Top of the class - so is this really Ireland's best school? [Independent.ie]
- Published: 15 September 2010
It is a small little-known school on the northside of Dublin with many pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds.
St Catherine's Infant School in Cabra does not fit the conventional model of an elite establishment, but it can now proudly boast that it is one of the best schools in the country.
Inspectors from the Department of Education must have been flummoxed after their recent visit there.
For once in their lives they could not find anything wrong.
According to the department's unpublished 'Whole School Evaluation' report, seen by the Irish Independent, the school is as close to perfect as it is possible to be.
Government inspection reports of some of the best known fee-paying schools in the country, including Blackrock and Belvedere College, always show some room for improvement. But the St Catherine's report states baldly: "There are no key recommendations to further improve the quality of education provided by the school."
Full Story: www.independent.ie
Parents given advice on helping children make friends [schooldays.ie]
- Published: 15 September 2010
Parents with children in primary and secondary schools have been given advice on helping their kids make friends.
According to John Sharry, writing for the Irish Times, this is a "very important part of childhood".
He said that parents should encourage their youngsters to form friendships as this can help boost their self-esteem, give them social skills and affect their intimate relationships in the future.
In order for mothers and fathers to help their children develop these friendships, he suggested facilitating play dates which give kids one-to-one time with each other and allowing them to attend social activities.
Full Story: www.schooldays.ie
Public Health Update on TB in Primary School in Cork City [hse.ie]
- Published: 15 September 2010
The Department of Public Health, HSE South confirms that all of the schoolchildren and staff who returned to the primary school at the centre of the TB outbreak investigation on Mon 6th Sept have undergone screening (apart from the new Junior Infant class who were not previously part of the school population). An outbreak control team has been coordinating the investigation, with the absolute cooperation of school management. Parents, staff and school have been kept updated throughout the investigation.
Six cases of active TB among children have been confirmed. No adult case of active TB was detected. All of the children with active TB are being followed up by consultant paediatricians. They are on treatment and are not currently infectious (i.e. not contagious).
Thirty-one children and three adults were diagnosed with latent TB infection. Latent TB is not an infectious condition.
Other children, or staff, are not at risk from contact with either the cases of active TB or latent TB.
Full Story: www.hse.ie
Thousands of pupils in England wrongly classified as special needs [belfasttelegraph.co.uk]
- Published: 14 September 2010
More than 700,000 children in England listed as having special educational needs would not need extra help if they had better teachers, a new report says today.
The study, from Ofsted, the education standards watchdog, says nearly half the schools in the country are classifying pupils as in need of extra support unnecessarily.
In one school, all the pupils at risk of failing to get their target grades at GCSE were listed as having special needs so they were given extra mentoring for the exams. Ofsted described the action as "inappropriate".
In all, 1.7 million children in England are identified as having special educational needs. The vast majority come from disadvantaged homes. In three per cent of cases (250,550), the need is obvious and acute, such as blindness or deafness, and they receive the help they need speedily.
Full Story: www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk
New craft skills being taught in the classroom [kilkennypeople.ie]
- Published: 14 September 2010
KILKENNY children will be among those to be taught new skills by craftspeople in the classroom following the announement by the Crafts Council of Ireland of its restructured primary schools craft programme aimed at teaching children a wide range of skills.
The CRAFTed: Learning Skills for Life Primary School Programme, undertaken in partnership with Education Centres in six regions across the country and the National Museum of Ireland, will take place during the 2010/11 academic year. It was officially launched by the Minister for Education and Skills, Mary Coughlan, in Kilkenny earlier this month.
The programme gives primary school children and teachers an exciting opportunity to explore their creativity and learn new skills by working collaboratively with professional craftspeople.
Full Story: www.kilkennypeople.ie
