14 October, 2014 - Minister Damien English Opens Inspectorate seminar on School Self-Evaluation

The Minister for Skills, Research and Innovation, Damien English T.D., today opened a seminar on School Self-Evaluation (SSE) hosted by the Inspectorate of the Department of Education and Skills.

Approximately 240 school principals and teachers, Department officials and inspectors, and representatives from principals’ and teachers’ organisations heard an international perspective on SSE, from John MacBeath, Professor Emeritus at the University of Cambridge in England. A number of school principals also outlined their experiences in aspects of school self-evaluation.    

Opening the event, Minister English said: “School self-evaluation is a national priority, as outlined in the Programme for Government, and the fact that today’s conference was over-subscribed highlights the significant interest schools have in self-evaluation.

“One of the main purposes of today is to provide an opportunity for teachers and principals to help the Inspectorate and the support services as they develop further materials and supports.” 

The Minister also welcomed the opportunity which was offered to schools to share their practices: “Sharing practice has the potential to influence how teachers teach and how students learn. It is a fantastic opportunity for schools to learn from each other, to hear what has gone well, what the challenges have been and how they have been overcome.”

“By embedding this process in schools with enthusiasm, we will contribute to a brighter future for the pupils and students in our schools.”

In his opening address, the Chief Inspector, Dr Harold Hislop, echoed the Minster’s sentiments about listening and learning from one another. He hoped that the seminar was an opportunity ‘to take stock, to reflect on our experience and our practice to date’ and to ‘consider the strengths, opportunities and challenges we all face as we embrace SSE at school and at system level’. He acknowledged the challenge of introducing school self-evaluation as a requirement ‘at a time of cutbacks and resource challenges’ but stressed the fact the school self-evaluation was‘not simply another initiative, an additional task’ but that it was ‘a change in the culture of how we do things’. 

ENDS