Union chief wants report on future of schools published
April 2, 2013
Teachers fear over 1,000 schools with fewer than 80 pupils may be under threat
Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn was challenged by Irish National Teachers’ Organisation president Anne Fay to publish a report commissioned on primary schools amid growing fears t ha t more t ha n 1 , 000 schools with under 80 pupils or three teachers or fewer may face closure.
Ms Fay told the union’s 145th annual congress that Mr Quinn, who addresses del egates today, should move to publish the Value for Money report commissioned 2½ years ago by the Department of Education on the future of primary schools.
Ms Fa y , who teaches in a three-teacher school in Fermoy, Co Cork, criticised the leaking of some of the report at the weekend. It was reported on Sunday that the viability of more than 600 small schools would be thrown into doubt by the report.
“We got selective leaks of this report to a Sunday newspaper by the Minister, I presume, which I believe shows a lack of respect for parents, teachers and communities all over Ireland. Over a thousand schools now fear for their very existence,” she said. Loud applause Loudly applauded by the 800 delegates in Cork, Ms Fay went on to remind Mr Quinn of the commitment he gave on behalf of the Labour Party when in opposition and just before t he 2011 general election to oppose any forced amalgamation of schools.
“The now Minister for Education and Science wrote on February 15th, 2011, just before the general election: ‘The Labour Party has never supported the forcible amalgamation of rural schools’, another debased pre-election promise to add to what is becoming a very long list.”
Ms Fay said teachers still manage to take great pride in their work despite being anxious and worried about the future and cuts in education and, even when greatly overworked, have the interests of their pupils foremost in their mind. ‘Palpable anger’ “But alongside that pride, I have detected a palpable anger – there is anger at the attitudes of some of our employers, commentators and politicians who seem to think, bizarrely and erroneously, that teaching is an easy life,” she said.
“There is anger at changes to terms and conditions that focus on saving money and not on making the education system better, and anger at investment in education becoming another discredited election promise, not a priority to return Ireland to economic growth and social equality.”
Ms Fay opted not to speak on Croke Park II proposals on pay which are currently being voted on by union members. However, union sources confirmed to The Irish Times that there was a lot of anger voiced at the Croke Park II proposals at a private session.
www.irishtimes.com
Gaeltacht ar an dé deiridh?
April 2, 2013
‘We don’t have any such thing as a Gaeltacht any more,’ says Seosamh Mac Donnacha in the current issue of Comhar. He says that most of the people living in the Gaeltacht are bilingual native speakers, and that they don’t acquire the two languages at the same speed or to the same level of proficiency.
We must ask ourselves a basic question: What is a Gaeltacht? Up until now, the Dublin Government has been happy to draw a line and create an ‘Indian reservation’ without proper infrastructure. Mac Donnacha says that a child brought up in the Gaeltacht would not be able to get basic services through Irish, he would not be able to get a complete education through Irish, he would not be able to get a job without English, and he would not be able to speak to the gardaí in Gaoth Dobhair in Irish.
That is the biggest problem facing Irish in the Gaeltacht and in non-Irish speaking areas: there is no Irish in the environment. When you go into a big paper shop here, you see hundreds of magazines in English (most of them rubbish, but that’s another story.) You cannot get an Irish language magazine in any paper shop in Derry. By the way, you can buy Paris Match in the city centre every week.
If you go abroad, you can pick up the local language very quickly. It is spoken everywhere: on the street, in the house, in the shops, in offices etc. You hear the language all the time on the radio and on the television. You see newspapers and notices in the language. You are constantly in contact with the language- an obvious fact. But that does not happen in Ireland. And a language cannot develop unless it is used continuously in public life.
There is only one country in the world where you can get a job in the public sector without knowing the national language- that is the mad house called Ireland, of course, a land of useless politicians and soulless bureaucrats.
