Report of a Primary Inspection - St Náile’s Primary School, Kinawley
DE Ref No 203-6090
June 2026
1. Introduction
A. Background information
St Náile’s Primary School, is a co-educational, Catholic-maintained primary school, located on the edge of the village of Kinawley, County Fermanagh. There are currently 103 children enrolled in the school, who come from the local village and the surrounding rural area. Almost 9% (9) of the children have free school meal entitlement and almost 17% (18) have been identified as having special educational needs (SEN) of which almost 39% (7) have a statement of SEN. A small number of newcomer children attend the school. The staffing complement consists of a teaching principal, four teachers, nine classroom assistants, and a wider support staff team.
The school is part of the Cladagh Glen Learning Community and has a long‑established Shared Education partnership with Florencecourt Primary School, St Mary’s Primary School, Killesher and St Mary’s Primary School, Mullymesker. The school is an Eco-School and successfully obtained its 5th Green Flag in 2025 and currently holds Ambassador Eco School status.
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, including any concerns raised, was shared with the principal and a representative of the board of governors.
C. The process of inspection
The ETI worked alongside St Náile's 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
St Náile’s Primary School has a clear, inclusive and values-driven vision, firmly rooted in strong Christian principles that are evident in the day-to-day life and work of the school. The vision has been shaped thoughtfully through collaborative professional reflection among staff, with meaningful contributions from the children. The resulting vision statement, ‘Creating the Future Together’, co-constructed by the children, reflects clearly the school’s emphasis on partnership and shared responsibility. Central to this vision is a deep commitment to respect for all members of the school community and a focus on all children feeling valued, accepted and fully included. The vision underpins the school’s dedication to nurturing the whole child through high-quality pastoral care, promoting wellbeing, and preparing children to become respectful, responsible and compassionate citizens who contribute positively to society. All teaching and support staff (17) who responded to the ETI questionnaire demonstrated a clear understanding of the school’s vision and indicated that they contribute well to achieving the vision. Their responses convey a sense of shared commitment, reflecting a highly cohesive staff team united in prioritising the needs, wellbeing and progress of every child.
In the three-year school development plan (SDP) and this year’s associated action plans there is a clear focus on improving provision and outcomes for the children. This year’s priorities include improving the children’s mathematical problem-solving, strengthening reading and comprehension skills, embedding the Graduated Response Framework, and continuing to develop the children’s digital skills.
There is a need for more systematic monitoring and the gathering of first-hand evidence to develop a clearer understanding of the effectiveness of current approaches and to inform priorities for the remaining two years of the current SDP.
The governors are well-informed of, and understand, the school’s vision, priorities for improvement and day-to-day context. They bring a relevant range of skills and experience to their roles, which they use effectively to provide both support and appropriate challenge. Their oversight of key areas, including safeguarding, curriculum development and pastoral provision, supports informed decision-making and reflects a shared commitment to the children’s wellbeing and achievement. The governors foster positive relationships with staff, value the support of the wider community and take evident pride in the work of the school.
B. Implementing and improving to achieve the vision
The planning, teaching and assessment for successful learning is mostly effective. When learning is most successful, the practice is characterised by the careful planning of engaging and thought-provoking starter activities, encouraging curiosity, readiness for learning and a willingness among the children to explore new ideas. Questioning is used skilfully to extend the children’s responses, while enquiry-based approaches deepen their thinking through meaningful, real-life contexts, including
the World Cup, ensuring learning is purposeful and relevant. Through the staff’s ongoing oral feedback, the children are encouraged to provide precise and detailed answers and to build effectively on their learning through others’ responses. During the plenaries, the children’s learning is reinforced well by staff and any misunderstandings are addressed.
The learning environments are consistently calm and supportive, where positive relationships and high expectations for behaviour, effort and participation contribute positively to the children’s successful learning. A balanced approach to learning is evident, with the children working both independently and collaboratively, and transitioning seamlessly between guided, shared and independent activities. Reducing the over-reliance on worksheets would support a wider range of learning experiences for the children and align more closely with the school’s creative approach to learning. As the school has identified, the development of the children’s digital skills is at an early stage and appropriate work has begun on developing a scheme of work.
Long-term planning across the curriculum requires further development to ensure greater breadth, balance and progression, particularly in mental mathematics and writing across a wider range of genres. More explicit attention within planning to connected learning, thinking skills and the use of success criteria would help to ensure that these aspects are implemented even more consistently in practice.
The school provides an inclusive and well-developed programme for music, which enhances the children’s creative and cultural experiences. All of the children from years 3 to 7 benefit from tin whistle tuition and have opportunities to participate in an after-school traditional music club. This encourages them to bring and play their own instruments in a relaxed and enjoyable environment, fostering both skill development and a love of music. In addition, the vibrant school choir showcases beautiful and expressive singing, contributing positively to the wider life of the school and providing further meaningful opportunities for children to perform and celebrate their musical talents.
