1.1 the Focus of the Evaluation

St. David’s CBS
Artane, Dublin 5
60471F
School Self-Evaluation Report
Literacy
2016-17
Report issue date: 31/05/2017

1. Introduction

1.1 The Focus of the Evaluation

A school self-evaluation of teaching and learning in St. David’s CBS Secondary School was undertaken during the academic year 2016-17. During the evaluation, teaching and learning in the following subjects and programmes were evaluated:

· Literacy

This is a report on the findings of the evaluation.

1.2 School Context

· St. David’s CBS is an all-boys DEIS post-primary school.

· There are currently 549 students enrolled.

· There are 52 teachers on staff and 8 SNA’s.

· There is an Autistic Spectrum Disorder Unit attached to the school.

· The school uses the CAT’s Assessments for incoming 1 Year students. This information is used in conjunction with standardised test scores and other information given from their primary schools.

· Both the Leaving Certificate Applied and the Junior Certificate School Programme are present in this school.

· The school works closely with the School Completion Programme and currently has mentor teachers working with students who are deemed at risk of becoming early school leavers.

· The school is currently undertaking many initiatives in Literacy.

1.3 Current initiatives in Literacy

Ø J.C.S.P. Team

Ø The promotion of keywords

Ø Keyword posters in each classroom

Ø The emphasis of students’ correct spellings

Ø The displaying of students’ work in classrooms

Ø A Reading Room fully equipped with a wide selection of novels

Ø The promotion of oral proficiency

Ø An Annual Book Fair

Ø World Book Day

Ø Guest Speakers

Ø One literacy class per week for Junior Classes (1st/2nd/3rd years)

Ø “Red Read Wall” – Red notice board in the Reading Room covered with student book reviews

Ø Lunchtime reading

Ø Creative writing events and competitions

2.0 The Findings

The following are a summary of the findings from the SSE on Literacy

2.1 Our School has Strength in the Following Areas:

· Very dedicated and motivated teaching staff willing to promote Literacy across all subject departments using a varied number and mix of strategies. The statistics gathered in the staff survey conducted in May 2016 acknowledged this work.

This includes (see Appendix C) –

Ø 82% of teaching staff promote oral proficiency within their classrooms

Ø 75% of teaching staff regularly test their students on key words

Ø 89% of teaching staff present their students work on their classrooms walls

· A very positive and ambitious student cohort who are willing to embrace active methodologies.

· Dedicated Learning Support staff and JCSP team.

2.2 The Following are Prioritised for Improvement

· To research parents’ attitudes towards Literacy.

· To use the statistics from the student survey entitled ‘Your Attitudes towards Literacy’ to review Learning and Teaching strategies in Literacy.

· To ensure students can use their key words to construct concise sentences and to develop well-structured answers to exam questions, this would include promoting the use of key word posters.

· To continue to improve the reading age of all 1st/2nd/3rd year students by 1 year using the strategies already used by the teaching staff as mentioned in 3.1.

· To re-test next year’s 3rd year students in order to compare and evaluate their NGRT results at the end of the Junior Cycle in comparison to their results at the beginning of 1st year.

2.3 NGRT Results

Below are the evaluations of the quality of practice in relation to Literacy within this school:

· In order to ascertain a baseline reading age for all 1st year students, the students undertook a New Group Reading Test (NGRT) upon entry to the school (September 2016). This test measured the reading age of each student and compared it to that of his peers. This test helps to identify students whose reading ages are below their chronological age and may need additional assistance. These Literacy scores were collated and analysed:

Ø 42% of 1st year students measured at a Below Average reading age

Ø 58% of 1st year students measured at an Average reading age

Ø 0% of 1st year students measured at an Above Average reading age

This showed that a high percentage of 1st year students had an average reading age when starting secondary school. However, this also flagged that there are a significant number of 1st year students who began secondary school with below average literacy skills.

The same group of students were then tested at the end of first year (May 2017). Below are the results of that New Group Reading Test (NGRT) in comparison with the results from the start of the year.

Current 2nd years / September 2016 / May 2017
Above Average / 0% / 17%
Average / 58% / 50%
Below Average / 42% / 33%

Ø By analysing the results of the re-testing of first years in the NGRT we can see an increase in students’ reading ages. As seen above, 17% of first years moved up into the Above Average reading age bracket within an academic year.

