Published: 30 January 2006

School principals say parents must take more responsibility

John Walshe

Education Editor

SCHOOL principals want preparation for first Holy Communion and Confirmation taken out of the classroom - and handed over to parents.

They say it is time for the churches to pull back from front line involvement in the provision of education in a modern, secular, multi-cultural society. "The day is gone when organised religion in denominational form is required to govern and manage schools," said Sean Cottrell, national director of the Irish Primary Principals Network (IPPN).

He argued that responsibility for religious education and preparation for Sacraments should be taken away from the school and given back to the family where it "rightfully belongs". The proposal, set to be the major talking point at the IPPN annual conference this weekend, would, if implemented, mark a fundamental change in Irish education and signal the end of a practice that has gone on for generations.

The three-day conference beginning on Thursday will be attended by 750 principals, more than a quarter of those in the country.

Mr Cottrell said many classrooms of today have anything from five to 15 different religions represented and it is not practical to have preparations for the sacraments during school hours.

He went further and predicted that the clergy would withdraw from school boards of management in order to focus more attention on working with parents towards their children's religious education and formation.

The clergy who are available at parish level are tied up in management functions dealing with buildings, finance and employment related issues, he said, writing in today's Irish Independent. "This is not exactly the type of work that motivated their vocation in the first place."

More controversially he suggests that the Churches who own school buildings should consider the value of trading or sharing ownership and control of schools in return for a proper State funded scheme to provide chaplaincy for all primary schools. But the General Secretary of the Catholic Primary School Managers Association Rev Dan O'Connor said he was taken aback at the IPPN proposals which, he said, had not been discussed with the association.

He said that part of the Mission of Catholic schools was faith formation and the preparation for the sacraments was a key part of that formation.

Fr O'Connor agreed that the burden of preparing pupils for the sacraments should be shared between the home, schools, and the Church. A number of dioceses were using the 'Do this in memory of Me' programme which followed this approach.

The CPSMA spokesman also rejected any suggestion that Catholic schools were not inclusive saying that pupils of different faiths were welcome and catered for in the schools.

"The situation in Ireland is changing and in Catholic schools there are children from different countries and varying faith groups now attending our schools."

However, he said the Catholic Church was also open to discussing other forms of co-trusteeship and co-patronage into the future.

In Roscrea, Co Tipperary, for example there was a primary school under the joint patronage of the Catholic Bishop of Killaloe and the Church of Ireland Bishop of Killaloe.

Fr O'Connor said that at second-level the Catholic Church had entered into arrangements with the Vocational Education Committees in the trusteeship of community colleges and there was no reason why something similar might not be considered at primary level.

"It takes a parish to rear a child and parents are the first and principal educators of their children in all aspects of living. The parish and the school assist the parents in this role," he added.

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Published: 30 January 2006

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Published: 20 December 2005

"Beginning to Teach: Newly Qualified Teachers in Irish Primary Schools"
A new report published today "Beginning to Teach", shows the vast majority of probationary primary teachers expressed a sense of personal and professional satisfaction about their teaching experience in the first year.
The report published by the Inspectorate of the Department of Education and Science, is based on research conducted in 2004 and presents the findings of a postal survey of 354 newly qualified teachers from the five colleges of education in the State. The publication also draws on an analysis of more than 250 reports on the work of newly qualified teachers submitted to the Department by inspectors.
Of the probationary teachers surveyed, a large proportion felt they were well prepared for teaching Physical Education (95%) and English (88%), but a smaller proportion felt they were well prepared for teaching Music (55%), Drama (68%) and Mathematics (72%). Inspectors found that the quality of newly qualified teachers' work was very good and the report cites many examples of good practice in the newly qualified teachers' work. It also highlights the importance of professional support from principals and other teachers in enabling newly qualified teachers to achieve their potential.
Evidence from newly qualified teachers and inspectors suggests that some aspects of teaching require further attention, for example the ability to use a range of teaching approaches, multi-grade teaching and the ability to manage the learning needs of pupils with special educational needs. Also, inspectors expressed concern about the teaching of Irish in a significant minority of instances.
The Minister for Education and Science, Mary Hanafin, TD, welcomed the report saying "this report underlines the quality and the commitment of our new primary teachers. The insights provided by the report is a tribute to them and to the excellent work done by our colleges of education in preparing new teachers for a challenging career. From personal experience, I know that the transition from being a student to being a teacher is a big challenge and it is encouraging to learn that new teachers receive great support from principals and other teachers."
Ends
20th December 2005

