Curriculum Implementation Evaluation:
Social, Personal and Health Education 2007
The Inspectorate of the Department of Education and Science
undertook an evaluation of the teaching and learning in Social, Personal and
Health Education (SPHE) and English in a sample of schools nationally.
This evaluation is the third in a series of thematic
evaluations of aspects of the primary curriculum and is part of an ongoing
review of curriculum implementation in primary schools. The purpose of this
evaluation is to provide information on the extent of curriculum implementation
in SPHE and English. The evaluation focuses on the teaching and learning in
SPHE and English and on the quality of pupils’ achievement. This evaluation
identifies and affirms good practice, and makes recommendations for teaching
and the enhancement of pupils’ learning experiences and levels of achievement.
Two inspectors were involved in the evaluation in Screen National School. The evaluation involved the observation of teaching and learning in
different class settings, a review of planning and policy documents, and an
evaluation of the progress of pupils, including those receiving supplementary
teaching in English. A school questionnaire was administered and interviews
with the principal and class teachers were conducted. Pupils in senior classes
and parents were invited to complete questionnaires with respect to issues
related to SPHE. The board of management of the school was given an
opportunity to comment in writing on the findings and recommendations of the
report, and the response of the board will be found in the appendix of this
report.
Screen National School is located in the parish
of Castlebridge, ten kilometres north-east of Wexford town. It caters for the
educational needs of boys and girls from junior infants to sixth class. There
are currently 119 pupils enrolled, with the majority of pupils being drawn from
the Screen area. A steady increase in pupil enrolment is in evidence in recent
years. While Screen is a rural area, the pupils’ parents have a variety of
occupational backgrounds. Pupil attendance levels are excellent. The board of
management, parents’ council and parents generally are supportive of the work
of the school. The chairperson of the board of management is a regular visitor
to the school and he displays a positive interest in its ongoing development. The
parents’ council is praised for the breadth of activities engaged in to support
the work of the school. Regular and productive communication is reported
between the principal and the officers and members of the parents’ council.
The teaching staff consists of a
teaching principal, four mainstream class teachers, a full-time learning-
support teacher and two part-time resource teachers for pupils with special
educational needs (SEN). The principal provides very effective leadership in
the school. She is ably assisted in fulfilling her role by the members of the
in-school management team. She possesses a clear vision for the work of the
school and with her colleagues is responsive to the strengths and needs of its pupils.
The principal and teaching staff are successful in creating a positive and
productive learning environment. They are commended for the collaborative
approach adopted in identifying and addressing school priorities. In
particular, their ongoing commitment to the review and development of teaching
and learning practices is highly lauded. Members of the teaching staff
regularly participate in a variety of continuing professional development
opportunities. The learning gained from such participation is purposefully
shared at a whole-school level for the benefit of pupils’ learning.
The school consists of four
permanent mainstream classrooms with the fifth mainstream classroom being
located in temporary, pre-fabricated accommodation. Supplementary teaching for
pupils with SEN is provided in temporary, pre-fabricated accommodation. The
school also has access to a medium-sized general-purposes’ room, a small staff
room and a secretary’s office. The school building and grounds are maintained
to an exemplary standard, with improvement works being regularly engaged in. The
cultivation of pupils’ interest in and care for their environment, including
the development of the school garden, is praiseworthy. An application to the
Department of Education and Science for increased accommodation is presently
being considered, to include the improvement of the school’s set-down
facilities.
The school is well equipped with resources and materials to support
teaching and learning in SPHE and they are utilised effectively by most
teachers at individual classroom level. A range of SPHE-related programmes has
been acquired, including Walk Tall, Stay Safe, Be Safe, Relationships
and Sexuality Education and Socially Speaking, as well as the Prim-Ed
health and anti-bullying programmes. These are supplemented
by a variety of appropriate posters, videos and DVDs. The teaching staff is
commended for its critiquing of newly-available materials to assess their
usefulness and suitability for use in the school. The purposeful employment of
teacher-generated materials is lauded, as is the utilisation of
judiciously-chosen online resources by some teachers. Learning opportunities
in SPHE are also provided through the formation of productive links with people
and organisations from the local community and their engagement to work
directly with pupils in the school.
