An Roinn Oideachais agus Eolaíochta
Department of Education and Science
Subject Inspection of Guidance
REPORT
St Bricin’s College
Railway Road, Belturbet, County Cavan
Roll number: 70350W
Date of inspection: 12 March 2008
Subject provision and whole school support
Summary of main findings and recommendations
Report on the Quality of Provision in Guidance
Subject inspection report
This report has been written following a subject inspection in St Bricin’s College, Belturbet, County Cavan. It presents the findings of an evaluation of the quality of provision in Guidance and makes recommendations for the further development of Guidance in the school. The evaluation was conducted over one day during which the inspector visited classrooms, viewed guidance facilities, interacted with students, held discussions with the principal, the guidance counsellor and reviewed school planning documentation. Following the evaluation visit, the inspector provided oral feedback on the outcomes of the evaluation to the principal and guidance counsellor. The board of management 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.
Subject provision and whole school support
St Bricin’s College, operating under the auspices of County Cavan Vocational Education Committee (VEC), is the only post-primary school in the town of Belturbet and caters for students from diverse, mainly rural, backgrounds. Students come from the local town and from a catchment area which stretches from Ballyconnell south to Butler’s Bridge. Currently there is an enrolment of 172 students including sixteen newcomer students. Enrolment numbers are expected to grow over the next few years.
The school receives a total ex-quota allocation of eight hours for Guidance from the Department of Education and Science (DES). The guidance counsellor, who is shared with two other schools in the VEC scheme, attends St Bricin’s College one and a half days per week. The principal reports that the guidance counsellor is central to the support for students and that a team approach to guidance delivery is developing in the school. The school also has the services of a designated National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) psychologist.
Currently Guidance is targeted primarily in senior cycle with classes timetabled for one period per week in fifth year and two periods per week in Leaving Certificate. It is recommended that the school reviews the necessity to have two class periods of timetabled contact provided to sixth year students and explores ways of addressing the imbalance in guidance provision between junior and senior cycles. In collaboration with the Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme (LCVP) co-ordinator the guidance counsellor prepares students to complete the career investigation within the link modules. In third year the guidance counsellor borrows class periods from colleagues to provide a guidance module on study skills, subject and programme choice for senior cycle. Individual appointments and personal counselling are provided throughout the school on request or by referral.
The guidance counsellor states that school management is supportive of guidance and an office with computer, broadband access, phone and storage is provided. However, the current accommodation is not suitable and the principal plans to relocate the guidance office during the summer holidays. It is recommended that a name sign be affixed to the new office door so that all members of the school community are aware of the new location. A notice board in the corridor provides guidance-related information for students and a careers library forms part of the school library.
There are good facilities for information and communications technology (ICT) in St Bricin’s College and the school benefits from the services of the ICT technician within the VEC scheme. The guidance office is linked to the server on the school intranet so that students have access to materials prepared by the guidance counsellor and all Leaving Certificate students have an e-mail address through collaboration with the VEC Network Administrator. The guidance counsellor has introduced a system whereby students use e-mail to contact the guidance department to ask questions or to forward work. This approach is commended as an excellent use of ICT facilities and the voluntary nature of the work of the guidance counsellor in this regard is acknowledged. Access to the computer room for Guidance is good and is arranged in collaboration with colleagues. For the past decade all CAO and UCAS applications are made on-line. It is suggested that the school explores the possibility of providing access to the school’s ICT facilities to students for independent research outside of class time. The school also enjoys video conferencing facilities.
St Bricin’s College is commended on providing a wide range of subjects for students within the Junior Certificate and the Established Leaving Certificate programmes. Engineering is being introduced in senior cycle for the 2008/09 school year. The Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme (LCVP) is also offered and in the current school year all senior cycle students are taking the LCVP. In devising subject options it is recommended that the school reviews the current bands in order to encourage the take-up of non-traditional options. Commendably the school has organised science fairs which encourage the take-up of science and technology subjects.
There is a good sense of care for students in the school as evidenced by the supports available. A pastoral committee comprising the principal, guidance counsellor, learning support teacher and the Home Economics/Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) teacher operates in the school. This committee also acts as the planning and implementation monitoring group for pastoral care. Ongoing contact with year heads, class teachers and the Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE) teachers is maintained informally. This is commended and, as a means of building on this support, it is recommended that the school considers timetabling meetings of the pastoral committee in order to facilitate optimum attendance and to provide a formal structure in terms of transfer of information on students and keeping of records. Such a formal approach would consolidate the good work that is already being done by individuals and small groups and provide a forum for feedback. A more formal cross-curricular planning approach to the current collaboration between the guidance and the SPHE departments could be mutually supportive of both departments.
