Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 28: To ask the Minister for Education and Science when a full whole-school evaluation report will be publicly available for every primary and post-primary school; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26440/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Last month saw a major advance in terms of the transparency of our education system as school inspection reports became available to the public for the first time. The publication of whole-school evaluation reports in particular will ensure that parents and other stakeholders have access to balanced and fair information on the wide range of activities in which schools are involved. WSE reports identify when schools and teachers are working to optimum effect and where improvements are needed. They provide a fair analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of schools in a way that can provide a real indication of school quality. In this way they not only provide valuable information for parents but also help to foster improvement in schools and spread best practice.

The reports do not contain exam results as these would give rise to league tables. Such tables can only provide a narrow and limited measure of the effectiveness of schools. Given the very negative experience with league tables in the UK, I remain puzzled why the Deputy is so eager to follow that bad example in this country. I remain opposed to proposals to judge schools purely on their exam results, thereby ghettoising schools in disadvantaged areas, penalising those with inclusive enrolment policies and encouraging an even greater emphasis on exams at the expense of the other activities in which schools are involved. Nonetheless, I appreciate that parents are eager for more information on our schools. The publication of inspection reports will go some way to meeting that desire.

By last Thursday, 29 June, a total of 154 inspection reports arising from inspections in primary and post-primary schools had been published. These include 36 WSE reports on primary schools, five post-primary WSE reports and 113 subject inspection reports. Each WSE report contains a summary of the main strengths and areas for development identified in the work of the school. In 2006 it is planned to undertake whole-school evaluations in 216 primary schools and 57 post-primary schools. The inspection rate may vary from year to year but, clearly, it will take some time to reach all schools.

However, whole-school evaluations represent just one aspect of the work of the inspectorate of my Department. At post-primary level, for example, in addition to WSE, 428 stand-alone subject inspections will be undertaken in post-primary schools this year. These inspections provide very valuable and focused information on teaching, learning and curriculum provision in an individual subject in a post-primary school. Taking WSE inspections and subject inspections together, it is expected that more than 470 of the 735 post-primary schools in the State will have an external evaluation by the inspectorate this year.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House.

In addition to external evaluation, schools are encouraged to undertake more frequent self-review. The "Looking at our School" guidelines sent to all schools by the Department were developed to aid such self-evaluation. Naturally, interaction with parents is a very important part of the self-evaluation process. Many schools also produce comprehensive newsletters and reports for parents. I have seen many excellent examples of these and strongly encourage all schools to do as much as they can to inform parents about their activities. While the publication of inspection reports means that parents will have access to a much greater level of information than ever before, this is just one of a number of initiatives to improve the quality of our education system and to provide more information for parents. I am committed to further measures to improve the quality of education provided to our children and young people.

Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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The Minister consistently misinterprets the Fine Gael policy. We have not called for league tables, rather greater information. The Minister quoted the UK as an example. In Northern Ireland, information is still published locally, which is what Fine Gael seeks.

Will the Minister get to the point of the question? She has given me a timescale. She will admit there is a clear difference between subject inspections and whole-school evaluations. I am concerned that a school could be evaluated this year as some of them have been. I will not use the word "negative". Parts of the report might show a need for change or improvement. The delay until the school is evaluated again leaves no real incentive for it to change. If it does change, it is impossible for it to get recognition for a considerable period until an evaluation takes place again. I ask the Minister to provide a clear timeframe for the evaluation of the country's 4,021 schools. Once that process is completed, what will be the timeframe for re-evaluation? If it will take 13 years to complete the evaluations, the many changes that will have taken place in the interim will not be addressed by updating the reports but will require a new series of inspections.

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Fine Gael's policy is to publish exam results which, by their nature, give rise to league tables.

Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Locally.

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Irrespective of whether the party advocates local or national league tables, it remains an exclusive and damaging policy.

Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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The Minister is already publishing league tables of college entry exams in the newspapers.

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Recently, I met the UK Secretary of State for Education and Skills and his officials, who outlined the damage done in that country by the publication of results. The Deputy is correct that whole school evaluations are only one element of the evaluation of a school. Evaluations will not be published on each school every year but even parents whose children do not attend schools for which evaluations were published last week learned a lot in terms of questions they could put to their own schools. For example, after learning from the website that a school did not give daily English or maths lessons, parents will ask about the curricula in their children's schools.

We encourage schools to participate in self-reviews, and guidelines, Looking at our Schools, were published to enable schools to examine their own strength and weaknesses with regard to self-evaluations and interactions with parents. Many schools produce comprehensive newsletters and annual reports for parents.

While the staffing of the inspectorate can vary, 105 inspectors are currently employed. The extensive series of reports published by the inspectorate has generally been welcomed. However, it is not possible to indicate when a school will be inspected because that would depend on the number of inspectors employed in three or five years' time.

Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Members of the Committee on Education and Science have discussed with the Minister the issue of boards of management. Will she indicate the role played by whole school evaluations in investigating the operations of boards of management and the small number of cases in which boards cannot be formed? Does the whole school evaluation take account of interaction within boards of management or the potential for parents to make representations to the boards?

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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All elements of the school community are evaluated, including the crucial part played by boards of management. The evaluation also takes account of school policies, which are developed by boards of management in conjunction with principals, parents and students. From time to time, boards of management do not function properly and have to be replaced by a single manager. In such cases, the inspectorate supports the school in restoring the system to normality. The good of the school is always paramount in such cases.