An Roinn Oideachais agus Scileanna

Department of Education and Skills

Whole School Evaluation Management, Leadership and Learning

REPORT

Ainm na scoile / School name

Rathdown School

Seoladh na scoile / School address

Upper Glenageary Road Glenageary Co. Dublin

Uimhir rolla / Roll number

60090Q

Date of Evaluation: 8 December 2017

What is whole-school evaluation – management, leadership and learning?

Whole-School Evaluation – Management, Leadership and Learning reports on the quality of teaching and learning and on the quality of management and leadership in a school. It affirms good practice and makes recommendations, where appropriate, to aid the further development of educational provision in the school.

How to read this report

During this inspection, the inspectors evaluated and reported under the following headings or areas of enquiry:

1. Quality of school leadership and management 2. Quality of teaching and learning 3. Implementation of recommendations from previous evaluations 4. The school’s self-evaluation process and capacity for school improvement

Inspectors describe the quality of each of these areas using the Inspectorate’s quality continuum

which is shown on the final page of this report. The quality continuum provides examples of the

language used by inspectors when evaluating and describing the quality of the school’s provision in

each area. The board of management of the school was given an opportunity to comment in writing

on the findings and recommendations of the report, and the response of the board will be found in

the appendix of this report.

WHOLE-SCHOOL EVALUATION – MANAGEMENT, LEADERSHIP AND LEARNING

Dates of inspection 6,7,8 December 2017

Inspection activities undertaken

Meeting with board of management

Meetings with principal and deputy principal

Meetings with key staff

Review of relevant documents

Student focus-group interview

Meeting with parents

Analysis of parent, student and teacher questionnaires

Observation of teaching and learning

Examination of students’ work

Interaction with students

Feedback to senior management team, board of management and teachers

School context

Rathdown School is a day and boarding school for girls which operates under the Church of Ireland ethos. The school was founded in 1973 following the amalgamation of three Protestant schools in the area. A fourth school subsequently joined Rathdown School. Many of the students come directly from the junior school located on the same campus and from a number of local primary schools. The boarding school caters for a significant number of students from abroad and Irish students. There are currently 303 students enrolled. The school provides the Junior Cycle, a compulsory Transition Year (TY) and the established Leaving Certificate.

Summary of main findings and recommendations:

Findings

The quality of school management and governance is good overall with board members bringing a diverse range of valuable skills to their work in supporting senior management and the school; however, the school plan needs some development.

A very broad curriculum is available with a focus on excellence and high expectations while fully supporting and encouraging every student according to her ability.

The quality of the work of senior management is very good overall.

The quality of teaching and learning ranged from good to very good overall with some scope for improvement in a small number of lessons; and good progress has been made in terms of implementing recommendations from previous inspection reports.

The school’s self-evaluation (SSE) process has been in abeyance for the past couple of years but it is now being guided and directed by senior management.

Students are very well supported in every aspect of school life; however, the number of teachers providing special education needs support is too large.

Recommendations

The board of management should oversee the drafting of a more complete school plan which will guide the development of the school and its community over the coming years.

It is now timely for senior management to delegate some responsibility for the SSE process to other staff members.

A focused SEN team should be established to provide targeted interventions to relevant students in line with the best practice outlined in Circular 0014/2017.

Building on the good practice observed in many lessons, teachers should ensure that an appropriate level of challenge is provided for all students across the range of subject areas.

DETAILED FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

1. QUALITY OF SCHOOL LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

Leading learning and teaching

The principal and deputy principal form an effective senior management team. They seek to create an environment in which learning is encouraged and supported. They lead the school community to strive for excellence in all areas by setting high expectations for staff and students.

