Catholic schools body at centre of police probe [belfasttelegraph.co.uk]
- Published: 02 November 2011
Police are probing financial irregularities at the body responsible for Catholic schools in Northern Ireland.
The Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS), which is the advocate for Catholic maintained schools and is the largest employer of teachers in Northern Ireland, has handed over internal documents to the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
This paper understands that the body, which receives £4m annual funding from the Department of Education, has identified issues over expenses and subsistence claims.
A former employee, who is at the centre of the investigation, could not be contacted last night.
Full Story: www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Summer-born children 'often lower achievers' [schooldays.ie]
- Published: 02 November 2011
Children who are born in the summer months may perform significantly worse in school and have lower well-being than those born in the autumn.
This is according to research carried out in England by the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS), which claimed the impact of being one of the youngest pupils in an academic year could stay with individuals throughout their life.
It found summer-born children aged seven are between 20 and 30 percentage points more likely to be regarded as below average by teachers in reading, writing and maths skills.
They also score lower in national achievement tests and have less confidence in their academic ability, the study stated.
Full Story: www.schooldays.ie
Some schoolchildren in Mayo are not getting a breakfast [westernpeople.ie]
- Published: 02 November 2011
SOME students in Co Mayo would be going to school hungry were it not for the intervention of a Breakfast Club scheme, a meeting of Mayo VEC has been told.
During a presentation by the North and South Mayo School Completion co-ordinators, the committee heard that a Breakfast Club, set up in a number of schools to help keep students in school, is the only way to ensure that some children get a breakfast before school.
“There are children in Mayo who don’t get a breakfast,” said Sheila Feeney, North Mayo Co-ordinator for the project.
Westport-based councillor Christy Hyland was stunned by the revelation. “What are we coming to as a society when schools have to provide breakfasts for children in the morning. You mean kids are going to school hungry?” he asked.
Full Story: www.westernpeople.ie
Minister Quinn announces devolution of building projects to Vocational Education Committees as CSO data shows highest birth rate since the 1960s [education.ie]
- Published: 01 November 2011
The Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairi Quinn TD, today announced details of 28 school building projects which will be project managed by individual Vocational Education Committees around the country and also by a County Council.
Overall, these projects will deliver in excess of 21,000 student places, including over 14,000 additional new school places. This represents a multi-million euro investment in meeting the increased demand for pupil places over the next number of years.
Devolution of responsibility for school building projects is one of the priorities identified in the Programme for Government. Minister Quinn has now requested that a number of Vocational Education Committees deliver school building projects in their areas.
Commenting on the announcement, Minister Quinn said "I am committed to using alternative methods of delivering major school building projects in order to maximise the number of projects we deliver and to speed up delivery. I am pleased that the Vocational Education Committees are responding to the needs of their communities by agreeing to take on the role of project manager for these major projects locally."
Full Story: www.education.ie
VECs set to speed up school building projects [IrishExaminer]
- Published: 01 November 2011
DOZENS of school building projects needed to help match demand with the recent baby boom could be delivered faster after being handed over to Vocational Education Committees (VECs).
In a move giving greater responsibility to the 33 VECs when they will be replaced by 16 Education and Training Boards (ETBs) next year, 27 projects at a mix of new schools and replacement buildings or extensions to existing schools are being devolved from the Department of Education to 13 VECs.
The move comes as the department tries to cope with demand for school places caused by Ireland’s soaring birth rate. It is at its highest since records began more than 50 years ago, according to Central Statistics Office. September figures showed that 19,950 children were born in the first three months of 2011 — 7.6% more than in the first quarter of last year.
Full Story: www.examiner.ie