The school provides a rich and stimulating range of wider curricular experiences that significantly enhance learning beyond the classroom. A diverse programme of after‑school clubs, including sport, gardening, construction and information and communications technology (ICT), ensures that a wide range of interests are catered for, enabling the children to participate meaningfully while developing skills such as teamwork, creativity and independence. In addition, the school’s emphasis on outdoor learning and environmental responsibility through the gardening club and wider eco initiatives, including Green Flag and Zero Waste projects, enables the children to take a leading role in caring for their environment. They benefit from meaningful, hands-on experiences such as growing and harvesting their own produce, which they use in cooking activities, deepening their understanding of sustainability and nurturing a strong sense of responsibility. The children also informed us that learning is enriched further through fun educational visits, such as trips to Florence Court, alongside their participation in the school’s Shared Education initiatives.
The effective promotion of health, wellbeing and keeping safe is underpinned by warm and respectful relationships across the school. Significantly, the priority given to all children through the daily ‘meet and greet’ provides a nurturing and positive start to the day. All (14) of the children who responded to the ETI questionnaire, along with those who spoke with inspectors during the focus group meetings, agreed that the staff treat them with care and respect, and confirmed that there are adults they can talk to if they are worried or have a problem. This is further supported by a comprehensive programme of safeguarding and preventative education, including relationships and sexuality education, supported by external agencies such as the Police Service for Northern Ireland and the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Importantly, through the preventative curriculum, the children develop a clear understanding of road, farm, water and online safety. The children’s wellbeing is supported further through purposeful physical health initiatives, including the Daily Mile and a range of after-school activities that promote healthy, active lifestyles. There is also clear evidence of reflective practice in relation to healthy eating; the school is taking proactive steps to review its policy and engage with external expertise to support further improvement.
C. Building equity
The school's commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion is reflected in a culture where all children are welcomed, respected and valued as members of the school community. The staff know the children very well and are highly responsive to their individual needs.
The provision for the children identified with special educational needs is highly inclusive and characterised by a proactive and responsive approach from a skilled and committed staff team. The staff engage purposefully in professional learning and share expertise effectively, resulting in strengthened whole-school capacity to meet diverse needs. The school has taken important steps to strengthen early identification and intervention, particularly through the introduction of a structured literacy intervention programme. This approach is improving baseline assessment processes and enabling more precise identification of the children’s needs, leading to increasingly specific and measurable targets within individual education plans. Early evidence indicates that this targeted intervention is having a positive impact on the children’s progress and confidence. The school is prioritising appropriately and successfully early support to reduce barriers to learning and prevent escalation of need.
Assessment information is used increasingly well to inform planning for children who require support. Relevant and focused targets are complemented by a balanced model of support, comprising of effective in-class adaptive teaching, appropriately scaffolded learning opportunities and a structured programme of targeted withdrawal support. These interventions are planned to address specific areas of need, particularly in literacy and language development, and there is flexibility in how support is deployed to ensure continuity and responsiveness to the children’s emerging needs. Whilst appropriate monitoring processes are in place for children with SEN, including regular review of targets and children’s work, there is potential to further enhance the use of meaningful data to track children’s progress and to evaluate the impact of interventions more fully.
The school works effectively with a range of external support services, including speech and language therapists and specialist advisory teachers. Guidance from these professionals is implemented appropriately, particularly in supporting children with more complex needs, including those with significant language development requirements.
The school is taking appropriate steps to promote good attendance, including issuing holiday information early and communicating clear expectations to parents. There is evidence of regular monitoring and prompt follow-up where concerns arise, supported by a caring, pastoral approach. The school should continue to build on these approaches to sustain and improve overall attendance, which is currently 93.8%, particularly given that it remains below the Northern Ireland average.
D. Defining, celebrating and embedding success
There is a palpable sense of ease and positivity among the children, who bring energy, curiosity and a genuine enjoyment of learning to the classroom. They demonstrate independence, resilience and a natural willingness to engage, in an environment where they feel confident to take risks and learn from their mistakes. These well-developed attitudes and behaviours contribute significantly to the children’s success as confident, engaged and receptive learners.
The children participate enthusiastically in a range of activities that celebrate and extend their learning. For example, they relish opportunities to earn the ‘golden ticket’ during World Book Day, celebrate their mathematical skills during Maths Week, and dress up as their favourite story book characters when visiting the local library. The children are developing their writing skills through persuasive pieces inspired by their local area such as ‘Fabulous Fermanagh’ and ‘Conquering Cuilcagh’, while taking evident pride in their handwriting and presentation. Building on existing strengths, a more consistent whole-school approach to the teaching of writing across all of the genres would support further improvement in the quality of the children’s writing. The school’s internal data shows that most of the children achieve as expected or better in literacy and numeracy, and the school makes effective use of internal data to identify and support those who require additional help with their learning. In our questionnaires, almost all of the parents (23) that responded agreed their children are making good progress in their learning.
