School Self Evaluation Report: (May 2013)
1. Introduction : The Focus of the Evaluation :
A School Self Evaluation of teaching and learning in Literacy was undertaken during the period 7th January 2013 and 21st May 2013.
This is a report on the finding of the Evaluation.
A Snap-Shot of our School on May/June 2013.
St. Mary’s N.S. is a rural co-educational Primary School. There are currently 85 pupils on roll. We have a full time staff of five teachers – four class teachers and a Learning Support Teacher. We also have a shared Resource Teacher and a full-time Special Needs Assistant.We recently built a new classroom extension and are planning to develop a new car park and football field over the summer vacation.
The school administers Micra and Sigma Standardised Tests from 1st to 6th class yearly. From 2013 onwards, third class up to sixth class will also be assessed using the Drumcondra Tests in English.
We are a Green School and we are currently aiming to achieve our fifth Green Flag on the theme of Biodiversity.
Summary of Findings :-
Questionnaires on Literacy were given to all parents. The outcomes are as follows:
Questionnaires were also completed by our pupils.The views of the Senior Children are as follows:
The Views of the Junior Children are as follows:
A School Self Evaluation of teaching and learning in Literacy was undertaken during the period 7th January 2013 and 21st May 2013.
This is a report on the finding of the Evaluation.
A Snap-Shot of our School on May/June 2013.
St. Mary’s N.S. is a rural co-educational Primary School. There are currently 85 pupils on roll. We have a full time staff of five teachers – four class teachers and a Learning Support Teacher. We also have a shared Resource Teacher and a full-time Special Needs Assistant.We recently built a new classroom extension and are planning to develop a new car park and football field over the summer vacation.
The school administers Micra and Sigma Standardised Tests from 1st to 6th class yearly. From 2013 onwards, third class up to sixth class will also be assessed using the Drumcondra Tests in English.
We are a Green School and we are currently aiming to achieve our fifth Green Flag on the theme of Biodiversity.
Summary of Findings :-
Questionnaires on Literacy were given to all parents. The outcomes are as follows:
- Parents are very positive about the standard of reading in the school.
- They are also happy with their children’s ability to express their ideas orally.
- They feel their children are very good at writing.
- Areas where we could improve are spelling, use of dictionaries and word lists, punctuation, penmanship and the overall presentation of written work.
Questionnaires were also completed by our pupils.The views of the Senior Children are as follows:
- Pupils are positive about English and the majority of them like reading.
- They read lots of interesting books and can see the benefits of reading.
- They loved getting involved in the "Write-A-Book" Project which has been carried out for many years by all class groupings.
- 34 % of the pupils in the senior cycle feel they are good at spelling,11% say they are not good and 55% say they are okay.
- 53% of pupils feel they are good at writing, 24% say they are not good and 23% stated that they were okay.
- Pupils feel that presentation of their work, the demands of keeping their handwriting legible and coming up with ideas for their stories were barriers to their progress in English.
- Senior Children are now enjoying the variety of writing genres which are taught by each class teacher e.g. Recount writing, Report writing, Narrative writing, Persuasive writing, Procedural writing and Explanatory writing.
The Views of the Junior Children are as follows:
- Their writing has a lot of variety. They cover the writing genres as listed : Functional writing, Recount writing, Narrative writing and Procedural writing. Examples of these are the writing of cards, invitations, letters and stories.
- 62% of pupils said that they found it hard to think of what to write .
- 46% find Spellings difficult.
- Correct pencil grip and not getting work finished on time are areas to focus on.
Standardised test results in English show that on average most pupils are performing at, or slightly above, the national norm.
The Teaching Staff of St. Mary's N.S. carried out a Review of Literacy titled "Evaluation of Current Practice". Their reflections on the process are as follows :- - We feel that our pupils know that we value their writing. We display their work both in the classroom and on noticeboards on the corridors. We give our students real opportunities to write i.e. they compose reports for the Green Schools Folder which is then submitted in order to achieve a further green flag, we offer them the opportunity to partake in "Write - A- Book " Competitions and they also contribute to reports on events for the website.
- We feel we support the reading culture in our school and both parents and pupils value this tradition and we also encourage the reading of school books, parallel readers, library books and books purchased at annual book fairs.
- Oral Language skills are developed by our encouragement of pupils at monthly school assemblies.
- The communication between class teachers and Learning Support/Resource class is very strong. Between them there is a co-ordinated approach to improvement of literacy. Team teaching is offered in areas of writing and reading between Class Teacher and Learning Support Teacher within classroom setting.
- There is a strong focus on assessment of Reading and Writing.
- Differentiated programmes of work and teaching instruction are matched to pupils' achievement levels, learning needs and abilities.
- The system in our school for screening of pupils with difficulties, our early identification of learning difficulties and our in-class efforts to prevent difficulties developing further works most effectively.
- We have effective procedures in place to inform parents about their children's progress.
- The development of pupils' proficiency in Literacy is a focus across the whole curriculum.
- We have high expectations for pupil attainment. A variety of effective teaching methodologies are used to encourage learning.
