Written answers

Thursday, 15 December 2005

Department of Education and Science

School Inspection Reports

5:00 pm

Photo of Seymour CrawfordSeymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 13: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if her Department will mandate all second level schools to produce an annual school report including information on a wide range of topics including exam results; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39566/05]

Photo of Mary HanafinMary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

There is no requirement for second level schools to produce an annual report. However, the Education Act 1998 requires the board of management of a school to establish procedures for informing the parents of students in the school of matters relating to the operation and performance of the school. Such procedures may include the publication of a report on the operation and performance of the school in any school year. The methods by which such information is provided remains a matter for the board of management.

I understand that it is common practice in many schools that an annual report is prepared for the final meeting of the board of management each year. This normally makes reference to how successfully policies were implemented during the year, highlights particular achievements and states priorities for the next school year. Some schools may send a synopsis of this report to parents.

There is also a growing trend whereby principals give a report on the activities of the school in the previous school year, as well as indicating planned activities for the coming school year, to the AGM of the parents' association at the beginning of a new school year. Of course, many schools send a newsletter to parents at intervals during the year or at the end of the school year. In my address to this year's annual conference of the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals I also spoke of the value of schools sharing the outcomes of their ongoing self review processes with parents and encouraged more to do so.

I am determined to provide more information, for parents in particular, about our schools in a way that ensures a fair and comprehensive picture of all the different activities in a school. As I have said on many occasions, I am strongly opposed to the publication of crude league tables based solely on examination or test results. Such tables provide an unbalanced and grossly limited indication of a school's performance.

In contrast to school league tables, I believe that school inspection reports from whole school evaluations, WSE, and other inspections, when read in their entirety, can provide balanced and well informed information on schools. The whole school evaluation process involves an examination of all the varied activities of a school — from the quality of teaching and learning to the availability of extra-curricular activities and the implementation of policies in areas such as bullying and health and safety. The inspection process also includes consultation with the school's board, parents and staff members, and, at second level, with the school's students.

Given the breadth of the contents of WSE reports, I believe that the publication of these and other school inspection reports could go a significant way to addressing the real needs of parents, students, teachers and others for better information on schools. The type of information provided in WSE reports will help parents who need accurate and balanced information.

I have already declared my determination to progress this matter in a sensible and responsible way. I intend to publish guidelines in this regard in January 2006 and to arrange that the inspections following the publication of the guidelines will be conducted on the basis that the resulting reports will be published. I am confident that the considered and responsible approach that I am taking to the publication of inspection reports will lead to much greater availability of information on schools without inadvertently pitting schools serving entirely different communities against each other in crude comparisons of academic performance alone. Whether intended or not, academic league tables would be a likely consequence of publishing exam results in an annual report for each school.

Photo of Pat RabbittePat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 14: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the nature of the information with regard to individual schools that will be made available to parents in 2006; the timeframe for same; the number of schools which will be included in 2006; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39674/05]

Photo of Mary HanafinMary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

During the summer, I announced that my Department would publish school inspection reports arising from the general programme of school inspections. Under this programme, a selected number of schools is inspected on a cyclical basis. The reports include whole school evaluation reports arising from the inspection of primary and post-primary schools and centres for education and subject inspection reports arising from the inspection of the teaching of individual subjects in post-primary schools and centres for education. In addition, the inspectorate produces reports arising from thematic and programme evaluations carried out by the inspectorate from time to time.

All of these inspections evaluate, as appropriate, the work of the school as a whole or the work of the school in delivering an area of the curriculum. The reports describe aspects such as the contributions of school management and school planning, as well as the quality of learning and teaching and learning outcomes. The findings of the evaluations presented in each report take cognisance of the context in which the school or subject team or subject teacher or teachers in the school is operating.

All of the above reports arising from the general inspection programme for schools and centres for education will be published in their entirety and in accordance with the principles and procedures described in "Guidelines on the Publication of School Inspection Reports". A draft of this document was circulated to the education partners for comment and the inspectorate is currently finalising the guidelines in the light of the written comments received from the education partners. I intend to publish the finalised guidelines in January 2006 and to arrange that inspections following the publication of the guidelines will be conducted on the basis that the resulting reports will be published.

The new procedures will provide the school with a right of response to the reports and it is intended that both the inspection report and the school response, where this is provided by the school's board of management, will be published simultaneously. Boards of management and teachers also have the right to seek a review of an inspection, so the timeframe must allow for the possibility of review as well as time for the school to prepare a response.

The planning of whole school evaluations and the other inspections to which I have referred, for the year 2006, is not yet completed and the numbers of inspections may vary depending on the other types of work that inspectors have to carry out. However, I understand that the numbers of inspections that will lead to published reports in 2006 is expected to be broadly similar to this year. Between whole school evaluations, subject inspections and thematic evaluations, it is expected that around 900 inspection reports will be issued.

Comments

No comments

Log in or join to post a public comment.