An Roinn Oideachais agus Eolaíochta
Department
of Education and Science
Subject
Inspection of Guidance
REPORT
Charleville,
Roll number:
62440E
Date of
inspection: 23 January 2007
Date of
issue of report: 8 November
2007
Subject provision
and whole school support
Summary of main
findings and recommendations
Report on the Quality of Provision in Guidance
Subject
inspection report
This report has been written following a subject
inspection in
Subject
provision and whole school support
The
Two hundred and three boys are enrolled.
Under the terms of Circular PPT12/05 the school is entitled to an allocation of
eleven hours for Guidance for the 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 school years. It is
reported by the principal that the projected enrolment is stable at about this
level. It will be important, from the perspective of Guidance, that the
enrolment will remain above two hundred to maintain the current allocation.
The guidance counsellor is a permanent,
whole-time teacher with responsibilities for teaching English and Geography in
addition to being timetabled for ten hours and forty-two minutes of Guidance.
The hours are well used and it is noted that the actual time devoted to
Guidance is far greater than the allocation. One class period per week is
timetabled for TY Guidance and two periods for the Leaving Certificate
Vocational Programme (LCVP). The remaining hours are used for a variety of
guidance purposes, including one-to-one work, planning meetings and inputs into
junior-cycle and senior-cycle classes at times of critical decision making.
The use of pastoral care as a general
approach to the education of boys in the school is commended. A strong
Christian ethos is underpinned by staff involvement in and support of the
system of care and guidance. A system of class tutors has been established and
is co-ordinated by a team with the notable involvement of the religious
education department and of the chaplain, the local parish priest. Support for
students with special educational needs and in personal, social, educational
and vocational decision making is a normal feature of life in the school and a
shared sense of responsibility is in evidence. Teachers spoken to reported that
most students were known to them and the impression given was that of a large
family in which responsibilities and rights are respected. More formal,
guidance-related, curricular inputs are also in evidence in the Social,
Personal and Health Education (SPHE), LCVP and TY programmes. The guidance
counsellor is in regular communication with teachers of these programmes both
as guidance counsellor, as programme co-ordinator and also as teacher. In
addition, a good balance has been achieved through the development of a
well-planned programme, in the provision of Guidance to all year groups in
classes, small groups and one-to-one settings.
Communication within the school is mainly
on an informal level but is very good. The established planning structures lend
the desired level of formality to communication both within groups and among
them. The involvement of the principal as leader and as the hub of
communication within the school is commended. In the context of future
development, the existing planning structures will enable smooth transitions
and the potential for more formal channels of communication in accordance with
the needs of the school.
A centrally located office is designated
for the use of the guidance counsellor and is used for administrative and for
counselling purposes. Some modifications have been made, in keeping with
child-protection guidelines, such as the insertion of a small window in the
door. It is well equipped with technological supports, including broadband
access, and secure storage facilities. A well-stocked guidance library is also
situated in the room. Displays of guidance-related materials and posters are
visible throughout the school in classrooms and in corridors. Access to the internet
is possible on an individual basis in the guidance office and on a group basis
in the information and communication technology (ICT) room. Access to these
facilities is reported by the guidance counsellor to be satisfactory.
Links with the pastoral care team,
chaplain and special education co-ordinator are at a regular and relatively
informal level, and are good. Similarly, communication with senior management
is continual. It is recommended that some formality be brought to the
co-ordination of student support in general by the introduction of meetings of
the co-ordinators of these areas on a regular basis and in keeping with the
high standard of meeting practice already in existence in the school. Members
of the current guidance-planning task group might, on completion of its
school-development-planning brief, be invited to participate in the planning
activities of the recommended student-support team as the need arose.
Referral systems in the school are
effective. Constant informal contact between the guidance counsellor, senior
management and staff ensures that students at risk are quickly identified and
dealt with. Contact with students confirms this. Students felt that presenting
issues came quickly to the attention of teachers. They also felt that teachers
were effective in dealing with issues and that most issues could be dealt with
at subject-teacher level. Cases in which referrals to outside agencies are
warranted are managed by the principal in collaboration with the guidance
counsellor, and with the co-ordinator of special education where the National
Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) is involved. The guidance counsellor
operates a standard system of appointments whereby students may self-refer or
be referred by staff. Records of appointments are kept. The system is operating
well.
Planning
and preparation
Excellent work has been done in the
preparation of the guidance plan. The work has been carried out in accordance
with the guidelines of the School Development Planning Initiative (SDPI). A
task group with responsibility for development of the guidance plan was formed
and the group has performed its functions to an impressive standard. Clear
documentation was kept of the process of meetings and decision-making. Regular
consultation took place with interested staff members. The definition of
Guidance was commendably broad and included educational, social and personal,
and vocational guidance and counselling. The resulting documentation is clear,
embraces the whole school and is at an advanced stage in the process of
ratification by the board of management.
The programme outlined in the proposed
whole-school guidance plan encompasses the range of student experience, from
pre-entry to post-leaving, including programmes with high guidance content such
as SPHE, TY and LCVP. It also includes those elements of the programme of the
pastoral team which overlap with Guidance, such as responses to critical
incidents, personal support of students and policy issues related to admission,
bullying, substance use, and student management. Because of
the core nature of these activities in support of students, it is recommended
that the guidance counsellor and the co-ordinators of special education and of
the pastoral team form a small student support team and that the team should
meet regularly to plan and discuss issues of common concern. The guidance counsellor’s personal plan and programme
reflect a strong supportive presence at each of the major transitions in a
student’s schooling. There is evidence of involvement during the transition
from primary to secondary school, during first, third and fourth years when
optional subjects are chosen and in the senior cycle when training courses and
occupational choices are made.
