EDUCATION officials will formally intervene in the running of Blackwater Integrated College in Downpatrick after inspectors warned the quality of education in most areas inspected was “inadequate.”
The move has been confirmed in a report, which was published this week following an inspection carried out in the school in November.
In the report, inspectors raise concerns about the quality of education provided to the school’s 310 children and found the areas for improvement outweighed the strengths in provision.
They warned that the quality of leadership and management within the school was also inadequate as was the provision for special educational needs in mainstream classes and provision of careers advice.
The report also raised concerns about “unsatisfactory” arrangements for safeguarding young people and said management needed to ensure that all staff were vetted.
Inspectors also highlighted the schools “considerable financial deficit” resulting from its formation following the merger of Down Academy and Rowallane Integrated College in September 2008. They said this impacted significantly on the delivery of the curriculum, the support of pupils with additional learning needs and the need to improve unsuitable aspects of the school’s accommodation.
The report included details of the school’s GCSE performance, which shows results considered to be “well below average” with 27.9 per cent of pupils in year 12 obtaining grades C or above in at least five subjects including English and mathematics compared to the NI average in non selective schools of 34.9 per cent. However, a table of results in the document shows that these results have consistently risen from an average of 20 per cent in 2009.
Inspectors founds that pupils who entered for vocational and applied subjects at Key Stage Four attained “good results.”
“The inspection has identified significant areas for improvement in standards, governance, leadership and management, and in self-evaluation for improvement, which needs to be addressed urgently if the organisation is to meet effectively the needs of all of the learners,” the report states.
“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 the budget deficit in order to address the current and future needs of the pupils and the staff.”
Inspectors noted satisfactory curricular provision for pupils and good provision within the Learning Support Centre. They also found that the quality of care and support for pupils was good.
“The emotional and learning needs of the pupils are addressed successfully through a very caring, supportive and inclusive ethos, an effectively implemented positive behaviour strategy and effective contributions from external agencies,” inspectors noted.
“The pupils talk enthusiastically about the welcoming, friendly atmosphere in the school and the approachability of their teachers; they engage actively in their learning.”