Call to fund fight against falling literacy levels [IrishExaminer]
- Published: 28 March 2011
GOVERNMENT plans to tackle falling literacy levels can only be achieved if schools are properly staffed and funded, a teachers’ leader has claimed.
Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) president, Jack Keane, also warned against over-reliance on testing as he called for greater focus on developing students’ motivation, self-esteem and social skills as well as their academic abilities.
Education Minister Ruairi Quinn has made one of his priorities in his new job the development and implementation of a national literacy strategy, including the setting of targets by each school. A draft national literacy and numeracy strategy, launched by Mr Quinn’s predecessor Mary Coughlan last November, is strongly focused on reforms of how primary and second-level teachers are trained, including extending the length of degree courses.
But Mr Keane told an ASTI seminar on curriculum development that, while a national literacy plan is welcome, it must be based on sound policy, evidence-based research and international best practice.
"It must also take into account the current strengths of the Irish education service and the resource limitations experienced by schools following more than two years of education cutbacks," he said.
He said literacy and numeracy test results can provide useful information for teachers and schools, particularly at crucial times such as when pupils transfer from primary to second level, but tests themselves do not improve literacy.
"They have little value if the resources are not available to schools to address literacy issues effectively. Pressures on teachers to improve literacy test scores could lead to ‘teaching to the test’, which would have a negative impact on teaching and learning," Mr Keane said.
Mr Quinn told the Dáil last week that he intends to give principals and teachers greater autonomy to obtain the required learning outcomes, with a particular focus needed on literacy. International test scores published in December showed the reading ability of Irish 15-year-olds fell more than in any other developed country between 2006 and 2009 and are now below OECD averages.
Full Story: www.examiner.ie
Minister Quinn announces the establishment of a Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the Primary Sector [education.ie]
- Published: 28 March 2011
The Minister for Education and Skills, Mr. Ruairi Quinn TD, today announced the establishment of a Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the Primary Sector.
Announcing the establishment of the Forum, Minister Quinn said “it will take a multi-dimensional approach involving consultations with the key education stakeholders, including parents”.
The Minister indicated that a formal launch of the Forum will take place before Easter.
The terms of reference of the Forum are to advise the Minister on:
1. how it can best be ensured that the education system can provide a sufficiently diverse number and range of primary schools catering for all religions and none;
2. the practicalities of how transfer/divesting of patronage should operate for individual primary schools in communities where it is appropriate and necessary;
3. how such transfer/divesting can be advanced to ensure that demands for diversity of patronage (including from an Irish language perspective) can be identified and met on a widespread basis nationally.
In undertaking this work the Forum will, in particular, have regard for the following:
- the expressed willingness of the Roman Catholic Church to consider divesting patronage of primary schools
- the current financial constraints within which the State is operating, the need for continued restraint into the future and the requirement in this context to make maximum use of existing school infrastructure in catering for future demands
School choice about more than just grades [NZHerald.nz]
- Published: 28 March 2011
My son will start primary school in a couple of months and while I acknowledge there will be plenty to tug at the heartstrings about that, there are a few practical considerations that crop up well before the big date.
The first question is where to send him - a question that my parents, like most others any time before the 1990s, never had to face, bringing us up in a small rural township where there was one primary, one intermediate and one high school.
read more ...
HSE sets up child welfare advisory group [sbpost.ie]
- Published: 27 March 2011
A new high-level advisory group on children and family services has been established by the Health Service Executive (HSE).
The new Advisory Committee on Children and Family Services was spearheaded by Gordon Jeyes, the newly-appointed national director for that section in the HSE.
Members of the advisory committee, which met for the first time last Thursday, include chief executive of the Children’s Rights Alliance, Jillian Van Turnhout, Barnardos chief Fergus Finlay, Trinity lecturer Dr Helen Buckley, Michelle Clarke from the Department of Children, and deputy chief of The One Foundation, Emma Lane Spollen.
Jeyes said the group would help ensure that ‘‘the need for children’s welfare to be everyone’s responsibility was embedded in the approach to children and family services’’.
He said there was a need for ‘‘a broader base of external advice to ensure children’s services were more outward looking’’.
The move is likely to be welcomed, as Ireland has a poor record when it comes to child protection.
A confidential report into the HSE’s child protection services, leaked in 2010, criticised the HSE’s management style as ‘‘reactive’’ and ‘‘crisis-driven’’.
The report also found there was a postcode lottery when it came to services, with varying standards of service on offer in different areas.
It is understood that Ombudsman for Children Emily Logan, child law expert Geoffrey Shannon and the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) turned down the invitation to participate, citing potential conflicts of interest.
Full Story: www.sbpost.ie
Attempts to cluster small schools meets with strong opposition [southernstar.ie]
- Published: 26 March 2011
A NUMBER of small schools in West Cork say they will resist ‘by whatever means necessary’ any attempt by the Department of Education to close them down.
The newly-appointed Minister for Education, Mr Ruairi Quinn TD, recently announced that the government is to review the feasibility of rural schools that have less than fifty pupils.
Fianna Fáil county councillor, Mr Christopher O’Sullivan, has estimated that the review could negatively impact on as many as twenty-five schools in the region and over 700 pupils.
Speaking to The Southern Star on Tuesday morning, he said: ‘The review shows a complete disregard for the importance of small rural schools.
‘Those of us familiar with the realities of rural living understand that as well as achieving high standards of education, these schools are at the heart of our rural communities.
Full Story: www.southernstar.ie
