Foilsiú
In conclusion
Foilsithe
An t-eolas is déanaí
Teanga: Níl leagan Gaeilge den mhír seo ar fáil.
Foilsithe
An t-eolas is déanaí
Teanga: Níl leagan Gaeilge den mhír seo ar fáil.
The Department of Education Inspectorate Report (2021–2023) and Thematic Review is designed to give an overview of the work of the Inspectorate across early learning and care settings, primary schools, special schools, post-primary schools, centres for education and other education settings. It offers insights into the quality of education provision in Ireland for children and young people from their earliest years up to the end of their post-primary schooling.
The insights, reflections and findings in this Report and Thematic Review are not intended to provide a full evaluation of the entire education system, but rather to offer evidence-based analysis of aspects of education provision, focusing on the period January 2021 to December 2023. From 2024 onwards, it is intended to publish an annual Inspectorate Report and Thematic Review.
During the January 2021 to December 2023 period, the Irish education system demonstrated significant resilience and adaptability in navigating the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. Inspection activities carried out by the Inspectorate during this period were designed to balance essential quality assurance practices with responding to emerging priorities driven by evolving educational needs. In reflecting on the themes arising from the findings of inspections during that period, it is reasonable to conclude that the system remained relatively stable in terms of the quality of education provision, despite the global crisis of the time.
Across the continuum of education provision from birth to eighteen years, inspectors observed that children and young people experienced high-quality education in settings and schools. This is a positive and reassuring finding, reflected also in national and international assessments which strongly suggest that, from an educational attainment perspective, Ireland weathered the storm of Covid better than many other countries. Central to this was the commitment of early years educators and teachers to prioritising the wellbeing of children and young people, while also providing them with ongoing high-quality teaching and learning experiences. Leaders and managers of schools and settings also contributed significantly to maintaining the stability that facilitated the return to normal provision following the experience of the Covid pandemic.
However, school attendance is one of the legacy challenges remaining following the pandemic and there is still some work to be done to ensure that attendance rates continue to improve to pre-pandemic levels. The thematic reflection on inclusion in the Irish education system in Chapter 8 highlights that strategies to address attendance should be underpinned by an awareness among education leaders and practitioners of the critical link between high-quality responsive teaching and consistently good attendance.
Ireland has made significant strides toward an inclusive and high-quality education system, with clear legislative and policy commitments to inclusion, supported by a substantial budget allocation for special educational needs. While inspection findings indicate positive progress towards inclusive education provision, there are still areas that need improvement to ensure that all children and young people have access to high-quality learning experiences, and that they feel valued, respected and included in their school community. These include the need for a clear collective vision for an inclusive, high-quality education system, the need to ensure that enrolment policies and practices are inclusive and equitable, and that resources are appropriately deployed by schools and settings to ensure that the children and young people with the greatest needs receive the greatest level of support. Key to the future of the progress that the Irish education system can make towards inclusion is the concept of values-based leadership. This is a call to leaders, at all levels of the education system, to unpack the values that underpin their decisions – that is, to reflect on how their actions reflect a genuine commitment to educational inclusion.
As schools and settings continue to embed pedagogies in line with curricular change, the role of assessment will be crucial in supporting key pedagogical practices. Across all three sectors, there is evidence that efforts are being made to enhance the effectiveness of assessment practices. However, some concerns about the overall quality of assessment continue to be referenced in inspection findings, particularly in primary and post-primary schools.
Inspection findings point to scope for improvement in the capacity of schools and teachers to gather and use assessment information and data to develop appropriately challenging learning experiences for all children and young people. This finding is related to an identified need for better differentiation in teaching strategies and learning tasks to ensure that appropriate and adaptive teaching can facilitate student-centred learning.
The findings from inspection provide a unique perspective on the extent to which the current period of curriculum change and redevelopment is having an impact on the educational experiences of children and young people. Most early learning and care settings are successfully implementing child-centred, play-based curricula, with a good commitment to supporting children's linguistic and holistic development.
At primary and post-primary levels, Ireland has consistently ranked among the highest achievers globally in international assessments. New competencies designed to support the development of future skills for citizenship and lifelong learning are emerging as strengths in enactment of the curricula. There are, however, aspects of literacy and numeracy that can be improved, as shown in various national and international assessments, and as also highlighted in recent focused inspections of mathematics in primary schools.
Sustaining curriculum change and redevelopment requires effective and inspiring leadership in schools to ensure that children and young people are equipped with the necessary knowledge, skills and dispositions to engage successfully with the world around them. Schools are a vital resource in enabling learners to develop the social, interactive and communication skills necessary for agentic participation in society and for progression to the next stages of learning, and on to the world of work. Achieving our purposes in this domain requires an emphasis on collaboration across clusters of schools. We have seen very good examples of how such collaboration can be achieved through Education Support Centres and through the work of Oide (formerly the Professional Development Support Services for Teachers) during the period of this report. Developments in technology make it more feasible than ever to grow teacher professional networks and communities of practice that can provide a collaborative space for sharing experiences and best practices that will ultimately benefit students.
The period 2021 to 2023 has been characterised by very rapid acceleration in the pace of digital transformation across society. Artificial intelligence (AI) is clearly an area of future potential benefits for learners, but one which must be balanced with diligence in managing the risks brought by access to powerful AI tools. The capacity to harness AI for one’s own learning will be, without doubt, one of the human capabilities (or 21st Century competencies) that society will expect the education system to promote and develop in young people.
During the period of this report, the Inspectorate developed its approaches to listening to, and consulting with, children and young people and parents during its inspection work. At the same time, procedures and processes for engaging with parents in the development of Department policies have been enhanced. For example, Cineáltas: Action Plan on Bullying, references the key role of parents in preventing and addressing bullying. In recognising the importance of the role of parents in the educational journey of their children, the Inspectorate will be further developing its processes to enhance how we engage with parents during inspections. This work will continue through 2024 and 2025.
School self-evaluation
As the current cycle of school self-evaluation draws to a close, there is an opportunity to reflect further on the potential complementarity of internal and external evaluation processes in our paradigm for school and setting improvement. Of course, the complementarity of internal and external evaluation processes to support education system improvement depends on trust, transparency, reciprocity and collaboration among all those involved in the provision of high-quality, inclusive education in our schools and other education settings.
It is hoped that this Inspectorate Report (2021-2023) and Thematic Review will be of interest not only to those directly involved in the education of our children and young people, but also to a wider audience, and that the findings contribute to the ongoing debate on how best to improve standards and quality in education.
The Inspectorate is grateful to all those in the education community with whom we have engaged, through our inspection and advisory and research work, in order to arrive at the insights in this Report and Thematic Review. We look forward to continuing, reciprocal professional engagement with education partners and stakeholders, including children and young people, as we work towards our shared goal of high-quality, inclusive education for all in which the wellbeing and learning of all children and young people are promoted.