An Roinn Oideachais agus Scileanna

Department of Education and Skills

Whole School Evaluation

Management, Leadership and Learning

REPORT

Ainm na scoile /

School name St Louis Secondary School

Seoladh na scoile /

School address

Monaghan

County Monaghan

Uimhir rolla /

Roll number 64820B

Date of Evaluation: 09-02-2017

WHAT IS A WHOLE-SCHOOL EVALUATION – MANAGEMENT, LEADERSHIP AND LEARNING?

Whole-School Evaluations – Management, Leadership and Learning report on the quality of teaching

and learning and on the quality of management and leadership in a school. They affirm good practice

and make recommendations, where appropriate, to aid the further development of educational

provision in the school.

HOW TO READ THIS REPORT

During this inspection, the inspectors evaluated and reported under the following headings or areas

of enquiry:

Quality of school leadership and management

Quality of teaching and learning

Implementation of recommendations from previous evaluations

The school’s self-evaluation process and capacity for school improvement

Inspectors describe the quality of each of these areas using the Inspectorate’s quality continuum

which is shown on the final page of this report. The quality continuum provides examples of the

language used by inspectors when evaluating and describing the quality of the school’s provision in

each area.

The board of management was given an opportunity to comment in writing on the findings and

recommendations of the report, and the response of the board will be found in the appendix of this

report.

WHOLE-SCHOOL EVALUATION – MANAGEMENT, LEADERSHIP AND LEARNING

INSPECTION ACTIVITIES DURING THIS INSPECTION

Dates of inspection 09-02-2017

Inspection activities undertaken

Meeting with board of management

Meetings with principal and deputy principal

Meetings with key staff

Review of relevant documents

Student focus-group interview

Meeting with parents

Analysis of parent, student and teacher questionnaires

Observation of teaching and learning

Examination of students’ work

Interaction with students

Feedback to senior management team, board of management and teachers

SCHOOL CONTEXT

St Louis Secondary School is an all-girls voluntary secondary school under the trusteeship of the Le

Chéile Trust. The school provides a broad range of programmes including, Junior Certificate, optional

Transition Year (TY), the Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme (LCVP) and the Leaving Certificate.

Enrolment has increased in recent years and stands currently at 529 students.

SUMMARY OF MAIN FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS:

FINDINGS

The quality of school management and leadership is good, with some very good practice noted; strategic planning needs development.

School management and staff are strongly committed to providing a welcoming and inclusive environment; very effective student-support structures are evident.

The curriculum responds to student needs, though the deployment of some resources needs review.

The overall quality of teaching and learning ranged from good to very good; there is scope to enhance planning for differentiation and some aspects of assessment practice.

There is a strong commitment and very good capacity for school improvement; progress in the implementation of previous recommendations is good.

While the revised junior-cycle subject specifications are being taught; no planning or assessment meetings are taking place due to on-going industrial action.

RECOMMENDATIONS

To provide for continuity, the board in collaboration with stakeholders should agree a specific list of whole-school priorities for the next phase of school planning; associated action plans should be documented.

Whole-school provision and planning for students with special educational needs should be based on the guidance provided by Department Circular 0070/2014.

A review of TY and LCVP should be conducted to optimise the quality of learner outcomes and experiences.

To consolidate the very good teaching observed, formal strategies for teachers to share effective practice in differentiation and formative assessment approaches should be introduced.

