O'Keeffe rejects FG special needs call [Irish Times]
- Published: 07 May 2009
Source: Irish Times
MICHAEL O'REGAN
MINISTER FOR Education Batt O'Keeffe rejected a Fine Gael demand for the reinstatement of 128 classes for children with special needs. "This call defies belief,'' said Mr O'Keeffe. "Eight of the classes concerned should have no pupils at all.'' He said 19 other classes had only one or two pupils.
"As I have said on many occasions, I'm open to listening to the concerns of schools and that schools could make a case to keep their classes.
"The fact is that only 40 of the 119 schools concerned have written to my department seeking to retain their classes. My department is currently reviewing these appeals.''
Mr O'Keeffe said he wanted to quash any suggestion that, by closing special classes, schools would be without the additional teaching supports required to meet the educational needs of those children.
"This is simply not the case. These pupils will be provided with additional teaching supports through the general allocation model.
"Every day, and in every school, pupils with mild general learning disability are being successfully education in integrated settings.''
The Minister was replying to Fine Gael's education spokesman Brian Hayes, who moved a Private Member's motion calling for the classes to be left in place from next September for a year. Mr Hayes said during that time a review should be put in place with a proper dialogue with the education partners, and with parents.
"There are cases where some amalgamation, because of falling numbers and best educational practice, should be adopted. No one that I have spoken to disagrees with that. But to abolish all of the classes, effectively overnight, is a position that no serious educationalists could justify or consider.''
Mr Hayes said he rejected the "penny-pinching and cruel decision'' to suppress the 128 special classes in 119 primary schools.
"This decision will only affect just over 500 young students, but it will have far-reaching consequences for the already overcrowded mainstream classes in these schools and for children with mild learning disabilities and their families.''
He said that if the measure was introduced, children currently obtaining extra support in mainstream classes would have it withdrawn from next September.
"Despite what the Minister has said, he has made no commitments to the 119 affected schools.''
State is refused costs in school abuse case [Irish Times]
- Published: 07 May 2009
Source: Irish Times
CAROL COULTER and PATSY McGARRY
THE SUPREME Court has refused to award the State its legal costs in a case taken against it by a woman who was sexually abused by a national school principal, citing the special circumstances of an important test case.
Louise O'Keeffe could have faced costs of up to €750,000. There are about 200 other cases pending involving abuse by adults, many of them teachers paid by the State. Last December the Supreme Court ruled the State bore no vicarious liability for actions of the principal in this case because there was no employer/employee relationship, formal or substantive, between the teacher and the State.
She was abused by Leo Hickey in 1973 when aged eight, and several parents withdrew their children from the school. Hickey resigned in January 1974 and was then employed at a boys' school in Ballincollig, Cork. He continued to teach until his recognition as a teacher was withdrawn after criminal proceedings were taken in the 1990s. He was jailed for three years in 1998 after pleading guilty to 21 sample charges of indecent assault on 21 girls.
Ms O'Keeffe yesterday described the court's decision on costs as a "huge relief", pointing out that her youngest child, now 11, was only six months old when her legal ordeal began.
"When you are facing the payment of costs of anything between €500,000 up to €1 million, you can well imagine the strain that puts on a household," she said.
Yesterday Ms O'Keeffe recalled that "when the charges were made against Leo Hickey, I was not the first person who came forward. I got courage from others that did so ; we are all cogs in the wheel. This whole ordeal has been handled badly and I felt strongly about that," she said.
Her own legal costs are unknown as yet.
"I haven't discussed costs with my legal team yet, but I plan to enjoy this time for a while, and to celebrate with my kids," she said.
Ms O'Keeffe was awarded €53,000 in damages from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal. She sued Hickey and the State in the High Court in 2006, but, while her action against Hickey was successful, the court rejected her claim against the State. She appealed this to the Supreme Court, which upheld Mr Justice de Valera's ruling. It reserved judgment on costs.
Yesterday the five-judge court unanimously ruled there were exceptional reasons why the State should not secure its costs. These included the fact that this was a test case against a public body involving issues of relationships between a primary school teacher paid by the State, the employer who is manager of the school, the owner or trustee of the school and the minister for education.
Other factors included the fact there was a substantial volume of similar cases of sexual abuse of children by adults, a significant number of which involved teachers paid by the State.
The decision was welcomed by the One in Four organisation, which called on the Minister for Education to amend the law so that the State assumes full responsibility for the conduct of teachers in Irish schools.
"The Supreme Court ruling in December 2008 confirms that the local bishop and the board of management are the employers of the teaching staff. One in Four believes that the State must assume this function,'' its executive director, Maeve Lewis, said.
A spokesperson for the Department of Education said each party would now cover its own costs in relation to the case.
Ruairí Quinn, Labour Party education spokesman, welcomed the refusal to award the State its costs in the case. "By highlighting the shocking abuse that she suffered, Louise O'Keeffe did the State some service, and shone a welcome light into some of the darkest recesses of the recent history of our education system."
