A total of 145 school inspection-reports were published today (24 November, 2011) on the Department of Education and Skills' website.
New inspection reports on the web today comprise:
36 whole-school evaluations (WSEs) of primary schools
12 whole-school evaluations (WSEs) of post-primary schools, including 11 WSE-MLLs which focus on management, leadership and learning
93 stand-alone subject inspections at post-primary level
4 stand-alone programme evaluations at post-primary level
Since 6th February 2006, inspection reports on schools and centres for education are published on the Department of Education and Skills' website at regular intervals throughout the school year.
There are now 5,195 inspection reports on the website, representative of 2,072 schools and centres for education.
WSEs are conducted in primary and post-primary schools.
WSE reports comment on the quality of the school's management and planning, teaching and learning, arrangements for student assessment, supports for students, provision for minority groups and home-school links.
Depending on the size of the school, an inspector or a team of inspectors visits the school for a period of time to conduct the evaluation.
Following this evaluation phase, inspectors discuss the findings and recommendations with school management and members of the teaching staff.
The draft WSE report undergoes a process of factual verification. The school is then given 20 school days in which to respond to the final WSE report. The last step is the publication of the WSE report with the school's response (if the school has made a response) on the Department's website.
In post-primary schools, a WSE takes the form of a standard WSE or a WSE-MLL.
Subject inspection reports evaluate the teaching and learning of specific subjects in post-primary schools. A subject inspection can take place within a standard WSE or as a stand-alone evaluation.
Today, the 93 subject-inspection reports published cover Business Subjects, CSPE, English, French, Geography, German, History, Irish, Mathematics, Metalwork and Engineering, Music, Physical Education, Science, Science and Biology, Science and Physics, SPHE and Technical Graphics, Design & Communication Graphics (TGDCG).
All inspection reports, including those published today (24 November, 2011) are accessible here.