DETAILED FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

1. QUALITY OF SCHOOL MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP

1.1. School ownership and management: The overall quality of school management and leadership is good, with some very good practice evident; questionnaire data indicate a very good level of satisfaction on how well the school is run. The board of management has a very commendable level of shared expertise and is provided with a good level of on-going support from the trustees. The sub-committees established in the areas of buildings, finance and policy enable members to use their expertise to support projects. The board is strongly committed to managing the school’s resources and has made some good progress in priorities relating to infrastructure, student enrolment and pastoral care. A number of policies have also been updated, but a more robust system of policy review is needed. There is scope for the board to develop its practice for monitoring and leading matters relating to teaching and learning. This could be achieved through the establishment of a relevant sub-committee and inclusion of teaching and learning as a regular agenda item at meetings. Questionnaire data indicate a need to enhance communication between the board and relevant stakeholders. This could be achieved through enhancing existing procedures for informing and consulting all relevant stakeholders on matters relating to the operation and performance of the school, including strategic planning matters. School management is strongly committed to leading a school that provides a high-quality holistic education programme. There is a clear shared vision underpinned by values such as respect for diversity, promoting positive relationships and enabling students to do their best. There is strong agreement that these core values inform school practice. While the quality of strategic leadership to achieve this vision is satisfactory, there is scope to implement a more targeted, balanced and measurable approach to the next phase of whole-school development planning. The board is reaching the end of its term of office. There is a need to provide a framework to facilitate smooth transitions in school planning matters. It is recommended that the board, in collaboration with relevant stakeholders, agree a list of whole-school priorities that includes teaching and learning, for the next phase of school planning. Relevant action plans should be documented and progress reviewed regularly. Senior management operates as a very effective team. Their individual skill set, together with their collaborative and consultative leadership style provides a very effective synergy that serves the school well. The principal carries a considerable workload in managing matters relating to the physical resources and this impacts on the time available for other key priorities. The respective roles and responsibilities of the board and senior management need to be re-considered to provide time for pedagogic leadership functions. The middle-management team works in a dedicated manner; members have demonstrated flexibility in taking on revised duties. The collaborative approach adopted by the board to the most recent post review is indicative of very good practice.

There is a strong sense of community in the school. Questionnaire data indicate strongly that parents feel welcomed. Parents and students, who met with the inspectors during the evaluation, highly commended the quality of the professional relationships within the school. Valuable efforts are made to foster student leadership through the coiste, class prefect and cairde structures. These students work diligently in their respective roles. Evidence from student questionnaires indicates a need to enhance the student voice in school matters. To enhance practice, the board should makes arrangements to establish a democratically elected student council comprising students from junior and senior cycle.

1.2 Effectiveness of leadership for learning

The overall quality of leadership for learning is good; with aspects of very effective practice apparent. The board actively supports the provision of high-quality learning, particularly through its support for on-going staff development. It is commendable that a learning co-ordinator was appointed following the recent post review. This role should be used to co-ordinate the implementation of a specific range of whole-school teaching and learning priorities that have been collaboratively agreed with school management and staff. The senior management team is committed to leading learning. The principal deploys staff strategically in accordance with their specific strengths and skills. However, the deployment of some teaching hours needs review. At the time of evaluation, a significant minority of hours allocated by the Department for supporting students with special educational needs (SEN) was absorbed into the general teaching allocation. Management should ensure the allocation of these resources is in accordance with directions provided in Department circular 70/2014. Staff members work hard and manifest a very enthusiastic, committed approach to their work; a high level of volunteerism is apparent. Commendably, staff are afforded opportunities to lead initiatives in the school. There have been significant changes in personnel in recent years; this has been well managed. While efforts are made to support new staff, teacher questionnaire data indicate that there is scope to develop additional supports for new teachers and to facilitate enhanced collaborative work practices. School management should establish a formal mentoring system for new staff and provide additional collaborative opportunities for colleagues. There has been a good level of engagement with continuing professional development (CPD). However, a more systematic approach to the planning and sharing of learning from CPD would prove beneficial. An analysis of CPD needs should be undertaken to support the realisation of the next set of identified priorities in teaching and learning. To embed learning at whole-school level, consideration should be given to piloting new initiatives with a view to maximising the benefits for all staff later. While the organisation of in-school meetings and communication mechanisms is indicative of good practice, teacher questionnaire data indicate that there is a need to review the effectiveness of in-school communication. The absence of staff planning meetings, due to the on-going industrial action, is impacting negatively on the quality of teachers’ collaborative planning. A very good range of subjects and programmes is available. Deliberate efforts are made to ensure that the curriculum provided meets evolving student needs. A highly commendable emphasis is placed on students’ holistic development through the provision of subjects such as Choir, Computer Studies and the recent introduction of senior-cycle Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE). A vibrant co-curricular and extra-curricular programme enhances the quality of learner experiences. Questionnaire data indicate very high levels of satisfaction with the whole-school SPHE programme. The planned

