/ Providing Inspection Services for
Department of Education
Department for Employment and Learning
Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure
© CROWN COPYRIGHT 2002
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Copies of this report may be obtained from the Inspection Services Branch, Department of Education, Rathgael House, 43 Balloo Road, Bangor, Co Down BT19 7PR. A copy is also available on the DE website: / FOLLOW-UP INSPECTION
OF
BALLYKELLY PRIMARY SCHOOL AND NURSERY UNIT,
LIMAVADY
JUNE 2002
Mr B Campbell
Chair of Board of Governors
Ballykelly Primary School and Nursery Unit
Glenhead Road
Ballykelly
LIMAVADY
Co Londonderry
BT49 9JSJuly 2002
Dear Mr Campbell
FOLLOW-UP INSPECTION OF BALLYKELLY PRIMARY SCHOOL AND NURSERY UNIT, LIMAVADY (201-2298)
The focused inspection (FI) in May 2001 highlighted important strengths including the harmonious ethos of the school, the good quality of most of the teaching, the good behaviour of the children in the school and in the nursery, the good standards in mathematics achieved by the majority of the children and the principal’s general management of the school.
The inspection also identified the need to:
  • promote more consistency across the school in planning and teaching for the range of abilities;
  • ensure that all the children with special educational needs (SEN) make sufficient progress;
  • develop further the children’s mental methods of calculations in mathematics;
  • implement strategies to monitor and evaluate systematically the children’s learning.
In the interval since the last inspection visit, the following action, which affects the work of the school, has taken place:
  • the staff has received in-service training (INSET) in mathematics and planning from the Western Education and Library Board’s (WELB’s) Curriculum Advisory and Support Service (CASS);
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  • the staff has reviewed and developed the approach to planning to provide a sharper focus on the learning outcomes of the children;
  • the school has improved resources for the nursery;
  • the staff has completed successfully New Opportunities Fund (NOF) information and communications technology (ICT) training.
The Education and Training Inspectorate carried out a followup inspection on the 7June2002.
The following are the most important improvements since the FI:
  • the staff has developed appropriate planners to guide their teaching and to demonstrate in their work a sharper focus on learning outcomes;
  • the staff is confident in planning for, and using, ICT in the classroom;
  • the staff has benefited from the INSET provided by the WELB;
  • mental mathematics is appropriately promoted throughout the school;
  • the SEN co-ordinator has developed the provision, notably the use of individual education plans, Reading Recovery records and reading profiles to assist and secure the further progress of all children with SEN;
  • the principal has introduced effective strategies, including classroom visits, to monitor and evaluate the quality of teaching and learning.
The school has made good progress in addressing the issues for action. The parents and the broader community can have confidence in the school’s commitment to improvement and the effectiveness of its actions in response to the findings of the FI.
Yours sincerely
M J MATCHETT (MISS)ccMr K McCaughey
Chief InspectorPrincipal