Minister Haughey Announces Plan for Integration of Education Services [Fianna Fail]
- Published: 19 May 2009
Source: Fianna Fail
The Minister of State at the Department of Education and Science, Seán Haughey, TD. today announced a significant boost to the remit of the National Educational Welfare Board.
The new role will include home school liaison and school completion services as well as existing Visiting Teacher supports for Traveller pupils and will be supported by the integration of some 750 personnel employed by these services throughout the country, under the Board.
The Minister said that from the start of the next school year in September 2009, a single coordinated School Support Programme involving the Home School Community Liaison Scheme (HSCL), the School Completion Programme (SCP) and the Visiting Teachers Service for Travellers (VTST) will be integrated under the NEWB.
"In the current climate it is incumbent on us all to examine ways in which we can deliver our services more efficiently," said Minister Haughey.
"The existing staff of these services currently provide a range of essential services to those children who are most in need.
"I acknowledge the dedication, commitment and innovation of all of the staff of these schemes. This development will put in place structures to facilitate closer integration of the services at local, regional and National levels, increase effectiveness and help bring about real and meaningful improvements in services to confront in a cohesive way the underlying causes that impact negatively on the school life of children, particularly as they relate to school attendance, retention and attainment.
"In ensuring enhanced integration in the delivery of services this approach is part of the Government's overall approach to Transforming Public Services announced in November 2008 .
He went on to explain that full integration will need to be stepped involving the coordination of VTT, SCP and HSCL services in a combined way on the one hand and statutory NEWB functions on the other.
Minister Haughey added that he expected the new arrangements to take time to bed down but is confident that this united approach will significantly benefit service delivery to children and their families and assist schools in meeting the challenges they face in tackling poor attendance and early school leaving.
In 2005 the Department launched DEIS, the Action Plan for Educational Inclusion which envisaged closer integration of the Department"s services which work directly with schools, pupils and their families in areas where disadvantage is most concentrated.
"Many of these families have been disadvantaged for generations and these services are provided to support schools which find it difficult to meet the individual needs of all of their pupils from within their own resources.
"These supports seek to break the cycle of disadvantage by helping children to reengage with their schools and to derive maximum benefit from their education.
The NEWB, SCP and HSCL currently have separate national and regional management teams individually providing support and guidance to their local teams.
However, the Minister said that the rationale for the continued separation of these services is has become less obvious given the crossover of responsibility and the common client base being served.
"Combining these teams to deliver a composite service at national, regional and local levels is a positive development and one that will in time realise significant benefits," said Minister Haughey.
Pupils give O'Keeffe a lesson on democracy in action [Examiner]
- Published: 19 May 2009
Source: Examiner
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
THE country's youngest student council showed a government minister how to keep democracy moving when he came to visit yesterday.
The eight junior and senior infants at St Patrick's Infant National School help staff formulate policy on important matters such as litter management, school yard games, and the content of lunches.
"We meet after school to discuss school issues," they explained to Education Minister Batt O'Keeffe, who had come to raise the school's Green Flag for environmental awareness.
The individual members then explained how the green flag committee was formed by pupils and helped to review the school's litter and waste, before drawing up a plan to tackle litter.
Enthralled by the young decision makers' confidence, he suggested they might be able to give himself and some of his government colleagues a few ideas.
"I notice you have two divisions within your council, a yes and a no side. That is very much like what we have in the Dáil. When we say no we mean yes but we vote no ; sometimes," Mr O'Keeffe said.
Resource teacher Bríd Moynihan, who helps co-ordinate the student council meetings, said they bring a children's perspective to issues staff might not always think of.
"We were going to put new recycling bins in the corridor last year but they reminded us that children might bang their heads if they brushed past them.
"They also helped to decide changes to our school lunches recently," she said.
The council evolved from a green flag committee set up at the 154-pupil school two years ago to promote good environmental practice.
Principal Anne Hegarty also welcomed the minister to the school's interactive library, where children have internet access to educational games and activities, funded through the Government's Dormant Accounts Fund.
Schools call in therapists amid suicide cluster fear [indpendent.ie]
- Published: 18 May 2009
Schools call in therapists amid suicide cluster fear
Source: Irish Independent
By John Walshe and Stephen O'Farrell
Saturday May 16 2009
SUICIDE experts and counsellors have been drafted into schools after three girls, as young as 12, died this month -- just months after three other girls died in similar circumstances.
Two 12-year-olds and one 13-year-old died in recent weeks in a suspected "suicide cluster".
One of the six victims was still in primary school, while the rest were all at second level.
Fellow pupils are being offered counselling after it emerged that at least two of the girls knew each other personally, and the brother of one of the girls knew the sister of another.
The three most recent deaths happened in north Kildare and west Dublin, an area where three other young females also died last year.
There have been two deaths in each of Scoil Dara in Kilcock and Maynooth post primary school.
And another girl from nearby Athboy, Co Meath, died at the weekend.
There are fears of a copycat element in the deaths, as three of the girls apparently took their lives in the same manner in their own homes.
It is understood that two websites, described unofficially as 'shrines' have now been closed down.
One of them had already received 12,000 hits.
One of the girls had left a message on a social network site urging her deceased friends to look after each other "up there".
The five schools involved are shocked by the deaths and special counselling sessions have been held with parents, teachers and other students, especially those beginning their exams in two weeks' time.
Ordeal
The National Educational Psychological Service has been drafted in to help grief-stricken students cope with the ordeal.
Communities across Kildare are in huge distress and the town's mayor, Senan Griffin, said residents needed all the support they could get.
"Obviously, parents are hugely concerned and worried about their sons and daughters about what is going on," Mr Griffin said.
