An Roinn Oideachais agus Eolaíochta

Department of Education and Science

 

Subject Inspection of English

REPORT

 

Beech Hill College

Monaghan Town

Roll number: 72210Q

 

Date of inspection: 13 February 2007

Date of issue of report:  21 February 2008

 

 

 

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 English

 

Subject inspection report

 

This report has been written following a subject inspection in Beech Hill College, carried out as part of a Whole School Evaluation.  It presents the findings of an evaluation of the quality of teaching and learning in English and makes recommendations for the further development of the teaching of this subject in the school. The evaluation was conducted over two 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.

 

Subject provision and whole school support

 

Beech Hill offers a comprehensive range of programmes to meet the diverse learning needs of the 414 students currently enrolled.  These include the Junior Certificate and the Junior Certificate School Programme (JCSP).  Students in senior cycle may take the optional Transition Year (TY) programme or proceed to the established Leaving Certificate, the Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme (LCVP) or the Leaving Certificate Applied (LCA). In addition, students may proceed to Post-Leaving Certificate courses in a range of vocational areas.

 

Generally first year students are placed in mixed ability classes for English.  In second year, based on achievement in tests and teacher observation, they are placed in higher or ordinary level classes to reflect student ability.   As the timetable in second and third years is concurrent students can and do change levels as appropriate.  English is banded across the timetable for the Leaving Certificate groups in order to facilitate students’ choice of level. Despite this, uptake of higher level courses is low.  A number of factors were reported by the school to explain this.  These include the recent introduction of the TY, which is by its nature a mixed ability programme, and the fact that pre-entry assessments indicate that a significant proportion of students enrolling in Beech Hill have a reading ability deficit greater than two years.  An analysis of Certificate Examination results indicates that where students do attempt the higher level courses, particularly in senior cycle, the results achieved are excellent.  This may in part be due to the provision by teachers, on a voluntary basis, of additional after-school classes to higher level students. Certainly, this provision is an indication of the professionalism and interest of the teachers of English and their commitment to helping students achieve to their potential in the subject.

 

Timetabled provision for the teaching of English is in line with syllabus guidelines.  The school has recently made changes to class times and all English lessons are of thirty-six minutes duration.  The allocation to first year students on the JCSP of a sixth lesson per week is particularly helpful, as is the provision of six class periods in senior cycle. This is commended.  Teachers are generally allocated to a class group for the duration of a course and this facilitates the development and continuity of positive teaching-learning relationships.  

 

Resource provision for the teaching and learning of English is very good.  Generally, permanent teachers of English have been allocated a classroom and very good use is made of this resource. In the classrooms visited, the teachers had created a motivational, print-rich, environment with students’ own work, displays of subject-specific terminology, supportive mind-maps and posters, and other visual learning aids.  In keeping with the collaborative spirit evident among the English teaching team, arrangements to ensure that those not assigned a room have facilities to display their students’ work also poses no difficulty.   

 

The school has a large and airy library.  This resource is managed by a post-holder and was being used as an examinations hall at the time of the inspection visit.  It is thus not possible to comment on the nature and quality of the book stock available.  However, there is a high level of management support for the library which indicates how valuable this resource is to the school and there are plans to develop it further. There is a strong emphasis placed on reading in the school.  Teachers have included time for reading in their programme for junior cycle.  First and second year students are brought to the school library on a weekly basis.  The teachers of English have implemented a number of strategies to encourage interest in reading, including a paired reading programme and participation in the MS Readathon. The commitment in the school to raising and maintaining high standards of literacy is highly commended.

 

Teachers have access to TV and video/DVD equipment to support the teaching of the subject and many of the classrooms visited had PCs and data projectors.  Teachers use the resources well in delivering the programme for English and they make good use of the flexibility which computer technology provides to stimulate the interest of students in their courses.

 

Students are encouraged to participate in a variety of co-curricular activities in English.  For example, they can and do participate in a variety of competitions, including writing and quizzes, and Beech Hill students have enjoyed successes in these areas, most recently in the County Library writing competition.  Trips to places of literary and cultural interest and visits to the theatre to see productions of plays being studied are also organised. The involvement of the teachers of English in facilitating these learning opportunities is an indicator of their commitment to the subject and it is clear that students’ understanding of what is being learned within English class is deepened and made relevant by active participation in all these activities.