A range of resources is available to each staff member to
support the teaching of each strand of the English curriculum. The expressive
and receptive oral language competences of the pupils are developed and
enhanced through the use of both commercially-produced support material and teacher-designed
materials such as pictures and charts. In reading, graded class reading schemes
are used from the infant class to sixth class. In addition there is a plentiful
supply of suitable reading material available to the pupils in the class libraries
and in the school library and these books are widely and regularly accessed by
the pupils for personal reading purposes. All reading material is gender
proofed and is selected on the basis that it does not promote gender
stereotyping. Particular emphasis is placed on the development of phonics
skills among the pupils and among the resources available to the pupils and
staff is a variety of books on the development of phonological awareness and
sound linkage. Each class contains an in-class computer and one classroom also
has the use of an interactive whiteboard. In general, information and
communication technology (ICT) is actively used during teaching and learning
situations and ICT is productively used both in the presentation of writing output
and during engagement in writing process activities. Further training in the
development of ICT skills should ensure an even wider application of technology
in the delivery of the writing programme.
3. Quality of whole school planning in
SPHE and English
3.1 Whole-school planning
A detailed whole-school plan to guide teaching and learning
in SPHE has been collaboratively devised by the teaching staff and has been
subject to regular review. The plan is strongly reflective of the principles
of the SPHE curriculum and clearly outlines the range of contexts through which
pupils’ learning is to be promoted. It places a praiseworthy emphasis on
facilitating their capacity to transfer learning to other experiences and
contexts. The range of active-learning approaches to be employed in teaching
SPHE is detailed and was positively in evidence during the evaluation process.
As stated in the whole-school plan, it is intended that the SPHE programme be
implemented over a two-year cycle. In order to ensure continuity and
progression from class to class in the context of a growing school, it is
recommended that the specific learning objectives and content to be addressed
at each class level be collaboratively reviewed, agreed and formally recorded.
An accompanying policy to support the implementation of relationships and
sexuality education (RSE) has been collaboratively devised by management,
parents and teachers. As significant time has elapsed since the original
policy was devised, it is recommended that a committee representative of the
education partners be re-established to review the policy and that positive
consideration be given to the full implementation of the more-sensitive aspects
of RSE on a school-wide basis.
An extensive range of organisational policies has been
devised to support the implementation of the SPHE curriculum. They include policies
on enrolment, behaviour and anti-bullying, substance use, equality of
opportunity, healthy eating, critical incidents, health and safety and supervision.
It is advised that the enrolment policy be reviewed and updated to reflect the
changing circumstances of the school and to ensure its full compliance with
relevant legislation. Evidence was provided to confirm that the board of
management and staff have taken appropriate steps to develop policies in line
with the provisions in Children First: National Guidelines for the
Protection and Welfare of Children (Department of Health and Children,
1999, updated issue May 2004) and Child Protection Guidelines for Primary
Schools (Department of Education and Science, April 2001). Evidence was
also provided to confirm that the board of management has adopted and
implemented the policies. A designated liaison person has been appointed in
line with the requirements of the Departmental guidelines.
A comprehensive school plan for the implementation of the
English curriculum has been developed. The plan was developed in a
collaborative manner involving staff, parents and the board of management. The
plan has been formally ratified by the board and has been regularly reviewed by
the staff. A further review is taking place during the current school year to
take cognisance of the changing context of the school as the school has grown
both in terms of enrolment and staffing since the original plan was devised. The
plan sets out broad objectives for the delivery of the reading, writing and
oral language programmes and these objectives are then used to inform the
specific content of the English programme at each class grouping level. A range
of methodologies is listed to ensure that all content is taught in a manner
that ensures pupil engagement to a high level. The staff has actively engaged
with School Development Planning Support Primary (SDPS) in relation to the
development of the English curriculum in the school and in the current year the
further development of literacy skills among the pupils has been the focus of
the school’s development planning. Reviews of existing practices are taking
place and areas of the English curriculum have been prioritised for development
over a number of years.