Ø It can also be noted that the number of students in the Below Average reading age bracket has reduced.

Ø This information shows that teachers implementation of a whole school approach to Literacy has improved students reading ages hugely.

Ø Teachers approached this using the following strategies: keyword initiatives, the importance of correct spellings, oral proficiency and the improvement in number of students who use the reading room.

· This reading test can be compared to the results of last year’s first year group who also undertook this NGRT at the beginning of first year (September 2015). Their results are shown below:

Ø 38% of 1st year students measured at a Below Average reading age

Ø 53% of 1st year students measured at an Average reading age

Ø 8% of 1st year students measured at an Above Average reading age

These results outline that we have consistently, over the past two years, received a high number of students into the school with Below Average Reading Ages.

3.1 2015-16 Targets

· One of the targets of the previous literacy evaluation was to increase students reading levels by one year. The following are the findings:

· In order to ascertain a baseline reading age for all 1st year students, the 2015-16 students undertook a New Group Reading Test (NGRT) upon entry to the school (September 2015). The same students then undertook a second NGRT at the end of the academic year (May 2016). Below is the results of both assessments.

Current 3rd years / September 2015 / May 2016
Above Average / 38% / 36%
Average / 53% / 55%
Below Average / 9% / 9%

Ø By analysing this information we can see that 2% of students went down from Above Average to an Average Reading Age within the space of the academic year.

Ø However, it is important to note that 36% of students went up a reading age by at least one year or more, despite not moving between the reading age brackets. Therefore this information is not reflected in the chart above.

Ø This information shows that teachers implementation of a whole school approach to literacy has improved students reading ages hugely.

3.2 Staff survey ‘Literacy in the Classroom’

Another target of the previous Literacy evaluation was to survey staff on their approach to literacy within their classrooms. This survey was conducted at the end of the 2015-16 academic year. The full findings of this survey can be seen in Appendix 3 attached below. The findings of this survey helped us to identify how well the strategies outlined by staff in the 2014-15 academic year were being implemented in each classroom. It also helped us to identify and set some new targets for Literacy in our next academic year.

3.3 Student survey entitled ‘Your Attitudes towards Literacy’

A third target of the previous Literacy evaluation was to survey the students on their attitudes towards Literacy. This survey was carried out on a random selection of students in May 2017 and the full findings of this can be seen in Appendix 4. Below are some of the positives in regards to this survey.

Ø While only 12% of students surveyed love to read, 32% of them like to read

Ø 36% of students surveyed like to read novels and other fiction for pleasure

Ø 46% of students surveyed would rate themselves as a good speller

Ø 53% of students surveyed are comfortable reading aloud in class

Although the above outline the positives, it is also important to note the following:

Ø 14% of students surveyed hate reading

Ø 42% would count internet reading, including the use of social media, as their most popular choice of reading material when reading for pleasure

Ø 53% of students surveyed don’t read for pleasure and only read when they required to do so

Ø 52% of students surveyed sometimes have difficulties with their English homework

The above are important statistics in helping us, as a school, understand our students’ abilities and attitudes towards Literacy. The statistics from the survey will help us to look at how we can adapt and change our Learning and Teaching strategies in Literacy to cater for all students.

3.4 School Improvement Plan

· Promote the reading room. The Reading Room can be noted as a strength within this school. The room is continuously updated with new books and had a visit from Scholastic Book Fare this year where students were encouraged to purchase their own books. Students in 1st/2nd/ 3rd year are all timetabled for a reading class once a week and therefore use this space as a quiet area where they are encouraged to read for pleasure.

· The teaching staff agreed to implement a whole school approach to promoting Literacy. This approach includes the following strategies which are very evidently being practised on a continuous basis:

Ø keyword initiatives (Vocab 100)

Ø the importance of correct spellings

Ø oral proficiency

Ø the improvement in number of students who use the reading room

Ø to improve the reading age of all 1st/2nd/3rd year students by 1 year

· Each subject teacher has an emphasis on reading, writing and spelling within their classroom. To aid this, teachers have access to and use JCSP resources, which are available in many subjects. These include full class sets of books and workbooks that are used as an additional learning resource.

