Government action on social integration criticised
- Published: 02 October 2008
By: Ruadhán Mac Cormaic
THE CHAIRWOMAN of the National Action Plan Against Racism has sharply criticised the pace of Government efforts on social integration, saying it was more intent on cutting budgets and independent bodies than developing a strategic plan to underpin "future harmony".
Addressing a seminar on intercultural education hosted by the Department of Education and the Office of Integration yesterday, Lucy Gaffney accused the department of being very slow in acting on the body's recommendations.
"The time for real action is here. We do not need more policy statements, more photos with children of different backgrounds in various school poses. We need a clear plan of action, a timeline, and key deliverables," she said.
The action plan was initiated in 2005 and its mandate is due to end next month. It has worked to promote the adoption of intercultural strategies and policies across a range of areas, including the health service, the education system and An Garda Síochána.
Ms Gaffney warned that social stability should not be sacrificed for short-term economic gain and that integration should be a central concern of the upcoming budget. She said attitudinal research which her body had intended to carry out had not been completed. It is understood the Government withheld funds for the project.
With the steering group of the action plan due to complete its work next month, its members were still unaware of who would continue such efforts. "The department and the Government seem more intent on cutting budgets and reducing independent bodies than developing a strategic plan that will form the backbone for future harmony and an integrated Ireland," she added.
Minister for Education Batt O'Keeffe said the Government's commitment to inclusive education could be seen in the dramatic increase in the number of English language support teachers.
There were now 2,000 of these teachers working in primary and secondary schools, compared to some 260 six years ago.
A new community national school model was being developed to meet the need for "a new form of plurality of provision" and consultations were under way on school enrolment policies, he said.
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Classroom bullies pick on immigrant students
- Published: 02 October 2008
By John Walshe Education Editor
Immigrant children suffer more bullying than their Irish classmates, with African pupils the most targeted, a major study has found.
Foreign children are over-represented in disadvantaged schools, according to the survey of 1,200 primary and second-level school principals.
And pupils from Africa experience greater levels of bullying than those from Eastern Europe, it revealed.
However, it suggests bullying may not always be 'visible' to teaching staff, especially in second-level schools. There is need for a consistent practice on anti-bullying policies. These should incorporate intercultural issues as Irish students have empathy but little knowledge of other cultures.
It shows that newcomer children make up at least 20pc of the school-going population in around 250 primary and 25 second-level schools. In some cases, the percentage is much higher.
Three out of every five primary schools and eight out of every 10 post-primary schools have at least one pupil whose parents are from outside Ireland. The 40pc of primary schools that don't have any, tend to be small schools in rural areas.
Around 60pc of schools with newcomers report difficulties with the English reading and writing of more than half of the pupils. Separate immersion classes are more common in schools with a high percentage of newcomers, but this has implications for the social integration of students.
About 10pc of primary schools and 15pc of second-level schools which have overseas students have six, seven or more nationalities enrolled.
Aspirations
Thirty per cent of primary and just over half the post-primary principals rate the aspirations of newcomers as "above average".
Preliminary details of the massive Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) study were released yesterday to a conference on intercultural education by two of the researchers, Emer Smyth and Merike Darmody -- the other researchers involved were Demla Byrne and Fran McGinnity.
Dr Smyth said the study suggested that levels of bullying depended on the ethnic origins of the student, but it seemed to be higher among African children than among those from Eastern European countries.
She suggested a number of factors had an impact on the enrolment of newcomer children, especially at second level.
Preference was given in some cases to children who had older siblings in that school already or if their parents had attended it. Religion and the date of application were other factors.
Dr Smyth said that some schools seemed to be a victim of their own success -- if they welcomed newcomer students, they tended to attract more of them. These schools also had higher levels of Traveller children enrolled. This was particularly true of schools in disadvantaged areas.
Principals reported few sustained integration difficulties but the survey found some patterns of segregation forming in friendships.
Dr Smyth told the conference in the Royal Hospital that language was not the only issue in schools with newcomers. Schools did not operate in a vacuum and there were issues of broader social relations.
Chair of the National Action Plan Against Racism (NPAR), Lucy Gaffney, called on the Government not to neglect the important issue of integration of immigrants in the upcoming Budget.
"There are a number of specific recommendations in NPAR that are the responsibility of the Department of Education, but change in this area has been very slow," she said.
Immersion classes in 20% of schools
- Published: 02 October 2008
By: Ruadhán Mac Cormaic
MORE THAN one in five primary and secondary schools use some form of immersion classes to teach English or Irish to newly-arrived migrant children, according to a study being prepared by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
The first national study of the integration of newcomer students in primary and second-level schools, which is due to be completed later this year, shows that just over 20 per cent of primary and secondary schools provide the intensive language tuition before bringing migrant children into mainstream classes. Immersion is more common in schools with a high percentage of newcomers.
However, a more common practice - used by more than 60 per cent of primary schools and 90 per cent of secondary schools - is to withdraw migrant children from the mainstream classroom at certain times of the day for language instruction.
A controversy arose this summer when Fine Gael's Brian Hayes suggested many Irish parents were frustrated at the effect the lack of "segregation" was having on their children's education. He later said he regretted using the term and should have referred to immersion.
The preliminary findings of the ESRI research, based on 1,200 questionnaires and 12 case studies, were presented yesterday at a conference organised by the Department of Education and the Office of Integration.
The survey also found dissatisfaction among teachers with the learning resources and materials, with a particular lack of materials suitable for older students.
As a result, there was a high reliance on teachers' initiative in devising teaching aids. Just over 20 per cent of second-level staff felt the curriculum took adequate account of diversity, compared with 43 per cent of primary teachers. Some 90 per cent of all teachers believed more in-service training was needed to promote inclusion.
