Tánaiste announces a new School Building Initiative with Louth County Council [education.ie]
- Published: 13 July 2010
The Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills, Mary Coughlan TD today announced a new pilot initiative in partnership with Louth County Council to deliver a new eight classroom school building.
In announcing the launch of a Service Level Agreement with Louth County Council, the Tánaiste noted that one of the key challenges facing the wider public sector is the need to develop greater levels of support and partnership across the State sector to exploit existing competencies.
The Tánaiste said: 'In recent years, my Department has increasingly sought to expand its level of interaction with the local government sector both in the context of future proofing County Development and Local Areas Plans as well as seeking assistance in the delivery of school sites.'
Full Story: www.education.ieData Protection Commissioner expresses concern over school forms [schooldays.ie]
- Published: 13 July 2010
The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner has expressed concern over the content of a number of primary school admission forms.
According to RTE News, three Vocational Education Committees (VEC) have been contacted after it emerged that some parents were being asked to ask to disclose their religion, with the form stating that this information may be passed on to other schools.
County Meath VEC said the wording of the applications is incorrect and claimed it had no intention of sharing these details.
Full Story: www.schooldays.ie
More families seeking help as bill for school books hits €350 [Independent.ie]
- Published: 12 July 2010
PARENTS will have to spend as much as €350 on school books for secondary school pupils this summer.
And the number of families seeking state aid to cover the high costs of going to school is expected to nearly double over 2007 levels.
A new survey by the Consumers' Association of Ireland (CAI) has found that the cost of buying school books is a huge drain on parents, even before they fork out for uniforms, transport and other extras.
Books for first and fifth years at the beginning of the Junior Cert and Leaving Cert cycles are the most expensive, as a full set is required -- adding more than €350 to a pupil's secondary school bill.
The typical costs for second-year students were lower at €62, as only a few new books were needed, a survey in the CAI's 'Consumer Choice' magazine found.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
Gove faces test over schools cuts [belfasttelegraph.co.uk]
- Published: 12 July 2010
Amid growing discontent from within his own party, Mr Gove will be grilled by Tory MP Philip Davies about the impact on schools in his constituency. Other MPs are certain to weigh in.
A number of Tory backbenchers were joined by Liberal Democrat deputy leader Simon Hughes on Sunday in expressing concerns about the cancellation of hundreds of school building projects.
Shadow education secretary Ed Balls is also challenging Mr Gove about allegations he ignored the advice of officials in publishing an error-strewn list of affected schools.
Full Story: www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Concern over autism schools’ status [IrishExaminer]
- Published: 12 July 2010
TUTORS and parents at some of the country’s 13 ABA schools for children with autism have raised concerns about Department of Education proposals to give them full special school status, describing it as "the death of ABA schooling in Ireland".
Applied Behavioural Analysis (ABA) teachers have also questioned how the existing pilot model could be rejected by the department when "whole school evaluations" never took place.
A number of parents and tutors have said they can’t understand why the department is set against ABA when there is a raft of international academic research highlighting how beneficial it is to children with autism.
Full Story: www.irishexaminer.com
