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14 second-level schools to open in next three years

August 4, 2011

FOURTEEN NEW second-level schools – some with capacity for up to 1,000 pupils – are to open over the next three years.

This comes as the Department of Education plans for a surge in pupil numbers over the next decade. Enrolment at second level is projected to increase from 317,000 last year to 334,000 by 2014, an increase of more than 5 per cent.

Schools with capacity for up to 1,000 pupils will be opened in Claregalway, Lusk, Naas and Navan in 2013. Schools of similar size will open in Ashbourne, Blanchardstown West, Drogheda, Dundalk, Balbriggan, Maynooth and Mulhuddart in 2014.

Other schools to open in 2014 will be in Cork city, Dundrum and Greystones, catering for 500, 500 and 750 pupils respectively. The schools in Balbriggan, Cork city and Dundrum have been designated by the department as Gaelcholáistí, although their patronage has yet to be decided. It is envisaged that most of the new schools will be co-educational in nature.

The new schools are in addition to the new post-primary schools already scheduled to open in Gorey, under the patronage of Co Wexford VEC; Doughiska, under the patronage of Co Galway VEC; and Lucan-Clonburris, under the patronage of Co Dublin VEC in partnership with the multi-denominational group, Educate Together.

Educate Together – recently recognised as a second-level patron by the department – will also be hoping to run some of these schools.

For Educate Together, which already runs 60 primary schools, the move into second-level patronage is a significant advance.

The group says its second-level schools will provide an alternative to the grind school mentality so prominent in the second-level system. It says there is strong local backing for an Educate Together second-level school in Greystones, with more than 800 expressions of interest from local parents.

The Department of Education has also put new arrangements for patronage at second level in place. Most new schools, it says, must have the capacity to operate schools in the size range of 800 to 1,000 pupils. A lower threshold of 400 will apply for Gaelcholáistí.

“This is great news for parents campaigning for Educate Together second-level schools all over the country,” Educate Together’s head of education and network development Emer Nowlan said.

Irish Times

Plan to increase school class sizes to save €75m

August 4, 2011

CHANGES TO the pupil-teacher ratio which would mean larger classes in primary and second-level schools have been proposed by the Department of Education.

The department has indicated to Government that increasing the number of children in a classroom is the most effective means of achieving sizeable savings in the education budget. It says that annual economies of at least €75 million can be achieved by such a move.

The proposal – set to be a key part of the next budget – would mean more than 1,100 teaching posts left unfilled at primary and second level. It is certain to elicit a furious response from the teacher unions and it will also concern parents.

Bigger class sizes would also have serious implications for students in teacher training, making it even more difficult to secure teaching posts. It is understood the department also favours a rationalisation of teacher training.

While there is no plan to close any of the five State-funded teacher-training colleges, it says the current situation, where 21 colleges are providing 42 courses, cannot continue. The department is expected to demand that some courses be merged.

The proposals for primary schools include a one-point increase in the staffing schedule, with one teacher for every 28 pupils; it is now one to 27. This could potentially mean the loss of 350 posts. The cost to the taxpayer of each of these jobs is €60,000, including pensions etc, yielding savings of €21 million, according to the department.

Plans for second-level schools include a single point increase in the staffing schedule, with one teacher for every 20 pupils. It is now one to 19, except in fee-paying schools where it is already one to 20. This could translate into a potential loss of 850 teaching posts. The cost of each of these jobs is €64,000, yielding savings of €54 million, according to the department.

Under the terms of the EU-IMF agreement the unions have to accept increases in class size if equivalent savings cannot be achieved on payroll. The proposal echoes that in the McCarthy report which recommended class sizes of 29 or more.

Irish primary schools already have the second-highest average class size in the EU. Last year department figures revealed that more than 106,000 pupils are in classes of 30 or more while some 8,000 are being educated in classes of 35 or more.

The problem of overcrowding is particularly acute in the Dublin commuter counties – Carlow, Kilkenny, Meath, Laois, Wicklow and Kildare.

Three years ago more than 100,000 people attended protests held by teachers’ union the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation.

A decade ago Fianna Fáil promised to reduce class sizes for under-nines to below 20, in line with international norms.

