Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 10 October 2012
73. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide details of changes in work practices negotiated under the terms of the Croke Park Agreement with the schools inspectorate through their union; the date on which such changes were implemented; the savings that resulted from any changes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43629/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn accordance with the Croke Park agreement, inspectors in my Department have implemented a significant programme of reforms to inspection procedures. The reforms have achieved efficiencies through a reduction in the inspection resources required for whole-school evaluations and other inspections in primary and post-primary schools. The reforms also involved improving the reports arising from inspections and introducing questionnaires for parents and students, thus giving them a greater voice in commenting on school quality. A much greater proportion of inspectors' time in evaluations is now spent on the observation of practice in classrooms and in the provision of feedback to teachers.
Overall, across the main categories of inspection activity, the Inspectorate's outputs for 2011 were ahead of the previous year by around 15%. The reforms to inspection have enabled output to increase despite a significant reduction in staff numbers in the Inspectorate from 154 staff in 2009 to 123 inspectors at the end of September 2012.
