Transfer of 170 surplus teachers to save €10m [Independent.ie]
- Published: 22 March 2011
UP to 170 second-level teachers will be moved to other schools within a 50km radius under the terms of the Croke Park deal.
The transfer of the teachers will save the Exchequer around €10m a year, as they will fill vacancies in other schools that would otherwise be filled by hiring new teachers or keeping temporary teachers on the payroll.
A Teachers' Union of Ireland (TUI) ballot of members in second-level schools is expected to show a majority of them in favour of the agreement when the results are released tomorrow evening.
Union members have been warned by the Department of Education and Skills that the only alternative to Croke Park is redundancies.
Schools drop the ball [IrishTimes.com]
- Published: 22 March 2011
DOES IT matter that some primary school students will not experience physical education (PE) classes with their teachers? The phenomenon of contracting out the teaching of physical education to such sports organisation as the GAA or the Football Association of Ireland has become common in schools across the country.
The Irish Sports Council, in co-operation with sports bodies and local sports partnerships, developed a national Buntús Primary Schools Initiative in recent years through which additional supports such as training, resource cards and equipment, are provided to help teachers and others introducing young people to sport, and to complement the curriculum
read more ...
Local schools 'could lose teachers' [inishowennews.com]
- Published: 21 March 2011
DONEGAL North East TD, Pádraig MacLochlainn has warned that schools in Buncrana and Moville could lose teachers under proposals to increase the pupil-teacher ratio for Irish-medium schools.
Deputy MacLochlainn called on Education Minister Ruairí Quinn to ensure the proposal "is stopped in its tracks".
"The proposal to increase the pupil-teacher ratio in Irish-medium schools to that of mainstream schools will be detrimental for Gaelscoileanna and will result in job losses for teachers, larger class sizes and a complete dilution of the effectiveness of the immersion experience for the pupil.
"Two Inishowen schools, Gaelscoil Bhun Cranncha and Gaelscoil Cois Feabhail will be affected by this proposal. In the case of Gaelscoil Bun Cranncha, they will lose two teachers which will have a hugely negative knock-on effect. Both schools are presently seeking to relocate to new buildings, with student numbers outgrowing their present locations." The local Sinn Féin TD added: "The proposal takes no regard of the challenges facing Irish-medium schools including implementing an entire curriculum through the medium of Irish and coping with dwindling resources and inadequate accommodation.
Full Story: www.inishowennews.com
Ruane: Teach Irish in every Northern Ireland school [belfasttelegraph.co.uk]
- Published: 19 March 2011
Education Minister Caitriona Ruane has caused fury after claiming that every school pupil in Northern Ireland should be given the opportunity to learn the Irish language.
In an outspoken interview with the Belfast Telegraph, the controversial minister also claimed that she wanted the local schools system brought closer together with that in the Republic — which would mean the scrapping of GCSE and A-level exams.
And in remarks that will anger thousands of parents whose children are caught up in the confusion of the unregulated testing system for entrance to secondary schools, Ms Ruane declared that “the debate on academic selection is now over”.
In 2009 the Belfast Telegraph launched its Sit Down, Sort It Out campaign which appealed for the Executive to put their differences aside to reach an agreed solution over transfer. This followed the decision to scrap the 11-plus without any agreed and regulated system of transferring between primary and secondary schools put in its place.
But far from showing any contrition over the uncertainty which surrounds the transfer process, Ms Ruane instead claimed that ending the 11-plus was her “proudest achievement”.
Ms Ruane also blamed the grammar system for the high level of Northern Ireland pupils leaving education without basic qualifications — remarks which are sure to poison the relationship between schools and the minister even further.
Full Story: www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Parents' council quits in row over school's suspension of pupil (12) [Independent.ie]
- Published: 18 March 2011
THE parents' council of a Catholic primary school has resigned over a bitter dispute with school authorities.
St Senan's in Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, is at the centre of a row that started two years ago when a 12-year-old was suspended -- a decision that was later overturned by the Department of Education.
But the issue came to a head when the parents' council disbanded earlier this month, accusing the school authorities of "keeping a lid" on the controversy.
The boy had been accused of misbehaviour and banned from school from March 10-12, 2009.
The disbandment of the parents' council was prompted after its three parent representatives quit over the suspension and because, they said, they were given no support from the school authorities to organise activities.
The boy's parents, Charles and Jennifer Kavanagh, won a Department of Education appeal to have his suspension overturned and expunged from his permanent record.
They took their case to the High Court in March 2010 to seek a judicial review after they were initially told they had no right to appeal the boy's suspension. The Appeals Committee of the Department of Education found the school was wrong to have suspended the child. The action taken against the boy was deemed to be against the Rules for National Schools and the Education Welfare Act (2000).
Flawed
Despite this decision, the chairperson of the school's board of management, The Reverend Brian Broaders, wrote to the Kavanagh family to say the department's decision was "flawed". The teenager is now in boarding school but his parents are demanding an apology.
Mrs Kavanagh said her son was "extremely popular" in class and she had always been "very happy" with his school reports.
Mr Kavanagh said his son now finds it hard to make eye contact with his teachers due to the trauma he suffered.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