 

Planning and preparation

 

The work of the five teachers of English is co-ordinated by a senior teacher as part of her special duties post.  The teachers of English work well together in planning and implementing the delivery of the English curriculum in the school.  They meet formally during the school year after staff meetings and have developed a plan for the department.  They also meet each other regularly in their own time to plan and evaluate their work and good progress has been made on developing a subject department plan.  This should now be further developed so as to shift the focus from a description of course content to an emphasis on the skills to be developed across all four language domains, that is, listening, speaking, reading and writing, in each year.  Such an emphasis underpins the syllabuses and teachers should consult them during the review process.   Management currently supports this work through the allocation of time for department meetings at the close of staff meetings.  As teachers report difficulties in achieving the planning aims under these arrangements, it is recommended that the timing of planning meetings and their frequency should be reviewed to ensure optimum use is made of the time available and to identify clearly the further support needed.

 

Planning for specific programmes is good and teachers’ individual planning is in line with the schedules of work agreed at department level, supplemented with class notes.  It is recommended that, given the stated needs of the student cohort in Beech Hill College, the plan for English should reference a whole school approach to literacy development.  This approach might aim to achieve consensus on the meanings of instructional terms, such as “describe”, “define” and so on, used by all subject teachers, as a first step, for example.

 

The Junior Certificate School Programme is offered to students identified as having special educational (SEN) or other needs.  Class size is kept small to ensure close attention to individual students and this programme offers a tailored curriculum, with particular emphasis on literacy development. Students in the first year of the JCSP are timetabled for English six times each week and some will also have additional literacy/numeracy support classes.  This level of support is excellent.  Student profiles are maintained by the programme co-ordinator and records indicate that they are making good progress.

 

Planning for the Communications module on Post-Leaving Certificate courses was excellent. Students enrolled in Beech Hill are taught these courses in the Monaghan Institute of Further Education and Training (MIFET).  An outline of coursework is posted on the institute’s intranet and an impressive range of support materials has been prepared by the course tutor.  Of particular note is the fact that student evaluation of the course and teaching methods employed is built into the programme planned.  This works to ensure that feedback from students directly informs the way the course is taught so that it can better meet their needs.

 

Planning for learning support begins with screening all incoming first years for learning difficulties, using standardised, norm-referenced tests of achievement.   In addition, the school liaises closely with the feeder primary schools and parents to identify students who may have literacy and language deficits.  The learning support team deliver a carefully planned programme of support in literacy and numeracy and, as is good practice, education plans have been drawn up for students with identified special education needs.  Comprehensive student profiles are generated for all students with SEN and these are regularly updated and reviewed.

 

Support is provided to English as Second Language (ESL) students by a small team of three teachers. The programme in place begins with a brief induction course for all newly enrolled students and they are matched with a mentor student who speaks their first language wherever possible.  While this is a very good support in the first days after enrolment, it is suggested that consideration should be given to assigning mentors from the wider school population also, so as to better facilitate the integration of new students.

 

Following a teacher-designed assessment process, ESL students are assigned to small support class groups, depending on their fluency in the language. It is recommended that more use be made of the European language benchmarks, with which the teacher is familiar, to reliably identify proficiency levels. Support is offered in a dedicated classroom, which was being renovated at the time of the inspection visit.  It provides scope for creating a stimulating and language rich environment and the ESL teacher has plans for displays.  Records of students’ progress are well-maintained and files include test results and samples of students’ work. This is excellent practice, as is the regular consultation between the support teacher and the mainstream teachers of English.  It is suggested that the language support policy should be developed to clarify the interface between the language support and mainstream class teachers across the curriculum so as to provide for effective interventions for students who do not have English as their first language.

 

Teaching and learning

 

Lessons observed were well structured and competently delivered.  In general, teachers managed the lessons to ensure that students remained focussed and on task. Learning activities were planned so that they matched the range of abilities in the class and engaged students’ interest.  Teachers had prepared handouts and notes to organise learning or to focus student attention on particular aspects of the text being studied.   This strategy is helpful in a mixed ability setting and was used particularly well in one class to ensure that students who had been absent previously could participate fully in the lesson. Very effective use was made of the whiteboard in one classroom visited, where the teacher had carefully planned how it would be used to support the lesson.  The learning objective was clearly stated and the plan provided a step-by-step outline of the structure of the lesson so that all students were aware of what was happening throughout the thirty-six minute period.  It is good practice to share the learning objective with students at the outset, as it can stimulate their interest and help them situate new learning in what they already know.  Other teachers of English might consider adopting this practice also. 