3.2 Individual-teacher planning
Each mainstream class teacher prepares long-term and
short-term plans to guide their work in SPHE and English. In the main such
plans are strongly linked to both the primary curriculum and to the whole-school
plan. They confirm the breadth and balance of the programmes of learning being
implemented and outline the content to be addressed and the learning outcomes
to be achieved by pupils. In many settings due cognisance is also afforded to
the teaching methodologies and resources to be employed, the strategies to be
used to respond to the differing needs of individual pupils and the means by
which achievement is to be assessed. The teachers who provide supplementary
teaching in English also provide detailed programmes of work. They are devised
in response to a comprehensive assessment of individual pupils’ strengths and
needs. They are praised for the precision of the learning objectives
established and the clarity of the programmes of action to be implemented.
Detailed monthly records of the progress of learning generally are provided by
each teacher, with such records being appropriately reviewed and maintained by
the principal.
In Screen National School pupils experience learning in a
positive school climate, in which a commitment to doing one’s best and having
pride in one’s self and one’s school is actively fostered. The teaching and
ancillary staff displays a school-wide commitment to the implementation of the
principles of the SPHE curriculum. Caring, considerate and respectful
relationships are strongly in evidence between teachers and pupils, and pupils
and their peers. The pupils are highly praised for their behaviour and for the
significant role they play in the collaborative development and implementation
of school and classroom rules. The use of praise and acknowledgement and
appropriate reward systems by teachers effectively serves to reinforce positive
behaviour. The pupils display noteworthy levels of self-awareness and
self-confidence and the teachers are lauded for their awareness of the
individuality of their pupils and their exploitation of opportunities to
promote their self-esteem. The pupils eagerly engage in the broad range of
learning activities provided for them and an enthusiasm for collaborative and
independent learning is productively cultivated. Opportunities to acknowledge
and celebrate the breadth of individual and shared pupil achievements are
regularly availed of.
Formal lessons in SPHE are very well structured and
implemented in the main, taking due cognisance of the importance of continuity
and progression in pupils’ learning. The issues addressed at individual
classroom level are judiciously chosen and are of significant interest to
pupils and important to their development. The teaching staff is highly
praised for its capacity to structure learning in SPHE in order that the pupils
may relate their learning to real-life events and direct experiences. In most
class contexts pupils display a well-developed capacity to articulately express
their views and engage with the differing perspectives of others. In some
settings, it would be helpful to afford additional attention to the further
development of listener/speaker relationships. In implementing SPHE lessons,
most teachers draw from a wide range of active-learning methodologies with pupils
enjoying and gaining significant benefit from opportunities to work
co-operatively and collaboratively. An SPHE-rich environment has been
developed in many classrooms and is worthy of extension to all classroom
settings. In general the learning activities provided for pupils are both
interesting and challenging. Positive progress in their learning is in
evidence and they demonstrate an evolving repertoire of age-appropriate values,
attitudes and skills.
Screen National School
is deserving of particular praise in its efforts to encourage pupils’ physical
well-being through the promotion of healthy-eating practices and the
encouragement of engagement in regular physical activity. A balanced
approached to involvement in competitive team games is cultivated and pupils are
encouraged to participate in a wide range of sporting activities including
local clubs. The school is highly lauded for the range of opportunities
provided for pupils to take responsibility and to become involved in the
decision-making life of their school, such as the Green Schools’
committee, the Discover Science committee, the library committee and the
garden club. Ongoing involvement in a range of national and international
learning projects is also a feature of provision, such as the Fís film project and
an e-twinning initiative with a primary school in France. The pupils receive
regular opportunities to represent their school at local and national
competitions in chess, quizzes and the visual arts. Their appreciation of the
circumstances and needs of others are promoted through initiatives such as
their links to the Special Olympics and their annual participation in
the Christmas Shoebox Appeal. Pupils are facilitated to develop their
awareness of and commitment to environmental awareness and care issues through
their direct involvement in a broad range of school-based recycling initiatives
and their participation in Wexford Wildfowl Reserve and Coast Watch
Ireland projects.
A positive learning atmosphere is in evidence in each
classroom and all staff members constantly affirm pupils during pupil-teacher
interactions. Each classroom is organised to provide a stimulating learning
environment for the pupils and most classrooms contain an array of pupils’
written work in English which is attractively displayed. Displays included
emergent writing outputs, stories, poems, anthologies, letters and records of
interviews.
