School reports

The decision by the Supreme Court to prohibit the publication of the primary school inspectors' reports is a regrettable step…

The decision by the Supreme Court to prohibit the publication of the primary school inspectors' reports is a regrettable step which underpins the culture of secrecy within the education system.

The Irish Times had originally sought access to the reports under the Freedom of Information Act in an attempt to highlight the low literacy levels in many primary schools. The Information Commissioner ordered their release after permission had been refused by the Department of Education and Science. His decision was later upheld, despite a High Court appeal by a Dublin school principal. But the Supreme Court ruled yesterday that their publication could lead to the compilation of school league tables.

In all of this, it is necessary to place the inspectors' reports in some context. These are not reports which seek out every negative detail about the daily workings of a school. Instead, they are measured documents - usually very polite in tone- which give a general overview of the performance of the school. On the basis of a compendium of such reports published by the Department itself three years ago, it is obvious that there is a good deal of information which is of practical use to parents about accommodation, class sizes, teacher performance and much else. Yesterday, the Minister for Education acknowledged the positive elements in these reports and said she would examine how they might be made available to parents.

The Supreme Court took the view that publication could lead to the compilation of league tables - even though this was not the intention of this newspaper in seeking them. It is difficult to understand how the court formed this view given that league tables on the British model are based on national exams. Since the primary school system does not have any standardised testing, it is not clear how any newspaper could compile league tables - even if it were of such a mind.

READ MORE

The Irish Times sought the reports as part of a wider objective of providing more information to parents about prospective schools for their children. For every parent, choosing a school for their son or daughter is one of the most important decisions they will make. Publication of the inspectors' reports would have allowed parents to make a more informed choice. It would have replaced the current information vacuum where this choice is often grounded in local gossip and anecdote, much of it unfair to individual schools and individual teachers. The Minister acknowledged yesterday that parents are not being given enough information to help them in the task of school selection. The publication of school inspectors reports would have helped to address this problem.