· Students are tested on a regular basis by their teacher on their ability to understand and spell key words.

· All Junior Certificate classes (1st/2nd/3rd year) are allocated one literacy class per week in their timetables. During this lesson, all English teachers aim to bring their classes to the Reading Room to encourage the students to read for pleasure.

· Extra resource classes are allocated to students who are exempt from Irish and those who identify as needing extra support in Literacy.

· A ‘Paired Reading’ system is in place where 1st and 2nd year students meet with a volunteer parent every Wednesday to gain encouragement and help in their reading.

· The school currently has a debate club, meeting every week. All students are welcome and encouraged to come along and participate.

· Team teaching is present in many classes within the school. This enables students to work effectively in a classroom environment which has two teachers present.

Appendices

The following legislative and regulatory requirements need to be continuously adhered to.

Appendix A: Post-primary School Self-Evaluation Report: legislative and regulatory checklist – reporting to the school community

Rules and regulations for schools are set out in a number of Education Acts, and in Circulars issued to schools from time to time by the Department of Education and Skills. The list below deals with important areas of school life and tells you what rules and regulations apply to them. You will find the Acts and Circulars mentioned on the Department’s website, www.education.ie.
Which area of school life is involved, and what are the regulations? / Is the school following the regulations fully?
Enrolment of students
The Education Act 1998, the Education (Welfare) Act 2000, and Circular M51/93 set out the principles schools should follow in their enrolment policies / Yes ü No
Repeating a year
Students may repeat a school year in certain conditions and for particular reasons, such as illness. Conditions are set out in Circular M02/95 / Yes ü No
The school calendar and the school timetable
Schools must offer a minimum of 167 school days each year to all year groups. Circular M29/95 sets this down.
Schools must offer a minimum school week of 28 hours for all year groups.
Circular M29/95 sets this down. / Yes ü No
Yes ü No
Standardised school year
School holidays are now standardised so all post-primary schools have holidays at the same time. The current school holidays circular is 34/2011 / Yes ü No
Parent/teacher meetings and staff meetings
These meetings have to happen at certain times of the day so as not to interrupt teaching time or inconvenience parents. Circular M58/04 sets these out. / Yes ü No
Implementation of national literacy and numeracy strategy
Schools are required to have a whole-school approach to literacy and numeracy development. Parents have an important role to play in this area. See Literacy and Numeracy for Learning and Life, and Circular 25/2012 / Yes ü No
Agreement regarding additional time in school for teachers
Circular 025/2011 requires teachers to do an additional 33 hours of out-of-class work each year, so as not to reduce teaching time / Yes ü No
Development of school plan
All schools are required to have a school plan, giving their mission and vision, policies and priorities for development / Yes ü No
Engagement with school self-evaluation (SSE) process
The SSE process requires schools to evaluate how well they are doing, and where they need to improve. The voices of parents and students are very important to this evaluation process. See www.schoolself-evaluation.ie. / Yes ü No
Guidance provision in post-primary schools
The Education Act 1998 requires all schools to provide appropriate guidance to students. See Circular 09/2012 for the current arrangements. / Yes ü No
Delivery of CSPE to all junior cycle classes
Civic, Social and Political Education is currently a compulsory subject in the junior cycle. All junior cycle students should have one CSPE lesson per week. / Yes ü No
Exemption from the study of Irish
Some students may be exempt from studying Irish. See Circular M10/94 / Yes ü No
Implementation of child protection procedures
The Child Protection Procedures for primary and post-primary schools (2011) oblige schools to ensure that: liaison persons have been appointed ; the procedures have been communicated to the whole school community; and the procedures are being followed / Yes ü No
Implementation of complaints procedure as appropriate
Section 28 Education Act 1998 provides for procedures to address complaints about a school / Complaints have been resolved or are being resolved
Yes No N/A ü
Appeal in the case of refusal to enrol students, suspension, and expulsion
Section 29 Education Act 1998 provides for an appeal procedure in these cases. The school deals with them first. Where cases are not resolved at school level, an external appeals committee hears the appeal and makes a decision. / Appeals have been dealt with or are being dealt with
Yes No N/A ü

Appendix B School Self-Evaluation report: policy checklist – reporting to the school community