Lisneal report critical

The inspection report published by the Department of Education concludes that in the majority of the areas inspected, the quality of education provided by Lisneal College is inadequate, though it also highlights a number of strengths in some areas.

But the report states: "The areas for improvement outweigh the strengths in the provision. The inspection has identified significant areas for improvement in standards, learning and teaching and leadership and management which need to be addressed urgently if the school is to meet effectively the needs of all of the learners.

"The Education and Training Inspectorate will monitor and report on the school's progress in addressing the areas for improvement. A follow-up inspection will be carried out within 12 to 18 months after the inspection."

Equally, the report notes that the majority of teaching staff who responded to a confidential questionaire to inform the inspectorate raised concerns relating to aspects of leadership and management and communication within the school.

Elsewhere, the report says that a small number of pupils expressed concerns about what they regarded as poor behaviour by some pupils in the playground areas during the lunchtime period.

Across all areas the quality of teaching observed ranged from very good to inadequate.

There are positives in the report. The quality of Mathematics provision was found to be "good."

The school also scored well on pastoral care, child protection, healthy eating and careers advice and the good work of the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator was highlighted.

Nevertheless the newly published report is highly critical when it comes to leadership and management.

It states: "While suitable processes for monitoring and evaluating have been introduced and linked appropriately to the delivery of a programme of school-based in-service training to support the implementation of the Northern Ireland Curriculum, these processes have not been adopted sufficiently or applied consistently across all departments. There is insufficient accountability by leaders and managers at all levels."

No one at Lisneal College was available for comment when contacted by The Sentinel.