The children benefit from high-quality transition arrangements both into year 1 and on to post-primary; the well-established buddy system for incoming year 1 children is a particular strength. Through this carefully planned initiative, P5 children are paired with those in the local pre-school setting, developing nurturing relationships over time and helping younger children to feel secure, welcomed and confident. The significant investment of time and care in this programme reflects the school’s commitment to supporting the children’s emotional wellbeing and ensuring a positive start to school life. This is complemented by a structured programme of visits, which familiarises further the children and their parents with the school environment. Collectively, these thoughtful and highly effective arrangements reduce anxiety and build confidence, laying firm foundations for successful and sustained engagement in learning.
The school’s creative and inclusive approach to recognising achievement is underpinned by a strong emphasis on kindness as a core value. Recognition is frequent, meaningful and accessible to all children, exemplified through assemblies, highly creative displays of the children’s work, social media and the well-established ‘Proud Cloud’, where a broad range of achievements are celebrated publicly, fostering pride and motivation. This is complemented by a digital reward system which provides a structured yet flexible means of acknowledging effort, ensuring that all children are included and encouraged in both their academic and personal development. As a result, recognition is embedded naturally within daily practice, avoids unnecessary comparison, and makes a significant contribution to the children’s wellbeing and confidence.
E. Growing a community of learning
The school promotes meaningful learner participation through formal and informal approaches to capturing pupil voice. Children are provided with valuable leadership opportunities through the school council and eco committee, with members democratically elected and actively engaged in initiatives such as recycling, regular eco-monitoring duties, event organisation and whole-school projects, including the Christmas hamper appeal. In particular, the eco committee plays a key role in maintaining its 5th Green Flag status and promoting best practice across the school. These formal structures are complemented by additional opportunities such as afternoon tea with the principal, which enable children from across all year groups, including quieter pupils, to share their views within a relaxed and supportive environment. The school demonstrates a clear commitment to listening to, and acting upon, the children’s feedback, as evidenced by changes to educational visits, playtime arrangements and playground resources; this is further reinforced through the use of surveys and consultation activities, which deepen children’s involvement in decision-making processes.
The children also make a valuable contribution to the life of the local community through regular involvement in charitable activities and intergenerational projects, including collaborative storytelling with members of the local Daffodil Club. Their participation in community and faith-based events reflects confidence, respect and pride in their school. Collectively, these experiences contribute to a warm, inclusive and connected school community, where children develop empathy, social awareness and a strong sense of belonging.
The school is committed to creating positive relationships with parents and there is a clear emphasis on early relationship-building. Trusting partnerships are established as children start school, with the intention that these are sustained over time. The school also provides opportunities for parents to engage directly in their children’s learning through joint workshops, where parents and children work and learn together, promoting collaboration and shared understanding. This positive engagement is further supported by a highly active and committed parent teacher association (PTA). The PTA makes a significant contribution to school life through practical support and fundraising, including the provision of additional resources, such as digital devices, that enhance the quality of the children’s learning experiences. The parental questionnaire and accompanying comments reflect these strengths, while also indicating some variability in aspects of communication and engagement. For example, most (82.6%) parents agree that they receive helpful information about their child’s progress; a majority (73.9%) feel well informed about planned learning activities or how to support their child’s learning, and (69.6%) that their views are sought and taken into account.
The school has established strong and extensive links with the local and wider community. Productive partnerships with local businesses have resulted in valuable financial and resource support, including funding for school initiatives and equipment such as a polytunnel and sponsorship of a sports kit. These links are used meaningfully to enrich the children’s experiences, for example through enterprise activities linked to the gardening club, where children grow and sell produce. There are also well-developed connections with the local parish, with children actively participating in liturgical events. Strong links with the local Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) club and community coaches support the provision for physical education, while access to the community hall enables the school to host large-scale events and celebrations. In addition, the school benefits from meaningful collaboration within its local playgroup, cluster schools and the Cladagh Learning Partnership, which provides valuable professional support and shared expertise among staff. These well-established and mutually beneficial partnerships make a significant contribution to the life and work of the school, enhancing opportunities for the children and reinforcing its strong community ethos.
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. All of the children in year 3, 5 and 7 who met with the inspectors said that they feel safe in the school and know who to talk to if they have a concern.
3. Next steps
St Náile’s Primary School’s vision, ‘Creating the future together’, is reflected through the daily life and work of all of the staff and is evident in the high quality, respectful relationships at all levels. The intentional values-driven approach creates a nurturing, caring and supportive ethos which enables children to engage positively in their learning and supports their development within a happy and respectful environment.
The inspection has highlighted an area for action to enable St Náile’s Primary School to achieve its vision more fully: to develop further planning for progression across all areas of the curriculum, with a particular emphasis on strengthening the children’s writing across a range of genres, and the development of their mental mathematics skills.
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.