Standardised School Year [into.ie]
- Published: 20 December 2010
The INTO has noted comments of the IPPN about the standardised school year. The union said the IPPN is not a party to any arrangements around the standardisation of the school year.
The INTO on behalf of teachers and principals agreed to standardise the school year as part of the Sustaining Progress national agreement in 2004. As a result the Department of Education and Skills, school management and the INTO negotiated standardised Christmas and Easter holidays and mid-term breaks.
The agreement emerged from a demand to give certainty to parents around school breaks to allow plans to be made for work arrangements, childminding and family holidays. It was widely welcomed at the time although the INTO pointed out that the agreement would have a negative impact on flexibility at local level.
The INTO said the extent of school closures due to weather had varied considerably with some schools reporting little or no disruption. It said as a result each Board would have consider the issue in relation to its own school. The union also pointed out that an attempt to manage the system centrally last year when all schools were ordered to close backfired badly and had to be rescinded.
The INTO described the IPPN’s comments as unhelpful coming at a time when teachers and parents are struggling to get to schools in the middle of the worst cold snap in decades. “It is not possible to say with any certainty what weather conditions will be like in early January. This makes talk of reopening schools on an earlier date in January, premature and speculative.”
Full Story: www.into.ie
