An Roinn Oideachais agus Eolaíochta

Department of Education and Science

 

Subject Inspection of

Social, Personal & Health Education (SPHE)

REPORT

 

Clonakilty Community College,

Clonakilty, County Cork

Roll number: 70950A

 

 

Date of inspection: 11, 12 and 13 December 2007

 

 

 

 

Subject inspection report

Subject provision and whole school support

Planning and preparation

Teaching and learning

Assessment

Summary of main findings and recommendations

 

 

 

 

 

Report on the Quality of Learning and Teaching in SPHE

 

Subject inspection report

 

This report has been written following a subject inspection in Clonakilty Community College. It presents the findings of an evaluation of the quality of teaching and learning in Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE) and makes recommendations for the further development of the teaching of this subject in the school. The evaluation was conducted over three days during which the inspector visited classrooms and observed teaching and learning. The inspector interacted with students and teachers, examined students’ work, and had discussions with the teachers. The inspector reviewed school planning documentation and teachers’ written preparation. Following the evaluation visit, the inspector provided oral feedback on the outcomes of the evaluation to the principal and subject teachers. The board of management was given an opportunity to comment in writing on the findings and recommendations of the report; a response was not received from the board.

 

Subject provision and whole school support

 

Social, Personal & Health Education (SPHE) is very firmly embedded in both the junior and senior cycle curriculum that is offered to students attending Clonakilty Community College. In fact the school, very deservedly, boasts a ten-year tradition of providing students with the opportunity to participate in SPHE lessons. At this point and since 2004, all class groups from first year right through to sixth year, including Transition Year (TY), are timetabled for one period of SPHE every week. Considering that the teaching of SPHE in junior cycle is only a requirement since 2003 and that, as of yet, schools are not required to provide for SPHE in senior cycle, this level of provision is highly praised. This in itself is indicative of the importance and value that has been placed by the school’s management on SPHE over the last decade. The subject was introduced onto the school’s curriculum by the former principal of Clonakilty Community College and is, in effect, a very significant part of his legacy to the school. The school, the parents who choose to send their sons or daughters there and, most significantly, the students themselves are very fortunate to be benefiting from such a legacy. The school’s SPHE Handbook sets down the school’s rationale for the introduction of SPHE. In a nutshell, SPHE is seen as a prerequisite to successful learning. To quote: ‘a young person who has a high degree of self worth, a sense of security and a positive self image will be more predisposed to school life and to the variety of learning situations it offers’.   

 

As a result therefore, naturally it was found that SPHE is extremely well provided for and supported by management. The subject is well resourced, with a large selection of books and education packs having being purchased over the years. Requests for monies to provide additional resources are, budget permitting, greeted favourably. It is very clear that best practice informs the timetabling of SPHE and the organisation of classes. Each class group is timetabled concurrently for SPHE. For example, in the current school year all first-year students are timetabled for SPHE at the same time on a Tuesday. A similar approach exists for all other class groups. This approach can, if desired, ensure a simultaneous exploration and communication of information across any one year group, at any one time. The teacher-to-teacher support that this timetabling arrangement can facilitate is also significant. The splitting of class groups in order to form smaller groups is also a well established practice in the school. While small class sizes are favourable to the teaching of all subjects, it is particularly valuable to SPHE. This measure is commended. In so far as is possible, every effort is made to seek to ensure that a first-year class group assigned to any one teacher of SPHE is retained by that teacher right through junior and senior cycle. This level of provision is highly praised.

 

Best practice also informs the recruitment, deployment and training of staff to teach SPHE. The recruitment of teachers to SPHE is ongoing in the school, as evidenced by the fact that presently a number of other staff members, currently not timetabled for SPHE, have also completed the appropriate training. Training will be discussed in greater detail later in the next paragraph. This obvious pro-activity, in terms of capacity building for the future, is commended. To date, a consultation process always precedes the assigning of a teacher to a class for the purpose of teaching SPHE. While at times teachers are encouraged and, on occasions, perhaps persuaded to consider teaching SPHE, an opt-out clause has always been provided by management for teachers who, having taught the subject for a time, decide that the teaching of SPHE is not for them. Both measures are noted as very fair. Currently, the thirteen-teacher strong SPHE department is representative of a cross section of subject areas, which is always positive. Relatively speaking, there is also a reasonably good gender balance in the department, with eight female and five male teachers. This is good, particularly in a co-educational school. Experience, in terms of teaching SPHE, ranges from having taught the subject for nine years, right down to teaching SPHE since September of the current school year. It is clear that teachers new to the area are well supported by the more established members of the department.

