HPV vaccination programme to be extended [schooldays.ie]
- Published: 24 May 2011
Girls in post-primary schools across the country will be offered the HPV vaccination from September as part of a new drive to reduce levels of cervical cancer.
The Health Service Executive (HSE) will write to all schools in Ireland to inform them of the programme, which will be available to female students entering sixth year in September 2011.
All girls will require three doses of the vaccine, with a three-month gap between the first and second injections and a four-month interval between the second and third.
Information packs are being prepared and will be distributed at the start of September.
Full Story: www.schooldays.ie
School's out for the home-educators [IrishTimes]
- Published: 24 May 2011
A USUAL morning for mother-of-three Aoife Duffy begins with her daughter Riana asking for a maths lesson. “She’ll bring me the book, bring me her abacus, I’ll show her how to do one or two sums and she’ll go at it then.”
Duffy is sitting feeding her baby in Imaginosity Dublin Children’s Museum. She drives here from Westmeath every fortnight with Joe (6), Riana (5) and Liam (6 months) to meet others from Hen (the Home Education Network).
Duffy is one of 1,000 or so parents in Ireland – published research on exact figures is scant – who have challenged convention by educating their children at home. “I can’t believe how much they want to learn stuff. We don’t do structured lessons, we don’t do a certain amount every day, but I found that from a very early age my son wanted to learn the alphabet.”
Things have come a long way since the 1980s and 1990s when Duffy herself was home-schooled with her 10 siblings. Home education has emerged from the shadows since it became regulated by the Education (Welfare) Act 2000, which safeguards every child’s constitutional right to a “minimum education”.
Full Story: www.irishtimes.com
More than 330 retired teachers still working despite pledge to use graduates [IrishExaminer]
- Published: 24 May 2011
MORE than 330 retired teachers were still working in classes this month despite pressure to ensure schools give work to thousands of unemployed teachers.
Figures from the Department of Education show that 186 primary teachers and 147 second-level teachers on the most recent payroll runs were retired.
The data does not include those paid by vocational education committees (VECs), which manage more than one-third of the country’s second-level schools.
Despite huge anger at teacher union conferences about the use of retired teachers and unqualified people to take classes, formal discussions have yet to take place between education partners and the department to ensure schools have proper access to qualified unemployed teachers for substitution work.
More than 3,000 unqualified people have been working in primary classrooms since September, 400 doing so for at least 10 weeks. Another 1,200 retired primary and second-level teachers have been hired for substitution in the current school year.
The Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) decided at its annual congress last month that members will no longer work with unqualified people employed to teach from next September, a policy which had not been due to take effect until 2013.
Full Story: www.examiner.ie
GAA chief on new policing board [Independent.ie]
- Published: 24 May 2011
A senior GAA official is among members who will take a seat on the new-look Northern Ireland Policing Board.
Ryan Feeney, head of community development, strategy and public affairs with the Ulster Council, is one of nine independents who will join 10 MLAs on the police's independent scrutiny body. Another is Brian Rowntree, chairman of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive.
They are among seven new independent members with only outgoing board acting chairman and vice chairman Brian Rea and Gearoid O H'Eara returning. Only one MLA - the DUP's Ian McCrea - was on the last board term.
He will be joined by party colleagues Jonathan Craig, Robin Newton and Adrian McQuillan, Sinn Fein's Gerry Kelly, former education minister Caitriona Ruane and Pat Sheehan, Ulster Unionist Ross Hussey, Conall McDevitt of the SDLP and the Alliance Party's Trevor Lunn. Mr O H'Eara, who while not an elected representative is a member of Sinn Fein, is favourite to be appointed chairman when the board meets in private for the first time next month.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
State 'must provide education options for those of different, and no, faith' [IrishExaminer]
- Published: 24 May 2011
However, the Irish Human Rights Commission called on the Government to prioritise a solution to the issue.
The IHRC has passed its report to the Minister for Education, who recently established a forum on patronage and pluralism in schools.
IHRC Commissioner Professor William Binchy said the report recommends that the State provide more different types of schools, and that in the interim, other options be considered.
Full Story: www.examiner.ie
