SIR JOHN ROGERSON’S QUAY,
Dublin 2, Ireland
Tel (353-1) 863 2000
Fax (353-1) 863 2100
SURVEY OF DIVERSITY IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS
STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL
Many Irish schools have become more diverse in recent years. The Department of Education and Science has asked the ESRI to carry out a review of provision for newcomer pupils in Irish schools. We would be very grateful if you would complete the enclosed questionnaire. Your response will be combined with those of other schools to form an overall picture, and used to guide government policy in relation to future provision for newcomer pupils. It is important for us to know which schools have newcomer pupils and which schools do not, so please respond WHETHER OR NOT there are newcomer pupils in your school.
PART I: BACKGROUND INFORMATION
[Q1, Q2, Q3: If none, please write ‘NONE’]
1. How many pupils in total are there in your school? Boys ______Girls ______
2. How many teachers are there in your school? Full-time _____ Part-time ______
3. Approximately how many staff does your school currently have in the following capacities?
Full-time / Part-timeSchool-based counsellor/psychologist
Home-School-Community Liaison Co-ordinator
Learning support/ resource teachers
Language support teachers
Special needs assistants (SNAs)
4. Over the past five years, has the total number of pupils coming to the school:
Increased 1 Decreased 2 Remained relatively stable 3
5. Are there any other local primary schools to which your pupils might go?
Yes 1 No 2
6. Are all of the pupils who apply to your school usually accepted?
Yes 1 à Q7 No 2
If No, what criteria are used to admit pupils? [Please tick all that apply.]
Lives in Siblings in Pre-school Date of Religion Other (specify) ______
local area school attended application
1 2 3 4 5 6
7. In your assessment, approximately what proportion of pupils in the school would have such literacy, numeracy, emotional-behavioural or absenteeism difficulties as to adversely impact on their educational development? Please tick one box on each line.
Approximate percentage of pupils with each problem
None <5% 6-10% 11-25% 26-40% >40%
a) Literacy Problems 1 2 3 4 5 6
b) Numeracy Problems 1 2 3 4 5 6
c) Emotional/Behavioural problems 1 2 3 4 5 6
d) Absenteeism 1 2 3 4 5 6
8. (a) What is the religious ethos of your school?
Catholic 1 Church of Ireland 2
Multidenominational 3 Interdenominational 4 Other (specify) ______5
(b) Are there pupils from families with minority (or no) religious beliefs in your school?
Several 1 A few 2 None 3à Q9
(c) What arrangements are in place for these pupils during religious education (RE) classes?
Pupils are withdrawn from RE classes 1
Pupils stay in the RE class but do not participate 2
Pupils stay in the RE class and participate 3
RE is not taught in this school 4
Other (please specify) 5 ______
9. Please indicate the extent to which you believe each of the following to be true of pupils, their parents and teachers in your school.
True of nearly all / True for more than half / True for less than half / True of only a fewPupils are well-behaved in class / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
Pupils are motivated about their schoolwork / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
Pupils show respect for their teachers / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
Parents attend parent-teacher meetings in the school / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
Parents give their children help and support with schoolwork / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
Parents have contact with the school only if there is a problem / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
Teachers are positive about the school / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
Teachers in the school are open to contact with parents / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
Teachers are open to new developments and challenges / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
10. On what basis are pupils in the school allocated to their base classes?
Randomly/alphabetically 1 Performance on tests 3
Other [please specify______] 2 Only 1 class per year-group 4
11. To what extent do you think your school is (or would be) in a position to cater adequately for the needs of newcomer pupils (that is, pupils from families where both parents come from outside Ireland)? Please answer this question WHETHER OR NOT you have newcomer pupils currently enrolled.
To a great extent 1 To some extent 2 Not to any great extent 3 Not to any extent 4
12. Does your school have a written policy on interculturalism or anti-racism?
Yes, included in School Development Plan 1 Yes, other document 2 No 3
13. To what extent does the school liaise with the following services?
To a great extent / To some extent / Not to any great extent / Not to any extentNational Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB) / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
School Development Planning Initiative (SDPI) / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
Integrate Ireland Language and Training / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
Regional Curriculum Support Service / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
Social Workers / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
Local youth/community workers / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
Special Needs Organisers (SENOs) / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
Voluntary groups (such as Barnardos, V de Paul) / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
14. Please indicate whether you agree or disagree with the following statements.
Strongly agree / Agree / Disagree / Strongly disagreePre-service education prepares teachers for teaching in a multicultural setting. / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
Textbooks and teaching resources take adequate account of diversity issues. / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
In-service education prepares teachers for teaching in a multicultural setting. / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
The primary curriculum takes adequate account of diversity issues. / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
More in-service education is needed for teachers in order to promote inclusion within schools. / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
The Irish educational system prepares young people to live in a multicultural society. / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
15. Do you have any written information for parents available in languages other than English/Irish?
No 1 Yes, general information Yes, information on à If Yes, which languages?
on Irish educational system 2 your school 3 ______
16. Schools use different ways of providing social and personal support for their pupils. In column (a) please indicate whether or not your school adopts each of the approaches listed. In column (b), please tick one box to indicate the approach you think is most important in your school.
(a) (b)
Used in your school? Single most
Yes No important approach
a) Pupil mentors 1 2 1
b) School-based counsellor 1 2 2
c) SPHE classes 1 2 3
d) Other (please specify) ______1 2 4
17. In general, how satisfied are you with the following provision in your school?
Very satisfied / Satisfied / Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied / Dissatisfied / Very dissatisfiedSocial/personal support for pupils / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5
Learning support (excluding language support) / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5
Support for pupils with special educational needs / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5
18. Approximately how many of each of the following groups of pupils do you have in your school? If none, please write ‘NONE’. The same pupil can be recorded more than once.