On the implications of the research, Emer Smyth, senior research officer at the ESRI, said there was no "one size fits all" approach for English classes, but suggested there was more scope for in-class support and flexibility in allocating resources.
"Diversity is not just a challenge but an opportunity," she said.
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The importance of rural schools
- Published: 01 October 2008
John O'Kane, former Principal of St Paul's Primary School, Irvinestown was the Guest Speaker at the recent Awards Ceremony celebrated in St Mary's College, Irvinestown. Mr O'Kane also sits on Fermanagh District Council and on the Western Education and Library Board.
Mr O'Kane's topic for the evening was the value of the rural school.
He started by stating that all schools in this country are by definition, rural schools and outlined the many benefits that a local school brings to its community and gave the examples of employment and business opportunities, as well as connection to parish life.
The guest speaker talked about the importance of rural schools in providing a curriculum and an experience with emphasis on success, achievement, inclusion (of those with specific learning needs and of those newly moved into our communities with language needs) and the ability to ensure that pupils emerge with the skills and personal attributes, the creativity, flexibility and working within teams, as demanded by the modern workplace and as demanded by the New Northern Ireland Curriculum with its emphasis on values, sense of place, community and qualitative of life.
Mr O'Kane then went onto talk about sizes of schools, and the fact that the data collected by the Department of Education doesn't differentiate between rural and urban schools.
There is general agreement that size isn't necessarily relevant in deciding what makes a good school. The factors which are relevant are the delivery of the curriculum, the ethos and values of a school, the quality of teaching along with the leadership of the Principal and the school's sense of place and linkage with its community.
He cited many examples of the full extent to which St Mary's is equipped to meet these requirements, citing in particular the achievements of the school's leavers this year in exceeding the Northern Ireland average in every subject. Mr O'Kane also outlined the extra curricular areas where St Mary's pupils had excelled over the past months, and attributed this success to the rural school, asserting that in the smaller school, where personalised learning means that every single child can have their own curriculum written for them, where staff know their pupils personally, and vice versa; where pupils, especially those with learning difficulties, feel secure; in this school are the pupils advantaged, in these schools can parents rest assured in the secure knowledge that their child's every need is being met, and met well.
Comparisons were drawn between the experiences of the United States, where educationalists assert that smaller is now better. He also asked the audience to consider whether the larger schools which have emerged under Labour leadership are an example of where we in Northern Ireland want to move, as we reflect on their difficulties in the reports of the media?
Mr O'Kane went on to discuss the importance of staff who are ready to embrace the challenges of the new curriculum, using new technology to access relevant courses and training and outlined all the community partnerships that staff within the school have built up with other statutory and voluntary bodies and organisations over the years.
To conclude, Mr O'Kane reflected on the ambition and the capability of the Principal and the Management Team to continue raising the profile of St. Mary's, strengthening their success as a top ; albeit rural ; secondary school flourishing in all areas.
Schools plead for doubling of grants in Budget
- Published: 01 October 2008
By John Walshe Education Editor
SEVEN groups representing the managements of 3,200 primary schools yesterday joined forces to warn of the dangers of "chronic underfunding" in primary education.
The "Cinderella" status of primary education is no longer acceptable, they said, as they called for a doubling of the capitation grant in this month's Budget from €178 to €356 per pupil.
"Our primary schools are under-funded, under-resourced and under-staffed" said a statement from groups representing Catholic, Church of Ireland, Muslim, special, Gaelscoil and multi-denominational schools.
They said schools this year were being forced to depend on an ever-increasing burden of fundraising to meet basic costs.
Outgoing general secretary of the Catholic Primary School Management Association, Monsignor Dan O'Connor, gave examples of schools that were in the red, despite extensive fund raising.
One school in a middle-class area with 275 pupils still had a shortfall of €18,750 after huge fundraising efforts.
It raised €9,406 on a hop, skip and jump event; €13,685 through voluntary contributions; €4,415 through activities such as packing bags in a supermarket; €10,000 from the trustees; €6,266 from a Christmas concert; and €2,551 from rental of the school hall to outside groups.
He also disclosed that three disadvantaged schools in the Dublin area had shortfalls ranging from €21,162 to €77,876. These schools had no hopes of raising the necessary funds, and the diocese or religious trustees had to bail them out.
Mgr O'Connor, who takes up a new position today as parish priest in Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown, said he feared we were returning to the situation he found 25 years ago when became involved in primary education.
"Essentially there are three types of school --wealthy, where shortfalls can be made up by fundraising; a second group where funds are limited and the schools depend on the parish and a third type where no fundraising at all is possible".
Donall O Conaill, Runai, Foras Patrunachta na Scoileanna Lan-Ghaeilge, said that the inadequate funding impacted very seriously on gaelscoileanna.
Embargo
He said that there were up to 11 new Gaelscoileanna ready to go next year but they did not know if they could go ahead because of the embargo on new schools outside of rapidly developing areas.
Antoinette Buggle from National Association of Boards of Management in Special Education said the shortfall was putting increased pressure on boards of management to make appropriate provision for children in their care including children with severe behavioural difficulties and complex health issues.
The impact of the large number of children aged 12 years plus leaving mainstream schools who were seeking admission to special schools had put further strain on already over-stretched funds.
Paul Rowe, CEO of Educate Together, said that this is a "critical juncture for Irish education. We must throw off the attitudes of the last century and have the confidence to invest in our future. Social and economic prosperity will not come without investment".
"The top priorities for this government should be the doubling of the primary capitation grant, the reform of the grant system and sustained and increasing investment in our primary schools."
