1. THE PRACTICAL APPROACH School Self Evaluation

2. Workshop Objectives SSE The Positives of SSE A Good Place to Begin How to choose the Area Planning Together The School Improvement Plan The Tools of SSE The SSE Report SSE in my School

3. What does SSE mean to you right now??

4. The Positives Builds on the good practice already established Teachers are used to examining their practice and finding ways to improve it SSE structures this approach Creates a balance between external and internal inspections Will begin gradually with the focus on a small number of areas

5. The Positives Continued Is an integral part of the Literacy and Numeracy Strategy (Ref: www.education.ie)

6. The Positives Continued! First four years-literacy, numeracy and one other area (Different schedule for Gaelscoileanna) Gaelscoileanna begin with literacy in Irish, literacy in English and numeracy over the first three years. Special schools engage as outlined for primary schools/ post primary adapting the process to meet the needs in their particular context. Comes with a range of supports: in-service, publications (circular, introduction, explanatory leaflet, letter from the chief inspector and the guidelines), website support and inspector visits Paperwork kept to a minimum

7. Where to Begin Do not be afraid! Remember the positive aspects The attitude and approach of the principal and deputy principal is key A culture of positivity, trust and affirmation helps The process can be interesting and will be informative Clarity is essential for everyone involved Belief in the process is essential, that gut feeling!

8. How well are we doing? What is the best way to approach this with your staff? An opportunity to list all the “good things” An opportunity to list all the “bad things” How will you react to the “bad things” Join everyone in a celebration of the good things!

9. Complete the Legislative and Regulatory checklist at the back of the guidelines Appendix to School Self Evaluation Report – Legislative and Regulatory Checklist..\sse_guidelines_primary.pdf Ref: (www.schoolself-evaluation.ie)www.schoolself-evaluation.ie

10. Six Step School Self-Evaluation Process THE SIX-STEP SCHOOL SELF-EVALUATION PROCESS

11. Literacy/Numeracy A decision to chose numeracy How well are we doing with numeracy? How do we gauge this? Have a look at the Teaching and Learning Perspectives Learner Outcomes Learning Experiences Teachers’ Practice

12. What do the Perspectives Mean? Learner Outcomes is about attainment of the curricular objectives (pages 30 and 31) Learning Experiences are about the learning environment (pages 32/33), the pupils’ engagement in learning (pages 34/35) and how the pupil is learning to learn (pages 36/37) Teachers’ Practice is about planning and preparation for teaching (pages 38/39), teaching approaches or methodologies (pages 40/41), the management of pupils (pages 42/43) and assessment (pages 44/45)

13. Quality Statements Use pages 30-44 of the Guidelines to be guided by the Quality Statements..\sse_guidelines_primary 1.pdf Ref: (www.schoolself-evaluation.ie)www.schoolself-evaluation.ie

14. The Outcomes are a Good Place to Begin! The other perspectives come in almost naturally! Next step is the gathering of the evidence Assessment Data Be careful with this disclosure! A closer look-computation!

15. Maths Results 2010 A dis-improvement of maths results from the Bell Curve and the comparison with the national norms

16. But why computation? Focus on one area only-this is vital Focus on one area of the school-4 th and 5 th class Examine the evidence. Ask why? Two conclusions-tables and mental maths, carelessness! What are we going to do about this?

17. Making the Plan Together Staff discussion An in-depth look at the approaches to tables and mental maths-use the evaluation criteria Some interesting dialogue/arguments! An agreed approach Help from the parents-information evening, practical demonstrations, leaflets Documenting this work-School Improvement Plan

18. The School Improvement Plan Summary of Main Strengths Summary of Main Areas requiring Improvement Improvement Targets Required Actions Persons Responsible Timeframe for Action Success Criteria Review Dates Ref: (www.schoolself-evaluation.ie)www.schoolself-evaluation.ie

19. School Improvement Plan

20. The School Improvement Plan Target-To improve the teaching and learning of mental maths and tables to bring about an improvement in computation Baseline Data-Results of the Sigma-T tests Year 1 Staff meetings, discussion and formulation of a plan Year 2 Continuous work as above and standardised testing again

21. The School Improvement Plan continued Specific Targets Action: Patterns and Rhymes, “pure tables”, speed tests and mixed up tests Decision made on the language Parental help with homework Monitoring and Review Follow up discussion at the next staff meeting, teacher comments and observation, teacher designed tasks, parental feedback

22. The School Improvement Plan Completed Success Criteria and Evaluation How will progress be measured? Teacher observation, parental and teacher feedback, teacher designed tests and tasks, students self evaluation, assessment tests

23. Drawing Conclusions Significant Strengths Strengths outweigh Weaknesses Weaknesses outweigh Strengths Significant Weaknesses

24. The Tools Learner and Parent Surveys (Google Docs) (Ref: www.google.ie) Focus Groups-Teachers, Pupils, Parents, BOM Interviews-Teachers, Pupils, Parents, BOM Peer Dialogue/Sharing of Experiences Peer Observation/Review

25. The School Self Evaluation Report and Sharing with the School Community Short and Succinct 2/3 pages only The BOM decides what is to be included in the report to the School Community Both the SIP and the SSE Report are to be available to parents but not distributed to them

26. Are We Finished Now?? We’re only beginning! Put time and effort into celebrating achievement Acknowledge the work, the camaraderie and the achievement Bring it back to our core task, to provide the best education possible for the children in our care Do not show any signs of stress or overwhelming! Be excited about this initiative and believe in it Not another initiative but a method of helping ourselves

27. The Possible Next Step Maths Results Improved Literacy in need of attention Two main areas-comprehension and writing Presently, the focus is on comprehension Third area-The Active Flag (PE)

28. A Look at my own School Is there an area that you are focussing on or focused on in the past or should be working on? How has this worked for you? How is it working for you? How will you tackle this problem? Please share this with the group

29. The Final Analysis! Make use of SSE to improve the education being provided for the children in your school Present it as a positive step to your staff SSE is here to stay! Leadership and supports are the next steps Ignore the large amount of paper assistance sent to you, it is merely for reference. Consider it a book of resources Seize your In-service and inspector visits as an opportunity to learn Make every possible use of the supports- DES/PDST/IPPN Take ownership of the process and of your own personal and professional development

30. Go raibh maith agaibh go léir