Education Minister to meet Archbishop of Dublin to discuss school patronage [schooldays.ie]
- Published: 18 April 2011
Education Minister Ruairi Quinn will meet with the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin later this week to discuss the future of school patronage in the Irish education system.
The Irish Independent has revealed that the pair will join at a forum tomorrow (April 19th 2011) in order to determine the church's role in the nation's schools.
Earlier this month, Mr Quinn launched the Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the Primary Sector in an effort to divest the Roman Catholic Church's authority over education establishments in the country.
He has stated that 1,500 primary schools should be taken out of control of the church and given to other authorities.
Full Story: www.schooldays.ie
Website snaps up student who turned profit on his study notes [Independent.ie]
- Published: 18 April 2011
THE straight-A Leaving Cert student who made a packet after selling his study notes on the internet last year is again basking in his exam success. Cillian Fahy (19) hit the headlines after achieving seven straight As in the Leaving Cert 2010. He then walked away with a cool €3,000 after putting his study notes up for sale on eBay.
A number of students, anxious to follow his exam success, snapped up the notes on the auction site. But Cillian, who is studying mathematics and English at Trinity College in Dublin, has himself now been snapped up by the online company www.mocks.ie
Full Story: Independent.ie
Pupils with special needs may face resource teacher shortage [IrishExaminer]
- Published: 15 April 2011
THE Department of Education is facing pressure to ensure that children with special needs do not have reduced access to resource teachers from September.
As reported in yesterday’s Irish Examiner, schools are to be told soon that they will have to cater for any additional resource teaching requirements out of their existing allocations due to an unexpected rise in demand.
The department has made provision for 9,950 resource teaching posts this year under staffing controls required as part of the EU/IMF bailout. Although this allows for about 300 more resource teachers than last year, the numbers being employed in schools had reached 9,850 by April 1.
A pause on the sanction of additional resource teaching hours for pupils assessed as needing help for less common learning difficulties such as autism, hearing or visual impairment was described a fortnight ago as temporary. But the Irish Examiner has learned that the department will not be seeking Government approval to hire more resource teachers than its 9,950 provision.
Full Story: www.examiner.ie
Scandal of illiteracy [IrishTimes]
- Published: 14 April 2011
ONE OF the longest-running scandals has been the high level of illiteracy that arises in primary schools. It is a dreadful indictment of social planning; of education policy and of the quality of teacher training. What makes the situation worse is that where a child lives can have a defining impact on whether they will eventually be able to read, write or count. That, in turn, can make the difference between a life of isolation and poverty or one of confident employment.
Before the general election, Ruairí Quinn identified illiteracy as one of the major causes of inequality in society and the economy. Now, as Minister for Education, he has an opportunity to do something about it. Changing teaching methods should not, as he himself said, take lots of money and fancy equipment. But it will take commitment and a ruthless determination to ensure that literacy is taught better and longer at national school level.
A pilot project in Darndale, Dublin, has produced encouraging results after teachers there received in-school professional development training. The number of children found to have extreme reading difficulties was cut by three-quarters. That pilot programme will now be extended to some other schools in the Dublin region. But what about children from other disadvantaged areas of the State? The great bulk of juvenile offenders are illiterate. And while being unable to read does not make you a criminal, it is a sure-fire recipe for unemployment and social deprivation.
Full Story: www.irishtimes.com
Education funding - Savings must start at the very top [IrishExaminer]
- Published: 14 April 2011
THE provision of special needs education supports (SNAs) in primary and second level schools have made it possible for many students to reach levels they might otherwise have found difficult.
The relatively recent development has been life-changing for so many. It has given a degree of independence and possibility to so many individuals and families that the facilities must be at least protected. It would seem almost inhuman to deny the option from those who might benefit from it, yet that seems a real possibility.
Yet thousands of special needs students may have their access to teachers cut because demand has been underestimated and recruitment limits agreed as part of the IMF/EU rescue package are about to be reached.
