1.3 the Views of Parents, Governors, Pupils and Teachers

CONTENTS

Section Page

1. INTRODUCTION 1

2. MAIN FINDINGS 2

3. CONCLUSION 3

APPENDICES

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 CONTEXT

Belfast Boys’ Model School is situated on the Ballysillan Road in north Belfast. The school, which is approaching its 150th anniversary in 2007, has enjoyed over many years a particular standing in the community it serves and is held in considerable regard. It draws its pupils from a wide area of north and west Belfast; some 39% are entitled to free school meals. Many come from parts of Belfast that have been subject to significant civil unrest over several decades; these areas are also affected adversely by the continuing impact of social, economic and demographic change. These changes are also beginning to influence significantly the work of the school; for instance, demographic decline in north and west Belfast is impacting upon the number and ability of the pupils entering year 8. The implications of these trends will require further careful consideration within the school in relation particularly to its current and future strategies for teaching and learning, its approach to curriculum design, and its examination entry policy.

1.2 FOCUS

The inspection focused on leadership and management across the school, and in addition, on careers education, information and guidance, on information and communication technology (ICT) across the curriculum, and on technology and design. The school’s provision for pastoral care, and its arrangements for child protection, were also evaluated.

1.3 THE VIEWS OF PARENTS, GOVERNORS, PUPILS AND TEACHERS

The arrangements for the inspection of pastoral care and child protection included the completion of questionnaires by a sample of the parents, as well as meetings with the Board of Governors (BoG), and with groups of pupils from years 8, 12 and the sixth form. Prior to the inspection, 211 confidential questionnaires were sent to a sample of the parents of pupils attending the school; 37 (18%) of the parents responded, and 14 of these provided additional, and mostly, very positive written comments. The number of returns may have been affected adversely by the strike which, at that time, disrupted postal services in much of Belfast. Some 60% of the teachers also completed confidential questionnaires. The responses from the questionnaires, and the comments from the parents, BoG, and teachers, indicated, in the main, a high degree of satisfaction with the work of the school. The comments received from the parents indicated clearly their support for the work of the school; in particular, they expressed their satisfaction that their children were well cared for and encouraged, and they highlighted too the good standing of the school in the community.

The returns from the teachers, in the main, highlighted strengths in the work of the school, and most acknowledged the commitment and the leadership of the Principal. Where the teachers identified concerns, these focused mainly on the need for improved communication within the school, and for a more consistent response to inappropriate behaviour by the pupils. The pupils reported that they felt happy and secure in school, and expressed strongly their loyalty to, and support for, the school. The inspection findings confirm that the confidence expressed in all of these returns about much of the work of the school is well founded. The concerns raised through the questionnaires were brought to the attention of the

Principal and the BoG. The school has procedures in place whichenable the staff to implement the main guidelines outlined in the Department of Education’s Circular 1999/10, ‘Pastoral Care in Schools: Child Protection’, and in Circular 2003/13, ‘Welfare and Protection of Pupils Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) (NI) Order’. The school has also identified suitable areas for further development within its pastoral programme.

1.4 EXAMINATION RESULTS

The school enters pupils for a wide range of courses at key stage (KS) 4 and at post-16. Most are entered for five or more subjects within the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE). Over the last three years, while there has been improvement in the results at a whole-school level, and within individual subjects, the results in GCSE are well below the NI average for non-selective schools of a similar type. Over the last three years, at grades A* to E, the results achieved by approximately half of the specialist subjects are within or above five percentage points of the respective NI average; at grades A* to C, the results achieved by approximately a quarter of the subjects are of the same standard. The school also enters pupils for a range of other courses at KS4; the standards achieved are good. At post-16, the school offers a variety of academic and vocational courses; some subjects at GCE advanced (A) level are offered in conjunction with the Belfast Model School for Girls. While there has been an improvement in the results obtained at A level, the standards achieved are well below the NI average for all schools; almost all of the entries, however, result in the pupils achieving grades at or above grade E. Further details about the school’s examination results are set out in the Appendices.

2. MAIN FINDINGS

2.1 The strengths of the school include:

·  its very strongly positive and caring ethos, and the stable and supportive learning environment created for the pupils;

·  the commitment of the Principal, the senior management team, and of the staff generally, to the school, its pupils, and to serving the needs and meeting the aspirations of the local community;

·  its extensive community outreach and extra-curricular activities, and its sporting achievements;

·  the quality of its counselling programmes, the support for individual pupils, its careers and guidance arrangements, and the provision and standard of work in technology and design;

·  the quality of the teaching which is typically good and, at times, excellent;

·  the quality of relationships, the behaviour of the pupils, and the extent to which, during the inspection, most of the pupils engaged well with their work;

·  the support of the parents and the governors for the work of the school.

2.2 The areas for improvement include the need to:

·  improve the standards achieved in external examinations at KS3, GCSE and A level;

·  improve the school’s strategic planning and development through the introduction of more rigorous monitoring and evaluation arrangements by management, and through the more effective use and dissemination of performance data;

·  continue to address the needs of those pupils for whom the school’s current curricular and examinations entry arrangements are not sufficiently appropriate or effective, and improve the extent to which ICT is used to enhance learning and teaching across the curriculum.

Furthermore, the accommodation falls far short of modern standards and there are major deficiencies in most of the school’s curricular and ancillary areas. The school is currently included in a Public Private Partnership initiative to replace the present accommodation with a new school on the existing site.

3. CONCLUSION

3.1 The school has significant strengths in key aspects of its educational and pastoral provision. However, there are shortcomings in important areas of its work and the areas for improvement need to be addressed if the school is to meet, as fully as possible, the needs of all of its pupils.

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APPENDIX 1

STATISTICAL INFORMATION

1.1 i. School: Belfast Boys’ Model v. Date of Inspection: W/C 06.03.06

ii. School Reference Number: 121-0022 vi. Area of Study: Standard Inspection
iii. Age Range: 11-18
iv. Status: Secondary Controlled

1.2 Intake/Enrolment

1.3 Attendance

1.5 Staying On Rate (2004/05) (Current year 13/14 as proportion of year 12 from 1/2 years previously)

1.6 Leavers Destinations

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APPENDIX 2

Within this report, when commenting on examination results of individual subjects, the respective CCEA average is used as a proxy for the corresponding average for all pupils in NI taking that subject.

APPENDIX 3

EXAMINATION RESULTS

Table showing GCSE and GCE A Level subject results over the three years ending in June 2005, in comparison with the respective Northern Ireland (NI) averages

Table 1

* these GCSE subjects had a total entry of fewer than 30 pupils over the three years specified

** these GCE subjects had a total entry of fewer than 20 pupils over the three years specified.

Table showing the spread of the NI subject averages which have been used in the determination of Table 1.

Table 2

Table showing vocational examination results

Table 3