The Irish Primary Principals' Network (IPPN), welcomed yesterday's judgement saying it showed "humanity and empathy".
Director of the IPPN Seán Cottrell said one of the central findings of the judgements was that "each of the 3,300 Boards of Management of primary schools, and not the State, that carries responsibility for the conduct of school employees".
Larry Fleming, IPPN President said the case highlighted the need to ensure all Boards of Management are properly trained and resourced to carry out their full range of responsibilities.
Old school of three ministers faces closure as roll drops to five pupils [independent.ie]
- Published: 07 May 2009
Source: independent.ie
By TOM GILMORE
Thursday May 07 2009
IT boasts three Ministers of State as past pupils but a primary school's survival is in doubt as its roll call has dwindled to just five children.
With so few pupils, Killasolan National School in east Galway is believed to be the smallest school in Ireland in terms of numbers.
At a time when many schools are overcrowded and teachers are struggling to cope with large class numbers, the two teachers at Killasolan NS are encouraging parents to send their children there.
The school, where new Minister of State Aine Brady and her brothers, former junior ministers Michael and Tom Kitt were educated, is in an idyllic setting with neatly manicured gardens and playground. It has broadband, a modern fully equipped computer room and "a library that many schools would die for", according to principal Gabrielle Boner.
But while the school's five pupils are getting personal attention from the two teachers and a classroom assistant, unless numbers increase dramatically in the coming year, the facility's future may be in doubt.
"We need eight pupils for the school to remain viable and in an ideal situation we hope that we can attract five new pupils when the school has its 'open day' on Friday May 22," says the chairman of the Board of Management Fr Micheal Donnelly.
As none of the current five pupils will be moving on to secondary school this summer, the real crisis will only start to manifest itself in September if they don't get fresh pupils for the following year.
"My late father was headmaster here and this is where all our family went to school," said Michael Kitt.
Facilities
"It is a beautiful modern facility and one can only hope that pupil numbers increase again to ensure that the school continues here," he added.
When he visited the school this week he said he was delighted to see how it had progressed with the provision of new technology and how its facilities had been modernised.
Just 10 years ago, Killasolan NS had 35 on its roll books but this dropped to 24 in 2003 and 20 in 2005.
- TOM GILMORE
Closure of Special Classes in Primary Schools [INTO]
- Published: 06 May 2009
Source: INTO
Statement by John Carr, INTO General Secretary, on the closure of Special Classes in Primary Schools
6 May 2009
Closure of special classes must be re-examined ; INTO
The INTO has said the decision of the Department of Education and Science to close 128 special classes in primary schools without warning must be reversed. The union's General secretary, John Carr, made the demand in advance of a Dáil debate on the issue called by the Fine Gael party this evening (Wednesday 6th May 2009).
Mr Carr described the decision to close 128 special classes as "indefensible" and "an attack on special needs provision in the country". He said it was clear that special needs children were paying the price of the economic collapse. "Seven billion euro can be found to bail out banks," said Mr Carr, "yet seven million cannot be found for special needs children."
"The decision was made purely on financial grounds," said Carr. "The National Council for Special Education has commissioned a report on special classes. Yet before this is published the whole infrastructure is being pulled down." Mr Carr said he fully supported the motion calling for the decision to be halted pending the publication of the report and full discussions with all concerned.
"These classes provide special education support for children in mainstream primary schools," said Carr. "The children in these classes have been unable to cope in regular mainstream classes. They have been assessed as needing a place in one of these classes."
He said the Minister now proposed to return these children to regular classes in primary schools.
"It is patent nonsense to return these children to classes in which they couldn't cope in the first place," said Carr. "Government must have another look at this decision."
Ends.
Pupils give maths teachers low marks [independent.ie]
- Published: 06 May 2009
Source: independent.ie
By John Walshe Education Editor
Wednesday May 06 2009
MATHS and science teachers are not "passionate" enough about their subjects, according to secondary school students.
As a result, pupils are less inspired and more likely to lose interest, which may have a negative impact on their performance in the subjects.
By contrast, teachers of English and other subjects got top marks from students who took part in a research study undertaken by Ipsos MORI.
"Many English teachers were considered to have a passionate interest in the literature and material they were teaching, which is likely to inspire their students," it said.
The study found that maths was seen as a "staid" subject with a curriculum that had remained static for a long time.
However, English was based on a changing curriculum with different novels and plays taught to students each year, meaning that teachers can approach the subject with a fresh attitude each year.
There may be a need to review the way maths is taught in school with possible re-training of teachers, it says.
The views of students emerged in research carried out for Discover Science and Engineering and the Higher Education Authority. Full details are carried in a special supplement in today's Irish Independent.
The study suggests that too many students limit their options by dropping science subjects for the Leaving and switching from higher to ordinary level maths.
From fossils to Facebook: your free science supplement is in today's newspaper
- John Walshe Education Editor
