Back-to-school allowance applications up by over 25% [IrishTimes]
- Published: 15 October 2010
APPLICATIONS FOR the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance have increased by over 25 per cent on last year and have doubled over the last five years, new figures show.
Almost 185,000 applications were received for the means-tested grant this year, and over €75 million has been paid out. Up to €13 million more may have to be paid out before all applications are settled. The average grant per application, which may include more than one child, has so far been almost €500.
The figures show applications increased by over 37,000 on 2008 and have doubled since 2006, when just over 87,000 applications were received.
Almost 160,000 of the claims have been paid, and a further 25,000 approved claims are awaiting payment.
The highest numbers of applications, over 64,000, were received from the Dublin, Kildare and Wicklow region. So far payments of €25 million have been made to almost 54,000 of those.
Full Story: www.irishtimes.com
School design affects teaching, says study [IrishTimes]
- Published: 15 October 2010
THE DESIGN of some primary schools – especially older buildings – makes it difficult to implement the child-centred curriculum, according to a new study by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
The study is one of the first to examine the effects of school design on teaching and learning in Irish primary schools.
The ESRI research says that new school buildings are seen more positively by teachers and pupils than older school types in terms of classroom sizes, accessibility, lighting, heating, ventilation and storage.
But the study also makes a series of recommendations, including:
l Schools should be located on sites which are large enough to allow the use of outdoor space for teaching and learning as well as play and sports and to facilitate future expansion resulting from population growth;
Full Story: www.irishtimes.com
Pupils stuck in 1948 building despite green light for revamp [Independent.ie]
- Published: 15 October 2010
In the cramped classrooms of a school built for another era, the pupils and teachers of St Catherine's are an uncomfortable example of poor school design.
Their 62-year-old school in Aughrim, Co Galway, is -- according to the Department of Education -- one of the country's most deserving of a new building.
But St Catherine's has been waiting for the go-ahead to make a fresh start for almost three years.
This week, the department approved a fifth prefab to help meet the school's emergency accommodation needs.
There are 120 pupils, eight teachers and two special needs assistants at St Catherine's, up from 70 pupils in the mid-1990s.
Space
But the school is still in its original 1948 building, with the addition of four pre-fabs, in which most of the classrooms are housed.
In 2007, the department's inspectors witnessed classroom congestion, a deficit of auxiliary rooms, lack of space in the staff room and poor storage.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
Most primary classrooms unfit for modern teaching -- report [Independent.ie]
- Published: 15 October 2010
MOST Irish primary pupils are in classrooms not suitable for modern teaching and learning, a major study has found.
Many of the children are not getting the best out the curriculum because of out-dated school designs and poor facilities.
Cluttered classrooms and a lack of outdoor space are among the main obstacles facing teachers and pupils, according to a new report .
Lack of space makes it difficult to incorporate modern teaching methods, such as the group work and play-based learning that is central to the curriculum.
Pupils and teachers in schools built according to 2007 guidelines have more positive experiences, but they represent only a tiny minority of the 3,300 primary schools.
Despite the concerns raised in the report, there are no plans for what would be a massive school-building programme to tackle all the problems.
And at the rate at which the Department of Education builds or modernises schools, many will wait a long time to benefit from a new design.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
Should homework be abolished for all primary school children? [Herald.ie]
- Published: 14 October 2010
IT'S been loathed by generations of children - and parents. Now homework is also coming under fire from the teaching profession.
Primary school principals are questioning the value of homework for younger children after decades of doling it out.
The principals' organisation, IPPN, have opened up a debate after claiming there's little evidence to show it makes any difference to learning. On top of that, it's "very stressful" for children and reduces the quality time spent with parents.
Tiring
Sean Cottrell, director of the IPPN, said homework was not suited to lower-achieving children and could remind them of what they could not do.
So, should homework be abolished for primary school children?
Sarah Travers, 26, Kildare
No, absolutely not. It's how children learn and it's the only way forward. It's a system that seems to work.
Olivia Hood, 18, Swords
They shouldn't have as much -- they're given too much to do at home. Children are tired after spending all day at school.
Full Story: www.herald.ie