Well, St. Patrick’s Day is over. Irish will be put back in the drawer for another year. But if we keep on going the way we are going, we will go to the cupboard some day, and there will be nothing in it.
www.derryjournal.com
Quinn will announce Church to lose school control
April 2, 2013
‘Clear demand’ for greater diversity cannot be ignored, insists minister
THE Catholic Church is being told to hand over another 23 primary schools in an historic shake-up of the eduction system designed to offer parents more choice.
Department of Education surveys in 43 towns and suburbs over the past six months found that two-thirds of parents wanted a more diverse range of schools – meaning a reduction of the church’s overwhelming dominance of school patronage.
The results of the consultation with 10,000 parents on future control of local schools can be revealed today, with Education Minister Ruairi Quinn pointing out that a majority of areas surveyed had shown sufficient parental demand for wider choice of schools. He insisted: “We cannot ignore this call for change.”
Meanwhile, the fate of 1,000 small rural schools hangs in the balance as they are considered too small to satisfy an “optimum” threshold for value for money. A new report, to be published soon, will recommend that the optimum future size for Irish schools is four teachers and 80 students or more.
Mr Quinn, who will today address two teachers’ unions, has been accused of leaving thousands of pupils and parents in limbo if their school does not meet the minimum size.
Mr Quinn is now overseeing a period of massive change within the schools system as the issues of patronage and small rural schools both come to a head. His department now wants detailed proposals from the bishops on divesting schools within six months, in a significant shift towards multidenominational education. But early transfers do not appear on the cards after a senior Catholic Church educationalist questioned the calculations involved.
Surveys in 38 areas were undertaken in January-February among parents of children under the age of 12. They were targeted at towns and suburbs where there is a relatively stable population and, therefore, little prospect of an additional school being built.
The demand for a change of patronage at 23 of these 38 primary schools is on top of five schools around the country which were previously identified by the department, and where the Church has already been told to transfer control. The department will now be contacting the Catholic patron in each of the newly identified areas to request that they consider the options.
Mr Quinn said he was confident of a generous response from the existing patron – the local Catholic bishop in each of the areas – to “the clear demand for change”. In practical terms, it means that in any of these areas, where there may be several local Catholic schools, mergers will be necessary to free up a building for a school under different patronage.
Where change is favoured, the multi-denominational Educate Together is the top choice and has been nominated as the patron for 25 schools, including in the five areas previously identified.
Two towns will see the establishment of English language, new-style Community National Schools, run by the local Vocational Education Committee. And in one area, an Irish language school under the patronage of An Foras Patrunachta is recommended. Most of the areas surveyed already had a Gaelscoil option for parents deemed capable of accommodating demand for Irish language medium schools.
Paul Rowe, of Educate Together, said the results clearly showed demand for diversity of school type exists across the country.
Conclusions
However, while 10,000 responses were gathered, Fr Michael Drumm of the Catholic Schools Partnership said the participation rates of parents in the surveys were low. He said that within each area the responses only varied from 13pc to 26pc and advised against drawing conclusions.
He said there was a need for much closer analysis of the figures and consultation with communities on the ground For example, Fr Drumm said in Ballina, where the department is recommending an Educate Together school, parents of only 2.2pc of existing primary pupils expressed a preference for an English-language multi-denominational school. And he warned the proposals could involve much greater displacement for pupils in an existing school than those the department is seeking to accommodate.
The Catholic Church controls about 2,840, or 90pc, of almost 3,200 primary schools in Ireland. While the 28 schools earmarked for change represent less than 1pc of this, developments over the coming months will be closely watched as they could mark a watershed in Church-state relations over school patronage.
The department set the minimum enrolment sufficient for a four-teacher school as the benchmark for deciding on whether there was sufficient demand for change. A total of 10,715 valid responses were received during the surveys, and were checked against data held by the Department of Social Protection to ensure that the children listed were linked to PPS numbers given.
