Hanafin vows to publish school inspection reports

REPORTS on school inspections will be published in future to give more information to parents, Education Minister Mary Hanafin said yesterday.

Her announcement comes despite a Supreme Court ruling which prevented the release of a whole school evaluation (WSE) report on a Dublin school. The principal of Scoil Choilm, Crumlin, Barney Sheedy, had appealed a High Court decision to grant access to the report sought by The Irish Times under the Freedom of Information Act.

The Department of Education had initially refused The Irish Times request for the reports on five Dublin schools, but this decision was overturned by the Information Commissioner Kevin Murphy and subsequently by the High Court.

Ms Hanafin welcomed the Supreme Court ruling, which referred to an Education Act provision that the minister can refuse access to any information enabling compilation of information in relation to comparative academic achievement of students. This clarified that she or future ministers could refuse release of reports where they might be used to publish school league tables.

"Unlike league tables, which tell us little about the wide range of work that schools undertake, school inspection reports provide balanced evaluations on the work of schools. In this context, I'm convinced that wider availability of inspection reports could be very beneficial for students, teachers, parents and schools," the minister said.

She has asked her inspectors to enter discussions with the relevant parties with the view to making reports available within the next year.

National Parents Council Primary chief executive Fionnuala Kilfeather welcomed the development, which she said has been long sought by parents.

The Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO), which supported Mr Sheedy in his case, had earlier welcomed the Supreme Court decision, saying that judging schools on a single snap shot is always unwise.

"We will enter the consultations proposed by the minister, but the challenge is to find a method of releasing the information that will not lead to the type of crude comparisons to which we and the minister object," said INTO General Secretary John Carr.

The Irish Times noted the ruling with regret, saying its motivation in seeking access to reports was to secure details of literacy standards in primary schools.

"Our objective was to make this information available to parents to enable them to reach a more informed decision when selecting a school for their children," it said.