An awareness of the centrality of oral language in all
lesson activities is a feature of the programme and this provision is
supplemented by participation in discrete oral language lessons in all classes.
Oral language activities incorporate a wide range of strategies and provide
pupils with ample opportunities to use language creatively. Among the
strategies used are word games, story, poetry, drama and activities using information
and communication technology. Talk, discussion and debate form an integral part
of every lesson also especially in the middle and senior classes. While the
learning of poems and rhymes is successfully engaged in most classes further
development of this activity could be engaged in on a school-wide level.
Overall the sequential programme and the wide range of activities provided for
the pupils in oral language have enabled pupils to attain the objectives set
out in the school plan. Pupils display fluency, explicitness and confidence in
communication. They have also developed the capacity to express feelings,
impressions, ideas and reactions in response to real and imaginary situations
while always gaining fulfilment and pleasure from language activity.
Each classroom environment supports the development of the reading
process. Pupils enjoy access to print-rich environments and a wide variety of
books is available to pupils both in class libraries and in the school library.
Graded reading schemes are in use while class novels are also used effectively
to enrich pupils’ reading experiences. The range of methodologies used to
develop pupils’ reading skills is extensive. Effective modelling of reading
takes place in the infant and junior section of the school while in the middle
and senior classes further development takes place through participation in
book reviews and discussion on character and plot development. Staff members
are praised for some of the initiatives they have introduced to further promote
an awareness of the importance of reading among the pupils. The Buddy
Reading Programme has taken place during the past and current school
year and has proved to be successful in encouraging the whole school to read
regularly. An evaluation was carried by staff and pupils and the overall
response to the programme has proved very encouraging. The Uninterrupted, Sustained,
Silent Reading programme (USSR) has also been used to effect and
takes place daily in each classroom. The quality of teaching and learning in
reading is further enhanced by the participation of the pupils in a structured
phonics programme and by the provision of opportunities for pupils to
conference, to engage in prediction assignments and through the development of pupil
understanding of strategies such as skimming and scanning.
A very detailed plan for the development of writing has been
devised and makes specific reference to the writing activities and the range of
genres to be undertaken at each class level. A handwriting policy has also been
formulated and is being actively implemented. The style of handwriting adopted
in the school is based on a progression from script to cursive with pupils
being introduced to cursive writing during second class. The systematic
implementation of the policy has been most successful and the quality of the
presentation of pupils’ work, both in copybooks and for public display, is
praised. The engagement of pupils in most classes in a wide range of writing
activities is commended. Activities observed included drawing and scribbling in
the infant section, writing in different genres and for different audiences
including the production of a class newsletter and the display of collections
of pupils’ writing. Pupils also productively engage in writing process
activities. The manner in which ICT is used in the production of some of this
work is commendable. The participation of the pupils in the Write-a-Book
competition and participation by the school in the Writers-in-Schools
programme have also been significant factors in developing pupils’ awareness of
the importance of developing a personal style of writing.
Mainstream class work in English is most competently
supported by the special education needs team which consists of one full-time
learning-support teacher, two part-time resource teachers and a special needs
assistant. A whole-school plan for learning support and resource support has
been developed and provides practical guidance for teachers and parents in
relation to the provision of effective learning support to pupils experiencing
low achievement or learning difficulties. A special needs assistant policy has
also been drawn and is actively implemented in the school. Support to pupils
with special needs is delivered both on an in-class basis and on a withdrawal
basis. The service is characterised by a high degree of communication between
the support team and the class teachers and the service is extremely well
organised and co-ordinated. Individual education plans (IEPs) and individual
profile and learning programmes (IPLPs) are developed in all settings.
Pupils’ progress in SPHE is monitored using a range of
assessment modes including teacher observation, pupils’ completion of
commercially and teacher-designed tasks, the compilation of portfolios and
engagement in project-based and display-oriented activity. Interaction with
individual class teachers during the course of the evaluation confirms their
keen understanding of individual pupils’ strengths and needs. The variety of assessment
approaches currently in use could therefore be usefully complemented by the
formal recording of relevant and significant observations regarding individual
pupils’ personal and social development. Assessment information is
appropriately exchanged between teachers and purposefully used to inform the
planning and implementation of future learning experiences in SPHE.