Senior management encourages and supports teachers to develop and extend their teaching, learning and assessment practices. Teachers are encouraged to share good practice and work together collaboratively in the interest of improving student learning. They are encouraged to attend continuing professional development courses to support high quality teaching and improve student learning. Teachers are supported in pursuing other professional courses that will contribute to their role and many have completed personal development courses that have contributed to their capacity and competence to improve teaching and learning. While teachers do work collaboratively there is a variance in the quality of subject plans. Curricular plans should reflect the good practice in the classrooms and should be working documents to support teachers in planning their work and in sharing ideas on the use of resources and methodologies.

Rathdown School provides a very broad curriculum at both junior and senior cycle. Academic support systems are in place to track individual students’ progress in order to ensure that each student reaches her full potential supported by the year head system. A new study skills programme is in place for all students.

There is an excellent transition programme from primary to post-primary for first-year students, including induction, mentoring and an overnight trip away from the school where students can get to know one another. There is a significant focus on the school’s anti-bullying policy which includes students being nominated and trained as anti-bullying mentors. School management and staff actively foster the holistic development of each and every student and seek to ensure inclusivity through valuing diversity.

School management has a particular interest in the development of young women as leaders. Students are offered opportunities to get involved in leadership through the prefect system, the house system, the Ember project and the student council. Head girls and house captains are also nominated annually. The board of management is currently reviewing its articles of management and considering ways in which students can contribute to school governance at board level.

The school provides a very wide range of co-curricular and extra-curricular activities for students including a range of sports. Students are very actively encouraged to get involved in a number of sports and activities and their participation is monitored to ensure the engagement of all. The activities provided are stimulating and engaging and are based on areas of interest to the students.

Managing the organisation

The board of management and the principal are aware of their statutory obligations and are generally compliant with legislation and policy requirement in this regard. However the school plan, which consists mainly of policies and details of organisational aspects, needs further development. The board should oversee and direct the drafting of a cohesive school plan to include a developmental section which should detail a guiding vision and targets for school improvement.

Board members bring a diverse, valuable and complementary range of skills to their work in school management. They demonstrate a high level of commitment to the school and its development into the future. Priorities for school development were identified by board members as following: the holistic wellbeing of all stakeholders in the school, best practice in governance and leadership and the promotion of excellence in learning.

Senior management, comprising the principal and deputy principal, with the guidance and direction of the board of management, fulfils its responsibilities to create a climate of security and wellbeing among students and staff. Senior management, while relatively recently appointed, has successfully overseen and led significant change management which has benefited the school community.

The senior management team works cohesively and effectively to manage the overall running of the school and the school campus which also comprises the boarding house and a junior school. The principal and deputy principal are a constant presence on the school corridors and in key school areas and operate an open door policy for staff, parents and students which has contributed significantly to a good school atmosphere. Human resources are well managed and teachers are appropriately deployed to meet student learning needs. The principal meets all teachers to discuss their work on an annual basis and this is very good practice.

The board and the principal ensure that the values of the school enshrine equality, fairness and justice for all students and staff. The board and the principal have adopted a solution-focused approach to challenging situations and endeavour to develop a strong culture of mutual trust and respect and a positive school climate for all.

The school building and grounds are very well maintained to a high standard. The print-rich environments created in corridors and in the teacher-based classrooms were notable for the warm welcoming and supportive atmosphere that they create for students. Student work was on display in many classrooms and corridors and was of a very high standard. Interesting and stimulating material to support student learning and to underpin school literacy and numeracy strategies was also noted.

Leading school development

The school’s guiding vision is articulated as ‘one campus, one family and a community for life’. Many students progress from the primary school to the post-primary school. The board of governors, the board of management, senior management and staff all endeavour to ensure a community spirit within the school’s guiding vision. This guiding vision could be further developed and articulated in the context of the school plan.

The school’s self-evaluation process is currently being led by senior management and is presently focused on assessment for learning strategies and teachers’ collective practice. It is now timely for senior management to delegate some responsibilities in relation to SSE to other staff members. Management should facilitate the establishment of teacher working groups to encourage teacher contributions to policy and school development in key areas. These contributions will also inform the drafting of a school plan.