Pupils with physical/sensory disabilities (Number) ______
Pupils with learning/intellectual disabilities (Number) ______
Pupils of families from the Travelling Community (Number) ______
Newcomer pupils, that is, pupils from families where both parents are from outside Ireland, of whom:
Mother tongue is English/Irish (Number) ______
Mother tongue is not English/Irish (Number) ______
IF YOU HAVE NO NEWCOMER PUPILS IN YOUR SCHOOL, PLEASE RETURN THE QUESTIONNAIRE IN THE PREPAID ENVELOPE.
IF YOU HAVE ANY NEWCOMER PUPILS CURRENTLY ENROLLED IN YOUR SCHOOL, PLEASE COMPLETE THE REST OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE.
PART II: PROFILE OF NEWCOMER PUPILS
We would like to ask you some questions about newcomer pupils in your school. By newcomer pupils, we mean pupils from families where both parents are from outside Ireland, whether or not the pupil’s first language is English/Irish.
19. To your knowledge, do you have any newcomer pupils in your school whose families have the following status? (Please tick yes or no on each line.)
Yes No
Nationals from EU (27) member States 1 2
Nationals from non-EU countries 1 2
Unaccompanied minors 1 2
Granted refugee status or leave to remain 1 2
Asylum-seekers (awaiting or refused decision) 1 2
20. Please provide the approximate number of newcomer pupils in your school by country of origin.
EUROPE / No. / AMERICA/AUSTRALIA / No. / ASIA / No. / AFRICA / No.Britain (excl. NI) / USA/Canada / China / Nigeria
Other Western Europe / Australia/New Zealand / India / DR Congo
Poland / Brazil / Pakistan / South Africa
Romania / Other South/Central America / Philippines / Other Africa
Other EU Eastern Europe / Other Asia
Non-EU Eastern Europe
PART III: HOW NEWCOMER PUPILS SETTLE INTO SCHOOL
21. On arrival to your school, what criteria are used for deciding which year and class group a newcomer pupil is allocated to? [Please tick all that apply.]
Report from Pupil’s age Interview with Individual Other
previous school pupil/parents assessment (specify)
1 2 3 4 5 ______
(b) IF INDIVIDUAL ASSESSMENT, who is involved in assessing pupils?
Language support teacher(s) 1
Resource teacher(s) 2
Learning support teacher(s) 3
Principal 4
Other, please specify ______5
22. Compared with other pupils in your school, how would you rate newcomer pupils on the following dimensions on average?
Above average / Average / Below averageAcademic achievement / 1 / 2 / 3
Motivation in relation to schoolwork / 1 / 2 / 3
Educational aspirations / 1 / 2 / 3
Behaviour in class / 1 / 2 / 3
Attendance / 1 / 2 / 3
23. In your assessment, what proportion of newcomer pupils experience sustained difficulties in the following areas?
Nearly all / More than half / Less than half / Only a fewAcademic progress / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
Social interaction with peers / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
Behaviour in class / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
Absenteeism / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
Involvement in extracurricular activities / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
24. If any newcomer pupils experience sustained difficulties in any of these areas, how much would you say each of the following factors contribute to these difficulties? [Please tick one box on each line]
A great deal Quite a lot A little Not a factor
Language difficulties among pupils 1 2 3 4
Language difficulties among parents 1 2 3 4
Literacy difficulties among pupils 1 2 3 4
Cultural differences 1 2 3 4
New peer group 1 2 3 4
Bullying 1 2 3 4
Lack of parental involvement 1 2 3 4
Starting in the middle of the school year 1 2 3 4
Homework 1 2 3 4
Financial issues 1 2 3 4
Racism 1 2 3 4
Mobility between schools 1 2 3 4
In foster care/living alone 1 2 3 4
Schoolwork too challenging 1 2 3 4
Lack of knowledge of Irish educational system 1 2 3 4
Assessed special educational needs 1 2 3 4
Little or no previous schooling experience 1 2 3 4
Psychological difficulties/trauma 1 2 3 4
25. Do newcomer pupils from any particular countries experience greater difficulties in settling in?
No 1 Yes 2 IF YES, which countries? ______
26. Do newcomer boys or girls tend to experience greater difficulties?
Newcomer boys 1 Newcomer girls 2 No gender difference 3
27. (a) Does your school have a particular approach to helping newcomer pupils settle into the school?
Yes 1 No 2
(b) If Yes, please describe as fully as possible the approach taken.
(c) Are any of the following used to support newcomer pupils: (please tick all that apply)
Breakfast club 1
Provision of books/learning materials 2
Homework club 3
Financial assistance for trips/outings 4
Extra tuition outside school hours 5
Extracurricular activities (incl. Sports) 6
Summer camp/project 7
(d) Who is mainly involved in providing general support to newcomer pupils? [Please tick all that apply].
Language support teacher(s) 1
Resource teacher(s) 2
Learning support teacher(s) 3
Principal 4
Home School Community Liaison Co-ordinator 5
Pupil mentors 6
Chaplain 7
Class teachers 8
Other, please specify ______9
28. What (other) supports, if any, would you like to see in place for newcomer pupils?
29. (a) Compared to other pupils in your school, do you think newcomer pupils are:
More likely to experience bullying 1 As likely to experience bullying 2 Less likely to experience bullying 3
(b) Does your school have a written policy on bullying? Yes 1 No 2