Irish Times

17 new schools to open as pupil numbers soar

August 3, 2011

Soaring pupil numbers will see the opening of 14 new second-level schools in 2013 and 2014, on top of three already announced, writes Katherine Donnelly.

Most of the schools will be built in the Dublin commuter belt that includes Louth, Meath, Kildare, Wicklow and Wexford. The Department of Education yesterday announced the location of four new schools to open in 2013: Lusk, Co Dublin; Claregalway, Co Galway; Naas, Co Kildare; and Navan, Co Meath.

In 2014 schools in the Carrigaline/south suburbs area of Cork city; Blanchardstown West, Mulhuddart, Balbriggan and Dundrum, Co Dublin; Maynooth, Co Kildare; Drogheda and Dundalk, Co Louth; Ashbourne, Co Meath; and Greystones, Co Wicklow, will open. These are in addition to schools already announced for Gorey, Co Wexford; Doughiska, Co Galway; and Lucan/Clonburris, Co Dublin.

The schools in Balbriggan, Cork city, and Dundrum have been designated by the department as all-Irish Gaelcholaisti, although their patronage has yet to be decided.
Enrolments are set to rise by over 100,000 across all school sectors by 2017-18.

03 Lúnasa 2011

Moltaí do mhúinteoirí Gaeilge

August 3, 2011

Sorry, this entry is only available in Irish.

Taighde ar shealbhú na Gaeilge i measc daoine óga

August 2, 2011

An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta (COGG) has agreed to fund a 3-year studentship towards a PhD in the UCD School of Psychology under the supervision of Dr. Tina Hickey.

Research Area: Later stages in the acquisition of Irish among monolingual and bilingual children.
Deadline for application:  8 August 2011 (6 pm)

Eligibility Criteria:   Required
1.    A First or upper Second-class honours primary degree in Psychology and/or Master’s degree
2.    Fluent spoken and written Irish (ideally native speaker-level) and excellent written communication skills in English.
3.    Evidence of ability to analyse data with SPSS, and excellent computer skills
Desirable
4.    Experience in testing children sensitively; evidence of interest  in language acquisition and interest in/understanding of the sociolinguistics of Irish, and of the Gaeltacht context.

Preference will be given to those who can show academic excellence in Psychology, high levels of proficiency in Irish, and interest/experience in the area of language acquisition research.

Research Study: This study will look at aspects of the later states of Irish acquisition within a crosslinguistic research framework which examines how the features of a particular language interact with the child’s developing cognitive system and how the features of the input facilitate or delay acquisition of particular systems in one language compared to another. The successful candidate, under the supervision of Dr. Tina Hickey, will be expected to conduct an extensive literature review of crosslinguistic research on later stages of child language acquisition, particularly of endangered languages, to develop child-friendly tests of children’s and adults’ performance on particular aspects of Irish grammar, to collect data from children and adults using these tests, and to analyse the results using SPSS, considering the implications of convergence phenomena in the input to children acquiring a threatened language (Hickey 2009).

COGG Studentship: The scholarship is valued at €15,000 per annum, from which postgraduate fees must be paid. The successful candidate will also be eligible to apply (subject to certain conditions) during the studentship for a Tutor/Demonstratorship in UCD School of Psychology which carries a half-fee waiver as remuneration for contributions to the undergraduate teaching programme. All students are obliged to pay the Student Centre Levy.

Applications: Applicants should apply by email to Dr. Tina Hickey at the School of Psychology tina.hickey@ucd.ie. All applications will be acknowledged within 48 hours so if you do not receive an acknowledgement, please re-send.

The application should take the form of ONE Word file attachment saved as ApplicantSurnameFirstnameCOGG.doc:
1.    an up-to-date CV in English with details of the courses studied and grades obrained. Include telephone and email contact details of two relevant referees. Applicants must also supply a telephone number where they can be contacted in August;  and
2.    a detailed letter as Gaeilge outlining how the candidate’s experience matches the eligibility requirements.
Deadline for applications:   6 pm on Monday 8 August 2011

Foilsithe ar Gaelport.com 28 Iúil 2011

Coalisland Gaelscoil to open doors to more students

August 2, 2011

Sorry, this entry is only available in Irish.

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