Statement by the Department of Education and Skills on the opening of schools this week [education.ie]
- Published: 29 November 2010
In relation to the opening of schools this week (29th November 2010) against the backdrop of bad weather conditions, the Department wishes to clarify that at present it is a matter for individual boards of management to decide whether local circumstances warrant the closure of the school.
Schools are empowered to make such decisions locally without notifying the Department in advance.
In making these decisions, schools should consider such issues as access and safety and co-ordinate their approach with other schools in the locality where feasible.
In relation to the operation of school bus services, Bus Éireann will make decisions locally based on its knowledge and assessment of prevailing conditions.
There is no direction in place from the Department at this time that all schools should close. The position will be kept under review and further advice will be provided as circumstances warrant.
ENDS
Axe falls on permanent teaching positions [Independent.ie]
- Published: 27 November 2010
The axe has fallen on the filling of teaching posts from next week, while 17,000 school staff, such as secretaries and caretakers, are facing a 5pc pay cut in January.
The Department of Education has imposed the double whammy as part of the four-year national economic recovery plan.
The department has introduced a freeze on permanent teaching appointments in primary schools from next Wednesday, December 1, when posts can be filled only on a temporary basis.
At second level, schools have been told that an existing policy providing for vacancies arising from November in the school year to be filled only a casual basis must be rigidly applied.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
Department’s power upheld by court [IrishExaminer]
- Published: 26 November 2010
THE Supreme Court has upheld the power of Department of Education appeals committee to fully hear cases in which children are refused enrolment by a school.
The unanimous judgment by the court is significant as it is the first time such powers bestowed by the 1998 Education Act have been tested at such a high level. More than 40% of the 1,256 appeals heard under section 29 of the act between 2001 and the end of last year, against school decisions to expel, suspend or refuse enrol students, have been successful.
The case arose after the parents of two children who were refused enrolment in February 2008 by St Molaga’s National School in Balbriggan, Co Dublin, took a section 29 appeal. The appeals committee appointed by the department ruled the school should accept the children who were aged nine and 10 at the time.
The school had claimed it was already over capacity and it had refused 40 other applications for that reason since the previous September.
Around the same period, the department had been under significant pressure to find school places to match a sudden rise in pupil numbers in the Balbriggan area of north Co Dublin, where a number of new primary schools have since been opened.
Full Story: www.irishexaminer.com
School faces struggle to pay €9,000 gas bill [Independent.ie]
- Published: 26 November 2010
THEY call it the National Recovery Plan but it has stripped one school, at least, of the money to pay its gas bill for six months from January.
A 5pc reduction in state grants to meet day-to-day running costs amounts to a €9,000-a-year drop in income for Sacred Heart of Jesus primary school in Huntstown, west Dublin.
The story is repeated across the 4,000 primary and post-primary schools around the country and will save the Exchequer €22m a year.
Sean Dempsey, principal of the 800-pupil Huntstown school, said he has no idea how he would deal with the funding shortfall.
"This is going to challenge us. We will have to see how it works out, but we will probably have to cut down".
He said the €9,000 annual loss was enough to cover either the electricity or gas bill for a six-month period.
Grants
There was no way he would consider asking parents for more money because parents were facing cuts in their own household budgets next year.
He said it cost about €240,000 a year -- averaged at €20,000 a month over a 12 months -- to run the school, which receives €180,000 through state grants.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
Parents’ concern over special services [IrishExaminer]
- Published: 25 November 2010
PARENTS of children with special needs have expressed concern about waiting times for assessments and poor communication by some schools.
One-in-five of almost 1,400 people who responded to the postal survey for the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) found it difficult to find a school placement for their child.However, 87% believed their son or daughter was in the right type of school.
While almost four-in-five were satisfied with the assessment process for their child, many were concerned at how long it took.
"We had to get a private assessment and we have had to do everything ourselves. We have an autistic child as well and we have had to fight all the way to get him into a proper school," one parent wrote.
Another who also paid for a private assessment said the waiting times were too long and that the family would have waited more than six months for a Department of Education psychologist.
Full Story: www.irishexaminer.com
