Teachers demand action to stop attacks by pupils [Independent.ie]
- Published: 01 December 2010
It has become an occupational hazard for teachers. In some schools they face the threat of assault by pupils, and even parents.
Last week's attack on a primary principal in Limerick showed that this violence can even occur at primary level.
Geraldine Wallace, principal of St Mary's Boy School, suffered a broken nose after she was headbutted by a pupil.
The boy was suspended, and Ms Wallace was treated in hospital. Gardai were called in but they cannot prosecute the boy because he is under age.
The incident again highlights the threats faced by some teachers as they go about their work. Attacks in primary schools are much rarer than at second level, but there have been a number of violent incidents in recent years.
"Fortunately, this was an isolated incident,'' said Sean Cottrell, director of the Irish Primary Principals Network.
"Cases do arise from time to time.''
The IPPN director said recently there had been another incident where a parent hit a principal.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
Enforced closures may mean shorter school breaks [IrishExaminer]
- Published: 30 November 2010
TENS of thousands of children may have to take shorter mid-term or Christmas holidays after the bad weather forced their schools to close.
Hundreds of schools did not open yesterday after the heavy weekend snowfalls and dangerous driving conditions, particularly in coastal and eastern counties. The continued freezing conditions could lead to those closures being extended today, and hundreds more schools telling students to stay at home.More than 60 schools in Wicklow, where some of the lowest temperatures on record have been experienced in recent days, were reported as being closed by local radio. Dozens more were closed in coastal regions of Cork, particularly in west Cork, and in Kerry as bus services were cancelled and families in isolated areas left stranded after around three to four inches of snow fell locally overnight on Sunday and in the early hours of yesterday.
Further closures were expected today with more snowfall overnight, particularly in coastal areas.
More than 120 schools in Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford and Wexford were shut yesterday. Most schools in the Donegal region closed and dozens more were shut for the day in Sligo and Leitrim.
Full Story: www.irishexaminer.com
Religion in schools 'a breach of children's human rights' [Independent.ie]
- Published: 29 November 2010
THE central role of religion in the overwhelming majority of Irish schools may be a breach of the human rights of some children.
And allowing pupils from minority faiths or none to opt out of religious instruction may not be enough to rectify the situation because the Catholic Church's ethos permeates the day-to-day life of most schools, a discussion paper has said.
The Government has been told it is time to address what place, if any, religion has in the classroom.
Ireland's record on religion in schools will come under scrutiny next year during a review by the United Nations Human Rights Council.
The Irish Human Rights Commission (IHCR) issued a discussion paper over the weekend, posing a number of questions as to whether the law and practice in Ireland fully meets human rights standards.
"To put it somewhat baldly, the core issue to be discussed concerns whether religion has a place in the classroom and, if so, what role should it play," IHCR president Maurice Manning said.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
Schools make own decision on closing as icy spell grips [Independent.ie]
- Published: 29 November 2010
IT will be up to individual schools to decide whether or not to close as freezing weather continues its grip on many areas.
In some cases, pupils will have difficulty getting to school because of the snow and ice.
Bus Eireann advised last night that there may be disruption to school buses in certain parts of the country.
Individual school boards of management have the discretion to decide whether they should close, and for how long, when hit by extreme weather conditions.
A spokesperson for the Department of Education said last night that it was not issuing any instructions and confirmed it was a matter for individual schools.
In general, if a school is closed due to bad weather, it is expected to compensate for the lost time later in the school year.
Exceptional
However, in exceptional circumstances, the department may exempt a school from this requirement.
After last winter's big freeze, which led to widespread closure of schools, some made up the lost time but in other cases -- where the shutdown was extended -- it proved more difficult to replace all the lost days.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
Tánaiste announces extension of Work Placement Programme to Schools [education.ie]
- Published: 29 November 2010
Tánaiste announces extension of Work Placement Programme to Schools
The Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills, Mary Coughlan TD, today announced the rollout of the FÁS Work Placement Programme to schools.
The programme will allow schools to apply to take on one or more people for a work experience placement for 25-40 hours a week.
The placement period is for a minimum of 2 months and a maximum of 9 months.
Announcing the details the Tánaiste said that “this is a major extension of the initiative to help and support the unemployed.
It will assist people who are unemployed to keep their skills current and gain valuable work experience to assist them in finding employment.”
Schools may use the Work Placement Programme to engage teachers as well as non-teaching graduates and non-graduates.
It is a condition of the programme that any placements must not displace an existing member of staff or be used to fill a vacant post.
Full Story: www.education.ie
