School self-evaluation (SSE) is a process that empowers a school community to affirm good practice, to identify areas that merit improvement and to decide on actions that should be taken to bring about improvements in those areas. It gives teachers and schools the opportunity to tell their own story.
SSE enriches the learning and the teaching experience for the benefit of all concerned. SSE is primarily about schools taking ownership of their own development and improvement. Balanced with this view is the recognition that schools also work within a system of national requirements, including those relating to child safeguarding (including child protection and anti-bullying) and wellbeing. There are also expectations relating to curriculum, inclusion and equity, digital education, and education for sustainable development. Indeed, over the coming years, the SSE process used by schools will need to be flexible enough to support ongoing curriculum redevelopment and implementation.
School year 2025/2026
Curriculum School Self Evaluation Process
We now move towards Year 2 of our School Improvement Plan for Spellings & Phonics. Last year, we concentrated on gathering evidence such as assessment scores and samples of work. We undertook a review of teaching practices and schemes in use, updated our English Plan to reflect same and surveyed parents and students. This year we plan to analyse the information and data we have gathered and move towards a targetted plan for improvement.
Teachers continue to implement the new Maths curriculum with a focus on 1 core pegagogical practice per term.
School year 2024/2025
Curriculum School Self Evaluation Process
We continue to implement the new Primary Maths Curriculum. Teachers have chosen 1 of the 5 core pedagogical practices to focus on per term.
Our school plan for SPHE has been ratified and shared with parents. This plan will be implemented across all classes this year.
Our focus area for our new School Improvement Plan is Spelling and Phonics. Having identified this as our focus area, we will spend time gathering all necessary evidence around current practices and learning.
School year 2023/2024
Curriculum School Self Evaluation Process
The Primary Mathematics Curriculum has been introduced in all primary and special schools in September 2023.
Schools and teachers will become familiar with the new curriculum during the 2023/2024 school year and they will work towards implementation of the curriculum from junior infants to sixth class (stages 1 – 4) from September 2024.
We are implementing Science Plan and Digital Plan improvements in this school year; please see both those documents below.
Our subject for the School Self Evaluation Process is SPHE.
School Year 2022/2023
As per circular 33/2021 :
In the 2021/22 school year, schools will continue with their current plans and priorities for SSE and have the flexibility to:
- Use the SSE process to help them to address the challenges that have arisen in the pandemic context. These may include for example, addressing the needs of students whose learning was particularly impacted during the pandemic, supporting the wellbeing of children and young people, and supporting mediation of particular curriculum areas/subjects AND/OR
- Complete any work remaining on the aspects of teaching and learning that they had previously selected as the focus for self-evaluation AND/OR
- Address other areas that they have identified as a priority in accordance with their school context and the needs of the children and young people in their school
In respect of that advice our school has prioritised the following areas for this school year.
- Supporting pupils who were impacted by the school closures over the last two years.
- Engaging with the ongoing advice and training for the new primary language curriculum
- Implementing actions from our School Improvement Plan for Science.
- Implementing actions for our new behaviour policy which was piloted in the school year 2020/2021.
- Completing the Digital Strategy for our school (2022)
