An Roinn Oideachais agus Eolaíochta
Department of Education and Science
Subject Inspection of Physical Education
REPORT
Saint Fachtna’s De La Salle College
Skibbereen, County Cork
Roll number: 62480Q
Date of inspection: 13 March 2006
Date of issue of report: 22 June 2006
Report on the Quality of Learning and Teaching in Physical Education
Subject Provision and Whole School Support
Summary of Main Findings and Recommendations
This Subject Inspection report
This report has been written following a subject inspection in Saint Fachtna’s De La Salle College, Skibbereen, County Cork. It presents the findings of an evaluation of the quality of teaching and learning in Physical Education and makes recommendations for the further development of the teaching of this subject in the school. The evaluation was conducted over one day during which the inspector visited classrooms and observed teaching and learning. The inspector interacted with students and teachers and had discussions with the teachers. The inspector also reviewed teachers’ written preparation. Following the evaluation visit, the inspector provided oral feedback on the outcomes of the evaluation to the principal and Physical Education teacher. The board of management of the school was given an opportunity to comment on the findings and recommendations of the report; the board chose to accept the report without response.
Saint Fachtna’s De La Salle College is a single-sex boys’ school with a total enrolment of 287 students and a staff of twenty four teachers, nineteen of whom are employed in a permanent whole-time capacity. A decision was taken in 2001 to amalgamate this school with two other schools in the locality but delays in the purchasing of a suitable site for the new school have meant that the project has not yet come to fruition.
Classes are organised into mixed-ability groups for Physical Education as all classes in each year group are timetabled concurrently for the subject. All students have Physical Education for between seventy and eighty minutes per week and it is recommended that this be increased to two hours per week in line with the recommendations of the Department of Education and Science Rules and Programme for Secondary Schools 2004/05, (Pages 7, 141). The overall delivery of Physical Education should also be addressed. There is one qualified Physical Education teacher on staff and this teacher is assisted in the delivery of the Physical Education programme by a number of other teachers who do not hold Physical Education teaching qualifications. The practice that obtains in the school is that the teachers who do not hold qualifications in Physical Education take groups of students for games, mainly invasion games such as Gaelic football, and the Physical Education teacher concurrently takes other students for a range of activities. This arrangement leads to a Physical Education curriculum that is unnecessarily dominated by games for many students. Though games is an essential component of any Physical Education curriculum, it should be seen as just one component of a balanced curriculum which includes six other core areas, namely adventure activities, athletics, aquatics, dance, gymnastics and health-related activity. As the qualified Physical Education teacher is in a position to deliver all of these key areas it is recommended that all lessons in Physical Education are taken by the qualified Physical Education teacher and that the practice of block-timetabling all classes in each year group concurrently for Physical Education should be discontinued. Recent moves that have taken place in this direction at senior cycle are to be commended.
From a Physical Education perspective the range of activities that can be offered by teachers who do not hold Physical Education teaching qualifications is quite narrow. These teachers, quite rightly, do not attempt to cover any activity with which they are unfamiliar and they supervise and coach activities in which they themselves have some background and expertise. A distinction has to be made, however, between coaching, in which there is a relatively narrow, performance-related emphasis and Physical Education which emphasises the holistic development of each individual student. It is suggested that the qualified Physical Education teacher is best placed to deliver the latter.
Though it is prudent from a health and safety perspective that the teachers who do not hold Physical Education teaching qualifications coach and supervise activities with which they are familiar, there may still be a health and safety risk associated with the timetabling of such personnel to teach a subject such as Physical Education which requires a substantial amount of specialist knowledge. The many years of experience that these people have in various sporting disciplines may help to mitigate any potential risk. However, they may not have the same depth of specialist knowledge and understanding of potential health and safety risks associated with physical activity as a qualified Physical Education professional would be expected to have and therefore they should not be timetabled for lessons in Physical Education.