The tragic deaths began a year ago when a 17-year-old girl in the sixth year at Scoil Dara in Kilcock died.
Four months later, a 13-year-old girl in the same school also died.
A 17-year-old girl doing her Leaving Cert at Maynooth Post Primary School died in December last year, and a 12-year-old from the same school died in April.
There have been three deaths since the start of May.
They were a 13-year-old girl from Scoil Cois Life, Lucan; a 12-year-old from North Kildare Educate Together, Celbridge, and an 18-year-old girl from Eureka Secondary School in Kells.
Father PJ Byrne, parish priest of Kilcock, said residents had been left emotionally shattered and confused by the deaths.
"We are, as a community, trying to support each other in coming to terms with all the losses of young people," Fr Byrne said.
Resources
"I am trying to understand what forces are in the world of 12 to 18-year-olds that would lead to this?
"What resources are needed in the Maynooths and Kilcocks of this world that would help us to ensure that it will never happen again?"
Johnny Nevin, principal of the Maynooth school, said it had sought to respond to the events in a caring, sensitive and balanced manner.
The school's critical incident management plan was implemented immediately, Mr Nevin said.
Guidance counsellors and the entire teaching staff, with the ongoing support of outside counsellors, had been helping students to cope.
The North Kildare Educate Together School said it was united in grief after the recent untimely death of one its pupils.
"Our thoughts are with her family at this most difficult of times.
"We would appeal for privacy for all those concerned so that we can continue helping the children and families of our school cope with the aftermath of this terrible loss," a school spokesman added.
- John Walshe and Stephen O'Farrell
Catholic-run schools may soon be handed over to State [Irish Times]
- Published: 15 May 2009
Source: Irish Times
SEÁN FLYNN, Education Editor
THE DEPARTMENT of Education and the Catholic hierarchy are exploring the possibility that some Dublin schools may no longer be controlled by the church.
In the Dáil yesterday, Minister for Education Batt O'Keeffe revealed that his officials are "seeking details of any schools where a change of patronage might potentially be relevant".
The moves come after indications from the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, that the church was ready to step aside from the management of schools in areas where there is little parental demand for Catholic education.
Dr Martin has said future school governance might best be served by a plurality of providers, reflecting the changing ethnic and cultural mix of modern Irish society. He has also acknowledged that the Catholic Church, for various historical reasons, is now over-represented in the management of primary schools.
At present, the Catholic Church controls more than 3,000 of the 3,200 primary schools in the State. Recent years have seen a surge in demand for multidenomination and other forms of schools patronage.
Yesterday, the INTO cautioned that "while a plurality of providers might at first appear attractive it will undoubtedly mean increased expenditure, fragmentation of provision and could lead to the development of a two-tiered system".
General secretary John Carr said these issues must be urgently clarified given the substantial role that the Catholic Church plays in the education sector.
In the Dáil, the Minister said Dr Martin had indicated that he had no specific locations in mind where one or more schools under his patronage might transfer to another patron in 2007.
But the issue was now being revisited as the planning section of his department examined future school accommodation needs.
As part of this examination, the Minister told Ruairí Quinn of Labour, his department "will be consulting directly with all existing patrons about specific areas where the establishment of new schools will be required and how emerging demands in these areas will be addressed".
In recent years two State-run primary schools have been established for the first time. Both operate under the aegis of the County Dublin Vocational Education Committee (VEC).
The issue of religious instruction in these schools has still to be fully clarified. The Department of Education has signalled that religious instruction will take place during school hours, but the churches want to ensure it is given by suitably qualified staff.
One in 10 principals will quit classrooms this year [independent.ie]
- Published: 15 May 2009
Source: independent.ie
By John Walshe Education Editor
Friday May 15 2009
ONE in 10 school principals -- over 400 in all -- are expected to retire this year, new figures reveal.
The flood of retirements is much higher than usual and has been prompted, in part, by pay cuts, pension levies and the prospect of the Government taxing retirement lump sums.
The sharp rise will mean the loss of experienced people in many top jobs from September, just as the full impact of the education cuts will begin to hit.
The Irish Primary Principals Network (IPPN) said that since January, 144 school heads had decided to retire and boards of management were now trying to find replacements.
"Figures would suggest that the number of principals retiring in 2009 will exceed 300," said IPPN national director Sean Cottrell.
IPPN research shows a steady decline in the number of teachers applying for promotion to the role of principal.
Teachers increasingly feel the job is becoming 'undoable' given the massive increase in workload and the lack of secretarial support in schools.
They also identified the impact on the health of principals as a consequence of the stress and workload associated with the role, said Mr Cottrell.
"In the last three years, it has become a common occurrence that boards of management have found it difficult to recruit replacement principals. In many cases, boards have been forced to re-advertise vacancies due to the absence of suitable, or in some cases, any candidates," he added.
He said that, for many principals, the "dismantling" of the education system was their motivation for retiring.
The "last straw" was the recent announcement that middle management roles in schools, which were designed to enable principals to delegate some of their workload, were now being suppressed and would not be filled when current incumbents retired, moved to another school or went on leave.
Pattern
A similar pattern is evident at second level. Already, 24 principals and deputies have announced their retirement in the community and comprehensive school sector, in which there are 91 schools.
In the voluntary secondary schools' sector, advertisements have already appeared for around 30 principal and 30 deputy principal posts.
Ferdia Kelly, general secretary of the Association of Management of Catholic Secondary Schools, says these figures may be conservative.
As well as school leaders, many rank and file teachers are also opting out. The Department of Education and Science has confirmed that, compared with previous years, there has been an increase in inquiries from teachers about retirement.
- John Walshe Education Editor
