Top marks for Harpur’s Hill after inspection

The Coleraine school received the highest possible accolade from the inspectorate team.

The school’s outstanding report, means that no follow-up inspection is required.

The principal, David Radcliffe, was delighted with the report: “It’s great to see the hard work and dedication of all the staff recognised.

“We know we have an excellent school but now its official,” he said.

The inspection focused on the children’s achievements and standards in literacy and numeracy; including how the school is addressing low attainment and underachievement where applicable, the quality of provision for learning in the school including the nursery unit, and the learning support centres and the quality of leadership and management.

The report said that the parents indicated very high levels of satisfaction with all aspects of the life and work of the school.

In particular, the parents highlighted their appreciation of the caring ethos in the school, the very good support provided to help their children progress and achieve success, the wide range of extracurricular experiences provided and the hard work and commitment of the leadership and all of the staff.

It stated: ‘The quality of the arrangements for pastoral care in the school, learning support centres and the nursery unit is outstanding’, it went on ‘The culture of care and mutual respect is linked to high expectations and is helping the children and their families to overcome a range of potential barriers to learning and to achieve success. The children are developing well their leadership skills and contribute to improvements in their school experience through the well organised school’s council. The children’s personal development is enhanced further through the wide range of trips, visits and extra-curricular activities.’

The inspectorate team praised the teachers for their dedication, conscientious planning, skilful questioning and use of ICT, stating the extent to which the children make progress in developing their confidence, self-esteem, social skills and behaviours in conjunction with the development of their literacy and numeracy.

Mr Radcliffe was delighted that the inspectors noted the school’s performance at key stage 2, ‘The school’s performance data shows that almost all of the children in Key Stage 2, including those who require additional support with aspects of their learning, make progress in English and Mathematics in line with their ability or above expectation.’

The inspectorate also praised the schoolfor the effective use of interactive whiteboards and tablet technology to stimulate the children’s interest and build the children’s confidence in their learning in both numeracy and literacy.

The report noted that throughout the school and the nurseryunit, the classroom assistants provide valuable support and contribute very effectively to the educational provision and support for the children.