 

Management’s ongoing support for teachers’ continuing professional development (CPD) in the area of SPHE is very apparent. Each of the teachers that are currently deployed to teach SPHE have completed the required, minimum, two-day, introductory training. In addition, some of the teachers have also participated in a school-based, ten-week course which has been organised on no less than two separate occasions. Whole-staff input has also been provided in the past. This level of provision by management is applauded, as is the commitment of the concerned teachers. Furthermore, a number of teachers have taken part in some of the one-day or two-day workshops that are organised by the SPHE Support Service. For example, in recent times one teacher has participated in a Support Service workshop which focused on the teaching of SPHE to boys. Teachers’ participation in ongoing training is fully advocated. It was noted that a number of teachers cited RSE as the most challenging part of the syllabus. This should be considered when compiling a training needs analysis, which is a recommendation to the department.

 

A subject co-ordinator has been appointed. The role forms part of an assistant principal’s post. While this clearly militates against the normally recommended approach that the subject co-ordinator role be rotated amongst the members of a subject department, a rotating co-ordinator is not necessarily the best approach in an SPHE department. That said, in the SPHE department in question, which houses eight or so teachers who have been teaching the subject for four or more years, perhaps it is an approach that might be considered. Alternatively, and as suggested during the inspection, perhaps the appointment of a rotating assistant co-ordinator could be considered. Firstly, this would ensure that the experience and knowledge that is attached to the role of co-ordinator can be shared and passed on to others and secondly, it would provide a more formal forum for accessing the suggestions and ideas of other department members in terms of the co-ordination of SPHE.

 

Efforts are made to seek to ensure that formal, subject-department meetings take place. These meetings take place approximately once a term, although this is not always the case. Whilst acknowledging the difficulties posed by the large numbers of teachers that combine to make up the SPHE department, it is recommended that every effort be made to ensure that the planned meetings actually take place. In addition, the members of the department are encouraged to maintain minutes of each meeting. These should provide for a recording of the key items discussed, the decisions taken and the actions required. The setting of an agenda for the following meeting, as each meeting concludes, should also be considered.

 

A policy relating to Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) has been devised. In addition, a number of policies seen to support the aims of SPHE are also in place. This includes an anti-bullying and a substance use policy. The Child Protection Guidelines have also been adopted. The ratification date is clear on some of the policies but not on all. Neither is it clear from a reading of the policies when the planned review of each policy will take place. From an examination of each policy it is considered that a review of each policy is timely. Templates which are available to download from the website of the Department of Education and Science (DES), should inform in this regard. It is important that, as part of the review process, the dates on which each policy was ratified, as well as the planned review date, be provided. This practice should transfer to all school policies. Finally, in terms of policies, some consideration should be given to the documentation of the school’s policy in relation to visiting speakers. To this end, section seven of the SPHE handbook could be consulted.

 

Parental involvement is facilitated, from day one, through an information session that is organised for parents of incoming first-year students. This informs parents in relation to the school’s SPHE programme in first year, as well as in all other years. The organisation of a similar session upon entry to senior cycle might be worth considering. In previous times a workshop, designed to introduce first-year parents to the topics that are explored, the methodologies that are used, as well as the teacher who is teaching their child, was organised. Due to the reported success of this initiative, perhaps some consideration might be given to its re-introduction.  Parents are always encouraged to visit their child’s SPHE teacher as part of the annual parent-teacher meetings and, in the main, they do. The recent introduction of SPHE onto the TY report template and the plans to extend this to all other year groups, will further enhance communication with parents in relation to their child and his or her progress and achievement in SPHE. The school newsletter might be another means of communicating with parents in relation to SPHE. 

 

 

Planning and preparation

 

The SPHE department as a whole are committed to and interested in delivering a quality SPHE programme. Discussions with a number of teachers over the course of the three-day inspection demonstrated that teachers are constantly contemplating, reviewing and evaluating their work. The role of the SPHE teacher and the potentially positive impact that SPHE can have on the lives of students, is something that the department takes very seriously. These traits, which are indicative of the reflective practitioner, are highly praised.

 

Experience, knowledge, passion and commitment directs the work of the SPHE co-ordinator, who has co-ordinated the work of the department for the last ten or so years. Over and above the formal meetings which are held, much interaction, discussion and problem-solving takes place on an informal level during break-times, between classes and whenever or where ever an appropriate opportunity arises. This openness to asking and being asked questions is a very commendable characteristic of the subject department.

