Summary School Self-Evaluation Report
Introduction Our school has its own context. St. Enda’s is a DEIS Band 1 school situated in Dublin’s south inner city. It is a co-educational, vertical primary school under the patronage of the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin and the trusteeship of the Order of Carmelites. There are 13 teachers and 134 pupils in the school. We have a number of programmes operating in the school including DEIS, Reading Recovery™, HSCL, SICCDA after-school programmes, parent’s courses, Fighting Words, WOW, TAP, College Awareness initiatives, and Lift-Off To Literacy™. Our attendance levels are excellent. Our pupils’ behaviour is excellent. In latter years we have placed a very high emphasis on literacy and language in our school. We believe that it is imperative that every child is a reader/writer and is able to express themselves confidently and competently. To that end, we have prioritised literacy and oral language in our school improvement plan. For more information on how we intend 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 and Oral Language. We chose this because we felt that our pupils could improve their learning outcomes in these areas. This report summarises the strengths that were identified and the areas that have been prioritised for improvement.
Summary of school self-evaluation findings We collected information from pupils and teachers in preparing this report. We looked at how well our pupils were doing in standardised testing. We also examined teachers’ informal observations and evaluations.
We have decided to prioritise these areas because our long-term vision for St. Enda’s is to become a school where every child is a reader and writer and has the ability to verbally express themselves confidently and competently. |
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 |
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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. |
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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?
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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
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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
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Other |
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