Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Question 130: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the process by which he can address the failure of a board of management to implement changes recommended by a whole school evaluation inspector. [19468/11]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Responsibility for the implementation of recommendations arising from inspection reports rests primarily with the board of management and the principal and staff of the school.

Following the in-school evaluation phase of a whole-school evaluation, the evaluation team meets with the board of management, principal and staff of the school to discuss the findings and recommendations of the WSE. A representative of the patron and a nominee of the parents' association are also invited to a post-evaluation meeting. The inspectors from my Department draw the attention of staff and school management to issues that require improvement, including any issues of serious concern if such have been identified. The inspectors also provide practical advice on how improvements can be achieved.

A particularly important feature of the new Whole-School Evaluation — Management, Leadership and Learning (WSE-MLL) model of inspection for post-primary schools is the specific procedure built into that inspection process for following up on whether or not a school has implemented the recommendations of previous subject inspections or programme evaluations.

Prior to the publication of the WSE report on the website of my Department, the board of management of the school has an opportunity to respond to the findings of the evaluation. Many boards use this opportunity to record how the school will seek to improve its work. In the vast majority of cases, the post-evaluation meetings and the written evaluation report are sufficient to ensure that improvement takes place.

In a very small number of cases, the weaknesses identified through external evaluation of the school are so significant that intervention is required to assist the school improvement agenda. In some instances the shortcomings may relate to failure to implement key recommendations arising from previous evaluations.

In response to the need for intervention in these serious cases, the Department established a School Improvement Group (SIG) in 2008 to ensure that improvement happens following inspection. The School Improvement Group comprises members of the Inspectorate and officials from the Department's Schools Division and other relevant divisions. This group coordinates the Department's actions in following up on the recommendations from the inspection.

The experience of the School Improvement Group has shown that where serious weaknesses are identified in schools, interventions and supports need to be tailored to the particular circumstances and context of each case. The starting point in any intervention by the Department is to ensure that the management of the school fully appreciates the need for improvement and change and can take the necessary steps to access any supports that may be needed to bring about improvement. This is normally progressed through an initial meeting with the management and/or patron/trustees and by follow-up contact and meetings where the management report on progress.