An Roinn Oideachais agus Eolaíochta

Department of Education and Science

 

Subject Inspection of English

REPORT

 

St Dominic’s Secondary School

Ballyfermot, Dublin 10

Roll number: 60720A

 

Date of inspection: 28 November 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 English

 

 

 

Subject inspection report

 

This report has been written following a subject inspection in St Dominic’s Secondary School, Ballyfermot. 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, deputy and subject teachers.

 

Subject provision and whole school support

 

St Dominic’s Secondary School provides English in the Junior Certificate programme (JC), Junior Certificate School Programme (JCSP), Transition Year programme (TY), Leaving Certificate programme (LC), Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme (LCVP) and Leaving Certificate Applied programme (LCA). Students in the LC and LCVP follow the same English syllabus.

 

Whole-school support is good in a number of areas. Timetabling allocation is satisfactory but there are areas that need to be addressed. In the first year of the junior cycle, four English lessons are allocated to mainstream classes. Additional literacy lessons are targeted at those who need them and this is commended. In the second and third year of the junior cycle and years one and two of the LC programme, five periods of English are allocated. TY classes have four lessons. LCA classes have three English lessons per week. Guidelines suggest that four lessons are optimum for syllabus delivery. However, LCA year two students have an additional lesson with a second teacher. Ways should be explored to allocate an additional lesson to LCA year one students also. An issue of some concern is the general erosion of lesson time in all programmes. The school’s classroom layout requires teachers, and in some instances, students, to move from one building and/or classroom to another and this is a contributory factor in the loss of lesson time. Moreover, while many lessons are forty minutes in duration, some are thirty-five and a smaller number are a mere thirty minutes long. In reality, the number of lessons provided on the timetable does not reflect the actuality of exposure to English. This compounds the problem of student absenteeism and punctuality issues in some cases. It is reported that some teachers voluntarily give extra lessons to their students coming up to exam time in order to compensate for lost time during the school year and this dedication is highly commended. It is recommended that all timetabling issues in relation to English be addressed. As a minimum requirement, all English lessons should be not less than forty minutes long. The loss of lesson time needs to be addressed in a whole-school context.

 

While lesson distribution is satisfactory for the most part, in the case of two of the first-year groups, distribution of mainstream English lessons does not represent good practice. In these two groups, students have two separate lessons on Monday, none on Tuesday and Wednesday and one lesson on each of Thursday and Friday. It is recommended that this matter be rectified in future timetabling.

Students are taught in a mixed-ability setting in first year and are assigned to higher and ordinary levels in second and third year. However, setting is not rigid, some groups being a mixture of both higher and ordinary-level students. In the LC programme, students are assigned to higher and ordinary-level classes. A combination of criteria is used to determine access to levels. Students are encouraged to take higher-level English and high but realistic expectations are set. Taking contextual factors into consideration, learning outcomes over all levels and programmes, including those of the state examinations, are good. Many students are achieving good grades at ordinary level particularly in the junior cycle. To build on its success, the English department should engage in strategic planning with a view to moving students achieving the top grades in ordinary-level English into higher-level. In addition to revised lesson allocation, a variety of strategies is required and consideration should be given to the establishment of a small representative working group within the English department to prepare an action plan for discussion by the department as a whole and for subsequent consideration at whole-school level. It is commendable that all students in St Dominic’s benefit from small English classes. In some cases, cross-curricular approaches are adopted so that, for example, students in some ICT lessons are able to practise English skills. This is highly commended and more opportunities of this kind should be generated.

 

The English teaching team is balanced in terms of gender and experience and has built up a great deal of individual and collective expertise. The teaching of English in the senior cycle is rotated. Continuous professional development (CPD) has been provided to the whole staff in the area of co-operative learning. Some teachers have accessed in-service training and one is currently a member of the professional association. Others skilled in the use of information and communications technology (ICT) and a number of the English teachers have developed expertise in the area of learning support. There is a strong co-operative ethos in the department and therefore meetings could be used more frequently as a formal forum for the sharing of good practice. The school is supportive and application can be made to assist with funding for CPD.

 

There is good access to a range of resources such as audio-visual equipment, for example televisions and DVD players. There is a designated press for the storage of books and other materials. In addition, the school’s music room doubles up as a resource library and all teachers have access. ICT facilities and resources are good and there is a booking system in operation. In addition, the English department has access to an audio-visual room with an interactive whiteboard and data projector. It is used very effectively by some teachers of English and this should be extended to all. Coaching is available on an informal and ongoing basis. In view of this, all English teachers should up-skill themselves, where applicable, and the use of this and other ICT facilities should be fully integrated into the teaching and learning of English. In view of the fact that teachers are not classroom based, consideration should be given to the establishment of an English classroom in which all teachers are timetabled for some of their lessons and the English department could be involved in the planning of this room.

