Description of the School Self-Evaluation Process:
This report presents the overall findings from the School Self Evaluation process in literacy in Lucan East ETNS. For the School Self-Evaluation process, schools choose one aspect of literacy to focus on. After choosing one aspect, the teachers plan and implement different strategies to improve that area of literacy. At the end of the school year, the teachers review the success of the initiative by analysing assessment results and feedback from questionnaires. This is the School Self-Evaluation report for parents for the academic year 2013-2014.
Focus of the Evaluation:
School self-evaluation of teaching and learning is part of the ongoing work of Lucan East ETNS. The focus of school self-evaluation for 2013/2014 in literacy was to raise the occurrence of independent reading and motivation to read. This was identified, in part, during a staff meeting in which we prioritised the strengths and needs of approaches to literacy in the school. With regard to standardised assessments, all pupils from first to sixth classes were assessed.
School Context:
Lucan East ETNS is a sub-urban, multi-denominational, mixed primary school. When this report was written there were 404 pupils (215 boys and 189 girls), 16 class teachers, an administrative principal, seven learning support/EAL teachers and one resource teacher in the school.
Summary of school self-evaluation findings:
- Students’ attainment levels in standardised literacy assessments have improved significantly since 2012.
- Pupils display positive attitudes towards many aspects of literacy.
- Reading comprehension skills and a variety of writing genres are explicitly taught at all class levels.
- Pupils use their literacy skills competently in their learning of all curriculum areas.
- Pupils are exposed to a wide variety of reading texts.
- Pupils read with fluency.
Learner Experiences:
A pupil questionnaire was completed by students in June 2014 and results show:
- 82% of pupils like reading
- 69% think there are good books in their classes to read.
- 77% can understand almost everything they read when reading alone.
- 44% think Oxford Reading Tree books are just right.
- 67% think novels are just right.
- 58% like reading novels best
- 68% like writing stories
- 84% like choosing what they will write about
Areas identified for improvement which we are currently working on:
- Use of running records when grouping children and assigning Oxford Reading Tree books.
- Continued use of novels and books clubs in the senior classes.
- A consistent approach to and language for assessing writing to be explored, devised, agreed and implemented at whole school level.
- Increased instruction in strategies for completing comprehension exercises.
- Completion of a teacher questionnaire to gain further information about teacher’s opinions regarding literacy instruction in the school.
This year the staff are working on all of the above areas. In addition to this we are focusing on assessment in literacy. Five research based strategies we are using are:
- Telling students what they are learning to do (WALT) in each lesson
- Telling students what teachers are looking for (WILF) in each lesson
- Giving constructive feedback to students about their work (orally or in writing)
- Teaching the children to assess their own work
- Using rubrics to assess writing