physical education (PE) programme supports student engagement. However, sixth-year students should be timetabled for PE in accordance with the Rules and Programmes for Secondary Schools. Planning for and implementation of the revised Junior Cycle Framework is limited due to the on-going industrial action. The school timetable needs to be re-configured to support implementation of the Framework. The principal has begun some preliminary planning work in this regard but a more collaborative approach is needed. Access to optional subjects in first year could be examined as part of the timetable review. The TY programme provides a very broad range of learning opportunities but there is scope to provide a more integrated approach to student learning. At the time of the evaluation, it was noted that preparation for a school event was impacting significantly on students’ ongoing attendance and engagement with other TY modules. Sporadic student attendance in TY was also highlighted in some subject-planning documentation reviewed. Co-curricular activities are an essential part of learning in TY, but the timetable of events should be configured in a manner that optimises engagement with all areas of learning. It is recommended that the TY core team, in collaboration with relevant stakeholders, conduct a formal review of the organisation of learning experiences in TY to optimise engagement with all components of the programme. The TY module descriptors should be developed further to provide for an enhanced integrated approach to learning. Provision for LCVP requires improvement. Link module lessons are provided only as an eighth subject, on an option line against higher-level Maths and Study. This arrangement does not facilitate the implementation of an integrated LCVP programme. The operation of LCVP should be reviewed by a core team and remaining study periods on the Leaving Certificate timetable should be eliminated. Good efforts are made to enable students to achieve their best; achievement in the certificate examinations is good. The plans to enhance in-school procedures for tracking students’ progress are indicative of very good practice and should be pursued, and include strategies that assist students to track their own progress. The school is committed to supporting students with special educational needs (SEN); a high level of internal expertise is apparent with some very good practice evident. Some aspects of this provision need development. A robust system of planning for, and tracking of, individual student’s progress for all those in receipt of additional support needs to be implemented. Regular meetings of the SEN core team should be scheduled to facilitate this work. In addition, the range of support options should be extended to include team teaching and overcome a reliance on small-group withdrawal. In the case of students for whom English is an additional language, systematic assessments of students’ language levels should be undertaken to inform the planned programme of support. School management and staff consider the promotion of a safe, secure and happy environment a key requirement in facilitating highly-effective learner experiences. School polices supporting students work well. A comprehensive student-transfer programme supports students in transferring from primary school; the family-liaison officer effectively facilitates positive relationships between home and school. Year heads and class tutors are key student-support structures. The weekly year head meeting is good practice and should facilitate the implementation of a consistent approach to the role of year head. The class-tutor time at the beginning of the school day is a key pastoral support; the programme of activities covered should be integrated into a whole-school SPHE programme plan.

The guidance counsellor and school chaplain provide a commendable range of career and personal guidance interventions, while the recently introduced student-support team provides for an integrated approach to supporting needs of specific students. It is good practice that the whole-school guidance policy is being updated and that the system of student referrals is being standardised. This policy should now be finalised and ratified by the board. Confirmation was provided that the board of management has formally adopted the Child Protection Procedures for Primary and Post-Primary Schools without modification and that the school is compliant with the requirements of the Child Protection Procedures for Primary and Post-Primary Schools.

1.3 Management of facilities The overall quality of the management of facilities is very good; buildings and grounds are very well maintained. Health and safety routines are well established. Classrooms are maintained as vibrant learning environments and the cluster-arrangement of year-group classrooms enhances the sense of community within the school. The Department of Education and Skills has just approved a devolved grant to progress a major building project. The board, in collaboration with the trustees, needs to consider how this project will be manged in a sustainable manner for the in-school management team. An eLearning plan to support the upgrading of information and communication technology (ICT) is being developed. As a first step, an overall vison for ICT as a teaching and learning tool should be agreed collaboratively to inform the eLearning actions.

