‘Scrap Junior Certificate to fund special needs’ [IrishExaminer]
- Published: 03 September 2011
EDUCATE Together has called on the Government to abolish the Junior Certificate so special needs funding can be made a priority.
Paul Rowe, the chief executive of the multi-denominational school patron body, said: "All educational commentators agree that the Junior Cert exam no longer serves any real purpose.
By simply not holding a state exam we can save €30 million."
The body is calling for a review of cuts to special needs education, describing current cuts as "false economies" that will incur far greater social costs in the future.
Full Story: www.examiner.ie
Back to school allowance delays unacceptable — Ruane [advertiser.ie]
- Published: 02 September 2011
Commenting on the mounting concerns that many families who have applied for the Back to School Allowance may have to wait until late October before receiving the grant, Sinn Féin councillor Thérèse Ruane said: “Children, regardless of their social or economic background, have the right to attend school in comfortable fitting clothing and in this time of economic hardship it is essential that hard pressed families are assisted in preparing their child for school. I am inundated with distressed parents, who cannot afford the costs of uniforms and books needed for their children to get to school. The current fiasco around the processing of the Back to School Allowance reflects a lack of planning and foresight on behalf of the Government. Personnel should have been in place to deal with the increased number of applications.
“I worked as a secondary teacher for more than 10 years: most of the cost of sending a child to school, which according to Barnardo's is between €350 and €805, is spent on text books. I was always critical of the current practice in terms of text book prices, printing of new editions of school books, and I have consistently called for the introduction of a book rental scheme.
Full Story: www.advertiser.ie
Parents urge clear labelling of salt, sugar [IrishExaminer]
- Published: 02 September 2011
A PARENTS’ group says children’s pre-packed lunch box favourites must have clearer nutritional labelling showing levels of salt and sugar in them.
Independent consumer watchdog Which? found that adding two products to a lunch box could provide 25% of the recommended sugar intake and more than half the salt intake for a five-year-old.
It also found that eight out of 10 parents who gave their child a packed lunch included prepackaged items.
Executive director of Which? Richard Lloyd, said the products might seem like handy fillers for a child’s lunch box, but they could be bad for their health and their parents’ wallet.
Full Story: www.examiner.ie
Teacher shortage leaves nine special needs children without school places [IrishExaminer]
- Published: 02 September 2011
NINE children with special needs have no school place this week and are stuck in the middle of a staffing dispute between the school and the Department of Education.
St Gabriel’s Special School in the Cork suburb of Bishopstown told parents it can only offer part-time placements because it was notified last week that it is entitled to two teachers less than last year.
But the department and the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) say the school still has enough staff — eight teachers and 28 special needs assistants — to cater for all 38 pupils enrolled.
The families were left disappointed this week when the school told them the full-time places they had been offered were no longer available. Instead, they were offered a part-time service until, the school board said, "the NCSE are in a position to reconsider their decision".
Full Story: www.examiner.ie
Over 30% of Clare Parents borrow for back to school costs [clare.fm]
- Published: 02 September 2011
More than a third of Clare parents are borrowing money to cover back to school costs this year.
That's according to a survey carried out on clare-dot-fm in which visitors to the Clare FM website were asked how they're paying for things like school uniforms, book bills and other associated costs.
The online poll reveals just 14% of those surveyed are relying on the back to school allowance, 47% of people are using income or savings to cover costs, while 39% are using loans.
Speaking to Clare FM local parents identified a number of main areas where school costs could be cut.
