St. Joseph’s NS, Templerainey School self-evaluation summary report for school community Evaluation period: Feb. 2018 to June 2018 Report issue date: 30th June 2018

Summary School Self-Evaluation Report 1. Introduction Our school has its own context. There are 39 teachers (24 mainstream and 13 SEN Teachers), 648 pupils and 9.66 SNA’s in the school. We have a number of programmes operating in the school including Mata sa Rang, Science Excellence, Green Flag Initiatives (9th Green Flag awarded in May 2017), Active Schools Flag (awarded in June 2015),Gaaelbhratach (awarded in May 2018), School Choir. Our ‘After School Programmes’ include Sports’ Boot Camp, GAA training, Choir, Homework Club, French/German for 6th Class, Ranganna Gaeilge do Rang a Sé, Coding. Our attendance levels are very good. Our pupils’ behaviour is excellent. For more information on our strategies to improve our pupils’ learning, please see our School Improvement Plan which is available on this website. The focus of the evaluation We undertook a school self-evaluation of teaching and learning during the year. We evaluated Literacy (Strand Unit of Comprehension and Oral Language area of the New Language Curriculum) and Numeracy (Strand Unit Measure/Money/Problem-Solving). We chose these because we feel that pupils can always aim to improve their learning outcomes in these areas.This report summarises the strengths that were identified and the areas that have been prioritised for improvement. 2. Summary of school self-evaluation findings We collected information from pupils and teachers in preparing this report. We chose these areas because we felt that whilst many pupils enjoy reading, comprehension can pose difficulties in general. The area of Problem-Solving will be evaluated this year as the comprehension of language posed in problems is also an area of difficulty and there is a link between both curricular areas. 2.1 We found that our school has strengths in the following areas: Strengths Numeracy: (a) The pupils’ attainment in standardised tests compare favourably with national norms Pupils perform well in number, shape and space, data and algebra Pupils including those with special educational needs make progress annually Children in the majority are positively disposed towards Maths and when surveyed over 85% claimed to like Maths Literacy: Children enjoy reading and more recently reading for pleasure Junior children are more fluent readers 2.2 We decided to prioritise the following areas for development: Areas for development Numeracy: (a) Investigation into the strand unit ‘Money’ and problem-solving (b) More Practical Methodologies to be implemented to facilitate learning (c) More emphasis on In-Class Maths Support Literacy: (d) Continued emphasis to be placed on the development of ‘Reading for Pleasure’ (e) Emphasis on the area of Comprehension (f) Introduction of New Language Curriculum in Junior Classes

Appendix to 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?
The school calendar and the school timetable Circular 11/95 sets down the length of the school year - minimum of 183 days Circular 11/95 sets down the length of the school day 4 hours 40 minutes (infants); 5 hours 40 minutes (1st-6th classes)	Yes No Yes No
Parent/ teacher meetings and staff meetings Circular 14/04 sets out the arrangements for these meetings	Yes No
Implementation of agreement regarding additional time in school for teachers Circular 0008/2011 requires teachers to do an additional 36 hours of out-of-class work each year, so as not to reduce teaching time	Yes No
Standardisation of school year Circular 034/2011 gives the dates for school holidays	Yes No
Valid enrolment of pupils Sections of the Education Act 1998 and the Education (Welfare) Act 2000, and the Rules for National Schools set out the conditions for pupils to be validly enrolled in a school	Yes No
Pupils repeating a year The circumstances in which pupils may repeat a year are set out in Rules for National Schools, and circulars 11/01 and 32/03	Yes No
Development of school plan Section 21, Education Act 1998 requires all schools to have a school plan	Yes No
Engagement with SSE process Circular 39/2012 outlines the school self-evaluation process and what it requires of schools	Yes No
Time for literacy and numeracy - assessing and reporting literacy and numeracy achievement Circular 56/2011 sets out initial actions required in the implementation of the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategy	Yes No
Exemption from Irish Circular 12/96 sets out the circumstances in which children are exempt from studying Irish	Yes No
Implementation of child protection procedures Circular 0065/2011 and the Child Protection Guidelines 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 No
Implementation of complaints procedure as appropriate Section 28 Education Act 1998 provides for procedures to address complaints about a school.	Yes No Complaints have been resolved or are being resolved Yes No N/A
Appeals in the case of refusal to enrol students, suspension and expulsion (permanent exclusion) Section 29 Education Act 1998 provides for appeals procedures in these cases, which are dealt with first of all by the school. Where cases are not resolved at school level, an external appeals committee hears the appeal and makes a decision.	Yes No Appeals have been dealt with or are being dealt with Yes No N/A

Appendix to Primary School Self-Evaluation Report:

policy checklist – reporting to the school community

Schools are required to have certain policies in place as part of their permanent school plan. It is good practice for schools to consult with the school community in forming and reviewing many of these policies. The school board of management has to approve and ratify policies, and should ensure that they are reviewed on a regular basis.
What area of school life does the policy deal with and what is the aim of the policy?	Has policy been approved by the board of management?
Enrolment policy Section (15)(2)(d) Education Act 1998 obliges schools to have and publish an enrolment policy that respects the principles of equality and parental choice	Yes No
Code of behaviour Section 23, Education (Welfare) Act 2000, and the 2008 National Educational Welfare Board Guidelines set out regulations and good practice for schools to follow in drawing up and implementing a code of behaviour	Yes No
Anti-bullying policy Anti-bullying Procedures for Primary and Post-primary Schools, 2013 sets out regulations and good practice for schools to follow in drawing up and implementing an anti-bullying policy	Yes No
Attendance and participation strategy Section 22 Education Welfare Act 2000 requires schools to develop a strategy to support high levels of pupil attendance and participation in school life	Yes No
Health and safety statement All schools should have a health and safety statement that is regularly reviewed (see Section 20 Health and Safety Act 2005)	Yes No
Data protection School procedures relating to gathering, storing and sharing data on pupils should comply with data protection legislation - Data Protection Act 1988 Data Protection (Amendment Act) 2003	Yes No
Internet acceptable use policy Schools should have and implement a policy to instruct pupils on safe and responsible use of the internet. See www.webwise.ie for guidelines	Yes No
Special education needs policy Various pieces of equality and education legislation, especially the Education for Persons with Special Education Needs Act (EPSEN) 2004, require schools to be inclusive of pupils with special educational needs and to provide for them appropriately using the resources available	Yes No
Relationships and sexuality education (RSE) policy Schools are required to have an RSE policy and to implement it in line with Relationships and Sexuality Education: Policy Guidelines (1997)	Yes No
Substance use policy The National Drugs Strategy and Department Guidelines require schools to develop and implement a policy on substance use, in partnership with parents and other agencies	Yes No
Child protection policy Circular 0065/2011 sets out requirements (see above for details of policy and implementation)	Yes No
Parents as partners Circular 24/91 requests schools to set up a parents’ association, and promotes partnership between home and school	Yes No
Deployment of special needs assistants Circular 71/11 allows for SNAs to be deployed flexibly to respond to the needs of the school	Yes No
Other