Minister for Education and Skills, announces new rules to ensure schools employ only appropriately qualified registered teachers [education.ie]
- Published: 27 May 2011
"Only qualified personnel should be employed by schools", says Minister Quinn. "Appropriately qualified registered teachers seeking work must be given every opportunity to gain a teaching position. I want schools to give priority to them over unregistered people and retired teachers.The directions I have issued today will ensure that this happens and there will be transparency for both school management and the Department to verify this".
Figures released by the Department of Education last month showed that half of all 3,200 primary schools employed an unqualified teacher for up to a week during the first half of this school year. They also showed that 1,200 retired teachers were employed as substitutes during the same period.
Schools will be required to keep a list of appropriately qualified registered teachers who are available for substitute teaching at short notice. Teachers who are available for work will now be able to inform schools in their locality and be included on this list. Schools must then use this list or a service like TextaSub when they need a teacher at short notice.
"In these challenging times,it is vital that unemployed teachers get opportunities to gain experience and they should be favoured over those who have retired” said Minister Quinn. "It is unacceptable that unemployed or newly qualified teachers are being overlooked for substitution in favour of retired or unqualified teachers.”
The Minister continued, "My Department is, for the first time, laying down tight restrictions on the extremely limited circumstances in which it may be necessary to engage an unregistered teacher, where a school would have to close or send pupils home otherwise. The aim is to protect the standards of education for students. The new restrictions strike a balance between the interests of students, giving newly qualified unemployed teachers employment opportunities and meeting the short-term staffing needs of individual schools".
Full Story: www.education.ie
Citizens should have access to non-sectarian public schools [IrishTimes]
- Published: 26 May 2011
A universal model of non-denominational education is needed instead of reforms to the patronage system currently in operation
INCREASING ATTENTION has recently focused on the rather limited protection for religious freedom in Irish schools. This has centred on the continuing predominance of the denominational schools on which the State historically relied in order to give effect to its constitutional obligation to provide free primary education.
Despite recent efforts by the private group Educate Together, and the piloting of a new model of community national school, the concrete effect of the patronage model is that families in many areas of the State have little choice but to avail of denominational primary schools which are committed to beliefs contrary to their own.
Effectively, this may set, as the price of access to free primary education, the surrender of another constitutional right, parents’ and children’s freedom of conscience and religion.
Full Story: www.irishtimes.com
School pressure as pupils soar [Independent.ie]
- Published: 26 May 2011
THE Government will have to build even more new secondary schools than previously thought because of the boom in pupil numbers.
It will put a further strain on state finances but the upside is that it will provide a boost for the construction industry.
As well as building costs, the extra second-level schools -- secondary, community and vocational schools -- will also need at least 1,000 teachers.
Instead of the 13 new schools announced in January, up to 20 will be needed over the next seven years as pupil enrolments are expected to soar by at least 24,000, from 312,000 to over 336,000, the Irish Independent has learned.
Each of the new schools will cater for about 1,000 pupils, while some existing schools will also need extensions to cope with the growing numbers.
The sudden, upward revision of the figure comes as a result of more accurate population information being available to the Department of Education.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
Irish Language Act to be revived [Independent.ie]
- Published: 26 May 2011
A bid to revive the scuppered Irish Language Act will be launched later this year, Stormont's Culture Minister has indicated.
Caral Ni Chuilin told an Assembly scrutiny committee she realised she would require cross-party support to secure legislative protections for gaelic but confirmed she intended to bring forward proposals.
The newly appointed Sinn Fein minister did not face any questions on the furore over her decision to appoint IRA killer Mary McArdle as her departmental special advisor as she made her first appearance before the Culture, Arts and Leisure (CAL) committee.
After the meeting, the North Belfast MLA also declined to make any further comment on the appointment of Ms McArdle, 46, who was jailed for her part in the murder of primary school teacher Mary Travers and the attempted murder of her judge father Tom in Belfast in 1984.
The meeting, instead, focused on a number of issues facing the CAL department in the coming term, with the Irish language raised on a number of occasions.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
Govt 'must protect human rights' in schools [schooldays.ie]
- Published: 25 May 2011
A new report has called on the government to do more to ensure schools in the country meet their human rights obligations by increasing diversity and protect students from minorities.
The Irish Human Rights Commission (IHRC) stated that it is vital that educational establishments work to protect the religious freedom of their pupils, both those from the majority Roman Catholic faith and those from other backgrounds.
It made 13 recommendations, including more diversity in the provision of schools available and a revision of the Education Act of 1998 to ensure minority faiths are protected.
President of the IHRC Dr Maurice Manning said that "Ireland is a changing society" and "its increasing diversity brings with it demands for choice in the provision of education which reflects that diversity".
Full Story: www.schooldays.ie