Information on pupil progress is also regularly shared with parents through
formal and informal parent-teacher meetings and the issuing of written school
communications and reports.
Standardised tests in English administered to pupils include
the Middle Infant Screening Test (MIST) which is administered to pupils
in senior infants and the Drumcondra Primary Reading Test and the Drumcondra
Primary Spelling Test both of which are administered to all pupils from
first class up to sixth class. In addition teacher observation, portfolios of
pupils’ work and teacher-designed tests are used on an ongoing basis to
supplement the assessment programme in English. The results of these tests are
used for screening purposes and to identify pupils who are in need of further
diagnostic testing. A range of tests, including the Neale Analysis of
Reading Ability and the Aston Index, is used in this process. An
analysis of attainment test results, including a gender-based analysis, takes
place on a school-wide basis and the results of this analysis inform the
delivery of aspects of the English programme in the school. The quality of the
assessment programme in English is praised. It is thorough and diverse and it
maintains a good balance between summative and formative assessment.
Screen National School is characterised by a
strong sense of community and a commendable learning atmosphere. The school is
ably led by a highly-professional principal and a supportive in-school
management team. The teaching staff is praised for the quality of the teaching
and learning provided and its commitment to the ongoing development of school
practices for the benefit of pupils’ learning. The support of the board of
management, the parents’ council and parents generally is also positively acknowledged.
The pupils in this school are provided with a breadth of learning experiences.
They are lauded for their enthusiastic engagement in the range of activities
provided for them and for the positive progress in learning that they
demonstrate.
A number of themes for future
development are identified and these include:
§
The learning
objectives and associated content to be addressed at each class level across
the two-year implementation of the SPHE programme should be collaboratively
reviewed, agreed and formally recorded.
§
A committee
representative of the education partners should be re-established to review the
relationships and sexuality education policy with a view to ensuring the
school-wide implementation of the more-sensitive aspects of the programme.
§
The
further school-wide development of existing good practice in writing in English
is advised.
The Inspectorate of the Department of Education and Science
wishes to acknowledge the contributions made by the principal, teachers, pupils
and the entire school community during the course of the evaluation. It is
hoped that this report will assist the school in reviewing practice at school
level and in identifying priorities for future development.
Appendix
Submitted by the Board of Management
Area 1
Observations on the content of the inspection report
The Board of Management welcomes the Inspection report as it
affirms the positive work and success achieved by the staff, children, parents
and entire school community of Screen NS. The Board is extremely pleased with
the complimentary tone which runs throughout this report. We are particularly
pleased that the report affirms the professionalism, commitment and dedication
of our entire school staff, both teaching and ancillary. We are very happy
that the warm, caring and child friendly atmosphere in the school was
acknowledged; in which all children including those with special needs are
catered for and that the confident and articulate pupils in all classes were
complimented. We welcome the findings relating to the high standard of
maintenance and cleanliness inside and outside our school. All the above
requires enormous effort on behalf of all partners in our school community and
we will all use this positive report to further develop our school. The
process was a positive, formative and valuable experience on which we intend to
build on our strengths.
Area 2
Follow-up actions planned or undertaken since the completion of the inspection
activity to implement the findings and recommendations of the inspection.
Both the Board of Management and the teaching staff of Screen NS have discussed the report and its recommendations.
- In relation to the Relationships and Sexuality aspect
of the SPHE programme the Board have initiated steps towards the
re-establishment of a committee to review our policy by providing 2
evening talks for parents and staff; one on the Walk Tall programme and
the 2nd from the RSE support service. It is hoped that in
light of these information evenings a committee will be formed to review
our current policy.
- In relation to English writing, the teaching staff of Screen NS review all aspects of the English curriculum including writing in a cyclical
programme and will endeavour to continue to share best practice in order
to achieve the best possible learning outcomes and experiences for the
pupils of Screen NS.
- Through active fundraising by the Parents’ Association
the school has heavily invested in ICT resources for the benefit of its
pupils. The training of staff has taken place alongside this investment
and the Board of Management would welcome further support or initiatives
from the Department of Education and Science in relation to ICT.
Published
June 2008
