Parents urged to join schools protest rally
- Published: 21 November 2008
Source : The Corkman
THE parents of national school pupils in north Cork have been urged to join a mass rally taking place in Cork city on Sunday, to express their disgust at proposed education cutbacks.
Up to 40,000 protestors from all over the country are expected to take part in the rally, which will depart from the Grand Parade at noon. Protesters will march along the South Mall, along Patrick Street and back to the Grand Parade, where they will be addressed by representatives from the various teachers unions and parent's associations.
Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO) spokesman Jerry Sheehy, a teacher at St Patrick's NS in Mallow, said that the proposed cuts would have a devastating affect on schools across the entire north Cork area.
"In Mallow the cuts will result in the loss of three language teachers and one ordinary teacher from two of the local national schools," said Mr Sheehy.
"The real problem is that the current staff allocation for schools was made on September 30, before the proposed cuts were unveiled in the budget. This will result in a serious problem for schools next year," he added.
INTO spokesman for the Fermoy region Tom Murray said that the town faces a similar problem.
Mr Murray, a teacher at Kilmagner NS said that some schools in the area would lose vital language support teachers, while others would be unable to take on new teachers as a direct result of the proposed cuts. This is regardless of the expected increase in the number of pupils attending local schools next year.
He said that in real terms this would mean the seven national schools in the immediate vicinity of Fermoy would lose up to four language support and ordinary teachers between them.
"This will not only have a serious impact on the quality of education pupils receive, but will also affect young teachers trying to enter the profession," said Mr Murray.
"I am calling on as many parents and members of staff from the north Cork area to attend this rally to express their outrage and disgust at what is being proposed," he added.
Catherine Reidy, principal at Grange NS in Fermoy said that the cutbacks, if fully implemented, would result in a dramatic increase in class sizes.
"In our case we will lose one teacher as we will be one pupil short of the 145 quota outlined in the budget. However by September of next year pupil numbers will be up to 148 with no increase in teaching staff. This situation will be mirrored in other schools across the Fermoy area," she said.
Patricia Murphy, media coordinator with the INTO said that the government seems intent on penalising the most vulnerable in our society with their proposed education cuts.
" The Education Minister Batt O'Keeffe's blasé assertion that the effects on children will be minimal simply does not fit the facts," said Ms Murphy.
" By attending Saturday's rally parents will have the chance to send a strong and simple message to the government ; enough is enough."
- BILL BROWNE
Parents of boy with autism seek meeting with Cowen on his education
- Published: 20 November 2008
Source : Irish Times
THE PARENTS of a eight-year-old boy with autism, who was at the centre of a landmark legal action last year, are seeking a meeting with the Taoiseach to ensure their child does not lose his specialist education.
Cian and Yvonne Ó Cuanacháin say their son, Seán, is at real risk of having his Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) schooling discontinued and fear he will regress significantly if provided with a less intensive form of schooling.
The couple says they were previously promised a meeting with former taoiseach Bertie Ahern in the weeks leading up to the 2007 general election, when their case became a major political issue.
However, the meeting was subsequently cancelled in the weeks after Mr Ahern's re-election.
"We were very encouraged when we were offered a meeting with Bertie Ahern's programme manager to brief him on the specifics of Seán's case. We were told that if Fianna Fáil was to be returned to government, the taoiseach himself would meet with us," she said."Unfortunately, that commitment which gave us such hope that we could make a case for Seán, wasn't fulfilled."
The former taoiseach's programme manager Gerry Hickey told The Irish Times earlier this year that such a meeting was never finalised.
Last January the High Court ruled that the Ó Cuanacháins were not entitled to costs in the case which was heard over the course of seven months. The overall cost of the case was estimated at €5 million. The court had earlier ruled that the State's educational provision for Seán was adequate and there was no obligation on the State to provide him with ABA.
His parents have appealed the High Court decision to the Supreme Court.
Ms Ó Cuanacháin said that as well as the growing doubt over her son's education, the legal costs issue had yet to be resolved.
"Our home is under threat as we will have to discharge the legal costs. We also have the stress of the upcoming Supreme Court appeal," she said.
"As of now we have no option but to pursue this appeal to try to secure Seán's specialist provision. A meeting with the Taoiseach just might bring the focus back on Seán's immediate needs, as opposed to on any Supreme Court appeal. That was what we hoped when we tried to meet Bertie Ahern last year.
"We're anxious to look to the future and work collaboratively with the Taoiseach and the Minister for Education to bring about a solution."
She said the Department of Education accepted in court that Seán had benefited tremendously from ABA. "Our choice is for him to continue with ABA. We remain seriously concerned about his immediate future should that ABA schooling be removed prematurely," she said.
© 2008 The Irish Times
Children to bear brunt of teaching staff cuts
- Published: 20 November 2008
Source : Irish Examiner
Children to bear brunt of teaching staff cutsBy Niall Murray, Education Correspondent
LIKE dozens of other schools, Scoil Náisiúnta an Chroí Naofa will have fewer language support staff to help an increased number of pupils in need of their help next year.
There are 48 pupils from 14 different countries at the school in the parish of Glounthaune, a few miles outside Cork city.
The school has three full-time language support teachers, having been allocated an extra post in September when the numbers whose first language is not English passed the 42 threshold for which a third appointment is needed. However, under the budget cuts, that will automatically be reduced to two language support staff, even though the number of international children will probably be more than 50 next autumn. Most of the children go out of class in small groups of up to five or six for half an hour a couple of times a week, depending on their level of English, but that will change next year.
