Newtown n.s. Newtown, Ardee, Co. Louth School Roll Number: 03275H School self-evaluation summary report for school community Evaluation period: September 2013 to June 2014 Report issue date: June 2014

Summary School Self-Evaluation Report 1. Introduction Our school has its own context. There are four mainstream teachers and 98 pupils in the school. We have a number of programmes operating in the school including Be Active, Scratch Computer Programming, tin whistle, camogie, football, rugby and choir. Our attendance levels are good. Our pupils’ behaviour is excellent. For more information on how we intend to improve our pupils’ learning, please see our School Improvement Plan which is available on our school website, www.newtownnsardee.com. The focus of the evaluation We undertook a school self-evaluation of teaching and learning during the year. We evaluated Maths. We chose this because we felt that our pupils could improve their learning outcomes in the areas of Number Facts (Tables), Mental Maths and Problem Solving. This report summarises the strengths that were identified and the areas that have been prioritised for improvement. 2. Summary of school self-evaluation findings We collected information from parents, pupils and teachers in preparing this report. We looked at how well our pupils were doing in Maths in 2013. We also surveyed some pupils / parents and held a focus group meeting with teachers. We consulted our Standardised Testing results and drew on teacher observation throughout the classes. 2.1 We found that our school has strengths in the following areas: Strengths In Maths, pupils are performing above the national norm with 85% scoring above the 50th Percentile, compared to 50% nationally. 64% of pupils report liking Maths. 72% of pupils report liking learning Tables. 88% of parents report feeling confident in helping their child with Maths. Teachers regularly volunteer to attend training courses in the area of Maths in their own time. We know these are our strengths because of our surveys, our standardised testing results and our teachers’ commitment to continuous professional development and the utilisation of new ideas and methods in the classroom. 2.2 We have decided to prioritise the following areas for development: Areas for development Daily Mental Maths Problem Solving Tables Language of Maths We have decided to prioritise these areas because of simple computational errors on standardised testing, teacher observation, analysis of pupils’ work, pupils’ own self-assessment and feedback from surveys and parent-teacher meetings.

Appendix to Primary School Self-Evaluation Report:

legislative and regulatory checklist – reporting to the school community

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.
Which area of school life is involved, and what are the regulations?	Is the school following the regulations fully?
The school calendar and the school timetable Circular 11/95 sets down the length of the school year - minimum of 183 days Circular 11/95 sets down the length of the school day 4 hours 40 minutes (infants); 5 hours 40 minutes (1st-6th classes)	Yes _ No Yes _ No
Parent/ teacher meetings and staff meetings Circular 14/04 sets out the arrangements for these meetings	Yes _ No
Implementation of agreement regarding additional time in school for teachers Circular 0008/2011 requires teachers to do an additional 36 hours of out-of-class work each year, so as not to reduce teaching time	Yes _ No
Standardisation of school year Circular 034/2011 gives the dates for school holidays	Yes _ No
Valid enrolment of pupils Sections of the Education Act 1998 and the Education (Welfare) Act 2000, and the Rules for National Schools set out the conditions for pupils to be validly enrolled in a school	Yes _ No
Pupils repeating a year The circumstances in which pupils may repeat a year are set out in Rules for National Schools, and circulars 11/01 and 32/03	Yes _ No
Development of school plan Section 21, Education Act 1998 requires all schools to have a school plan	Yes _ No
Engagement with SSE process Circular 39/2012 outlines the school self-evaluation process and what it requires of schools	Yes _ No
Time for literacy and numeracy - assessing and reporting literacy and numeracy achievement Circular 56/2011 sets out initial actions required in the implementation of the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategy	Yes _ No
Exemption from Irish Circular 12/96 sets out the circumstances in which children are exempt from studying Irish	Yes _ No
Implementation of child protection procedures Circular 0065/2011 and the Child Protection Guidelines oblige schools to ensure that: liaison persons have been appointed; the procedures have been communicated to the whole school community; and the procedures are being followed	Yes _ No
Implementation of complaints procedure as appropriate Section 28 Education Act 1998 provides for procedures to address complaints about a school.	Yes _ No Complaints have been resolved or are being resolved Yes __ No __ N/A
Appeals in the case of refusal to enrol students, suspension and expulsion (permanent exclusion) Section 29 Education Act 1998 provides for appeals procedures in these cases, which are dealt with first of all by the school. Where cases are not resolved at school level, an external appeals committee hears the appeal and makes a decision.	Yes __ No Appeals have been dealt with or are being dealt with _ __Yes__ No __N/A

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.
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?
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
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
Other