Notwithstanding the potential health and safety issues raised above, it has to be acknowledged that these teachers are making a valuable contribution to the sporting ethos of this and many other schools, a fact acknowledged by the recent ESRI report “School Children and Sport in Ireland” (2005), and it is essential that this contribution continues to be valued. It is suggested, however, that the most appropriate arena through which these teachers can continue to contribute to the sporting ethos and culture of the school may be in the area of extra-curricular sport. A challenge facing senior management in the school will be to maintain the positive contribution of the non-Physical Education professionals to the culture of physical activity and games in the school, while at the same time affording all students the opportunity to experience Physical Education lessons delivered by a Physical Education professional.
The facilities available to the school for the teaching of Physical Education are good with a grass pitch and hardcourt area on site. It is commendable that the school uses off-site facilities such as the local community sports hall, approximately five minutes walk away, and a swimming pool which is approximately thirty minutes drive away to complement the range of facilities available to students. The use of these facilities is indicative of an interest and commitment to Physical Education on the part of school management as their use is a significant drain on the school’s financial resources.
All teachers involved in the delivery of Physical Education in the school meet at the start and end of each academic year to plan and review the Physical Education curriculum and extra-curricular sport in the school. A reasonable variety of activities is provided, though it is recommended that all students are exposed to a broad curriculum in Physical Education rather than games for reasons mentioned earlier. As such it is recommended that the school participates in the implementation of the revised Junior Cycle Physical Education Syllabus at the earliest practicable opportunity as the school has both the facilities available and the qualified personnel required for its implementation. Involvement in this syllabus can be expected to bring greater breadth and depth to the Physical Education experience of all students at junior cycle as it provides a wealth of ideas and a clear structure to Physical Education at junior cycle. As management is willing to facilitate the Physical Education teacher in availing of any continuing professional development opportunities that arise, it is recommended that the Junior Cycle Physical Education website www.jcpe.ie be consulted to obtain more information about continuing professional development opportunities provided as part of the implementation of this syllabus.
A similar focus on breadth and depth of experience is recommended for senior-cycle Physical Education in the school. A properly-constituted Physical Education curriculum should contribute to the physical, mental, emotional and social development of each student and such a curriculum should not take place at the expense of school sport but rather it should be regarded as having the capacity to enhance and complement the programme of extra-curricular sporting activity taking place in the school.
It is commendable that the school uses the expertise of external coaches to complement the range of activities available to students in Physical Education lessons. In particular, the use of a local rugby coach is proving quite popular with students, especially those who are not interested in Gaelic games. Gaelic football, soccer, basketball, cross-county running and hurling are the main areas of provision of extra-curricular sport, with Gaelic football being the main area of interest with a significant number of teachers and students involved. Such involvement is to be highly commended as it can be very rewarding for both students and teachers alike and can form the foundation for a healthy, active lifestyle for students in later life.
In Transition Year, which is compulsory in the school, it is commendable that a range of alternative activities is provided in keeping with the spirit and ethos of the programme. Among these are table tennis, unihoc, tennis, swimming, a refereeing module and the opportunity for students to participate in a week-long programme of adventure activities in a local outdoor education centre. It is also commendable that students are allowed to organise and run a mini tournament during Transition Year as this type of opportunity can help to develop organisational and leadership skills.
The quality of teaching and learning in the lessons observed was generally good with all students active and involved and clearly enjoying their Physical Education lessons. In some of the lessons observed, however, there was no formal teaching taking place and though teachers did some coaching, their main role was as a supervisor of games which were organised by students. It is recommended that teaching takes place in all Physical Education lessons, thus creating a further imperative to have all lessons taken by the qualified Physical Education teacher as teachers without the appropriate qualifications in Physical Education cannot be expected to teach, as opposed to supervise, a lesson in Physical Education. When external coaches are used to complement the teaching staff for Physical Education lessons, it must be borne in mind that the Physical Education teacher is the professional in overall charge of the lesson and the external coach is there in an assistant capacity to deliver coaching in a particular activity.
