School Self-Evaluation, Junior Cycle Reform and the National
Literacy and Numeracy Strategy
This article first appeared in the March 2013 issue of InFocus, a newsletter published
by the Joint Managerial Body/Association of Management of Catholic Secondary
Schools (JMB/AMCSS)
Since July 2011, three important documents have arrived in schools: the National
Literacy and Numeracy Strategy (Literacy and Numeracy for Learning and Life), School
Self-Evaluation Guidelines for Post-primary Schools, and A Framework for Junior Cycle.
While this could appear as three disparate initiatives, in fact all three are closely related
and work together.
Let’s look at how these initiatives work together. School self-evaluation enables schools
to examine their own practice within their own context and to identify their strengths and
the areas for development and improvement. Getting teaching and learning right is the
key to all of this, and so the Guidelines for School Self-Evaluation ask schools to focus
on teaching and learning, including literacy and numeracy. Good self-evaluation will
mean that teachers will look honestly and critically at their own work and the learning that
their students are achieving, and they will share this information with their school
community. Most important of all, they will plan actions to improve. The School
Improvement Plans that they draw up – for Literacy, Numeracy and one other area in the
first four-year phase of self-evaluation will fulfil the requirements of the Literacy and
Numeracy Strategy. For example, a school’s School Improvement Plan for Literacy will
be one of the first outcomes from the Self-Evaluation process. And of course,
implementing the improvement plan is the most important step of all.
A Framework for Junior Cycle launched in October 2012, sets out a radical vision for the
sort of educational experience that students should have in lower secondary education. It
accepts the need for fundamental changes in our approach to curriculum and
assessment to ensure that students’ needs are at the core of teaching and learning.
The framework describes the learning at the core of junior cycle in terms of twenty-four
statements. These statements describe what students should know, understand, value
and be able to do at the end of junior cycle. Linking fully with the Literacy and Numeracy
Strategy, the framework highlights the importance of developing eight key skills, including
literacy and numeracy, which are crucial for learners to access the curriculum and for
their future life chances.
Implementing the sort of teaching, learning and assessment that is envisaged in the new
Junior Cycle implies significant changes, not only to what we teach but also to how we
teach and assess students’ learning. It sees assessment as having a much greater role
within the learning activity (rather than coming solely at the end). Given these changes, it
will be absolutely necessary for teachers to examine how they are teaching, to share
practice with each other, and cooperate closely as they assess students’ learning.
School self-evaluation (SSE) is ideally suited to evaluating current junior cycle practices
and to managing the changes in the curriculum and in teaching, learning and assessment
that are envisaged at junior cycle. In fact, schools are considering the inclusion of an
aspect of Junior Cycle change, as well as literacy and numeracy, as the three areas that
they will examine within school self-evaluation. Using the 6-step SSE process, schools
will gather and analyse evidence and draw conclusions which will enable them to report
on current practice at junior cycle. They can then develop and implement a plan to
improve students’ learning experiences and teachers’ approaches to teaching and
March 2013
assessment, aligned with the junior cycle framework and the timeline for the phased
implementation of subjects.
As schools prepare to introduce reforms envisaged in the Framework for Junior Cycle
they should take a whole-school approach to gathering evidence about their current
curriculum provision, including the time given to each subject, teaching approaches and
students’ learning experiences (including approaches to developing skills across
subjects) as well as assessment practices in the various subject departments. Collecting
and considering the views of students, parents and teachers about the suitability of the
curriculum to the needs of students will also be important. A range of tools is available in
the SSE Guidelines to ensure that all relevant voices are included. Schools will also need
to review their available resources and facilities, including the skills and expertise of staff,
and the requirements outlined in the Framework for Junior Cycle in terms of the
principles, learning statements and key skills, including literacy and numeracy.
The statements of learning, the eight key skills and the assessment approaches outlined
in the Framework for Junior Cycle and in the subject specifications (as syllabuses will
now be called) will assist schools when analysing current curriculum provision, learning
experiences and assessment practices. Evaluation criteria for sub-themes such as
students’ engagement in learning, learning to learn, teaching approaches and
assessment outlined in the SSE Guidelines will be valuable when analysing current
teaching, learning and assessment practices. By benchmarking current practice in these
core areas of work against the SSE criteria and the junior cycle expectations, schools will
be able to draw conclusions about what will remain the same and what they need to
change across subject departments. They will also be in a position to make judgements
about professional development needs across subject departments.
As with the school self-evaluation reports on literacy and numeracy, a short selfevaluation report on elements of Junior Cycle reform will enable schools to keep a record
of their findings while at the same time keeping parents and other relevant members of
the school community informed. The report will identify the elements of current provision
that are already aligned with junior cycle requirements while outlining the important
aspects of practice that need to be changed, developed or improved.
Devising a school improvement plan, will provide schools with the opportunity to put in
place a timeframe aligned to the scheduled phased implementation of subjects in the
Framework for Junior Cycle. This plan might include the subjects they will offer and how
subject choices will be organised; the short courses and learning experiences they will
offer; how key skills will be developed; and how the school will meet the required time
allocations for each subject and short course. It will also enable schools to set targets
and to outline the strategies to be used across subject departments to ensure that
changes and improvements in teaching, learning and assessment, which place students’
needs at the core of classroom practice, are implemented.
So, school self-evaluation should be regarded as an important support to school
improvement and the implementation of curriculum change. Good self-evaluation will give
schools a clear plan for implementing the changes needed to ensure that students
achieve the learning outcomes that will be clearly set out in subject and short course
specifications at junior cycle.
March 2013