It followed the five pilot surveys, which were conducted last October and November – all of which showed a demand for Educate Together schools.
www.independent.ie
Bishops have six months to set out plans for school patronage change
April 2, 2013
Catholic bishops in 23 areas across the State have six months to provide detailed proposals on how they plan on divesting primary schools of their patronage.
The move comes on the publication of a survey on parental preferences for primary school patronage published today by the Department of Education.
Out of 38 survey areas selected according to specific demographic criteria, 23 have demonstrated demand for “an immediate change in the existing school patronage”, according to a Department of Education statement.
Among the 23 were Dublin 6, Malahide, Palmerstown, Portmarnock , Rush, Tuam, Westport, Ballina, Clonmel, Passage West, Dungarvan, Fermoy, Kells, Killarney, Leixlip, Loughrea, Cobh, Nenagh, New Ross, Shannon, Celbridge and Carrigaline.
One area, Birr in Co Offaly, showed sufficient demand for a Gaelscoil. Several others specified VEC patronage as their preferred option. There was insufficient demand in areas such as Wicklow, Skerries, Carrick-on-Suir and Roscommon, among others.
The level of demand required to support change was set at the minimum enrolment required for a four- teacher school, somewhere between 80 and 100 pupils. A total of 10,715 valid survey responses were received.The majority of parents who took part in the survey named Educate Together as their preferred patron.
Minister for Education Ruairi Quinn said: “We cannot ignore this call for change”. Fr Michael Drumm, chairperson of the Catholic Schools Partnership, said the figures needed closer analysis.
www.irishtimes.com
Comhdháil ar Litríocht na nÓg
April 2, 2013
Minister for Education & Skills announces 23 towns will see change in patronage of primary schools
April 2, 2013
Report on surveys of parental preferences for primary school patronage published
The Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairí Quinn T.D., has published the results of primary school patronage surveys from 38 towns across the country.
These surveys were undertaken as part of the Minister’s response to the Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in Primary schools and are aimed at establishing if parents want a more diverse range of primary school patrons in their area.
Detailed analysis of the surveys shows that there is sufficient parental demand in 23 out of the 38 areas to support an immediate change in the existing school patronage. 22 of the areas will see the establishment of an English language multi-denominational school and one area will see an Irish language school established. Parents expressed a preference for an Educate Together patron in 20 of the areas and the other two towns will see Community National Schools established, run by the local VEC. 30 of the 38 areas surveyed already have a gaelscoil option available for parents.
Welcoming the publication of the surveys, Minister Quinn said, “This is another significant step on the road to providing a plurality of education and real choice for parents in the type of primary school they wish to send their children to. We are confident of a generous response from the existing patrons to the clear demand for change in more than 60% of the areas surveyed this year. “
The level of demand deemed sufficient to support a recommendation for a change in ethos of school was set at the minimum enrolment sufficient for a four teacher school. The outcomes and recommendations were verified by the New Schools’ Establishment Group which has responsibility for overseeing the process. While there is a cohort of parents in the remaining 15 out of the 38 areas who would support a change in patronage, the surveys show there is not sufficient demand at present to ensure that a school of different patronage would be viable. However, it is recognised that this may change in the future, at which point the position could be re-examined.
“There is also a strong demonstration through the surveys that many parents are happy with the current schools on offer and I think this reflects well on the education services provided by our existing patrons,” added Minister Quinn.
The surveys were undertaken for four weeks from the 14th of January. Parents of 0-12 year olds in each area were invited to participate. The towns were chosen as they had a relatively stable population of between 5,000 and 20,000 and therefore little prospect of any new schools opening in coming years to cater for demographic demand.
A total of 10,715 valid survey responses were received, the vast majority of which were filled in on-line. More than 2,000 responses were deemed invalid as they did not contain a PPS number, the address of the respondent or their name. Responses were further checked against data held by the Department of Social Protection to ensure that the children listed in each response are linked to the PPS number given and the relevant survey area.
