Why school is out for thousands of pupils every day [IrishTimes]
- Published: 20 January 2011
MANCHESTER LETTER : Local authorities in Britain are taking tougher action to deal with truancy
THE POSTERS at bus stops around Piccadilly railway station in Manchester are simply worded, reflecting the clarity of the writer and the scale of the challenge in getting the message across. “Taking off in term-time could land you with a fine. It’s called truancy. As a parent you are legally responsible for making sure that your child is in school. Otherwise you could face a fine,” they state.
Manchester has one of the worst truancy records in England. Three of the 10 schools with the worst records lie within the Greater Manchester Council’s area. In one – the Manchester Creative and Media Academy for Boys – nearly 22 per cent of the school’s 602 pupils, ranging in age from 11 to 19, missed at least one day’s worth of classes per week last year.
Besides the poster campaign, tougher action is now being taken. About 400 parents have been convicted in the last 18 months for failing to get their children to class. In Oldham, one of the council’s outlying towns, 240 parents were prosecuted in the last school year.
Some were forced subsequently to sign contracts saying they would mend their ways, while some of their children are now being escorted every morning.
Some progress has been made. Teachers and truancy officers called to 3,000 homes, while the officers carried out spot-checks at schools, checking the register before visiting the homes of students missing that day. More than 2,500 warning letters were sent out, along with more than 500 penalty notices of £100 each, leading to 1,500 pupils to improve their behaviour.
Full Story: www.irishtimes.com
Religious training hours defended [irishcatholic.ie]
- Published: 20 January 2011
The hours dedicated to religious training at Mary Immaculate College in Limerick have been defended.
Speaking to The Irish Catholic this week following the contention in a Teaching Council report that religious training hours - 48 over the two-year B.Ed - far outstrips other subjects. Lecturer in Religious Education, Dr Daniel O'Connell said a number of factors currently at play demanded the emphasis given to religious training.
''Two and a half hours per week - a half hour a day - is a heavy load to place on a teacher along with other subjects,'' Dr O'Connell said of the reality today for young primary school teachers.
''For a trainee teacher to engage in his or her subject to that extent, and in a thoughtful and reflective manner, the time offered at Mary Immaculate is required.''
Pointing to the ''market reality'' of a continuing Catholic predominance in Irish schools, Dr O'Connell stressed that ''this is the context into which our graduates enter, and that requires them to be well trained to teach [RE] a curriculum subject. How are they to do that in a competent manner without a 'religious literacy'?''
Last week's publication of the Teaching Council report prompted comment in some media quarters as to the ongoing influence of the Church in the Irish education system, despite the fact that the religious training hours were matched by the visual arts and Gaeilge.
In this, Dr O'Connell further pointed out that those closest to the issue, the students themselves ''have never approached the college with any criticism of the hours dedicated to religious training''.
Full Story: www.irishcatholic.ie
Teachers’ pay and pensions cost €45m more than expected [IrishExaminer]
- Published: 19 January 2011
TEACHERS’ pay and pensions cost €45 million more than expected last year despite Government efforts to cut costs in the public service.
The €1 billion pension bill for retired teachers and staff of Vocational Education Committees (VECs) and institutes of technology was €30m more than the Department of Education had allowed for in its 2010 budget."Due to the current economic climate, a higher number than anticipated retired in 2010," a department summary of its provisional 2010 spending says.
The report also points to a €15m overspend on the salaries of teachers and special needs assistants at the country’s 4,000 primary and second-level schools. While only 0.4% over the budget allocated of more than €3.5bn, officials attribute a significant amount of the excess to additional substitution costs arising from the use of more qualified teachers in cases where schools previously employed unqualified people as substitutes at lower rates of pay.
Another factor was a rise in the number of maternity leave applications, which would have further increased costs of substitutes and teachers employed on fixed-term contracts.
Despite political concerns last year that a large proportion of her capital budget would go unspent, Education Minister Mary Coughlan’s officials paid out almost €2m more than the €781.9m allocation. However, €62m of her capital budget for primary schools had to be moved to the third level sector in the final weeks of 2010 rather than be taken back by the Department of Finance.
Full Story: www.examiner.ie
University plan for name tags rejected [Independent.ie]
- Published: 19 January 2011
A university's request that staff who deal with the public wear a name tag while at work has been dismissed by unions as "hare-brained".
NUI Maynooth made the suggestion during talks about implementing the Croke Park deal, which are being held separately between unions and the country's seven universities.
It was made as part of proposals to save money, make universities and colleges more accountable and provide better services to students.
If implemented in full, it would mean that academics and other staff dealing with the public would be obliged to go around with identity tags.
The university is also demanding that all voicemail messages be acknowledged within four hours. Staff are being told to use voicemail facilities attached to the inhouse phone system in a "professional manner".
When they use email they have to use the signature facilities and include their name, job title and contact details. All staff will also take part in an annual evaluation which will determine whether they receive an incremental on their pay scale.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
Union bosses jet off as teachers face crucial vote [Independent.ie]
- Published: 19 January 2011
THE leaders of a teachers' union have flown to a conference in Thailand as their members face a crucial re-ballot on the Croke Park deal.
Members of the Teachers' Union of Ireland (TUI) were furious yesterday after general secretary Peter MacMenamin and president Bernie Ruane left for an Education International conference on Equality in Education in Bangkok.
Any delay by the TUI in making a decision on the deal with the Government -- which its members previously rejected -- is likely to stall the introduction of key reforms by other unions.
The education unions generally give their verdict on government deals at the same time.
More than 30,000 primary teachers represented by the INTO have already agreed to work an extra hour a week.
But the second and third level TUI and second-level Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) have to re-ballot their members on proposals on extra hours recently put forward by the Labour Relations Commission (LRC), with voting expected in about three weeks.
Sources said the timing of the week-long trip by the union's most senior members could not be worse and has caused huge irritation among many members.
They said intense consultations should start immediately as members -- who are among the most hardline in their opposition to the agreement -- need guidance.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
