WHAT IS SCHOOL SELF-EVALUATION?

SSE is a collaborative, reflective, inclusive process of internal school review. During SSE, the principal, deputy principal and teachers, under the direction of the board of management and the patron, and in consultation with the parents and pupils, engage in reflective enquiry on the work of the school. School self-evaluation is primarily about school improvement and development.

School self-evaluation enables schools:

• To take the initiative in improving the quality of education that they provide for their pupils.
• To affirm and build on what is working well.
• To identify areas in need of development and to decide on actions that should be taken to bring about improvements in those areas.
• To report to the school community about the strengths in the work of the school and its priorities for improvement and development.

 WHY IS SCHOOL SELF-EVALUATION IMPORTANT? 

Teachers frequently reflect on their work and the learning that their students achieve. For many years, teachers and school boards of management have used the school development planning process to identify what is working well in their schools and what might be improved.

School self-evaluation is a way in which this process of reflection, improvement and development can take place in a more systematic way. Teachers in Ireland and in many other countries have shown that by reflecting on their practice regularly, they can improve the learning achieved by their pupils. This happens when the main focus of school self-evaluation is on what happens in classrooms.

All schools are required to engage in systematic school self-evaluation from the 2012/13 school year onwards. The introduction of systematic school self-evaluation complements the implementation of the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategy.

THE SCHOOL SELF-EVALUATION PROCESS

School self-evaluation (SSE) is a collaborative, reflective process of internal school review.  During school self-evaluation the principal, deputy principal and teachers, under the direction of the board of management and the patron, and in consultation with parents and pupils, engage in reflective enquiry on the work of the school. The process requires schools to gather evidence about teaching and learning practices, to analyse the evidence and to reflect on the findings in order to reach conclusions and to make judgements about their strengths and weaknesses.

The school self-evaluation process and the school improvement plan must be informed by assessment information, including information about literacy and numeracy, and other forms of evidence, such as the views of pupils and their engagement in learning and in school life. The school will record its own judgement about its performance and the quality of its work, in the form of a concise school self-evaluation report. A summary of this report should be made available to the whole-school community.

As a result of the school self-evaluation process each school should produce a short school improvement plan. The plan shall contain specific and measurable targets to improve outcomes for learners. It should act as a guide for improving teaching and learning activities in the school. Schools shall make a summary of the school improvement plan available to the whole-school community.

PURPOSE OF SCHOOL SELF-EVALUATION

The central purpose of school self-evaluation is to improve the overall quality of education in the school and in particular to improve learning outcomes for pupils. In order to achieve this, school self-evaluation should become an integral part of whole-school and classroom practice and should focus on teaching and learning.

School self-evaluation will help to support teachers to improve the quality of teaching and learning in all aspects of the curriculum. Schools are asked to focus on the quality of teaching and learning in literacy and numeracy and, over time, in other curriculum areas. When strengths and areas for development have been identified, targets to improve outcomes for pupils should be set. This will assist schools in devising a three-year school improvement plan. The plan will support and guide teachers as they implement improvements in each curriculum area.

SCHOOL SELF-EVALUATION: THE FIRST CYCLE, 2012-2016

From 2012/13, schools are required to engage in school self-evaluation. A whole-school approach to the self-evaluation of teaching and learning, including literacy and numeracy, should be adopted.

Generally schools should engage in school self-evaluation of teaching and learning in one curriculum area each year. However, it is acknowledged that the process may take more time in the early stages.

Over a four-year period from 2012 all primary schools should engage in school self-evaluation and produce three-year improvement plans for numeracy (mathematics), literacy (Gaeilge/English) and one curriculum area.

Irish medium schools should engage in self-evaluation of literacy in Irish, literacy in English and numeracy over the first four-year period.

In the school year 2012/13, schools should start the process of self-evaluation. They should select either literacy or numeracy as the area of focus for school self-evaluation.

The school should adopt a whole-school approach to improving the area selected for self-evaluation.

Each year, the teaching staff:

• Engages in self-evaluation of teaching, learning and attainment in the selected area (literacy, numeracy, other curriculum area)
• Completes a self-evaluation report that identifies strengths and areas for development in the area selected
• Devises a three-year school improvement plan for the selected area, which becomes part of the overall school plan
• Begins to implement the strategies outlined in the school improvement plan
• Monitors the implementation of the school improvement plan completed in the previous school year.

 SCHOOL SELF-EVALUATION : GAELSCOIL THAOBH NA COILLE

In the 2012/13 school year , we started on the school self-evaluation process. We choose to focus on Literacy in Irish in Gaelscoil Thaobh na Coille for our school self-evaluation.

We completed a self-evaluation report on literacy in Irish in June 2014 and devised a school improvement plan that was completed in September 2014.

We are presently implementing the school improvement plan for literacy in Irish (school year 2014/2015).

This year 2014/2015 we will focus on Numeracy as the second area of focus for school self-evaluation.

Attached are the following:

School Self Evaluation Report for literacy in Irish – June 2014

FMS Tuairisc Fhéinmheastóireachta – Achomair

School Improvement Plan for literacy in Irish – September 2014

FMS Plean Feabhsúcháin don Ghaeilge – Achomair