There are plenty of honeyed words in the school inspection reports but little hard information, argues Seán Flynn, Education Editor
Something unexpected happened yesterday; the Department of Education published school inspection reports - and the world continued to spin on its axis.
It represented a remarkable policy U-turn by the department. Five years ago, it had warned sternly that it was the end of the world as we know it - or words to that effect - when this newspaper sought school inspection reports under the Freedom of Information Act.
In a series of confidential documents prepared for an appeal in the case, the department warned of how publication would damage and stigmatise schools, undermine staff morale and chip away at the healthy level of public confidence in our education system.
So, why the change in tack? Pressure for more school information has been building since The Irish Times first published the list of the schools providing students to third-level colleges in 2001. Publication of these "feeder school lists" was condemned by the teacher unions, the school management bodies and various academics - but they struck a chord with parents.
The lists, which are now published annually, are acknowledged as playing a huge role in school choice. They do not give anything like a full picture of school performance but - in the absence of any other hard information - they are cherished by many parents.
There is very little information in the system. Until the feeder school lists, school choice at second level was based largely on local gossip and innuendo at the primary school gates.
The feeder school lists changed everything. They put hard information about schools into the public domain and they circumvented the prohibition on schools leagues tables, deemed illegal under the 1998 Education Act.
The feeder lists both reflected and helped to generate huge public demand for information on school performance. Over the past three years, Mary Hanafin and her predecessor, Noel Dempsey, have acknowledged that there is an information vacuum in the education system.
Ms Hanafin has moved - in conjunction with the teacher unions - to close this vacuum by publishing the school inspection reports. The Minister sees the initiative as an ideal compromise; it gives the public some (but not too much) information without upsetting the powerful teacher unions.
The early signs, however, are not encouraging for her. On RTÉ's News at One yesterday she struggled to explain why parents should not be allowed to gain access to Leaving Cert results.
The Minister says the school inspection reports give a "rounded picture" of what is going on in schools.
There are plenty of honeyed words about school leadership, imaginative landscaping and surging staff morale, but there is precious little hard information for parents in the process of selecting a second-level school for their son or daughter.
What do these parents want to know? What do they talk about when they shuffle the various school options with other parents?
Yes, they will consider sport and drama in the prospective schools, but they also want to know about exam results and about teacher performance. They want to do the best they can for their children - and they want some reassurance that they are making the best possible choice.
In truth, there is very little in these school inspection reports which will be of practical use to parents who are assessing post-primary schools. The clamour for school league tables is unlikely to subside.