Schools unite to fight plan for closures [IrishExaminer]
- Published: 16 March 2011
A CAMPAIGN is being mounted by 37 primary schools in West Cork to fight possible closures mooted by the Department of Education as part of planned cost-cutting measures.
Save Our Small Schools has been set up by principals and teachers to protect schools in the region with less than 50 pupils which could be closed or amalgamated under plans by the department to save money.
Its chairwoman Clara McGowan said closing schools would be the last nail in the coffin for rural Ireland.
She said the department recently pasted information on its website it was carrying out a review of small schools in a bid to save €20 million.
Ms McGowan, principal of the 12-pupil St James’ National School, Durrus, said closures and amalgamations would have "a huge negative effect on the social fabric" of the region and prove detrimental to pupils and their families.
The deadline for submissions under the department’s national Small Primary Schools Value for Money Review is this Friday.
The group has already submitted its views and parents have also been asked to add their opinions.
Ms McGowan said the group was also lobbying local TDs in an effort to prevent any closures.
"Even though some rural schools are situated relatively close to each other they serve a wide catchment area. If schools were amalgamated, it would result in much longer travelling time, often on poor roads and children would no longer have the healthier options of walking or cycling to school."
Full Story: www.irishexaminer.ie
Stigma hits take-up of free meals [Independent.ie]
- Published: 16 March 2011
More than 20,000 children in Northern Ireland are missing out on their entitlement to free school meals, many due to fear of being teased, a report has warned.
Around one in five - 12,700 - of the 58,000 pupils signed up for the provision do not take it up, while an estimated 8,000 children who may be eligible have not been registered by their parents or guardians.
The government currently provides around £36 million a year for free school meals to low income families.
The findings were outlined in an Audit Office report on how healthy eating is promoted in the region's schools.
"A key barrier which is unique to inhibiting the uptake of free school meals is the fear of stigmatisation," the report said.
"Research by Child Poverty Action Group found that one third of children and two-fifths of parents indicated that embarrassment or fear of being teased is a key factor preventing children taking up their free school meals."
Auditors suggested adoption of cashless payment systems was one method of overcoming this barrier.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
Language chief suggests splitting Irish into two [Independent.ie]
- Published: 16 March 2011
IRISH could be taught as two separate subjects in the future, Language Commissioner Sean O Cuirreain has suggested.
Mr O Cuirreain said a huge investment was being made in the teaching of the language, with children receiving a total of 1,500 hours of tuition over 13 years of primary and secondary schooling.
"But they are not getting that basic ability in Irish," he said.
Speaking at the launch of his annual report in Galway yesterday, the commissioner pointed out that there was a school of thought that there should possibly be two Irish courses, along the lines of maths and applied maths.
"One would be a communications course, where the emphasis would be on writing, reading and speaking Irish -- and only on that. A second course would be for people with a natural interest in the language -- literature, poetry, drama and so on.
"The two courses would run the same way as we have maths and applied maths -- as two separate courses.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
Gaelscoileanna fight to keep teachers [Independent.ie]
- Published: 16 March 2011
MORE than 40 all-Irish primary schools will lose teachers next September following a change in the current favourable pupil-teacher ratio in Gaelscoileanna.
They will have the same ratio as the English-medium schools, a change that will particularly hit Gaelic schools with between three and eight teachers.
A campaign to retain the present ratio was launched yesterday by Gaelscoileanna Teo, whose president, Micheal O Broin, said the present system recognised the considerable extra workload involved in running an Irish-medium school, such as implementing the entire curriculum through the medium of Irish.
Up to 31 schools will lose one teacher, four schools will lose two teachers and administrative principals will have to return to the classroom in the case of six schools.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
Gaelscoileanna fight to keep teachers [Independent.ie]
- Published: 16 March 2011
MORE than 40 all-Irish primary schools will lose teachers next September following a change in the current favourable pupil-teacher ratio in Gaelscoileanna.
They will have the same ratio as the English-medium schools, a change that will particularly hit Gaelic schools with between three and eight teachers.
A campaign to retain the present ratio was launched yesterday by Gaelscoileanna Teo, whose president, Micheal O Broin, said the present system recognised the considerable extra workload involved in running an Irish-medium school, such as implementing the entire curriculum through the medium of Irish.
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