The special educational needs (SEN) department is organised by an appropriately qualified member of staff. Another teacher is also pursuing a qualification in special educational needs which will support the school’s current provision. Students at present receive high levels of support if needed. However, special education provision at present is given by a very large team of teachers; not all of whom are experts in this area. It is recommended that a core SEN team be established and targeted support given to appropriate students in line with circular 0014/2017.

Guidance is available for all students. However, some development of guidance planning is needed with a focus on learning intentions and assessment.

The board of management and the principal value partnership with parents. The parents’ association plays a valuable role in the school and seeks to build relationships between parents in keeping with the school’s mission statement.

Developing leadership capacity

The principal and deputy principal, while relatively recently appointed, work effectively as a senior management team and have developed complementary roles and responsibilities. They are in the process of developing systems and structures to meet priority needs of the school. An example of this is the way in which the role of the year head was developed in the past year to address the needs of the students.

Year heads and other teachers in the school with assistant principal posts see themselves as a middle leadership structure in the school. However, they do not meet officially as a group. It would be beneficial for meetings to take place between middle management and senior management in order to improve consultation and discussion on key areas for school development.

Current post duties are carried out effectively. However, there is some inequity in relation to the nature of post duties and responsibilities. A review of posts with reference to the nature of responsibilities as set out in Circular 0003/2018 would be timely to address any inequities and to ensure that all posts are fully meeting school needs.

School management offers students a range of opportunities to get involved in elements of school leadership. The student council, the buddy and ember systems, prefects and the vertical house system all contribute to strengthening the students’ voice. Senior management is committed to developing student voice. However, questionnaires administered to students during the evaluation revealed that many students do not feel that they have an adequate say in the school. It would be useful to pursue this issue further with the student body.

The vertical house system, comprising four houses named after the initial four schools which amalgamated over time to become Rathdown School, is an integral part of the school and reportedly underpins the community team spirit among the students. Each student is assigned to a house for the duration of her time in Rathdown and she has a defined loyalty to that particular house. Students can win merit points for their house and inter-house competitions and games are organised regularly.

School management is committed to fostering a caring school ethos and to encouraging and facilitating a wide range of charitable events and fundraisers run by the students themselves.

The TY programme and experience was generally very well thought of by students and parents. Students spoke of the many opportunities available to them during the year and the beneficial learning experiences. The school’s focus on charitable work is commendable. However, the afternoon a week spent on a charitable placement for over half of the school year should be kept under review to ensure that all students are benefiting appropriately from this time.

2. QUALITY OF TEACHING AND LEARNING

Teaching and Learning

The quality of teaching, learning and assessment was good or very good in all lessons, with some scope for development in a number of areas.

Learner outcomes and experiences

In all lessons, students were motivated to learn, engaged in respectful interactions and demonstrated a positive approach to their learning. The good atmosphere contributed to a very supportive learning environment which encouraged students to positively engage in their learning and to focus on classroom tasks.

Learners’ experiences were developed through positive differentiation strategies that supported individuals. In all lessons, students demonstrated high levels of engagement, interest and participation in learning. However, in a small number of lessons the teacher voice predominated, leading to students becoming somewhat passive. This should be addressed so that student input to learning is more prominent. Students responded well to questioning and in many lessons were clearly engaged and focused on learning.

In many lessons, students took ownership of and responsibility for their learning, tasks were challenging and appropriate and there was a clear sense among students that they were making progress. Best practice was observed when lesson intentions were shared and revisited and when students reflected successfully on their own learning.

In many lessons, students had the opportunity to engage in active learning in pairs or small groups; in a small number of instances, active learning opportunities were lacking. It would be beneficial to extend the practice of getting students to make effective oral presentations on their work.

Students demonstrated good subject knowledge, achieved the intended learning of the lesson, and had the opportunity to practise subject-specific skills in most lessons. There was some exemplary practice in relation to the use of the target language by both teacher and students, although this was an area for development in some language lessons.

