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WRITTEN QUESTION THE MINISTER FOR EDUCATION, SPORT AND CULTURE BY THE DEPUTY OF ST. MARY
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON MONDAY 18th JULY 2011
Question
In answer to a question put by Deputy R.G. Le Hérissier on 20th June 2011, the Minister said –
"The Department has researched good practice in a number of countries and two years ago started to develop a Jersey Framework for School Evaluation based on some of the more successful approaches. The first three-year cycle will be completed across all schools by 2013.
Out of this work, the Department will be in a position to provide a much broader range of information for the States and the public about the performance of the system and individual schools."
Will the Minister include in the data collected on schools performance, a survey of the views, properly and professionally undertaken, of former pupils as a valuable tool for evaluating the actual outcomes, weaknesses and successes of schools, and if not why not?
Answer
The Jersey Framework for School Evaluation is now in place and is already proving its worth in assessing and evaluating the performance of the system and of individual schools. The evaluation framework takes account of a wide range of indicators for assessing school performance, including results at GCSE and A level, the number of students moving into further and higher education, success in vocational education etc.
As part of the evaluation framework, the views of students, parents and the community as a whole are actively sought and taken into account. Comprehensive arrangements are in place for a continuous process of monitoring and feedback from students. This process includes structured questionnaires, interviews with students and groups of students, informal feedback during lesson time, opportunities for students to express their views through school councils, and specific projects. Discussions with students also take place in many schools following examinations to analyse the syllabus and teaching approaches. These procedures are designed to help schools tailor learning programmes to meet the needs of students whilst they are at school.
Furthermore, as part of the evaluation framework, schools are subject to monitoring and verification by experienced professionals. These include the department's professional partners, who are in contact with schools on a termly basis, and independent external inspectors who are called upon to review and validate the work being undertaken.
Given that the views of students are regularly and routinely sought throughout their school careers, it is considered unlikely that the information to be received from post-education surveys would be of any additional benefit.