Subject Inspection Report SPHE 2007

This report has been written following a subject inspection in Beech Hill College, conducted as part of a whole-school evaluation. It presents the findings of an evaluation of the quality of teaching and learning in Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE) in junior cycle 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 the subject teachers.

Subject provision and whole school support

In Beech Hill College, Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE) benefits from good subject provision and a supportive school environment. Commendably, each junior cycle class group is timetabled for one period per week, as required by CL M11/03. Since 2002, the subject has been anchored in the tutor programme in the school. In the assignment of teachers to the role of class tutor, they are invited to take responsibility for the delivery of SPHE to their designated class group. The school reports that many teachers are amenable to this arrangement and as a result, a large number of teachers are, or have been, involved in the delivery of SPHE. Allocation of teachers to the subject by consultation is commended, and continuation of this good practice will help sustain the school’s current commitment to the subject. While there are a large number of teachers involved, it is very commendable that the same teacher brings a class group through the three years of the junior cycle. The work of the SPHE team is co-ordinated in a very enthusiastic and dedicated manner as part of the duties of an assistant principal’s post.

Very commendable efforts are made to induct and support teachers who are new to SPHE, through the provision of an information pack that has been compiled by the co-ordinator. Management encourages continuing professional development (CPD) and teachers are facilitated to attend the range of in-service offered by the SPHE Support Service. This is commended, as this specialised in-service training is necessary to support the successful implementation of the subject. It is laudable that records of attendance at in-service are maintained. Consideration might now be given to developing these records to specify the particular type of training that each team member has availed of; this would provide evidence of a developmental approach to the expansion of teachers’ skills over time.

Some formal planning time is made available for subject department meetings. It is good practice that the meetings are minuted and a record of attendance is maintained. However, the team reports that one of the major challenges for the subject in the school is the availability of time for collaborative planning, given the fact that teachers are also involved in a range of other subjects. While it is important that some time is available for meetings of the full team, consideration might also be given to providing dedicated time throughout the year for teachers of SPHE to convene in their year groups to facilitate ongoing planning and review. The possibility of inviting the SPHE Support Service to work with specific year group staff, for example, at such meeting times, might be considered.

In addition to meetings and informal contact, communication is maintained with the SPHE team via memos from the co-ordinator and by the use of a notice board for SPHE, which is strategically located in the staff office.

A Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) policy has been developed and agreed and RSE is provided to all year groups. The school is commended for its full compliance with Department rules in both these regards. A number of the teachers have been trained to deliver the RSE modules; in junior cycle, delivery is incorporated into the SPHE programme. It is good practice that parents are informed, in advance, of the introduction of the RSE module.

Planning and preparation

Commendable progress has been made in subject planning for SPHE. A subject department plan, which in the main was developed by the subject co-ordinator, provides clear details of the organisation and delivery of the subject in the school. The document includes a table that summarises the agreed modules to be covered in each year of junior cycle. Individual teachers are responsible for determining the content of the SPHE programme for their particular class group. While it is acknowledged that this method of programme planning allows each teacher the flexibility to tailor the programme for individual classes, it is difficult to get an overall depiction of the specific content that is covered in each module, in each year group and for the three year cycle as a whole, without resorting to teachers’ individual planning documents. As an example, body care is listed as a module for all three years of junior cycle, but there is no indication of what aspects of body care are covered in any particular year, or how much variety occurs within year groups.

It is therefore recommended that the lists of modules in the subject department plan should be further developed to outline the topics to be covered in each module in first, second and third year, on a term-by-term basis. The topics should outline the specific learning outcomes in each case. This should be presented as one coherent document to provide a clear overview of the content of the school’s SPHE programme for the entire three-year cycle. This will ensure that key aspects of a particular module are not omitted, especially when a class group might have a change of teacher from year to year. In addition, modules can be revisited without becoming repetitive over the three-year cycle, thus ensuring a spiral and developmental approach to the delivery of the SPHE programme. Teachers’ individual planning documents should be very useful in the compilation of this document. This approach can also incorporate flexibility to tailor the programmes for specific classes or year groups to deal with emerging issues. It is important that programmes such as the anti-bullying programme and the RSE modules, which are already embedded in practice in the SPHE programme, should be documented as part of the school’s SPHE programme. As with the other modules, the three modules outlined for RSE in junior cycle, should also outline the topics and learning outcomes, to ensure coherency and continuity.

Some good individual schemes of work presented during the evaluation, outlined the content to be covered on a week-by-week basis; individual lesson plans were also presented. Some of these were of a high standard in summarising expected student outcomes as well as the activities and resources to be used for each lesson. There were also some good examples of teachers keeping records of work covered to date and of teacher reflection and evaluation of lessons; this excellent practice is commended and encouraged.

The SPHE department is mindful of the importance of the informal cross-curricular links with subjects such as Home Economics, Science and Physical Education through events such as Jump for Joy and the healthy eating campaign. In particular, students mentioned the importance of what they had learned during the recent anti-bullying week organised and delivered by the SPHE teachers through the tutor programme, using the material from the Cool School project. Resources from Junior Achievement Ireland are used to support the delivery of the SPHE modules on self-management and influences and decisions.

Support materials, resources, educational packs and videos have been built up over the years, are stored in the co-ordinator’s office and are available to all team members. It is commendable that as part of individual planning, teachers have selected and filed a variety of materials such as information leaflets and student handouts for classroom use.

