9.3.2 School recognition

9.3.2 School recognition

The Gaeltacht School Recognition Scheme was launched to strengthen Irish-medium education in the Gaeltacht

A key commitment of the Policy on Gaeltacht Education 2017-2022 is to provide schools in Gaeltacht language-planning areas with the option to seek recognition as a Gaeltacht school, on the basis of implementing specific language-based criteria, and conditional to participation in the language-planning processes provided for under the Gaeltacht Act 2012. To this end, the Gaeltacht School Recognition Scheme was launched in 2017.

Figure from page 255

The Gaeltacht school recognition scheme

The objective of the Gaeltacht School Recognition Scheme is to provide high-quality education through the medium of Irish in Gaeltacht schools, and to support the extended use of Irish in Gaeltacht school communities. Additional supports provided to schools participating in the Scheme include: additional support hours for Irish relative to school enrolment, an annual grant of €1,200 for the purchase of Irish-medium resources, additional continuing professional development (CPD) and advisory visits from the Inspectorate.

Of the 132 primary schools in the Gaeltacht, 105 (80%) are currently participating in the Gaeltacht School Recognition Scheme and the option to join remains open to the remaining primary schools in the Gaeltacht (Table 9.8). All 29 post-primary schools in the Gaeltacht are participating in the Scheme. Due to the pandemic, the timeframe of the Scheme was extended to 2024, and schools participating in the Scheme continue to have access to additional supports to fulfil the language-based criteria to strengthen immersion education.

Table 9.6: School participation in the Gaeltacht School Recognition Scheme in 2020

School Level	Overall number of Gaeltacht schools	Number of schools in the Scheme	Number of schools not in the Scheme
Primary	132	105 (7,552 pupils)	27 (2,853 pupils)
Post-primary*	29	29 (6,708 students)	_
Total	161	134	27

Source: Gaeltacht Education Policy Unit, Department of Education

*A small number of students in eight of the 29 post-primary schools, which previously operated through the medium of English, are accessing Irish-medium education.

During the period 2017 to 2020, inspectors conducted 526 advisory visits to support schools participating in the Scheme (432 visits to Gaeltacht primary schools and 94 visits to Gaeltacht postprimary schools) (Table 9.9).

Table 9.7: Number of advisory sessions provided by Inspectorate for Gaeltacht schools 2017-2020

	2017	2018	2019	2020	Total
Gaeltacht primary schools	133	160	133	6	432
Gaeltacht post-primary schools	28	35	29	2	94
Total	161	195	162	8	526

Source: Gaeltacht Education Policy Unit, Department of Education

During the same period, An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta (COGG) and other support services provided targeted professional development support to schools in the Scheme.

In December 2020, the Department published updated versions of Indicators of Good Practice in Immersion Education: Guide for Gaeltacht Primary Schools and Indicators of Good Practice in Immersion Education: Guide for Gaeltacht Post-Primary Schools to support boards of management and schools in implementing the language-based criteria to gain recognition as a Gaeltacht school.

During the period to which this report refers, the Department of Education, in collaboration with the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY), the Inspectorate, COGG, Údarás na Gaeltachta and other partners, has made much progress on the development of other publications to support schools in implementing the Scheme including the following:

A Guide for Gaeltacht Schools: Partnership with the community in promoting the use of Irish

Strengthening links between school management, the school community and the local languageplanning processus

■A Guide for Gaeltacht Schools: Partnership with the community in promoting the use of Irish

■A Guide for Gaeltacht Primary Schools – Strengthening links between primary schools and

early learning and care (ELC) settings

June 2021

An evaluation of the Gaeltacht School Recognition Scheme is underway

In 2019, the Gaeltacht Education Unit, in conjunction with the Educational Research Centre (ERC) and the Inspectorate, commenced a three-year research and evaluation study to assess the impact of the Gaeltacht School Recognition Scheme to inform future policy and practice. One strand of the study involved the completion of nineteen case studies in twelve primary and seven post-primary schools in the Scheme. A comprehensive report on the case-study findings, Report on case-study schools participating in the Gaeltacht School Recognition Scheme, was published in September 2021. Overall, the findings indicated that the Scheme was impacting positively on schools’ promotion of the extended use of Irish, including the fostering of links between schools and the local Gaeltacht community. The findings also indicated that there was scope to promote Irish as the language of socialisation further. More detailed findings from the case studies included:

■The vision underpinning the Scheme was impacting positively on the practice of boards of

management, teachers, pupils/students and parents to promote the extended use of Irish.

■The two-year period of full early immersion in Irish in infant classes was being implemented

effectively in case-study primary schools in the Gaeltacht.

■The use of Irish as the language of communication among pupils was very good in most

Gaeltacht primary schools.

■There were specific challenges experienced by Gaeltacht post-primary schools in relation to

the promotion of Irish as the language of socialisation among students.

■The co-curricular and extra-curricular activities provided valuable opportunities for pupils/

students in Gaeltacht schools to speak Irish as the language of socialisation.

■Stronger links were being fostered with the local Gaeltacht community to promote the use of

Irish, and practice was particularly effective when good links were developed with the language-planning officer.

■A renewed emphasis on the language enrichment of pupils/students in case-study schools

was evident, although in some cases, a whole-school approach to the teaching and use of specific subject/curriculum terminology was required to cater for the differentiated needs of all pupils and students.

■There was a need, in some cases, for further planning to better facilitate effective transition

from early learning and care settings to Gaeltacht primary schools.

■There was scope to develop the role of parents and pupils/students in the action-planning

and school self-evaluation processes.

■It was necessary to continue to affirm and support parents and their children in promoting

the extended use of Irish in the home.

As part of the research and evaluation study, the ERC will publish two further research reports in 2022. One report will focus on the views of principals and teachers in schools participating in the Scheme and the views of first and sixth class primary pupils, third year post-primary students, and their parents. The second report will include an analysis of pupil/student attainment.