Bizarre publishing of inspectors report on school

Treppen

Does anyone find it a bit weird the way the author picks over one inspectors report in the Irish Indo ?

I'm reading it going 'grand ya, staff are a bit unhappy, minutes should be taken at meetings, focus on more teaching and learning [groan], students are happy'.

https://www.msn.com/en-ie/money/other/templeogue-college-inspectors-find-lots-of-positives-but-a-significant-number-of-teachers-are-disaffected/ar-AA1cxLU2 

10-10-20

It would seem abstract to a point as I'd guess that almost every school will have some negative remarks. Take this one for example for Gonzaga:

https://www.gov.ie/pdf/?file=https://goviedevassets.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/0001c08fce6-c123-4d04-8528-f35ff7b3333a/60530S_WSEMLLPP_5188_20170707.pdf#page=null

And this one for Blackrock College:

https://www.gov.ie/pdf/?file=https://goviedevassets.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/00032a32eab-bd6c-464d-940d-77d59a5f418d/60030V_WSEMLLPP_13351_20191215.pdf#page=null

Blackrock, to their credit, have posted the report on their site and have a corresponding Self-Evaluation Report and Improvement Plan 2022-2023 posted, demonstrating openness. The same can't be said for Gonzaga.

But overall, reporting of these evaluations within the media should be encouraged as they are leading indicators of the effectiveness of the school management and well-being of the students.

Treppen

I'm not so sure if reporting in the media should be encouraged. Sure if it's unbiased, but even the selecting of only one innocuous report (like in this case) appears biased. Do the Indo do this with inspectors reports every week, I don't think so?

To be fair it's one outsider coming in for 2 or 3 days and making a judgement on an organisation. By all accounts that school is producing good students, They're happy, getting good grades, representing the school admirably, but yet the inspector implies that the school is 'falling short' in certain areas, and using the 'satisfactory' put-down.

Whether we realised it or not it's a job evaluation that's publicly published. I can't think of any other organisation where this would be allowed (except maybe health inspectors and restaurants). Teachers and management are far too acquiescent in letting inspectors publish their opinions.

am_zarathustra

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058301129/bizarre-publishing-of-inspectors-report-on-school

This is very odd. There would be reports fairly consistently updated from schools, why was this one singled out for media discussion. The reports tend to be quite jargon heavy. They aren't really meant for public consumption in this manner.

gaiscioch

There was an especially caustic report published on the front page of The Irish Times about Gormanston College some years ago - eek, 2010! https://www.irishtimes.com/news/inspectors-criticise-running-of-gormanston-college-1.652154. Again, the issue was deep division within the staff and hostility to school management. Gormanston used to be a great school with a superb reputation and a fascinating history tied to the Franciscan Order (the most Gaelic and radical of the religious orders, in sharp contrast to the Anglocentric fee-charging schools in Dublin, which is why in the 1950s Gormanston had to be set up across the Dublin border in Meath diocese).

I'm not quite sure it's a bad thing, and I wouldn't look any less at Templeogue, etc because of this. It's better having fights in the open rather than never changing or challenging the status quo in a school. A lot of schools need to change the way they do things, and some staff are hostile to change. Put an upstart new principal full of idealism and ideas of reform and you're going to get pushback. It will need a principal with oodles of personal charm and cunning to be able to negotiate the "Fukushima cells" in the staffroom who are waiting for a heave against their new overlord. I was in such a school where resistance to change was the order of the day against the new, young, principal. When the WSE-MLL inspection came along the most nasty things were said to the inspectors about the principal (who was very much an outsider).

At the staff meeting the week after the report was published, the principal spoke honestly about what was said, expressed his disappointment and hurt, and so on. That was the emotionally intelligent, ballsy way to handle his enemies in the open and not let it fester. He may have been the most powerful person in the school, but by the end of it it felt like he was the underdog and the staff had ganged up on him (which was the reality!). He got a lot of respect, and ultimately acceptance, for that courage.

That said, a slew of things which come under "reform" have nothing to do with reform and everything to do with saving money/making our schools yellow pack. The fundamental shift from school being about students expanding their knowledge to being about waffling and box ticking should be opposed 100%.

rainbowtrout

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058301129/bizarre-publishing-of-inspectors-report-on-school

Templeogue College? Wasn't there controversy there a few months back with Pride flags being taken down, workplace being described as toxic and not considered inclusive etc? Grievances were brought to the WRC too.

Had a google.... the link is below from January. This is probably why the Indo are doing a follow up

https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/education/2023/01/29/templeogue-college-tells-parents-it-stands-against-discrimination-as-it-commits-to-addressing-staff-complaints/

am_zarathustra

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120731510#Comment_120731510

Ah I just did a quick google news dive, I hadn't realised there had been such a lot of media around it. Makes way more sense.

deiseindublin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120722332#Comment_120722332

This school has been in the media for a long time, and WSE seemed to be as a follow on to that, so I'm not surprised it was deemed news worthy.

Treppen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120741960#Comment_120741960

There was no mention of the previous kerfuffle though. I'm suspicious because of the omission.

Peregrinus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120742566#Comment_120742566

The inspectors only report on what they observe during the period of the inspection (which could include reporting on what staff or other tell them about events that have occurred in the school). Check the date of the inspection; it may have taken place before the kerfuffle occurred.

10-10-20

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120742566#Comment_120742566

Personal opinion but I was going to say that such articles can be an indicator of a potential underlying or simmering issue, which if called out within a generic article on the topic of the WSR might make it appear like a hatchet-job or targeted defamation of the schools' good name.

Treppen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120742575#Comment_120742575

The 'dispute' was reported in the media around Dec 2023, the inspection took place on foot of that in March 2023.

I see now in the IT that the Pride flag incident is referred to so there you go I suppose.

europhile

https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2024/0227/1434705-jennifer-clancy-wrc/

Treppen

Christ, that's like listening to students squabbling.

Jennifer said x , then Niamh said y, then Jennifer said this didn't happen, then Niamh said it did.

Niamh was 'smirking' while Jennifer was talking and got given out to 😂

Sad it's playing out in the newspapers.

Anyway, a few interesting arguments.

She had an 'agreement' not to be timetabled in the afternoon. Is this enforceable? I always thought needs of the school was always the trump card, so things can change.

Id say that would annoy the hell out of other teachers on similar reduced hours but spread out over the school day.