St. Philomena’s N.S.

OUR SELF-EVALUATION REPORT AND IMPROVEMENT PLAN

In the last year, we have looked at teaching and learning in our school to find out what we
are doing well. This is what we discovered:
In Oral language, teachers explicitly teach discussion and questioning and interviews.
Overall parents were happy with their daughter’s ability to express themselves orally. The
majority of pupils are confident in their ability to give oral feedback on activities they
participate in outside of school.
In Mental Maths, teachers focus on the process, not the product. Opportunities are
provided to all pupils of varying abilities to partake in Mental Maths activities. 86% of
parents help their child to learn their tables and 80% of parents stated that their daughter
can explain how she got the answer to a Maths problem. The majority of pupils enjoy
counting activities and feel that they can explain how they got the answer to a problem.
Pupils can learn how to solve a problem by listening to their friend.
In SPHE, each class engages in mindfulness each week. Each class was taught the Stay Safe
programme in full. This will be taught every second year. Our SPHE policy and our RSE
policies have been updated.

This is what we did to find out what we were doing well, and what we could do better:
During a staff meeting, a focus group took place with the teachers. A written questionnaire
was sent to all the parents and an on-line questionnaire was administered to the pupils.

This is what we are now going to work on:

1. The Development of a Whole School 2 year plan for oral language in line with writing
plan
2. The Timetabling of Weekly Discrete Oral Language Lessons across all levels
3. The assessment of Oral Language using the progression milestones (Primary
Language Curriculum)
4. The improvement of pupils’ achievement levels in Oral Language

1. Higher order skills need to be developed in mental Maths lessons

2. Structured timetable around mental Maths
3. More emphasis on developing talk and discussion and reasoning skills
4. That teachers will not be solely reliant on the textbook
5. That pupils have a bank of strategies to draw upon rather than rote learning of tables
and that they will be able to apply them
6. That a variety of resources are available for mental Math lessons
7. That there will be opportunities for pupils to share their strategies during mental
Maths activities
8. That teachers will use the PDST mental Maths manuals
9. Number talks will be developed in classes
10. Parents will be provided with information about how best to support their child in
Maths
1. We are beginning work on our Digital Learning Plan

This is what you can do to help:

Ask your daughter about the genre of oral language that is being taught and provide
opportunities for her to show you what she has learned.
When helping your daughter with Maths homework, ask her to tell you how she solved a
problem. Focus on the process rather than the answer.

Here is some information about how we are carrying out our work and about
what the Department of Education and Skills requires us to do.
School time and holidays
The Department requires all primary schools to have 183 school days each year.
This year we had 180 school days, from 30/08/2018 to 27/06/2019.
The Department sets out a standardised school year and school holidays.
This year we took all our school holidays within the permitted time.
The Department sets out arrangements for parent/teacher meetings and staff meetings.
This year we had 1 set of parent/teacher meetings and 11 staff meetings, all in line with the
Department’s regulations.

Looking after the children in our school

The Department requires schools to follow the Child Protection Procedures it has set down.
Our board of management has agreed in writing to do this. YES / NO
All teachers know about the Procedures and we have told
all parents about them and how we follow them. YES / NO
Our Designated Liaison Person (DLP) is Bridget Clear and our Deputy DLP is Geraldine Gaffey

Enrolment and attendance

The Department requires schools to have and publish an admissions policy, to record and
report attendance accurately, and to encourage high attendance and participation.
We have an admissions policy and it is published. YES / NO
We reviewed (and updated) our admissions policy on: 15/11/18
We keep accurate attendance records and report them as required. YES / NO
We encourage high attendance in the following ways: Monthly attendance award, pupils
record monthly attendance in their journal, end of year awards for high attendance
This is how you can help: Ensure your daughter attends school each day and that any
absences are explained by writing a note in your daughter’s journal.

Positive behaviour for a happy school

The Department requires schools to have a code of behaviour, and asks us to consult
parents and children about it. We do this. YES / NO
Our code of behaviour describes and supports positive behaviour. YES / NO
We have a very clear and high-profile anti-bullying policy in our school. YES / NO