Read between the lines on feeder schools: other metrics to consider

What percentage progression rate does your child’s school have to third-level this year?

The sheer volume of data generated by the annual feeder schools project takes up six pages of print but, for many readers, it all comes down to that one figure for one school. For others, there’s a benefit or interest in seeing which higher education institutions students in a particular school are going to.

But we have always been clear that these metrics are just one of many sources of information about schools, and they’re not even the most important source.

Whole-school evaluations (WSEs) and individual subject inspections, which are carried out by Department of Education inspectors, can give parents and guardians a much broader view of a school’s leadership, challenges and strengths, and are a must-read before sending your child to a particular school.

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The problem is, however, that although they are readily available online, they aren’t always completely clear to people who do not work in education. Inspectors tend to pull punches, so reading a WSE can mean reading between the lines. And with the inspection process – rightly – following a formalised system, there’s no star rating or executive summary.

Broadly, however, a whole-school evaluation will focus on:

· Quality of leadership and management

· Quality of school planning and school self-evaluation

· Quality of subject provision

· Quality of teaching and learning

· Quality of support for students

“Since 2016, the inspectorate has worked to ensure that its reports are more user-friendly and helpful for readers, including parents,” a spokesperson for the Department of Education said.

“Reports include a summary of findings and recommendations on the first page. An overview of the context of the school is also provided at the beginning of the report. Within the report, an overall evaluative statement is typically provided at the beginning of each main section in the report which is followed by a description of the educational provision that was observed by the inspector. Inspectors use a quality continuum when making evaluative statements and describing the quality of a school’s provision or aspects of the provision.

“A table of the quality continuum which includes bands at different levels – very good; good; satisfactory; fair; weak – is included in each inspection report to support the reader in understanding what the quality of provision is like in the schools.”

The inspectorate recognises that there is no one-size-fits-all approach that works for every school, with the size and location of the school, the socioeconomic circumstances of the students and community, and the additional and special educational needs of the students all taken into consideration during inspection.

Dympna Devine is full professor of education in the UCD School of Education, as well as vice-principal for research, innovation and impact in the UCD College of Social Sciences and Law.

“We have a high level of choice among parents, with about 50 per cent sending children outside the immediate catchment area, so there are very active choices being made,” she said.

She said there were a number of sources parents and guardians could draw from when deciding what school to send their child to, one of which is WSEs.

“They have two purposes. The first is an accountability focus, to ensure that the Department of Education’s standards are being met by schools. The second focus is improvement: by bringing outsiders to conduct a quality review, we get a quality assurance about what is happening in schools, and recommendations on how to improve practice.”

WSEs aren’t always popular with educators, some of whom say they’re a pointless exercise carried out for show, and don’t really provide any valuable insights.

“There are standards in any professional accreditation process, and the inspection team consults widely and takes into account everything that they have seen,” said Devine.

“The WSEs provide a snapshot, but it is the students, teachers and principal living life in the school on a daily basis that will have the best insights into what is working well and what is not.”

Devine said that when WSEs point to areas in a school that are not working well, or could be improved, an action plan is put in place, and this provides a good basis to move forward. Indeed, many WSEs where the inspectorate was critical of certain areas, such as its 2012 report on De La Salle Waterford, are followed up years later by progress reports, which are equally worth reading (in this instance, the follow-up report found the school had made good progress). Schools are not inspected every year, and it could be five or more years between WSEs.

The inspectorate recognises that there is no one-size-fits-all approach that works for every school, with the size and location of the school, the socioeconomic circumstances of the students and community and the additional and special educational needs of the students all taken into consideration during inspection, a DES spokesperson says.

“Schools can have very different needs depending on the community they are serving,” said Devine. “It is best practice that a team of inspectors see this, and that [their report] can inform and improve a school that may be struggling in a particular area or areas. It is rare that you will find a school excelling in all areas, or a school that is not doing well in any area. They may have strengths in some areas over others. Schools are living institutions that change according to the people that are in them.”

External factors, such as the housing crisis forcing families in or out of a particular area, can alter the demographic profile of an area, Devine said.

“And Covid-19 had a huge impact in terms of school engagement, with [some students experiencing] higher levels of anxiety, wellbeing challenges and struggles reintegrating back into school.”

Devine said that even where schools have challenges in particular areas, that does not mean all experiences will be negative, as schools are made of diverse people.

WSEs can’t give a single answer to every parent about the school in question.

“Parents and guardians need to consider the personality and disposition of their child and what kind of school environment may best suit them. Second-level schools vary, with single-sex and coeducational options. Two different children can have different experiences in the same school, so approach the idea of a ‘good’ or ‘bad’ school – although WSEs will never use these terms, they may be common on the local grapevine. If a school is perceived as ‘bad’, it’s likely that there are other issues in the local community that need to be looked at.”