 

Teachers used a variety of strategies well to engage students during the lessons observed.  Modelling is a good way to support student learning and was used to very good effect by many teachers of English.  Students’ own written work was well-structured and they wrote in the appropriate register when models/skeletons had been provided.  In one class observed, the lesson itself served as a model of how the homework assignment could be tackled, for example.  In another, the teacher presented a sample letter which was discussed in order to identify how students might use that form to summarise the action in an episode in their text.  When using written models, care should be taken to ensure that models are not overly text-rich so that the basic structure is not obscured and that they are accessible to less able readers.  This is particularly important in mixed ability class groups.

 

Students’ work is generally stored in folders which remain in the teachers’ rooms.  An examination of these indicated that there is an appropriate emphasis on careful organization of material and on good handwriting skills.  In some instances, it was clear that folders are one of the structural elements in a strategy to encourage first and second draft writing, whereby students do first draft work in a homework copy and then produce second draft work for storing in the folder.   This is very good practice.

 

The quality of work in students’ copies was generally good. The relative abilities of students in the subject were evident in the difficulties experienced with written work.  Less able students in both junior and senior cycles tended not to write extensively and errors in language usage and syntax were more common here. In some cases, answers were under-developed and poorly constructed.  The quality of work produced by higher level students was very good and sophistication of expression and logical, well-supported arguments were common. Students following the JCSP course have regular access to the statements being worked on in class and are aware of the progress they are making towards their achievement.

 

Students are making good progress through their courses. In their interaction with their teachers and the inspector, it was evident that they are familiar with their coursework and are able to incorporate relevant information in their answers. The questions asked by teachers and the learning activities used were sufficient to test students and encourage the development of higher order thinking skills. Their responses were focused and coherent and they were confident in tackling tasks set. In only one class observed was there insufficient challenge in the lesson plan to engage students and stimulate learning.  Nevertheless, students in all class groups visited appeared stimulated by the lessons and, where the teacher moved around the room to interact with students individually, their learning could be checked during the lesson. This practice is to be commended. In classes that included students with special needs, teachers managed to ensure that each student was working at his/her own pace.

 

Assessment

 

In general, there is a range of assessment modes used to assess student competence and progress.  These include in-class questioning and the setting of homework exercises in order to check achievement of understanding and provide students with opportunities to practice newly acquired skills. Written homework is assigned regularly and teachers maintain records of students’ achievements. Exercises were regularly marked and teacher comments provided students with good feedback. Suggestions were made which indicated how the student might improve and some positive comments were added to encourage student effort. This is good practice as it develops students’ understanding and skills and is an important teaching technique. It is especially important when working with students who do not find it easy to produce written work to commend what they are doing right rather than focus exclusively on their errors. It is recommended that teachers consider employing “comment only” feedback when correcting homework.  For example, positive feedback as described above or focussed feedback which identifies a specific aspect of student work which is to be developed and commented on. In this way, students can be provided with clear information about their strengths and weaknesses in English. The NCCA website, www.afl.ncca.ie, on assessment for learning, offers some guidance which may be helpful.

 

Assessment is regarded as an integral part of the learning process in all the FETAC courses offered in Beech Hill.  Learners are expected to produce a number of documents, including letters and short reports, which are presented in a portfolio.  This is assessed locally at the end of the year and is accorded up to fifty per cent of the marks available.  Participants are also required to demonstrate mastery of a range of specified practical, organisational and inter-personal skills, for which the balance of the marks is awarded.  The assignment briefs presented to students in Beech Hill for Communications are well prepared and give detailed information to learners about the required task and the evaluation criteria to be applied.   The work submitted in students’ folders indicated that they had made good progress through this module.

 

Reports issue to parents regularly. Formal examinations are held at the end of the first term and in the summer. Common examination papers are set for class groups as appropriate and these are corrected to an agreed marking scheme. This is commended as good practice as it allows for comparison within the year group and, as a result, facilitates careful planning to meet the needs of students.
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 English and with the principal at the conclusion of the evaluation when the draft findings and recommendations of the evaluation were presented and discussed.