Teachers’ individual and collective practice

Teachers created positive learning environments based on mutual respect, affirmation and high expectations of students’ progress. In many lessons, teachers’ enthusiasm for their subject area motivated students to actively engage in learning.

Lessons were generally well planned and prepared, and teachers identified in advance resources suitable for the specific learning intentions. In the best lessons, learner autonomy was supported through well-planned and implemented collaborative activities. Information and communication technology (ICT) was well utilised in some lessons and could have been used to better effect in other lessons to support learning.

Teachers provided good assistance where students were involved in group or pair activities. Student activities were well chosen by teachers in the majority of lessons, and were well adapted to students’ individual learning needs. However, in some cases students could have been challenged to a greater extent.

Positive teaching approaches helped ensure that learning was effective. The majority of teachers shared success criteria with students so they could assess their own learning through self-assessment and peer assessment. The provision of developmental formative written feedback on students’ work was generally of a high standard. This practice should be extended. Questioning was used to very good effect in many lessons with many examples of higher-order questions utilised by teachers to challenge and stimulate student interest. In a few cases, more appropriately differentiated tasks and assignments would have better supported student learning.

Teachers maintain good quality assessment records. While subject departments engage in collective planning, there is scope in some cases to further develop collective planning and assessment, especially for the new junior cycle. Some curricular plans observed were of a good quality but this is an area for development generally.

The current school self-evaluation (SSE) priority, which is focused on assessment for learning (AfL) strategies, should be integrated into curricular planning, building on the school’s prior focus on literacy and numeracy strategies.

3. IMPLEMENTATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS FROM PREVIOUS EVALUATIONS

Teaching and learning

There has been good progress in relation to implementation of recommendations from previous inspections regarding teaching and learning. Many teachers have made very good progress in addressing the use of the target language in lessons. However, the use of the target language by both teachers and students is still an area for improvement in some cases. Active learning opportunities for students have been improved substantially in most lessons and students engage in pair and group work on a regular basis. AfL strategies and ICT were used successfully in some lessons and it is intended that their use will be extended. Areas identified in previous reports for improvement were the revisiting of lesson intentions and the provision of active learning opportunities. There was still scope for improvement in relation to these areas in a very small number of lessons.

Leadership and Management

Many areas for development identified in previous inspection reports have been addressed as follows: chemical storage and use of laboratories have been improved, the formation of ordinary and higher-level classes for Irish has been delayed until second year, state examination results are being analysed, and teaching capacity for History has been increased. It would be useful for subject departments to identify areas for improvement based on examination result analysis and include this in subject planning.

4. THE SCHOOL’S SELF-EVALUATION PROCESS AND CAPACITY FOR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT

The School’s Self-Evaluation Process

The school engaged well with the school self-evaluation process initially. Good practices in relation to literacy and numeracy development are in place across the curriculum. However, work on further SSE development has been in abeyance over the last couple of years. Senior management has identified the progression of AfL strategies in lessons and teachers’ collaborative practice as the current focus areas and these will be progressed over coming months. There is scope now to include key members of staff in contributing to the SSE process and its implementation. This should ensure that the process is embraced by all staff members and leads to continuing improvement in teaching and learning.

The School’s Capacity for Improvement

The teaching staff and senior management are all highly committed to the school and to the provision of the best possible education for the students. The capacity for school improvement is at a very high level.

5. CHILD PROTECTION

Confirmation was provided that the board of management has formally adopted the child protection procedures for primary and post-primary schools without modification and that the school is compliant with the requirements of the child protection procedures for primary and post-primary schools.

Appendix

SCHOOL RESPONSE TO THE REPORT

Submitted by the Board of Management

Part A Observations on the content of the inspection report The Board of Management of Rathdown School welcomes this inspection report, and the affirmation of the excellent work ongoing in the school. The Board particularly appreciates the recognition of the following:

The high quality of teaching and learning, where students are motivated to learn in a very supportive learning environment based on mutual respect, affirmation and high expectations of students’ progress.

