Several generations come together to celebrate school extension [IrishExaminer]
- Published: 17 October 2011
THREE generations — grandparents, parents and children — will attend the formal opening of a €250,000 extension to a tiny west Cork primary school today.
The 80-year-old Coppeen National School, which has 78 pupils, is marking the construction of two new classrooms, an assembly area, a general office and the refurbishment of the existing two classrooms into a staffroom and learning support room.
Among those attending the official opening by the Minister for Agriculture, Simon Coveney, will be past pupils, now parents and grandparents of students currently attending the school.
However, other local families stretch back even further over the generations: "There are also children here whose grandparents, great-grandparents and great-great grandparents went to school in Coppeen — some of them attending classes in the original building which was built in 1860 but later burned down," said headmistress, Catherine Bradley.
Full Story: www.examiner.ie
Publishers agree discounts on schoolbooks [educationmatters.ie]
- Published: 16 October 2011
The majority of educational publishers have confirmed that schools purchasing in bulk for book rental schemes will benefit from discounts of 12-17.5%. This follows a second meeting on October 11 between Minister for Education & Skills Ruairi Quinn and representatives of the publishing bodies.
Eight publishers have also signed up to a voluntary Code of Practice, which recommends that no revisions be made to existing text books for four years unless there are changes required because of curriculum and/or examinations changes. It was also agreed that old editions of these text books would be kept in print for a further two years (unless annual sales fell below 500 copies).
This means that, in future, a new edition of a textbook will be available for a minimum of six years.
Full Story: www.educationmatters.ie
Increase in switch to special schools [IrishExaminer]
- Published: 15 October 2011
INCREASING numbers of young people with special education needs are switching from mainstream to special schools, but research has found that unsuitable curriculum or teaching methods may be more of a factor in the trend than inadequate supports.
The body representing special schools said the proposed introduction of a new award as an alternative to the Junior Certificate for people with mild to moderate learning disabilities could be helpful to those for whom the mainstream system is not suitable.
Research for the National Association of Boards of Management in Special Education found the proportion of new entrants to special schools aged 12 or older who had come from mainstream schools rose from half to three-quarters between 2005 and 2009. The study was carried out by Dr Aine Kelly and Catherine Devitt of Saint John of God Hospitaller Service with teachers, parents and students at 54 of the country’s 119 special schools, which had more than 6,600 pupils in 2009, around 40% of them aged 12 or older.
Full Story: www.examiner.ie
Secrecy and lack of accountability in teaching criticised [IrishTimes]
- Published: 15 October 2011
EDUCATION: LOW LEVEL of teacher accountability is a factor in explaining the Republic’s decline in global education rankings, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development report.
The report is also critical of the culture of secrecy in Irish education, where relatively little information on school performance is available to the public. It backs the publication of comparative data on schools, or league tables, in order to boost overall standards.
In a scathing assessment, the OECD points to the dramatic slide in Irish literacy and numeracy standards – despite an 83 per cent increase in the education spend between 2000 and 2008. The group says overall spending on education is now above the agency average as a percentage of gross domestic product or national output. In attempting to explain this decline, the report notes: “The Irish school system is characterised by comparatively limited accountability mechanisms.”
It states that only limited data on comparative school performance are made public.
Full Story: www.irishtimes.com
Too many schools being built say local principals [communityvoice.ie]
- Published: 15 October 2011
Having been heavily criticised some years ago for failing to meet the demand for primary school places in the Dublin 15 area, the Department of Education is now facing further criticism for building too many new schools when the demand for places is far less than they are suggesting.
Two new schools which opened last month with a capacity for 112 junior infants attracted less than 40 pupils. Scoil Choilm, the community national school on Porterstown Road, was built to cater for an expected 112 pupils each year but this year has only enrolled 70 – leaving 42 places unfilled.
Community Voice understands that there were in excess of 150 unfilled junior infant places at the end of September. Yet despite this the department is currently considering applications for patrons for a further new primary school to be built in Carpenterstown.
Full Story: www.communityvoice.ie
