Calls for annual school reports to replace inspections system

THE country’s school inspectors should be deployed to oversee school performance on a regular basis instead of writing reports on each school every 12 to 15 years, Fine Gael has claimed.

The party’s education spokesperson Brian Hayes said the system of whole school evaluations (WSEs) carried out by Department of Education inspectors – at an average annual cost of €1.5 million in travel and expenses – should be replaced by annual reports from each school giving the kind of information parents really want.

“The WSE system is so flawed that an entire family could go through their primary and secondary education without schools they are attending ever being inspected,” he said.