2. QUALITY OF LEARNING AND TEACHING

The quality of teaching and learning ranged from good to very good in the majority of lessons observed, with some exemplary practice noted. There is scope to enhance the quality of student learning through greater planning for differentiation and incorporating additional formative assessment practices in lessons. A very good level of preparation was evident for all lessons, with a wide range of resources prepared in advance to support learning. While a few instances of exemplary use of ICT was noted, further consideration needs to be given to the benefits of ICT as a teaching and learning tool. Learning intentions were shared at the outset of all lessons. Best practice was evident when the intentions supported a developmental and incremental approach to learning. Where the intentions were shared in a student-friendly manner, and revisited, students were enabled to reflect effectively on their learning and additional opportunities were provided to assess actual progress. Deliberate efforts are made to create a positive learning environment. There was a very good rapport apparent in all interactions. Student behaviour was exemplary, with clearly established classroom routines evident. Some very good efforts were made to incorporate a variety of activities into lessons. High-quality learning was noted in instances where the lesson content or tasks assigned were sufficiently differentiated to challenge students of all ability. Some lessons adopted a whole-class approach, with the same content and tasks delivered in the same way for all students; given the range of abilities the further use of differentiated methodologies is recommended so as to provide high-quality learner outcomes for all.

In accordance with the stated school self-evaluation (SSE) priority, teaching strategies that supported students’ literacy development were noted in some lessons. Teachers need to consider the effectiveness of implementation of the agreed strategies and provide additional opportunities for students to develop oracy skills. In most lessons, deliberate efforts were made to facilitate active learning. Students in many instances were provided with opportunities to work collaboratively through pair work, group work and practical tasks. High-quality learning was facilitated when students were given sufficient time to process, apply and discuss the assigned tasks. Teachers need to be mindful of the pace and pitch of lesson activities to ensure that students are given appropriate time to engage in a meaningful way that supports deeper learning. The quality and effectiveness of formative assessment practice varied significantly in lessons. Further consideration needs to be given to how students’ learning is assessed. Questioning was the dominant formative assessment strategy used in most lessons. However, questions tended to be lower-order, requiring very brief answers, with teachers then expanding on the answer themselves. Further use of higher-order questions with increased wait time is recommended to foster deeper understanding. Some exemplary use of “show-me” boards and traffic-light strategies was noted as alternative formative assessment approaches. In a few lessons, peer and self-assessment strategies were used very effectively to enable students to reflect on their learning. There is scope to extend these highly effective practices. Homework is assigned regularly and, in general, students maintain copybooks very well. While a good level of teacher monitoring of student work was noted, there is scope to develop the use of formative written feedback to provide students with clear advice on how they can improve their learning and to effectively challenge students of all abilities. It is evident that there is a good level of informal sharing of effective practice among teachers. In order to consolidate and extend very good teaching, and to support learning that is of a consistently high quality, it is recommended that formal strategies for teachers to share practice in the areas of differentiation and formative assessment be introduced. Subject departments are well established. A review of planning documentation indicated that there is variation in the quality of programme planning. Best practice was noted where the learning intentions demonstrated incremental progression and were linked to specific teaching, learning and assessment strategies. New subject specifications in Junior Cycle English, Business and Science are being implemented but there is a lack of engagement with the related CPD. The classroom-based assessments for English or subject learning and assessment review meetings, as required by Circular 0024/2016, have not taken place. The reason for this was reported to be industrial action. Subject departments are reflective and review outcomes in the certificate examinations. There is scope to use this data further to inform action plans that support continuous improvements in teaching and learning.

3. IMPLEMENTATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS FROM PREVIOUS EVALUATIONS

The overall quality of implementation of recommendations from previous inspections is good, with some very good progress evident. Timetabled provision for junior-cycle music has been improved.

Teachers share the outcomes of inspections with colleagues: this very good practice is supporting the ongoing development of planning for teaching and learning across the school.

Teachers are making deliberate efforts to incorporate active learning and additional formative assessment strategies in lessons. Previous recommendations made in relation to developing students’ oral language, planning for differentiation and formative assessment need to be fully realised.