Teaching and learning

There was evidence of good short-term planning and careful preparation of resources for all lessons observed. Lessons had a clear purpose and teachers generally set the content in context by reminding students of the previous week’s work; this is essential in SPHE due to the fact that students only have one class period per week for the subject. There was a particularly good example of a well structured lesson where the teacher shared the learning outcomes of the lesson with the students and at the end of the lesson returned to the outcomes to check and summarise learning, before closing with a reference to what would be covered in the subsequent lesson. This is excellent practice and provides a focus and structure for students. Lessons were pitched at an appropriate level for each group of students and some opportunities were well used to link learning to everyday life.

In the main, students engaged well with lesson content. Engagement was most successful when lessons were accompanied by well-chosen and well-used active learning methodologies that provided students with opportunities for participatory and experiential learning. In addition to the use of worksheets, workbooks and the blackboard, teachers incorporated role-play, physical activity, structured meditation, pair and group work, case studies, discussion, video and information and communication technology (ICT) into lessons. Teachers’ commitment to the use of active learning methodologies is commended. In particular, a lesson on exercise provided evidence of a well-choreographed lesson that demonstrated best practice in the use of methodologies to support teaching and learning in SPHE.

It is recommended that, when planning for and choosing methodologies, consideration should always be given to how the methodology can be used to ensure optimal student engagement. In particular, attention should be given to how the secure environment of the SPHE class could be used to engage students who may be shy or apprehensive, so that they can develop confidence in speaking in public. Opportunities to share experience and good practice amongst the team, in relation to the effective use of methodologies, should be considered as part of the team’s planning meetings.

In all classes visited, classroom management was excellent and the good practice of taking the roll call was noted. A good rapport between students and their teachers and an atmosphere of mutual respect characterised the classroom interactions, resulting in a comfortable, pleasant and supportive learning environment. Effective use was made of student affirmation and students’ contributions were warmly welcomed.

Assessment

In many cases, students have a workbook for SPHE. There was evidence of some good practice in relation to the filing and storage of students’ lesson materials, using either a folder or a copybook. This approach is commended as it ensures that students and parents have a visible record of work and achievement at the end of each year. It is laudable that the school reports to parents on students’ progress in SPHE as part of the regular student progress reports twice a year; this generally takes the form of a comment from the teacher about students’ progress in the subject.

It is commendable that some opportunities are provided in lessons for assessment of learning and assessment for learning. However, the practice varies somewhat between teachers. In some of the lessons observed, student worksheets and a variety of questioning styles were used effectively to check students’ knowledge and understanding as well providing them with opportunities to explore their attitudes and behaviour. There was evidence of some good practice in having students record the key points of the lesson in their copybooks. Commendably, some opportunities were also created for students to reflect on the content of the lessons in terms of how they might apply what they had learned to their own lives. Observation of classroom practice indicated that students are provided with much positive feedback on their participation in lessons; this is commended.

In order to progress the good work that has already begun by some of the teachers and to extend the range of assessment modes appropriate to SPHE, it is recommended that the SPHE team further explore the area of assessment and particularly assessment for learning (AfL). Planning for the assessment of students’ progress would then be incorporated with planning for teaching and learning. Material in students’ folders could act as a basis, for example, for student self-assessment, where students are provided with opportunities to reflect on their learning at the end of a lesson, or on completion of a topic. In this way, assessment is used as a tool for learning, as opposed to measuring how much or how well a topic has been learned. Student reflection and self-assessment could also inform planning and review of teaching and learning. Further information and advice on assessment in SPHE is available in the Guidelines for Teachers (pages 59-68) and from the SPHE Support Service. In addition, the NCCA website (www.ncca.ie) contains information on AfL, which teachers might find useful.

Summary of main findings and recommendations

The following are the main strengths identified in the evaluation:

SPHE is anchored in the tutor programme, is available to all junior cycle students and it benefits from a supportive school environment. The school is commended for its compliance with Department rules with regard to the provision of RSE to all year groups.
A large number of teachers are involved in the delivery of SPHE and their work is co-ordinated in a very enthusiastic and dedicated manner.
The success of the recent anti-bullying week is noted.
Commendable progress has been made in subject planning and some good individual schemes of work have been developed.
Student engagement was most successful when lessons were accompanied by well-chosen and well-used active learning methodologies.
A good rapport between students and their teachers and an atmosphere of mutual respect characterised the classroom interactions.
Opportunities were provided in some lessons for assessment of learning and assessment for learning.

As a means of building on these strengths and to address areas for development, the following key recommendations are made:

To supplement the formal time made available to the subject department at the beginning of the year, consideration should be given to providing dedicated time during the year for teachers of SPHE to convene in their year groups.
In order to provide a clear and coherent overview of the school’s SPHE programme, the topics to be covered in each module, including RSE, should be outlined and the learning outcomes specified for each topic.
In planning methodologies, consideration should always be given to how the methodology can be used to ensure optimal student engagement. Opportunities to share experience and good practice amongst the team, in relation to the effective use of methodologies, should be built-in to subject planning.
In order to extend the range of assessment modes appropriate to the subject, the SPHE team should further explore the area of assessment and particularly assessment for learning.

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.