 

The school is in the process of making an application for a JCSP library under the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) initiative. A suitable space is available and such a facility would enhance the teaching and learning of English for all students in St Dominic’s. The school’s book lending scheme is working effectively. Class sets of books are available for use in English lessons. Currently, a reading scheme is being implemented in all first-year classes. For four successive weeks, on a rotating basis, a first-year class is issued with a set of appropriate books, each accompanied by an audio version of the text and earphones to allow students to read and listen simultaneously. This encourages reluctant readers. The students write books reviews and design posters based on their reading. Incentives are offered in the form of prizes. The initiative is a strand of the school’s very good literacy policy and a targeted approach of this kind is highly commended. The English department liaises on an ongoing basis with those involved in supporting students with additional learning and language needs.

 

Extra-curricular and co-curricular activities extend and complement the students’ experience of English. Students are involved in debating and public speaking and attend outings to plays and films. At the present time, the school is investigating the possibility of becoming involved in the Writers In Schools Scheme sponsored by Poetry Ireland.

 

Planning and preparation

 

The English department meets formally approximately three times a year and meetings are about one and a half hours in duration. Agendas are drawn up and minutes kept. Collaborative planning takes place. The planning folder contains an overall plan for each year group and long term (yearly) schemes drawn up by individual teachers for their classes. While a small minority were just lists with little detail, there were examples of very good practice. Given that there is a strong collegial ethos in the English department, the teachers should combine the best examples of long term schemes, amplify and modify these, and use them as templates for all yearly planning in all class groups. This would ensure greater cohesion and congruence with the yearly plan. Planning documents should be reviewed annually. The English teaching team and the school’s senior management should consult Looking at English, (2006) a report from the Inspectorate on the teaching and learning of English in post-primary schools. This document, together with the relevant syllabuses, should inform all planning endeavour. Among the areas for development are assessment and differentiation. The integration of ICT into teaching and learning is another. Alongside the hardcopy planning folder, an electronic folder for planning documents should be maintained. There is currently good practice in relation to the use of an electronic folder for resources in the case of some classes and all team members would find it very useful to acquaint themselves with these. A list of resources currently available to the department should be included in the planning folder and this list should be dated and regularly reviewed.

 

There is collaboration regarding the choice of texts and the book-lending scheme also informs choice. Care should be taken to keep texts under constant review in all classes. More drama should be studied. In view of the wide range of easily accessible texts, DVDs and support materials for the study of Shakespeare, more students should access the playwright in both the junior and senior cycles.

 

Lessons observed showed evidence of good lesson planning: resources had been prepared in advance and in many cases, the range of learning activities and teaching strategies indicated a thoughtful approach to the learning process. Objectives were usually implicit. While some very good individual practice was observed, all teachers should plan for the use of a wide variety of resources in all lessons and at all levels. There should also be clear evidence of differentiated learning strategies. Careful lesson planning and implementation is especially important in view of the erosion of lesson time and the need to maximise class contact time by using it as efficiently as possible.

 

Teaching and learning

 

Lessons were purposeful and content ranged over a variety of syllabus appropriate areas such as fiction, media studies and poetry. In the best cases, objectives were explicitly communicated. In all cases, defined objectives should be clearly articulated and should be in line with department and individual schemes. Syllabus-related learning outcomes should be written on the board at the outset of lessons. The structure and pace of the lessons were very good and exemplary practice was noted in a few instances where each phase of the lesson was carefully thought out and the transitions were smoothly managed. Teacher instructions were clear and explicit in all cases.

 

Resources used to support content were appropriate. The most commonly used resource was the board and text (either a book or handouts). The board was used very well in almost all lessons observed, for example, for graphic organisers, for recording students ideas, for structuring answers based on students’ findings and for focusing students’ attention on the key objectives of a lesson. In a few lessons, the use of a wider variety of resources was observed: in addition to text and the board, laminated cards helped to organise group work; a poster featuring key words was used as a teaching aid; visual material provided a stimulus for learning; worksheets were well chosen and deployed effectively to reinforce learning in class or to guide homework assignments. The imaginative use of a variety of resources is commended and should be extended to all classes and levels to cater for different learning styles.