Teachers’ enthusiasm for their subject area, inspiring students to engage in their own learning.

The availability of a broad curriculum with a focus on excellence and high expectations, while fully supporting and encouraging every student according to her ability, including a well-respected TY programme.

Excellent supports for students, including a new year head and study skills structure; the induction programme for first year students; a significant anti-bullying programme; the active fostering of the holistic development of each student while seeking to ensure inclusivity through valuing diversity; and the development of young women as leaders through many leadership opportunities provided.

The very effective senior management team comprising of the principal and the deputy principal, who seek to create an environment in which learning is encouraged and supported, and who lead the school community to strive for excellence in all areas by setting high expectations for staff and students.

Teachers are encouraged and supported to develop and extend their teaching, learning and assessment practice and to share good practice and work together collaboratively in the interest of improving student learning.

The provision of a wide range of co-curricular and extra-curricular activities for students, where they are actively encouraged to get involved in a number of sports and activities and their participation is monitored to ensure the engagement of all.

The caring school ethos, where a wide range of charitable events and fundraisers run by the students themselves are encouraged and facilitated.

Part B Follow-up actions planned or undertaken since the completion of the inspection activity to implement the findings and recommendations of the inspection.

The Board welcomes the recommendations contained within this report and is fully committed to their implementation. The immediate focus of the Board is to address the development of the school plan as well as reviewing the delivery of SEN in the school. The principal and deputy principal are currently planning for the delegation of more responsibility for the SSE process to staff and all aspects of teaching and learning will continue to remain a priority for the senior management and the whole staff in Rathdown School.

Published April 2018 / Foilsithe Aibreán 2018

The Inspectorate’s Quality Continuum

Inspectors describe the quality of provision in the school using the Inspectorate’s quality continuum which is shown below. The quality continuum provides examples of the language used by inspectors when evaluating and describing the quality of the school’s provision of each area.

Level Description Example of descriptive terms

Very Good

Very good applies where the quality of the areas evaluated is of a very high standard. The very few areas for improvement that exist do not significantly impact on the overall quality of provision. For some schools in this category the quality of what is evaluated is outstanding and provides an example for other schools of exceptionally high standards of provision.

Very good; of a very high quality; very effective practice; highly commendable; very successful; few areas for improvement; notable; of a very high standard. Excellent; outstanding; exceptionally high standard, with very significant strengths; exemplary

Good

Good applies where the strengths in the areas evaluated clearly outweigh the areas in need of improvement. The areas requiring improvement impact on the quality of pupils’ learning. The school needs to build on its strengths and take action to address the areas identified as requiring improvement in order to achieve a very good standard.

Good; good quality; valuable; effective practice; competent; useful; commendable; good standard; some areas for improvement

Satisfactory

Satisfactory applies where the quality of provision is adequate. The strengths in what is being evaluated just outweigh the shortcomings. While the shortcomings do not have a significant negative impact they constrain the quality of the learning experiences and should be addressed in order to achieve a better standard.

Satisfactory; adequate; appropriate provision although some possibilities for improvement exist; acceptable level of quality; improvement needed in some areas

Fair

Fair applies where, although there are some strengths in the areas evaluated, deficiencies or shortcomings that outweigh those strengths also exist. The school will have to address certain deficiencies without delay in order to ensure that provision is satisfactory or better.

Fair; evident weaknesses that are impacting on pupils’ learning; less than satisfactory; experiencing difficulty; must improve in specified areas; action required to improve

Weak

Weak applies where there are serious deficiencies in the areas evaluated. Immediate and coordinated whole-school action is required to address the areas of concern. In some cases, the intervention of other agencies may be required to support improvements.

Weak; unsatisfactory; insufficient; ineffective; poor; requiring significant change, development or improvement; experiencing significant difficulties;