Main findings
° In April 2004, there were 1,245 probationary teachers in primary schools.
° The teachers rated the support of fellow teachers and principal teachers very highly (96%) and the support provided by inspectors also received a high rating (86%).
° Support provided by Education Centres received a lower rating (58%) and an even lower rating was accorded to support provided by induction courses (30%), largely because induction courses were unavailable

Among the main challenges / difficulties faced in their first year, probationary teachers mentioned
° lack of confidence with regard to classroom organisation
° lack of preparation for managing challenging behaviour
° lack of training in practical school matters

With regard to preparedness to teach the primary curriculum, teachers felt they were best prepared to teach Physical Education (95%), followed by English (88%) and Science (86%). At the other end of the spectrum 45% said they felt poorly prepared to teach Music, followed by Drama (32%) and Mathematics (28%). Only 16% per cent felt they were poorly prepared to teach Irish.
° Where inspectors commented on the teaching curriculum areas, they found that one-third of teachers had some difficulties in teaching of Irish, compared to one-sixth in the teaching of English
° Inspectors found that only 1% of teachers were experiencing serious difficulties in their teaching, but that there was scope for development in the case of 34% of teachers.
° In 2004, less than 6% of teachers had their period of probation extended due to insufficient progress in developing their teaching skills
° Only 3 teachers, all of whom were on probation for their second year, were rated as 'not satisfactory.'
° The most common reason for extending the probation period was teachers' inability to maintain classroom discipline.

Main recommendations of the report
° Boards of management and principals should ensure that supports in school are available for newly qualified teachers

° Where possible, an experienced teacher should mentor a beginning teacher

° Internet-based supports and a national system of induction and continuing professional development should be introduced

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Published: 15 December 2005

The Minister of State with special responsibility for Children, Brian Lenihan, today launched the Music Initiative 2005 under the Department of Education & Science, Fund for the Development of Targeted Educational Responses to Certain Children at Risk, at Pobalscoil Isolde, Palmerstown. This initiative, aimed at encouraging better school participation and attendance, has allocated total funds of €419,000 to disadvantaged schools around the country in order to purchase or replace musical instruments, through the provision of once-off grant aid.

The objective of the Fund for the Development of Targeted Educational Responses to Certain Children at Risk is to develop preventative and supportive programmes, which are targeted at children and young people who are at risk of educational disadvantage and social exclusion. A key focus of the initiative is the empowerment of schools and local communities to develop innovative and flexible programmes that address identified needs of intended participants.

The Minister of State was entertained with a selection of Christmas Carols sung by the school choir at Pobalscoil Isolde, one of the participating schools which has received an allocation of €15,000 to expand their music programme. The initiative at Pobalscoil Isolde will be further enhanced in the coming year by the purchase of instruments for a school band.

Speaking at the school, Minister Lenihan said that he hoped that the benefit of this initiative will not only result in students achieving considerable success in their junior and leaving certificate music examinations, but that it will also foster a more positive attitude to school attendance, attentiveness and enthusiasm for school participation by engaging pupils in an enjoyable and educational activity.

The Minister praised the work of the staff, music teacher and students at Pobalscoil Isolde. The Minister extended a special word of thanks to Padraic Gallagher, Principal, Michael Smith, SCP Co-ordinator and Mary Kenny, Assistant National SCP Co-ordinator for facilitating the launch of the Music Initiative today.

ENDS

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