 

There was a fair emphasis on the development of students’ receptive language competence. The language used by teachers modelled good practice and was readily understood by students. The extension of students’ vocabulary was a focus in some classes, particularly in the teaching of key words to assist understanding. The teaching of genre-specific language is commended. However, the explicit teaching of a broad range of language skills is an area for development across all levels and in all classes. The teaching of language and literature should be fully integrated. While studying fiction, for example, students’ attention can be directed to the writer’s use of language with the objective of developing students’ own word-attack skills and extending their repertoire of syntactical structures and use of a rich and expressive language. This should be reinforced through the setting of a wide variety of writing tasks in addition to oral presentations. Spelling and the mechanics of writing should be taught in context and patterns should be explicitly highlighted. In a junior cycle class visited, a review of earlier work indicated that students had been involved in a survey and the lesson involved an analysis of results. Extension activities were planned. This represents very good practice.

 

A range of teaching methodologies were deployed to assist learning. Question sessions were used to review material covered in previous lessons and to assess understanding. Questioning strategy was also used to develop critical analysis, for example, students were asked to identify character traits and to find evidence to support claims. In a lesson observed, exemplary practice was noted where the sequencing of questions was carefully graded and there was a strong emphasis on the development of higher-order skills. In the best samples, there was a balance between global questioning and questions targeted at individuals. However, in some there was a tendency to direct questions at the entire class group so that choral answers, answering out of turn or domination by a confident minority often resulted. As a consequence, more reluctant or diffident students escaped notice. It is important to guard against this trend and questioning strategy in all cases should be designed to ensure that all students fully participate in class activity.

 

Active learning involved pair and group work in a number of lessons. Very good practice in the organisation of group work was observed in one lesson observed: instructions were clear, students were assigned roles, worksheets were distributed to structure the activity and the task was time bound. The reporting back phase was productive and answers were recorded on the board. Good practice was also noted in lessons where teachers circulated to assess the level of activity in groups, to support those in need of additional help and to monitor and motivate those who were underperforming.

 

Students were also involved in writing activities. Copybooks indicate that while there is writing across a range of genres, the quality and quantity was limited in many samples seen. Feedback was most effective when it affirmed and motivated and offered guidance for improvement. 

 

The quality of interactions was good in most lessons observed and in some cases very good. Lessons were student centred in almost all cases. In a very small minority of cases, there was an over emphasis on teacher talk. Students asked questions and were forthright in their views. In lessons observed, students were willing to express an opinion. In some lessons, students who volunteered alternative, original and well grounded interpretations were warmly affirmed and this approach is highly commended. In some groups, the transfer of learning was very good and students were able to apply concepts and information.

 

Some senior cycle students demonstrated good organisational skills with regard to the maintenance of folders of notes. The explicit teaching of organisational skills is to be commended. This should include the systematic use of the student journal. During the course of the evaluation, it was noted that the student journal is not being consistently used by students for the purpose of recording homework in all class groups. Students should enter all homework assignments in their homework journals, whether preparation work, extension activity, research/project work or written exercises, so that they have a full and accurate record of the material they have covered in the academic year. There is a designated page in the student journal for recording both positive and negative behaviour. It is commendable that in one lesson, the page was used to affirm students who had completed a homework oral assignment to a required standard. While the verbal affirmation of students was noted in many lessons, further opportunities for celebrating achievement should be sought in a variety of ways. Examples can be found in the range of teaching resources (for example stickers and post-cards) provided through the Junior Certificate Schools Programme (JCSP) support services and the programme is available in the school.

 

Students were supported in their learning. Some classrooms had attractive displays that stimulated interest and there is scope for development in this area generally. Clear and realistic expectations were set for students. Teaching took into account contextual factors. All lessons observed were well managed. Classroom etiquette was very good in some instances where students were expected to wait their turn and put their hands up before answering. This is commended. A very good rapport between students and teachers was observed.

 

Assessment

 

Formal in-house examinations take place three times a year for years one and four, and twice for years two, three and six. Where common papers are set for common levels, markings schemes are also agreed and this is commended. The range of assessment modes to be used by all teachers of English should be specifically documented in the plan for English. Information on assessment for learning is available through the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) website at www.ncca.ie.

 

While mindful of the challenges involved in motivating students who are underperforming and of contextual factors in general, it is recommended that more substantial written assignments be set for all year groups and that these be carefully monitored. Although good practice was noted with regard to the assessment of homework in some instances, and helpful feedback was written to guide students in some cases, this was not universal practice. All homework should be regularly corrected and dated and feedback should be given to students in order to help them become better learners.

 

There was evidence of some good profiling in a minority of cases. It is recommended that teacher records of assessment across a variety of skills be scrupulously kept in all class groups in order to maintain up-to-date student profiles. Such data can be used to inform lesson planning and delivery and should also be used to advise students about their progress and to communicate accurate information to parents and guardians and to other concerned professionals in the school as the need arises.

 

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 and deputy principal at the conclusion of the evaluation when the draft findings and recommendations of the evaluation were presented and discussed.

 

 

 

 

Published June 2008