Martin Ferris (Kerry North, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 202: To ask the Minister for Education and Science her views on school evaluation reports and school league tables; and her future proposals. [34153/06]

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

As the Deputy will be aware, I have taken action, through the initiative to publish school inspection reports, to provide more information, for parents in particular, about our schools, in a way that I believe ensures a fair and comprehensive picture of all the different activities in a school. 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. Schools, of course, also have an important responsibility in relation to effective communication and provision of information for parents.

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. WSE reports can provide valuable information on the educational and social opportunities provided by a school. The evaluations are sensitive to the contexts in which schools operate in a way which is not possible with league tables.

I have said on many occasions that 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 and can lead to ghettoising of schools in disadvantaged areas, penalising schools that have inclusive enrolment policies and encouraging an even greater emphasis on exams at the expense of other valuable school activities that contribute significantly in the holistic development of our young people.

Given the breadth of the contents of WSE reports, I believe that the publication of these and other school inspection reports goes a significant way to addressing the real needs of parents, students, teachers and others for better information on schools.

I am committed to promoting the provision of balanced information on schools to parents and I applaud the good practice in schools of providing comprehensive newsletters and reports for parents. I have seen many excellent examples of these and would strongly encourage all schools to do as much as they can to inform parents about their activities.