"The Department of Education is expecting us to provide the same level of support or even more with two teachers than they felt it was necessary to provide three teachers for this year. The bottom line for us will be to put children in bigger groups or give them less time with the language support teacher," said Aiden O'Brien, principal of the 422-pupil school.
He said another impact will be disruption to mainstream classes, because teachers are conscious of the need to give a little more time to pupils with lower levels of English.
"And because of the increase in the class sizes, we will have at least three classes in our school which will be bigger than last year. We currently have four classes with at least 32 pupils in each," he said.
Parents from the school will be among thousands expected to take part in a protest against education cutbacks in Cork on Saturday morning.
The Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO) Cork city north branch estimates that 19 jobs will be lost in around one-third of the 53 schools in its area, because of changes in class sizes and the language support cuts.
"A large proportion of these are English language teachers whose loss will leave schools struggling to cope with newcomer children with little or no English. Even ordinary classes will be affected by the impact of this cut, as teachers try to cope with these children without support," said branch spokesperson Patricia Murphy. "The loss of classroom teachers will inevitably lead to much larger classes in those schools, leaving children struggling to cope."
Teacher sickies hit 60,000 in year
- Published: 20 November 2008
Source : Irish Examiner
By Niall Murray, Education CorrespondentCHILDREN in almost 300 schools look set to be affected by the cutback in English language teaching next year, according to official figures.
Education Minister Batt O'Keeffe said last month he is re-imposing a limit of two language support teachers per school for children whose first language is not English from next September, resulting in the loss of around 500 jobs.
Since last year, under a commitment in the Towards 2016 partnership deal, the Department of Education has appointed a language support teacher for every 14 students who need extra teaching in English, up to a maximum of six teachers.
Figures provided by the Department of Education to the Irish Examiner show that 258 primary schools and at least 38 second-level schools (296 in total) have more than two such staff, which they would lose next year under the proposals.
But with an estimated 14,000 extra pupils due to enrol in the country's 4,000 schools next autumn, the number of schools that would have been eligible for extra support staff if the cap was not imposed would almost certainly top 300.
Mr O'Keeffe has said exceptions will be made for schools with very high numbers of children whose first language is not English, but no qualifying criteria has yet been announced.
Until this is clarified, it means 30 primary schools with six language support teachers stand to lose four of them next year, while 37 primary and six second-level schools will each lose three of their five staff.
Another 68 primary and six second-level schools will have their language support staff cut from four to two, while 123 primary and at least 26 second-level schools would lose one teacher.
A further 800 schools have just one or two such teachers, and grants are allocated to those with less than 14 students with language support needs.
Based on these figures, around 490 of the 1,569 language support jobs at primary level and up to 90 of 450 second-level posts would be lost.
The Irish National Teachers' Organisation said the figures call into question Mr O'Keeffe's commitment to alleviate the situation for schools with a high proportion of newcomer pupils.
The union said Integration Minister Conor Lenihan made clear last month that 500 language posts at primary level were to be axed, but the figures released to the Irish Examiner prove that the claims of both ministers cannot be true.
"If the cap of two teachers is re-imposed, 500 teaching posts will be axed, leaving no room for special consideration of schools with a significant concentration of newcomer children. This should serve as a warning to schools expecting to escape the imposition of the cap on teachers," said INTO general secretary John Carr.
"All the minister is trying to do is silence schools and buy time with more promises that he cannot keep.
He said: "Schools should not be fooled by approaches from government politicians promising to make representations to the minister."
Schools in move to bypass new 'sick note' clampdown
- Published: 19 November 2008
Source : Irish Independent
John Walshe Education Editor
PRIMARY schools will consider paying doctors' fees for sick teachers in a bid to bypass the Government's clampdown on substitute cover.
Until now, schools were paid to cover for both certified and uncertified illness among teachers.
But from January the Government will no longer pay for cover for uncertified sick leave.
The head of Educate Together said boards of management had done the sums and the Government could end up paying more for substitute cover.
"Boards of management realise they would be better off even if they had to pay for the teacher's visit to the doctor," said Educate Together chief executive Paul Rowe.
"Some, no doubt, are sounding out sympathetic doctors to negotiate discounts on fees."
The only other option would be for committed but ill teachers to come into work. But this would spread contagious illnesses further and increase the level of certified sick leave, said Mr Rowe, whose organisation is the patron body for 55 multi-denominational schools.
This year the Government is paying out €45m for certified sick leave and €17m for uncertified sick leave.
But Mr Rowe said he believed that "the State, in refusing to fund the school for the uncertified one- or two-day absence, will end up paying the certified absence of five or more days".
Irish National Teachers' Organisation general secretary John Carr said the minister was, in effect, asking schools to pay for a substitute or for a medical certificate.
"This is totally unacceptable, given the state of school finances," said Mr Carr. He believed that the option of sending children home when a teacher is ill is now firmly on the educational agenda.
"The only one who can stop this is the Minister for Education and Science," he added.
The INTO described the budget decision to withdraw substitute cover from teachers who are on uncertified sick leave as "madness".
"It will inflict enormous damage on schools up and down the country. What is bizarre is that the turmoil and disorder this measure will cause will end up costing government more not less money," Mr Carr added.
Both groups insisted that the level of absences on uncertified sick leave was very low, especially in comparison with other groups.
Don Ryan, Teachers' Union of Ireland president, said he would be unhappy if second-level teachers were encouraged to seek doctors' certs while Clive Byrne of the National Association of Principals and Deputies said it would change the relationships between principals and teachers. Meanwhile, second-level managerial groups are holding separate meetings this week to discuss the effects of the ban. Ferdia Kelly, general secretary of the secondary managers' body, the JMB, said one final attempt would be made to try to persuade the Department to change its mind.
