Inspectors: 14% of classes not satisfactory

ONE-in-seven English and maths classes for primary pupils are unsatisfactory, random inspections by the Department of Education have found.

The unannounced visits by inspectors to more than 450 schools in the past year also found that one-in-four teachers’ preparation for lessons was not satisfactory.

Chief Inspector Harold Hislop said most teachers approach their work in a professional and effective way but a number of schools and teachers must improve their teaching methods.

“I am particularly concerned about the significant proportion of lessons — more than 14% — in both English and maths where the learning experiences provided for pupils were not satisfactory,” he said.

The report said it is important that weaknesses in preparation, teaching approaches and assessment be tackled at classroom, school and system levels to ensure better outcomes for children.

Irish National Teachers’ Organisation general secretary Sheila Nunan said clarity has been sought for many years on what defines adequate class planning.

The publication coincided with the release of a report by the Educational Research Centre (ERC) at St Patrick’s College in Dublin of last year’s national assessment of literacy and numeracy of almost 8,400 second and sixth class pupils at 150 primary schools.

Dr Seán Close, one of the authors, said they were surprised to find no gender differences on overall maths scores or in reading among sixth class pupils. Children’s family background was among the factors most strongly related to test scores and the ERC said parents have a vital role in promoting reading and maths skills.

“It’s important to emphasise to parents that simple things done on a regular basis, like buying books for pre-school children or counting aloud the number of items in their supermarket trolley, can have great benefits,” said another author, Dr Gerry Shiel.

The report says calculators can improve a pupil’s ability to deal with complex concepts if they are used correctly. Pupils whose teacher limited use of workbooks did better and large class sizes had no significant effect on test performance.