Basic information about the School
Jacks Hill Primary and Infant School is located in the parish of St. Andrew. It is the only school located in the semi-rural community of Jacks Hill and provides education for students from the infant department to Grade 6.The school as established in 1955 and was known as the Jacks Hill All Age and Infant School. The name was officially changed to the Jacks Hill Primary and Infant School in 2007. This is a small school built to accommodate 150 students; but currently has a student population of 57. The teaching staff of four, are involved in multi-grade teaching. The teacher-student ratio is 14:1.
Student from the surrounding areas of Jacks Hill attend the school; and are mostly from lower income families. Many of the parents are only functionally literate and most are not involved in the life of the school. The school’s mission is to “create an effective teaching and learning environment to nurture the individual’s desire to aim high, academically, culturally, spiritually and socially.”
Overall effectiveness of the school
Jacks Hill Primary and Infant School is judged an unsatisfactory school
Leadership and management are unsatisfactory. The Principal knows her school and the direction in which she wants to take it. However, there are gaps in how widely the vision is shared. Self-evaluation and improvement planning is not sufficiently driven by student performance data. There are no clear mechanisms in place to effectively monitor the work of the school and to guarantee accountability. While the Chairperson of the Board and the Principal enjoy a good relationship and the Chairperson offers advice, and ensures accountability in spending, the Board as a whole is inactive.
The school’s relationship with parents and the local community is satisfactory. The school has established meaningful links with the wider community including the Community Council, Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS), and the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA).
The quality of teaching to support learning is unsatisfactory. In most lessons the teaching does not sufficiently indicate that teachers understand how best to teach their subjects. Therefore, many lessons are teacher-centred and provide students with limited independent learning opportunities. Teacher- student interaction varies across grades.
While the school has seen an improvement and was on par with the national average in the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) for Language Arts in 2009, the performance in the Grade 4 Literacy Test continues to decline. Performance averages in mathematics are below the regional and national averages. Students make satisfactory progress in English but progress is unsatisfactory in mathematics.
Most students behave well during lessons especially those in the infant department. However, their behaviour is unsatisfactory when they are unsupervised. Students show satisfactory levels of civic, economic, environmental and spiritual awareness. Most students know about the national heroes of Jamaica and their struggles to better the country. The school has a sufficient number of qualified teachers. However, because of other responsibilities teachers are not as effectively deployed during lunch to monitor students’ safety and to maintain standards in behaviour. The unsatisfactory quality and quantity of material resources does little to advance teaching and learning.
Some classrooms are divided by chalkboards and some students struggle to concentrate during lessons as a result of distracting sounds from other classes. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and other resources are insufficiently utilized. The curriculum and enhancement programmes in the school satisfactorily contribute to the students’ overall growth and development. Some provision for special educational needs is
made through the referral of slow learners to the Mico CARE assessment programme. Provisions for the safety, security and health of the students and staff are unsatisfactory. The lack of perimeter fencing and security on the compound cause the staff to feel unsafe. Satisfactory arrangements such as Programme of Advancement Through Health (PATH) and other welfare programmes effectively support the well-being of students.
Inspectors identified the following key strengths in the work of the school:
- The school’s improved performance in Language Arts in the 2009 Grade Six
Achievement Test (GSAT) - The involvement of the community in programmes that help to advance the overall
well-being of its students. - Students’ understanding and awareness of civic, economic, environmental and
spiritual issues.