Boy’s education ‘impeded by layers of bureaucracy’ [IrishExaminer]
- Published: 24 November 2011
A JUDGE has questioned the "layers and layers of bureaucracy" which she says are preventing a child from getting an education appropriate to his needs.
The mother of the boy, who is not to be named by court order, is doing everything she can to get an education for her son, yet is being prosecuted by the National Education Welfare Board (NEWB) for failing to send him to school, noted Judge Catherine Staines at Tullamore District Court.
The 16 year old, who has oppositional defiance disorder, ADHD and dyslexia with a reading age of seven years, does not qualify for the Department of Education home tuition scheme because a special educational needs organiser (SENO) says there’s a place for him at his local school and because he doesn’t have one of the chronic illnesses accepted by the department.
Full Story: www.examiner.ie
145 inspection reports published on Department's website [education.ie]
- Published: 24 November 2011
A total of 145 school inspection-reports were published today on the Department of Education and Skills' website.
New inspection reports on the web today comprise:
- 36 whole-school evaluations (WSEs) of primary schools
- 12 whole-school evaluations (WSEs) of post-primary schools, including 11 WSE-MLLs which focus on management, leadership and learning
- 93 stand-alone subject inspections at post-primary level
- 4 stand-alone programme evaluations at post-primary level
Since 6th February 2006, inspection reports on schools and centres for education are published on the Department of Education and Skills' website at regular intervals throughout the school year.
There are now 5,195 inspection reports on the website, representative of 2,072 schools and centres for education.
WSEs are conducted in primary and post-primary schools.
WSE reports comment on the quality of the school's management and planning, teaching and learning, arrangements for student assessment, supports for students, provision for minority groups and home-school links.
Full Story: www.education.ie
Strategy on children published [IrishTimes]
- Published: 23 November 2011
The Government has published a new strategy to improve understanding of the lives of children and young people, including those in State care.
Minister for Children Frances Fitzgerald published the National Strategy for Research and Data on Children’s Lives 2011-2016 today.
She said the document set out a strategic direction for children’s research at national level.
The strategy focuses on four key areas of children’s lives, including the development of a national, strategic approach to information and the improvement of data systems.
Full Story: www.irishtimes.com
Diary of a Schoolteacher: Why teachers are rarely the sharpest tools in the closet [Independent.ie]
- Published: 23 November 2011
One of the things that put me off becoming a teacher was teachers' dress sense. Terrible beards, shirt and tie stuffed into a crewneck with a sports jacket thrown over it, soup-stained trousers -- yuck!
I'll never forget my French teacher's hideous yellow skirt with her initials embroidered in huge pink letters on the front, and then there was that young sub in her early twenties whose tight v-neck top was distracting for a different reason.
Mind you, I have a lot of sympathy for the female teachers as they struggle to avoid wearing anything that could be considered tarty or provocative. The only advice I can give my lady colleagues would be that, when teaching in a boys' school, best stick to a boiler suit.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
In My Opinion: Ministers, do your homework and extend free pre-school scheme [Independent.ie]
- Published: 23 November 2011
As part of our pre-budget submission, Early Childhood Ireland, which represents over 80pc of preschools and day care services nationwide, has recommended that the free pre-school scheme be extended to two years from its current one year timeframe.
Today, 66,000 children are taking up their entitlement to the free preschool scheme, that has potential to be great with the right investment at the right time, i.e. now.
Most parents and teachers agree that what happens in the early years lays the foundation for our adult lives.
We are constantly reminding and proving to policy makers and politicians that a good quality preschool experience makes a significant positive difference to children's learning and development.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