4. THE SCHOOL’S SELF-EVALUATION PROCESS AND CAPACITY SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT

The school has a very good capacity for school improvement but structures and processes to maintain the momentum of SSE need to be strengthened. School management and staff work in a reflective manner and are committed to school improvement. Three school improvement plans have been documented; though two remain in draft form. The recently appointed learning co-ordinator has made some good progress in re-invigorating the process but a systematic approach to the implementation and monitoring of progress is needed. To further progress SSE, a core teaching and learning team should be re-established to work in collaboration with school management and the learning co-ordinator. The next set of SSE targets agreed should be clearly based on evidence gathered from all relevant stakeholders, be easily measured and be progressed specifically through the teaching and learning of all subjects.

In line with the requirements of circular 40/2016, the board should make arrangements for the ratification of a SSE report and improvement plan, and prepare a summary report for dissemination to school community.

Appendix

School response to the report

Submitted by the Board of Management

Part A: Observations on the content of the inspection report The Board of Management of St Louis Secondary School, Monaghan welcomes the inspectors’ report. The Board is particularly happy that the exemplary behaviour of the students was commended. We welcome the positive findings in relation to the care of students. The Board is pleased to note the acknowledgement that a good range of subjects and programmes is available, that deliberate efforts are made to ensure that the curriculum provided meets evolving students’ needs, and that there is a highly commendable emphasis placed on students’ holistic development. The Board acknowledges the strong sense of community in the school by all staff and the senior management team. The Board values the contribution of the Parents’ Association and the Coiste. Part B: Follow-up actions planned or undertaken since the completion of the inspection activity to implement the findings and recommendations of the inspection All recommendations in the report will be progressed, and we will continue to work in partnership with staff, parents, students and the wider community to achieve the excellence to which we aspire.

Published April 2017 / Foilsithe Aibreán 2017

THE INSPECTORATE’S QUALITY CONTINUUM

Inspectors describe the quality of provision in the school using the Inspectorate’s quality continuum

which is shown below. The quality continuum provides examples of the language used by inspectors

when evaluating and describing the quality the school’s provision of each area.

Level Description Example of descriptive terms

Very Good

Very good applies where the quality of the areas evaluated is of a very high standard. The very few areas for improvement that exist do not significantly impact on the overall quality of provision. For some schools in this category the quality of what is evaluated is outstanding and provides an example for other schools of exceptionally high standards of provision.

Very good; of a very high quality; very effective practice; highly commendable; very successful; few areas for improvement; notable; of a very high standard. Excellent; outstanding; exceptionally high standard, with very significant strengths; exemplary

Good

Good applies where the strengths in the areas evaluated clearly outweigh the areas in need of improvement. The areas requiring improvement impact on the quality of pupils’ learning. The school needs to build on its strengths and take action to address the areas identified as requiring improvement in order to achieve a very good standard.

Good; good quality; valuable; effective practice; competent; useful; commendable; good standard; some areas for improvement

Satisfactory

Satisfactory applies where the quality of provision is adequate. The strengths in what is being evaluated just outweigh the shortcomings. While the shortcomings do not have a significant negative impact they constrain the quality of the learning experiences and should be addressed in order to achieve a better standard.

Satisfactory; adequate; appropriate provision although some possibilities for improvement exist; acceptable level of quality; improvement needed in some areas

Fair

Fair applies where, although there are some strengths in the areas evaluated, deficiencies or shortcomings that outweigh those strengths also exist. The school will have to address certain deficiencies without delay in order to ensure that provision is satisfactory or better.

Fair; evident weaknesses that are impacting on pupils’ learning; less than satisfactory; experiencing difficulty; must improve in specified areas; action required to improve

Weak

Weak applies where there are serious deficiencies in the areas evaluated. Immediate and coordinated whole-school action is required to address the areas of concern. In some cases, the intervention of other agencies may be required to support improvements.

Weak; unsatisfactory; insufficient; ineffective; poor; requiring significant change, development or improvement; experiencing significant difficulties;