‘What will I do without Harold?’: chief inspector is hard act to follow

“What am I going to do without Harold?”, Minister for Education Norma Foley asked rhetorically at a farewell function to mark Dr Harold Hislop’s retirement as chief inspector recently.

Her heartfelt comments were echoed by many other education leaders. Dr Hislop as chief inspector served six different ministers for education since 2010: Mary Coughlan, Ruairí Quinn, Jan O’Sullivan, Richard Bruton, Joe McHugh and Norma Foley, all with different priorities.

Many of them appeared on video to pay warm tributes to the Co Cavan civil servant. He was variously described as “wise, perceptive, very hard-working, reforming, affable, honest and sincere”. Above all, he was “a man of integrity”.

But where did it all start?

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The young Harold attended a small, rural, one-teacher primary school as an “exemplary student”. Later, he attended the Royal School in Cavan, where his best subjects were English and debating. His command of Irish was also impressive.

Harold returned to the Royal in 2011 to mark the school’s 400th anniversary (five royal schools were founded by King James I in 1608). The local Anglo-Celt reported on his visit. “I was here in the school in the late ‘70s and most of the pupils of my age were the first in their family to attend secondary school. Most of our parents never had that opportunity,” he recalled.

Addressing the students, he said that they were the most important people present; they were the future of their families and their communities. “Relish the opportunities and challenges that life in the Royal School offers you so that you can go on to make whatever place you are in a better place for the people around you,” said Mr Hislop.

This focus on students was to become a hallmark of Harold’s term as chief inspector.

Harold trained as a primary teacher in the Church of Ireland College of Education. He taught in Whitechurch NS in Rathfarnham, where he later became principal. He endeared himself to many by becoming closely involved with the local church and community.

He gained a PhD from Trinity College Dublin and in the mid-1990s was seconded to the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA). There he proposed changes to the teaching of history, so that the focus was no longer on content but on developing pupils’ skills as historians. Harold was again ahead of his time. This key focus on developing skills was later applied to all subjects in the new Framework for Junior Cycle.

It was while working for the NCCA that Harold first met and later married his beloved Noreen. Both later joined the inspectorate.

Capable and personable, Harold moved swiftly up the ranks from being a primary inspector in 1998 to divisional inspector, assistant chief inspector and deputy chief inspector. He was appointed chief inspector in April 2010.

His appointment had an immediate impact. He brought about a changing culture of expectation and regulation in the department. Traditionally, the department worked hand-in-glove with the teachers’ unions and that relationship made it difficult to raise issues about standards and results. But that changed with the new leader and his team.

In November 2010, the chief inspector published a report that was very critical of performances in a significant number of primary schools. This “refreshing directness”, as one commentator put it, was also evident in new reports on post-primary schools.

The chief inspector’s report for the years 2010-2012 was equally frank. One national newspaper warmly welcomed the chief inspector’s “warts-and-all approach’” His report highlighted the problems of poor planning for lessons in primary schools, the falling standards in Irish and maths, and poor communication between parents and schools in relation to bullying and relationships and sexuality education. Typical of the chief inspector’s approach, the report also recommended ways to address these issues.

The last decade has been a very difficult time for schools, although the financial situation has recently improved. Cutbacks led to the introduction of a two-tier system of pay for teachers after 2011. Capitation funding was reduced. There was teacher resistance to the proposed new Framework for Junior Cycle. Industrial action was regularly threatened.

Remarkably, progress in education continued. More inspectors were recruited. New models of inspection were introduced, and their frequency increased.

Unlike elsewhere, Harold insisted on a healthy balance between evaluation, support and advice in inspectors’ interactions with schools.

Early-years inspections were conducted for the first time. There was a greater focus on special education. The junior cycle was launched.

Dr Hislop is likeable and persuasive. People trust him. His assurances and charisma often got difficult agreements over the line. This Bertie Ahern-like gift may not come so naturally to others.

Student outcomes also began to improve. In 2017, it was announced that Irish 10-year-olds were the best in Europe at reading, while Irish students were performing better in the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment. Ireland was becoming the new Finland.

In the last three years, Covid-19 has provided the biggest challenge for schools, leading to online lessons as well as calculated and accredited grades. Yet Dr Hislop’s reign is viewed as a great success, with many paying tribute to his great dedication and leadership style.

As for the future, Norma Foley need have no worries. Harold’s successor, Yvonne Keating, is the first woman to be appointed to this role. With a legal and educational background, she is extremely capable and intelligent, having served very successfully as Harold’s deputy. We can only wish her well.

Seán P Ó Briain is a former post-primary inspector. He is now a part-time lecturer and tutor in DCU’s Institute of Education