Pádraic McCormack (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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Question 39: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the number of whole school evaluations completed at primary level in 2006; the projected number to be completed over the course of 2006; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19860/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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It is planned that 214 whole-school evaluations will be undertaken in primary schools during 2006. 41 whole-school evaluations commenced before 6th February 2006. The reports on these evaluations will be issued to schools but they will not be published as they were initiated prior to the introduction of the regulations on publication of reports. 25 of these WSEs have been fully completed and the reports have been issued or are currently being issued to schools by the Department. It is expected that the remaining evaluations that are not for general publication will be available for issue to schools before the end of the current school term.

Under the new arrangements for publication of WSE reports there is a minimum period of 14 weeks (70 school days) from the date of the final in-school evaluation activity until the WSE report is cleared for issue to schools and for publication. This period includes time for writing the report, for feedback to the board of management and the teachers, for factual verification and to enable the board of management respond to the report if it so wishes.

At present approximately 32 primary WSE reports are with schools for either factual verification or school response. It is not possible to say precisely when these WSE reports will have completed all stages of the pre-publication process as this is the first time that schools are engaging in a written factual verification process and an optional school response process as part of the evaluation procedure. However, I anticipate that a significant proportion of the reports will be finalised for issue to schools and published on the Department's website before the end of June 2006.

It is projected that 173 whole-school evaluation reports will be published arising from evaluations conducted at primary level between 6 February and the end of December 2006. Because of the 14 week pre-publication procedure some reports arising from evaluations conducted towards the end of 2006 will not be published until early in 2007.

Finally I wish to point out to the deputy that there is an appeal process under Section 13(9) of the Education Act (1998) whereby a teacher or board may request a review of an inspection. Where such a review is initiated this will inevitably delay publication of the report.