Rasharkin Primary School has ‘commendable strengths’

In the report published recently (12/11/12), the inspectors highlighted a wide range of commendable strengths, and overall classified the school as ‘very good’. School inspectors in NI use six categories when assessing schools with ‘very good’ being the second best. Obviously the governors, principal, staff and all members of the school are delighted that the school has been awarded such a high accolade from the notoriously difficult to please inspectors!

Particular strengths identified by inspectors were the ‘well motivated [children, who] display positive attitudes to their work and achieve very good standards’ and the excellent progress made by children in Maths and English. No doubt the ‘consistently high’ standard of teaching and assessment, that the inspectors found in Rasharkin Primary School, has led to these excellent achievements, with the school’s performance being identified as ‘significantly’ above the NI average. Highly skilled staff and targeted support for pupils with specific learning needs were also identified as contributing to the high quality experience that pupils receive in Rasharkin PS.

Mrs Howe, school principal, welcomed the report: “The many positive things HMI have to say about Rasharkin Primary School and the quality of education it provides reflect the commitment of all staff, governors, and members of the wider school community, to deliver education to a high standard for our children and young people. I am greatly delighted that the good practice, that is an everyday occurrence in our school has been identified by the inspectors as such.”