual to achieve their full potential’ is understood by all and lived out daily within the school.
The inspection has identified that Mullaglass Primary School should take forward the following area for action: to prioritise and strengthen staff professional learning through strategic, planned opportunities aligned with school improvement priorities, with a clear focus on evaluating the impact on the learning and teaching.
The District Inspector will monitor the school’s progress in addressing the area for action, as part of ETI’s routine 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 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.