Although the lessons being taken by teachers without Physical Education teaching qualifications were well organised and ran smoothly with the co-operation of all students, these teachers have relatively narrow ranges of expertise compared to a qualified Physical Education teacher and the consequence of this is a narrowing of the experiences of students.
In lessons in which Physical Education teaching took place students were thoroughly warmed up at the start of the lesson and the teacher availed of this time to question students regarding the names of muscles being stretched and the reason for doing a warm-up. It is commendable also that students were given an opportunity to lead some of the stretching activities as this level of student involvement can help to increase their sense of ownership of the learning process and can be highly motivational. The teacher outlined the lesson objectives for students at this time and this helped to put the lesson in context with previous learning. This again is good practice as it helps students to see each block of learning as part of a unit and can help the transfer of knowledge and understanding from one lesson to the next. It is also commendable that students who were not participating in the lesson assisted in the setting up and storing of equipment at the start and end of the lesson. However, it is suggested that the interest and involvement of these students needs to be maintained throughout the lesson. This can be done by asking them questions during the lesson or involving them in tasks such as officiating, keeping score during games, commenting on the quality of performance of those participating, etc.
Practices and drills were set up that were appropriate to the developmental age and skill level of students and the teacher was at all times sensitive to modifications that needed to be made to these drills in order to increase student success levels. All available equipment was used appropriately during the lessons although it is suggested that, where a badminton net is being used as an improvised volleyball net, this should be set at the correct height for volleyball in order to make the experience more realistic for students. Practices were set with an increasing level of difficulty and this helped to challenge students and maintain their interest and engagement with the lesson. It is suggested that the introduction of a competitive aspect to these practices may be useful in encouraging and motivating students, especially if conditions are set that give the weaker students an advantage over the more able. There was a good standard of play in evidence in all of the games observed and students demonstrated an ability to apply learning from the development phase of the lesson into the concluding or games phases. The teacher gave clear, concise instruction to students as a group and gave individual attention to students as required. Lessons ended with the teacher recapping on the learning that had taken place and this practice is again commended as it helps to reinforce learning.
All lessons progressed in a smooth, business-like manner and there was a friendly, relaxed atmosphere in evidence, born out of mutual respect between teacher and learner. Where teachers were supervising student activities, there was little correction required from teachers as students behaved responsibly at all times. Some suggestions were made from a health and safety perspective during a game of soccer regarding the potential danger of using the fence as a boundary, especially in a part of the court that was prone to water-logging and the consequent lodging of mud. Similarly some modifications were suggested with regard to the taking of free kicks during a game of indoor soccer where it was suggested that the defending team should retreat to inside the goalkeeper’s semi-circle, thus preventing players from standing too close to the ball as the kick is being taken. These suggestions should be regarded as comparatively minor in the overall context of well-organised activity in which students, especially senior students, showed considerable maturity and a willingness to co-operate fully with their teachers and each other.
The lessons observed and interactions with students indicate that students are achieving to a good level in Physical Education, though there are some concerns about the breadth of activities which many of them are experiencing. Students participated enthusiastically in all lessons. Their willingness to ask questions, and their responses to questions put to them, indicate a good level of engagement.
There is no formal assessment taking place in Physical Education, although regular informal assessment takes place in Physical Education lessons through observation and feedback from the teacher. The subject does not currently form part of written reports sent to parents and it is recommended that, in conjunction with the introduction of a more balanced Physical Education curriculum, this matter be addressed. It is regarded as essential that learning taking place in Physical Education is affirmed and acknowledged and that parents obtain informed feedback on the progress of their child in Physical Education. In this regard it is also recommended that the Physical Education teacher attends all parent-teacher meetings to provide parents with this information and to ensure that the subject is not perceived as being of lesser importance than other subjects.
The following are the main strengths and areas for development identified in the evaluation:
As a means of building on these strengths and to address areas for development, the following key recommendations are made:
Post-evaluation meetings were held with the teachers of Physical Education and with the principal at the conclusion of the evaluation when the draft findings and recommendations of the evaluation were presented and discussed.