The guidance counsellor encourages close liaison with staff members who may have concerns about individual students and referrals to the guidance department are made by senior management, teachers, parents or students who may self-refer. It is suggested that the school devises a referral form for use by teachers. Referrals by the guidance counsellor to the NEPS psychologist are effected in consultation with the principal and parents. St Bricin’s College is commended for having engaged with a number of outside agencies to provide information and support for students; these include FÁS, NEPS, Cavan County Enterprise Board, local business, Cavan County Board of the GAA, colleges of further and higher education. While the school receives good support from the Special Educational Needs Organiser (SENO) and local GPs, support from the Health Service Executive (HSE) is limited and can be delayed.
Links with senior management are maintained through weekly and ongoing, informal meetings. Pastoral care issues and concerns are also discussed at the weekly meetings with management. There is close collaboration between the guidance counsellor and senior management regarding subject choice. Evaluation of the guidance programmes has been identified by the guidance counsellor as an area to be considered within the planning process. Such an evaluation is recommended as its results will inform guidance provision.
Planning and preparation
To date a good deal of work has been done by the guidance counsellor in guidance planning in collaboration with the principal, deputy principal, NEPS psychologist, LCVP co-ordinator, SPHE and learning support teachers. Programmes have been developed for each year group and the guidance plan is at an advanced stage. In order to support the guidance department and build on current planning achievements it is recommended that the school explores the possibility of formalising the guidance planning process and including responsibility for the progressing of the guidance plan in the remit of the pastoral committee. Input from staff, parents, students and from representative(s) of the local business community into the planning process is also recommended. Liaison with the VEC in this regard would also be beneficial. A student needs analysis of guidance provision and delivery would also inform the planning process.
Senior management and the guidance counsellor have recently engaged with the NEPS psychologist to develop a critical incident response plan for St Bricin’s College. Commendably a team is being established in the school and letters and lists of phone numbers are being prepared. It is recommended that in formulating the policy document the school networks with other local schools as such collaboration will provide support and assist all participants.
St Bricin’s College has a transition programme in place for incoming students which begins with a visit by the principal to primary schools. The school provides a brochure with clear information on the school and, commendably, information on optional subjects. The school hosts an open evening for prospective students and their parents during which the guidance counsellor makes a presentation on transition issues and concerns and is available to meet with individual parents and to arrange appointments. The principal reports good collaboration and feedback from primary teachers. An induction day in August allows first year students to meet with key school personnel and commendably St Bricin’s College has established a peer mentoring system where senior students help first years settle into the school.
As well as meeting first year students on induction day the guidance counsellor meets with all first year students individually at the beginning of the term to introduce the guidance service and to monitor the settling-in process. Individual meetings are provided again at the beginning of second term to review their progress. The guidance counsellor liaises closely with teachers of first year to identify needs and to evaluate the transfer programme. All of this support to ease the transfer from primary school is highly commended.
Students at risk of early school leaving are referred to the guidance counsellor who collaborates with the principal and parents to encourage school completion. The school has invited FÁS representatives to provide talks to students on apprenticeships and the benefits of completing the Leaving Certificate for the world of work. The guidance counsellor is heavily involved in making applications for reasonable accommodations in the certificate examinations. It is suggested that the school explores how other members of staff could contribute to these administration procedures thus enhancing the availability of the guidance counsellor for core guidance work.
Appropriate guidance programmes have been developed and are delivered to senior cycle and third year students. Students are prepared to make application to the CAO, to UCAS, to the post-Leaving Certificate (PLCs) courses and to training and apprenticeships. Senior students have access to videos, CD/DVD presentations, QualifaX and Career Directions websites, attend college open days and other career and course information events. As the guidance counsellor is not in the school full time the LCVP co-ordinator collaborates with the guidance counsellor to arrange visits to career events. As many as possible of these visits are arranged in collaboration with one of the other schools in which the guidance counsellor works. This collaborative approach is commended. Representatives from colleges and training organisations visit the school to provide talks and visits out are organised for students by the LCVP co-ordinator.
Parents are encouraged and welcomed to contact the guidance department as required. The principal reports that the guidance counsellor is also available to parents outside of school time and the supports provided are valued by both students and parents. The guidance counsellor attends all parent teacher meetings and organises an information session on grants and funding for further and higher education with an input from a representative of the VEC to which parents of Leaving Certificate students are invited. It is recommended that the school offers an information session to parents on subject and programme choice as students make their decisions for both the Junior and the Leaving Certificate. Earlier this year the guidance counsellor organised a successful seminar on drugs and alcohol use for students from two of the schools with a combined information session for parents of both schools. This collaborative approach is commended. The school hosts an awards evening, to which parents are invited, to acknowledge and celebrate student achievement in both academic and non-academic spheres.
