Teachers to work extra hour as union accepts Croke Park deal [IrishTimes]
- Published: 09 February 2011
SECONDARY TEACHERS will have to work an extra hour per week after members voted to accept the Croke Park deal in a re- ballot of members.
The Association of Secondary Teachers, Ireland (ASTI) voted by a 2:1 margin to endorse the deal.
Surprisingly, only 38 per cent of ASTI’s 18,000 members voted in the ballot. The Croke Park deal on public service reform promises no pay cuts or compulsory redundancies until 2014 – in exchange for modernisation measures.
For teachers, the Croke Park deal means an extra 33 hours a year, extra supervision and new redeployment measures.
Last year, ASTI voted by a similar margin to reject the deal, as recommended by their executive.
This time round, the executive made no recommendation to members. The volte-face on the agreement comes after threats from the Department of Education that some 300 surplus teachers could be made redundant unless ASTI backed the deal.
The reballot followed over a dozen meetings between the department and ASTI which teased out how the deal would work in schools.
An ASTI briefing document circulated to members said these clarifications of the deal represented “the optimum achievable for members in the current negotiating climate”.
Yesterday, ASTI general secretary Pat King said: “After a healthy debate and careful consideration of all of the issues, the members have made their decision.”
The vote is a major coup for Mr King who has been anxious to shrug off ASTI’s militant image since he took office last year.
Full Story: www.irishtimes.com
Labour to target literacy in young [Independent.ie]
- Published: 09 February 2011
Tackling literacy problems in Irish schools will be a key priority for the Labour Party in government.
Ruairi Quinn said his party would make a statement of intent that it would not allow the situation where one in in three students in disadvantaged schools is illiterate to continue.
The education spokesman said the outgoing Government had failed to equip young people with the basic skills needed to engage fully with society.
"Literacy is the foundation on which education is built," said Mr Quinn. If we don't get that right, all of our subsequent investment in education is compromised.
"No child should leave an Irish school unable to read and write. It is the most basic, and the most important, skill that our schools teach."
In its document Labour's Plan for Literacy, the party outlined proposals for primary and secondary schools nationwide.
Mr Quinn also criticised Fine Gael's proposals to cut 30,000 jobs out of the public service, which he said will have a devastating impact on frontline services.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
Labour to target improving literacy levels [IrishExaminer]
- Published: 09 February 2011
Tackling literacy problems in Irish schools will be a key priority for the Labour Party in Government, it said today.
Ruairi Quinn said his party would make a statement of intent that it would not allow the situation where one in in three students in disadvantaged schools are illiterate to continue.
The Education Spokesman said the outgoing Government had failed to equip young people with the basic skills needed to engage fully with society.
The party says that literacy rates in Ireland have not improved since 1980 - with one in 10 - or around 50,000 primary school children now suffering from serious literacy difficulties.
In Government, Labour is pledging to develop a national strategy to improve overall youth literacy levels by allowing teachers to devote 90 minutes every day to literacy skills.
"Literacy is the foundation on which education is built," said Mr Quinn.
"If we don't get that right, all of our subsequent investment in education is compromised.
"No child should leave an Irish school unable to read and write. It is the most basic, and the most important, skill that our schools teach."
In its document Labour's Plan for Literacy, the party outlined proposals for primary and secondary schools nationwide.
Mr Quinn also criticised Fine Gael's proposals to cut 30,000 jobs out of the public service, which he said will have a devastating impact on frontline services.
Full Story: www.irishexaminer.com
School Principals Meet NDC at IPPN Conference [ndc.ie]
- Published: 09 February 2011
The National Dairy Council exhibited at this year's event with School Programme Manager Tara Regan available to help with questions on how schools can sign up and get involved in the school milk programme. The NDC is encouraging more parents and teachers to engage with the school milk and dairy programme as a way of helping children to achieve their recommended dietary guideline consumption of dairy.
Nutritional Inadequacies in Irish Children
Dairy products provide an essential part of a healthy, balanced diet – and are particularly important for growing children and teenagers. Yet a considerable proportion of Irish children aged 5-12 years and Irish teenagers are known to have inadequate intake of certain nutrients including calcium, vitamins A & D. (Refs 1, 2, 3 & 4). 42% of teenage girls and nearly one fifth (23%) of teenage boys have inadequate calcium intakes. (Ref 3)
Participating in the EU-subsidised School Milk Programme is a cost effective and easy way for parents to help children to combat this nutritional gap, as milk is a natural source of calcium and other essential nutrients, namely vitamins B12 and B2 and iodine and protein.
Full Story: www.ndc.ie
Thrift is the best skill a student can learn - NZ Herald
- Published: 09 February 2011
Students are descending on Auckland and other university towns in their droves. Some are wet behind the ears, others have experience of student life.
New students in particular can struggle with the practicalities of managing their own money. They'll need to learn to stretch money further than a bungy cord if they want to come out the other end of their studies with a qualification and not too much debt.