- We regularly attend Continuous Professional Development Courses to enhance our ability to teach literacy skills .
- We are very positive about the reading levels in our school and each classroom is well equipped with extra reading material to make a difference to our pupils reading fluency.
School Improvement Plan for Literacy : May 2013
Targets : To improve Writing, Spelling and Presentation of Writing in all Classes.
Baseline Evidence / Data :
66% of pupils in senior classes feel their spelling is okay or not good.
46% of pupils in Junior classes said they found spelling difficult.
Less than 50% of pupils use dictionaries or word lists regularly in school.
53% of senior pupils feel they are good at writing.
24%of pupils feel they are not good at writing while 23% feel they are okay.
62% of Junior pupils said they found it difficult to think of what to write.
Main Areas Requiring Improvements :Our Objectives are as follows:
a. To help pupils enjoy writing as a means of communication.
b. To help children develop greater independence at proof reading and editing.
c. To eliminate common errors ( Spelling, Grammar, Punctuation ).
d. To assist and encourage reluctant writers.
e. To encourage better spelling and use of dictionaries.
f. To improve hand writing and presentation.
- We aim to reduce the percentage of pupils with spelling and common errors in their writing.
- We aim to reduce the percentage of pupils with difficulties in the areas of Spelling and Punctuation.
- We aim to support our pupils in helping them think of ideas for their written assignments.
- We aim to increase the percentage of pupils who like writing and to encourage the use of dictionaries and word lists as a means to reduce spelling errors.
Baseline Evidence / Data :
66% of pupils in senior classes feel their spelling is okay or not good.
46% of pupils in Junior classes said they found spelling difficult.
Less than 50% of pupils use dictionaries or word lists regularly in school.
53% of senior pupils feel they are good at writing.
24%of pupils feel they are not good at writing while 23% feel they are okay.
62% of Junior pupils said they found it difficult to think of what to write.
Main Areas Requiring Improvements :Our Objectives are as follows:
a. To help pupils enjoy writing as a means of communication.
b. To help children develop greater independence at proof reading and editing.
c. To eliminate common errors ( Spelling, Grammar, Punctuation ).
d. To assist and encourage reluctant writers.
e. To encourage better spelling and use of dictionaries.
f. To improve hand writing and presentation.
Required Actions
Actions
1. We will motivate pupils to enjoy writing by frequently allowing them to choose what to write. 2. We will improve the pupil's confidence at spelling by testing, retesting and introducing dictation. 3. Children in the Junior Classes will be helped to identify their written errors using Pupil/Teacher Conferencing. We will also guide pupils to take more responsibility for the editing of their own written work in an effort to eliminate recurring errors.(3rd to 6th Classes) 4. We will encourage pupils to write in a neat, fluent and legible style and to take pride in the presentation of their written work. |
Resources Methodologies
1. Each pupil will have a Free-Writing copy. All genres of writing will be addressed. We will continue to participate in the Write-a-Book competition 2. Each teacher will compile/select a spelling booklet which may incorporate phonetic, core, Dolch, difficult and/or commonly misspelt words as appropriate. 3. In the Junior classes, (Infants to 2nd) children will be encouraged to re-read their written work to ensure it makes sense and is without errors. They will also be asked to consult their word lists complied by their teachers or to consult their dictionaries for help with spellings.(all classes) Pupils will proof read their first drafts with the aid of an Editing Card.(3rd to 6th) Peer-monitoring will provide additional practice.(3rd to 6th) 4. Classes may enter the annual INTO EBS Handwriting competition. |
Success Criteria
1. Each pupil will have an individual Free-Writing Assessment Booklet which will inform teaching at each mid-term. 2. As pupils eliminate common errors in dictation sentences, an observable improvement will be evident in free-writing and formal written assignments 3. Team teaching conferences will teach, guide and praise effort by pupils to edit their work independently. 4. High standards of penmanship will be expected when presenting work for various audiences. Team -teaching of fine-motor skills should lead to better pencil grip and penmanship |
- Success Criteria / Measurable Outcomes :How we aim to measure our progress.
- The percentages in the figures above will all improve by at least 2% over 3 years.
- Further questionnaires will be given out to monitor changes.
- Teacher observation and feedback will be used to measure success.
- Children in all classes will be given tests in spellings regularly throughout the year and progress will be monitored.
Persons responsible for implementing changes:– - Class Teachers / Learning Support Teacher / Resource Teacher ( Team Teaching / Conferencing )
- Parents ( Check spelling and kept informed by Class Teacher of progress ).
- Pupils assess their own work in Free Writing and Essay copies.
Timeframe for Actions – This is a Three Year Plan.
Year One ( Beginning September 2013 ) - Free Writing Introduced in all classes.
- Spelling lists established in all classes.
- Writing Presentation and Quality will be monitored continually.
- Team Teaching will continue in September 2013.
- Monitoring / Review of Free Writing – Continuously
- Spelling Tests will be given weekly.
- Team Teaching – Reviewed in February and June.
- At the end of June 2014 targets will be assessed / Reviewed and a plan for September 2014 will be made.