A SOUTH Dublin school has been praised by Department of Education inspectors for its “exemplary” approach to inclusion of students with extra education needs.
In its latest published reports, the department praises Newpark Comprehensive School in Blackrock , Co Dublin, for its open admissions policy which “refers explicitly to the school’s commitment to including and supporting students with special educational needs within the mainstream”.
The inspectors say this commitment was borne out in the systems and practices observed by them during the school evaluation.
They note: “These have been developed over the years through the concerted efforts of the board, the senior management and the special needs department to organise the accommodation, the teaching resource and the support structures necessary.”
Newpark has one of the highest numbers of special needs teachers and assistants of any school in Dublin, reflecting its commitment in this area.
In sharp contrast, many fee-paying schools in south Dublin make little provision for special needs pupils. Many of these schools give priority to siblings and past pupils, which can limit enrolment by special needs and other minority groups.
At present, schools are free to draw up their own admission policies. But the Department of Education is under pressure to publish revised rules after the Equality Tribunal ruled last month that a secondary school discriminated against a Traveller boy.
John Stokes was excluded from the Christian Brothers High School, Clonmel, Co Tipperary, because his father was not a past pupil.
In the inspection report, Newpark was praised for supporting social and educational diversity, but inspectors were critical of the contact time available to some pupils. In a series of recommendations, it says all teacher timetables should meet the department’s contractual requirements. It also backs a review of the school timetable.
In its response, the school board of management says additional class periods have been allocated to fifth and sixth years since the inspection took place.
Since February 2006, school inspection reports have been published on the Department of Education website at regular intervals throughout the school year.
There are now 4,250 school-inspection reports on the website, featuring reports on over 1,700 schools.
The inspection reports – widely criticised as too bland when they were first published four years ago – have become more robust in tone in the past year.
Inspectors are now much more likely to comment on issues such as poor discipline or poor levels of attendance.
Increasingly, they have also criticised school management for failing to provide the requisite tuition time for students.
The department’s reports assess such issues as school management, planning and management of resources, and the general effectiveness of teaching and learning.
They do not provide any details of exam results or assessments of individual teaching performance.