IVEA General Secretary, Michael Moriarty, today welcomed Minister Quinn's launch of new school self-evaluation guidelines for primary and post primary schools.
'Today's launch', said Mr Moriarty, 'puts in place the final brick in the framework for improving our schools in a manner that will empower all involved in the operation of a school - students, teachers, parents and management.
'Ultimately, the new guidelines and the various supports that will accompany them will provide schools with a set of easy-to-use tools that they can use to plan for school improvement on the basis of the evidence that they gather about the way the school is doing.
'Instead of external experts evaluating the performance of a school, those who work in it will have the opportunity to gather the evidence and to make decisions about what is working well, what needs to be changed and what needs to be further developed in order to improve student outcomes.
'In particular, the new self-evaluation guidelines really put principals and teachers at the centre of the school improvement process. It is they who will gather the evidence, make judgements about what various bits of evidence mean, and take decisions about how best to respond to the evidence, in order to improve the school experience and outcomes for their students. Giving responsibility for improving our schools to those who work in them should also improve the professional satisfaction of teachers and school management. In a sense, it gives them control over their own destiny.'
According to Mr Moriarty, 'the views of students and parents will also be central to the self-evaluation process and, indeed the key to the success of the development launched today will be the extent to which those who know a school best will be asked to make judgements about its performance and about how it can be improved.'
'Ultimately, the new guidelines and the various supports that will accompany them will provide schools with a set of easy-to-use tools that they can use to plan for school improvement on the basis of the evidence that they gather about the way the school is doing.
'Instead of external experts evaluating the performance of a school, those who work in it will have the opportunity to gather the evidence and to make decisions about what is working well, what needs to be changed and what needs to be further developed in order to improve student outcomes.
'In particular, the new self-evaluation guidelines really put principals and teachers at the centre of the school improvement process. It is they who will gather the evidence, make judgements about what various bits of evidence mean, and take decisions about how best to respond to the evidence, in order to improve the school experience and outcomes for their students. Giving responsibility for improving our schools to those who work in them should also improve the professional satisfaction of teachers and school management. In a sense, it gives them control over their own destiny.'
According to Mr Moriarty, 'the views of students and parents will also be central to the self-evaluation process and, indeed the key to the success of the development launched today will be the extent to which those who know a school best will be asked to make judgements about its performance and about how it can be improved.'
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