School-Self Evaluation 2018-2021
2018-2019 was the first year of a 3-year cycle for the school’s programme of self-evaluation: 2018-2021. Both literacy and Numeracy are areas of focus. Specifically, the areas under consideration are:
– Literacy: Oral Language & Vocabulary Development
– Numeracy: Mental Maths
The school has already taken positive steps this year in terms of numeracy and literacy, including:
Numeracy:
– Appointment of Numeracy Leaders to manage and take a strategic leadership role in developing this area
– Substantial investment in mental maths boxes for each class with a wide range of maths resources to facilitate small group instruction, peer collaboration, and verbalising of maths process and strategies. The concrete materials both challenge more able students while supporting struggling children where necessary
– Facilitators from Professional Development Support Team (PDST) visiting school to advise teachers and management on how best to address above targets
– Teachers undertaking training Ready, Set, Go maths and Mata sa Rang to assist in developing in-class support model.
Literacy:
– Appointment of Literacy Leaders to manage and take a strategic leadership role in developing this area
– Purchase of class novels for each class 1st-6th
– Introduction of new assessment battery: PM benchmarking Kit to assist in determining levels for Literacy Lift Off.
– Inclusion of new standardised test at end of year: Single Word Spelling Test (SWST)
– Purchase of PM+ Teacher Guides to enhance Literacy Lift Off practice
– Teacher trained to deliver Reading Recovery programme from 2019 onwards
Staff have undertaken an evaluation of current practice using the following document: Looking at Our School 2016: A Quality Framework for Primary Schools. Please follow the link to view the document: https://www.education.ie/en/Publications/Inspection-Reports-Publications/Evaluation-Reports-Guidelines/Looking-at-Our-School-2016-A-Quality-Framework-for-Primary-Schools.pdf
The voices of parents and children form an important part of the self-evaluation process, as parents and children are the schools partners in education. To this end, children have already completed surveys to critically reflect on their own experience of mental maths, oral language, and vocabulary in school. Parents are also being asked to complete surveys available on the school app. The information generated by these surveys will inform the school plan for improvement. It is, therefore, essential that parents take the time to complete these short surveys as it will directly affect your child’s experience of school. We are very grateful to parents for taking the time to complete these surveys.
Results of these surveys will be made available once completed and tabulated.
The school will continue to update parent’s on the school’s plan and its development.