Good use is made ICT. Students have access
to broadband internet during one-to-one sessions with the guidance counsellor
and group access is readily arranged in the ICT room in co-operation with the
ICT co-ordinator. Similarly, computers are extensively used in programme
planning, the arrangement and recording of meetings and in drawing up the
guidance plan.
Continuous contact with senior management
facilitates guidance inputs into curriculum planning, particularly during the
process of student subject-choice. The process at the school is based on
student preference. The school endeavours to provide a range of subjects which
matches expressed preferences to available subjects. The guidance counsellor is
co-ordinator of the process and is closely involved in any proposals for
modification by students’ of their choices of subjects and levels. The guidance
counsellor is also in a position to advise management on emerging trends in
student preference and in external factors such as course requirements.
Parents are formally involved in student
guidance through participation in arranged meetings at the main stages of
transition. The guidance counsellor makes presentations and is available to
parents at meetings arranged at those stages. During the year of student entry
to the school, for example, a series of meetings is arranged to inform parents
and prospective students as to the nature of the school and the procedures and
policies in place. Explanatory notes have been written by the guidance
counsellor and other staff and these are distributed to parents. Similarly,
meetings are arranged to inform parents of subject and programme choices,
particularly during first year, third year and TY.
The wider community is involved in the
school’s guidance programme and it is reported that this involvement is
generous and supportive. The work-experience programme is an example of
community involvement which is enhanced by good planning and procedures on the
part of the school. Links have also been established with the training and educational
institutions such as FÁS and the colleges of further and higher education.
These institutions provide speakers to senior classes and facilitate the
contact between interested students and relevant staff in the institutions
through open days and personal visits.
The guidance counsellor is involved in
continuous professional development in both the administrative and personal
aspects of the profession such as the guidance planning modular course of the
National Centre for Guidance in Education (NCGE) and in training in Reality
Therapy. Such good practice is commended and the value of such development is
admirably demonstrated by the effectiveness of the work.
Teaching
and learning
One lesson was observed in the course of
the inspection. A sixth-year class was given a final summary of the Central
Applications Office (CAO) procedures in preparation for the imminent closing
date for application. The use of an electronic slide presentation by laptop and
data projector is commended and a printed version of the slides proved useful
in overcoming some initial difficulties with the technology and showed
versatility on the part of the teacher. Good use was made of the slide prompts.
Additional comments by the teacher ensured that the presentation was relevant
and contemporary. Questions were well used during the lesson and were sensitive
to varying levels of student comprehension. References to previous lessons and
presentations by visiting speakers helped to provide a framework for the lesson
and were integrated into it as a matter of course.
The atmosphere in the classroom was
friendly and relaxed and the presence of the inspector did not appear unduly to
influence the course of the lesson. Students were seated at tables which were
arranged so that the screen onto which the images were projected was visible to
all. The teacher checked that all students could see the screen prior to the
presentation.
Students remained engaged throughout the
lesson. Clarification of issues raised in the presentation, such as the
importance of the order of preference of courses on the application form, was
dealt with in an informed manner and student questions showed engagement with
those issues. Assessment of the students’ knowledge of the terms used was well
interspersed in the lesson. Student responses during the lesson and in
conversation with the inspector demonstrated familiarity with the application
process and displayed practical use of the information in their personal
choices.
Assessment
Assessment practices have been reviewed
recently and the timing of the assessment of incoming students is being changed
in the current year to March prior to entry. Incoming students had prior to
this been assessed in the early days of September in first year. This proved to
be unsatisfactory in that the results of assessments had not been available as
a monitoring device in the early days of secondary schooling. Assessments of
general ability and of reading ability are carried out on all incoming students
using the Drumcondra Reasoning Test and the Neale Analysis of Reading Ability. The tests are
administered by the guidance counsellor and co-ordinator of special education,
and the collaborative effort involved in this and in the subsequent process of
monitoring and student support is commended.
The Differential Aptitude Tests are used
in fifth year in conjunction with a range of interest inventories in the senior
cycle in support of student decision making. The results of such instruments
are communicated to students on an individual basis and in accordance with good
professional practice.
The destinations of students who have left
school are tracked by the guidance counsellor.
The quality of planning has already been
mentioned in this report and one of its associated benefits is the quality of
record keeping. Records are kept of meetings with individuals and with groups
of students and of staff. Meetings are convened and recorded in accordance with
standard procedures and follow-up meetings are well recorded.
Summary of
main findings and recommendations
The following are the main strengths identified in the
evaluation:
·
A strong
sense of ownership and commitment to values-based education is in evidence.
·
Communication at all levels is clear, open, informal and effective.
·
The values of
care and development expressed in the Edmund Rice Charter are well demonstrated
in the school’s guidance programme and plan.
·
The
whole-school guidance plan and programme are comprehensive and well informed.
·
The plan and
programme of staff directly involved in the guidance and care of students are
similarly comprehensive and well informed.
·
Very good planning systems have been established in the school.
·
The success of
planning is evaluated with reference to the charter.
·
The
whole-school guidance plan is at an advanced stage in preparation for
ratification by the board of management.
As a means of building on these strengths
the following key recommendations are made:
·
It is
recommended that the guidance counsellor and the co-ordinators of special
education and of the pastoral team form a small student support team and that
the team should meet regularly to plan and discuss issues of common concern.
·
It is also
recommended that the content of meetings be recorded in keeping with current
practice in relation to meetings of planning groups.
Post-evaluation meetings were held with the guidance
counsellor and with the principal at the conclusion of the evaluation when the
draft findings and recommendations of the evaluation were presented and
discussed.