 

A school-specific SPHE manual houses, amongst other things, the programmes of work that have been devised for each year group. It is very positive that all modules are provided for, that topics are outlined and that a number of suggested resources have been provided. In some instances, a recommended number of lessons for each module are also given. The programme is a product of a time when the co-ordinator had the sole responsibility for drafting a programme of work. In light of the emerging and evolving concept of subject department planning, it is recommended that the subject department, as a group, undertake a review of the programme. Teachers of SPHE maintain systematic records relating to work covered. This is highly praised.

 

As a model of organisation for the revised programme of work, it is recommended that each of the following areas are provided for: the name of the module; the topic; useful resources; suitable methodologies; the planned learning outcomes, together with the mechanisms used to assess these outcomes and a comment box that can be used by individual teachers to evaluate or comment on each lesson or module delivered. It is suggested that this rather onerous task should be completed on a phased basis taking, for example, one junior and one senior year group per annum. It is advisable that some consideration be given also to the inclusion of the aims relevant to each module to be studied. This, along with the inclusion of the intended learning outcomes, helps to ensure that all activities planned and provided for by individual teachers, find their basis in the aims and outcomes as set down in the SPHE syllabus. This will act as a great reference for teachers on a weekly basis. Ideally, programmes of work should be time-based. The advantage of concurrently delivering, within individual year groups, the RSE module, is already recognised by the teachers. Perhaps the advantages of adopting a similar approach to the delivery of other modules should also be considered. To this end, it is recommended that, at the very minimum, the department agree the topics to be covered each term, in each year group. Furthermore, best practice is where the RSE and friendship modules are delivered in close proximity to one another. This should also inform the recommended programme review. The provision of a comment box, as mentioned earlier, or some mechanism that will allow teachers to reflect, review and evaluate, is the key to transforming programmes of work into ‘working’ documents. Individual teachers’ planning documentation, reviewed as part of the subject inspection, illustrated that this approach is already established in the department. The development of this via the programme of work is fully advocated. This will support an even greater sharing of experience and knowledge amongst all members of the SPHE department. As a suggestion, and further down the road, the revised programme of work could inform the production of the school’s own SPHE teaching aid or pack. Each module could, for example, be presented in a folder that provides exemplar lessons, resources which have been tried and tested, suitable assessment modes relevant to the module being explored, as well as student activities for completion at home or in school.

 

The drafting of an SPHE policy or plan is another project or task that should be considered. While the handbook and other documentation reviewed were illustrative of some of the elements of an SPHE policy, the members of the SPHE department are directed to section 2.4 of the SPHE Handbook, which outlines a good structure for such a policy.

 

The SPHE department plans and provides a number of co-curricular and extracurricular activities, relevant to the themes of SPHE. Guest speakers, for example, are availed of as appropriate. The department is encouraged to embed guest speakers and all other additional activities in the programmes of work, as they very often find their inspiration in one or more of the ten modules explored. As a means of supporting the development of cross-curricular links between SPHE and other subjects offered on the school’s curriculum the department is encouraged to erect an SPHE notice-board in the staffroom. When the programme has been reviewed and revised, and when the topics to be studied each term have been agreed, this could be used to indicate to other subject teachers the module and topics planned for exploration with each year group. This might inspire other staff members to cover related material in and around the same time. An SPHE notice-board aimed at students, erected in a corridor or public area, might also be worth some consideration.         

 

 

Teaching and learning

 

What was particularly striking upon entry to a number of the classrooms where SPHE was about to be taught, was the fact that the students, without request or direction, were in the process of preparing the room. This immediately suggested a level of enthusiasm on the part of students, sub-conscious as it may have been, in relation to what might be about to unfold in the following thirty-five to forty minutes. It also demonstrated students’ awareness of and familiarity with the often alternative approaches to teaching and class organisation that are part and parcel of SPHE classrooms.

 

There was much evidence to suggest good quality short-term planning and preparation for each of the lessons visited. A variety of resources had been prepared and collected for use in the delivery of lesson content. This included an iPod, speakers and an accompanying music compilation, handouts, worksheets, and in some cases, a series of lesson plans. Resources were generally carefully chosen with a view to enhancing the planned teaching, as well as the intended learning. This level of planning is highly praised. Careful planning also ensured, in almost all instances, that lessons were firstly, purposeful and relevant and secondly, well-structured and favourably sequenced. Planning also sought to ensure that lesson pace matched students’ levels and abilities. As relevant, it is recommended that when choosing or designing class activities, every effort is made to ensure that the activity is relevant to the aims and learning outcomes for the module being explored. Where this is not the case, an alternative activity should be chosen. Furthermore, and as was seen in some lessons, planning should seek to provide for content that will include a desired range of learning outcomes that foster, as appropriate, the acquirement, exploration or development of each of the following: students’ knowledge, behaviour and attitudes.