The guidance counsellor is a member of the Institute of Guidance Counsellors (IGC) and the school is pleased to facilitate attendance at relevant guidance events, local and national in-service. However, due to time constraints between three schools the guidance counsellor is not able to attend the local IGC branch in-service or the professional development sessions to support counselling as attendance would necessitate the loss of a half-day for one of the schools for a number of weeks. In order to facilitate regular attendance without undue pressure of time on the guidance counsellor it is recommended that this matter be discussed by the three school principals and the CEO of the VEC. The guidance counsellor is also a member of the Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (IACP) and attends private supervision sessions to support counselling work.
Teaching and learning
In the course of the evaluation one Leaving Certificate year-one class was visited. The focus of the lesson, which was well planned, was the career investigation as part of the LCVP link modules. Commendably there was evidence of continuity with previous lessons and good contextualising of the career investigation through references made to results of the Differential Aptitude Tests (DATs). A recap of the recently completed interest inventory was given and there was a good level of engagement in discussion around interests and aptitudes, their relevance and their links with the career investigation and the LCVP portfolio work. This approach is commended. The aims of the lesson were explained to students and the pace and content of the lesson was appropriate to the class group.
A variety of methodologies was used in the lesson including questions and answers, handouts, use of the whiteboard and individual work by students. The guidance counsellor used questioning to check understanding and initiate comment and discussion. The further use of questions targeted to individual students is recommended to encourage fuller engagement. While students completed aspects of the handout the guidance counsellor went around encouraging participation, helping individual students and answering queries. Students were referred to appropriate websites and the good practice of allocating homework was noted.
All class notes are available on the server on the school’s intranet and students can download materials if they have been absent or mislay handouts. Given this excellent facility it is recommended that the school explores the provision of one of the rooms with a data projector for guidance classes so that students have immediate access to the materials prepared by the guidance counsellor and to relevant websites.
A friendly and relaxed class atmosphere was evident. Students were at ease and received encouragement and positive affirmation for their work efforts. Good rapport and mutual respect were evident between guidance counsellor and students.
Assessment
Testing in junior cycle is largely diagnostic and norm-referenced numeracy and literacy tests are used to identify students in need of extra support. The guidance counsellor collaborates with the learning support team in this regard. This co-operation is commended.
The DATs are administered to fourth year (Leaving Certificate year one) students to identify areas of strength and to assist career choice. Results are returned and discussed individually with students. The Careers Interest Inventory as well as inventories available on QualifaX and UCAS websites are also used with senior students.
The guidance counsellor has good knowledge of the local catchment area and tracking of Leaving Certificate students is done by the guidance department with information from parents, staff and siblings in school. Past students are encouraged and welcome to return to school or to meet with the guidance counsellor for further support and information.
Commendably student profiling begins in first year and profiles are added to as students progress through the school. A QualifaX profile/account is set up for all students. The guidance counsellor maintains records of meetings with students and a form is provided for students to record what was discussed at individual meetings. All records are contained in folders which are stored in a locked filing cabinet. The guidance counsellor maintains databases of students and all confidential materials are password protected. Students are welcome to take their profiles as they leave St Bricin’s College.
Summary of main findings and recommendations
The following are the main strengths and areas for development identified in the evaluation:
· Guidance is well supported in St Bricin’s College and a well-established guidance service operates in the school. A team approach to the delivery of Guidance is developing.
· Guidance planning is progressing and guidance programmes have been developed for all year groups.
· There is a good sense of care in the school, an effective informal network operates in the school, a care team operates informally and personal counselling is provided as required.
· A wide range of subjects is on offer.
· The school has excellent facilities for ICT and these are resourcefully used in guidance delivery.
· A transfer programme for incoming first years operates in the school.
· The lesson observed was well planned and a positive, friendly class atmosphere obtained.
· Good rapport and mutual respect were evident between guidance counsellor and students.
As a means of building on these strengths the following key recommendations are made:
· The school should formalise the current guidance planning group and consider input from students, parents and from representative(s) of the business community into the planning process. A student needs
analysis around guidance provision and delivery should be carried out to inform the planning process.
· In the course of guidance planning the school should consider the current imbalance of provision of guidance between junior and senior cycles.
· The school should consider formalising meetings of the pastoral care group in order to provide a structure to facilitate optimum attendance, the transfer of information regarding students and the early identification
of those in need of extra support.
Post-evaluation meetings were held with the principal and the guidance counsellor at the conclusion of the evaluation when the draft findings and recommendations of the evaluation were presented and discussed.
Published November 2008
Appendix
School response to the report
Submitted by the Board of Management
Area 1: Observations on the content of the inspection report
.
Area 2: Follow-up actions planned or undertaken since the completion of the inspection activity to implement the findings and recommendations of the inspection
With regard to the recommendations on page 5 “due to time constraints between three schools the guidance counsellor is not able to attend the local IGC branch inservice”.
A meeting was held with the three principals and the CEO to discuss the timetables and these were amended in Sept ’08 to facilitate attendance at the inservice, with the agreement of the Guidance Counsellor.