 

Ice-breakers or warm-ups, which at times were carefully chosen to reflect the lesson’s theme, were appropriately used at the start of lessons to focus students as well as to set the tone. In almost all lessons, this was followed by a quick recap on the work of the preceding lesson. This strategy is particularly important in SPHE where a full week, and sometimes more, has passed since students’ last contact with the subject. As a result, and as appropriate, it is an approach that is encouraged in all lessons.

 

Best practice was where the intended lesson purpose was openly shared with students as lessons commenced or shortly thereafter, as appropriate. This very excellent sharing of lesson intent is encouraged in all lessons. In some instances, this included an often indirect, subtle and student-friendly referencing of the planned learning outcomes, as dictated by the syllabus. This is particularly commended on two counts. First and foremost, because it seeks to ensure that every planned lesson finds as its basis the aims and outcomes of each module and secondly, it transfers a portion of the responsibility for learning over to the students themselves. For these two reasons it is an approach that is strongly advocated in all lessons.

 

On the whole, classroom activities were effectively managed. For example, the time allocated for assigned activities was clearly outlined to students, students’ roles and where relevant the responsibilities of each group member were clearly defined, and in some instances verbal instructions were summarised on the board. The latter strategy is particularly commended for the way it facilitates students to become independent and autonomous participants and learners. Student participation was also always closely monitored by teachers. This very methodical and structured approach to student activity helped to ensure that learning took place. Teachers’ work in this regard is highly praised.    

 

An extensive range of methodologies was utilised in the delivery of lesson content. This included warm-up games or icebreakers, brainstorming, rounds, sentence completion, group work which included structured, task-based activities, class discussion and individual worksheet activities. The experiential method, detailed in the SPHE Teacher Guidelines, is an approach that is widely recognised as the most appropriate method for use in SPHE, providing a good overall structure for each of the methodologies outlined previously, as well as many others. This method, with its four distinct stages of experiencing, processing, generalising and applying, is an ideal lesson planning and lesson delivery tool. Elements of this approach were seen in a number of lessons. It is an approach that is further encouraged in all lessons or, as the case may be, series of lessons. Best practice was where teachers maintained a facilitative role throughout lessons. This role saw teachers providing students with the scope to actively participate in the lesson, to derive their own learning from planned activities and to learn from their peers. The opposite manifested itself in a tendency to tell students what they might learn or should have learnt from an activity or lesson, as well as in an over-direction of students for the tasks or activities assigned to them. The former, rather than the latter is the approach that is promoted in SPHE.

 

Classroom atmosphere was very favourable. This can be attributed in part to the very positive teacher-student relations that were observed. Humour was appropriately used to encourage participation and ease tensions. Students were provided with lots of opportunities to contribute to lesson content and their contributions were acknowledged and appropriately affirmed. Students’ willingness to participate, as well as their honesty, was particularly striking, especially in the older class groups. This was very indicative of the levels of mutual respect and trust that have been built up over the previous two and a half years.    

 

 

Assessment

 

The assessment of students’ progress and achievement in SPHE in Clonakilty Community College is an area that is in need of further exploration and work. The department is encouraged to look at developing an assessment tool-kit. The starting point for this work should be the outcomes that are offered at the end of each module and as outlined in the syllabus. The preferred focus, when deciding on which assessment tools to include, would be assessment for the promotion of learning (AfL) more so than assessment for the measurement of learning, although this too has a role to play in the assessment of students’ advancement and attainment in SPHE. A number of options exist, for example, classroom activities, home tasks, self-assessment, peer-assessment and portfolio assessment, some of which are currently in use by a number of teachers with some class groups. The SPHE Guidelines for Teachers as well as the SPHE Handbook deal with assessment quite extensively. Templates are also provided for reproduction and use with students. As part of the department’s exploration of assessment some consideration could also be given to how the school might reward or acknowledge students’ completion of either each year’s study or each cycle. A school certificate, for example, might be developed. In conclusion, it is recommended that assessment be prioritised for discussion in forthcoming and future SPHE department meetings. In time, when an approach has been agreed and implemented, the drafting of a subject-specific assessment policy, which would include department policy on record-keeping and reporting to parents, should be considered.        

 

Summary of main findings and recommendations

 

The following are the main strengths 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 SPHE and with the principal at the conclusion of the evaluation, when the draft findings and recommendations of the evaluation were presented and discussed.

 

 

 

 

Published, June 2008