Late last year, surveys were carried out in five pilot areas and these showed there was parental demand for a change in school patronage in each area. “Almost two thirds of the areas surveyed as part of this process, including the pilot phase, have shown sufficient parental demand for a wider choice of school patron. We cannot ignore this call for change. We will now be contacting the Catholic patron in each of the areas where we have identified this demand to request they now consider options for reconfiguring schools under their management in order to allow the transfer of a school to a new patron,” concluded Minister Quinn.
Copies of the report will be sent to all primary school patrons in each of the 38 areas. The Catholic Bishop or Archbishop in the 23 areas where demand for change has been confirmed will be asked to submit an interim response within three months and a final response with detailed proposals on divesting a school in six months.
The full report from the surveys is available at: http://www.education.ie/en/Publications/Policy-Reports/Report-on-the-surveys-regarding-parental-preferences-on-primary-school-patronage.pdf
Ballina: Educate Together
Ballinasloe: Insufficient demand
Bandon: Insufficient demand
Birr: An Foras Patrunachta
Buncrana: Insufficient demand
Carrick-on-Suir: Insufficient demand
Carrigaline: Cork VEC
Celbridge: Kildare VEC
Clonmel: Educate Together
Cobh: Educate Together
Dublin 6: Educate Together
Dungarvan: Educate Together
Edenderry: Insufficient demand
Enniscorthy: Insufficient demand
Fermoy: Educate Together
Kells: Educate Together
Killarney: Educate Together
Leixlip: Educate Together
Longford: Insufficient demand
Loughrea: Educate Together
Malahide: Educate Together
Monaghan: Insufficient demand
Nenagh: Educate Together
New Ross: Educate Together
Palmerstown: Educate Together
Passage West: Educate Together
Portmarnock: Educate Together
Roscommon: Insufficient demand
Roscrea: Insufficient demand
Rush: Educate Together
Shannon: Educate Together
Skerries: Insufficient demand
Thurles: Insufficient demand
Tipperary: Insufficient demand
Tuam: Educate Together
Westport: Educate Together
Wicklow: Insufficient demand
Youghal: Insufficient demand
Cúrsa do Mhúinteoirí
March 28, 2013
Tá an Chomhairle Náisiúnta Tuismitheoirí – Bunbhrainse (NPC) ag cur cúrsa ar siúl do mhúinteoirí an samhradh seo. Tá eolas sa bhreis san iatán thíos ach tá fáilte roimh dhaoine glaoch a chur orthu mar gheall air.
In 2012 National Parents Council Primary delivered its first summer course for teachers on Working with Parents to support their children’s learning. We received very positive feedback from the teachers who participated in the course. The course introduces participants to NPC who we are and what we do. It explores topics such as parents as partners in education. It also discusses the current research regarding the involvement of parents in their children’s education. It looks at practical approaches for teachers and schools on how to involve parents in their children’s education. The final topic is on school self evaluation with regard to parental involvement.
Review of summer course
My name is Kathleen McKiernan and I am in my third year as the Home School Community Liaison teacher in Holy Rosary Primary School in Oldcourt Tallaght.I attended the summer course for teachers entitled “Working with Parents to support their children’s learning” run by the National Parents Council from July 2nd-6th in 2012.
This was a very informative and enjoyable week. The course content was very varied and interesting especially the information we were given on the NCP itself, its structures and how it supports parents and teachers in schools.
While I teach in a school where Parental involvement has always been central, I learned much from both the tutors and the discussions within the group. The group, made up mostly of classroom teachers, were given very useful information and support on how to involve parents in their children’s learning. We explored some of the research
to back this up and were given lots of very practical ideas on how to implement it.
The course succeeded in doing “what it says on the tin” and was very useful for both classroom and Home School Community Liaison teachers.
We are intending to run the above summer course again this year from Monday 1st July to Friday 5th July. If you would like more information please contact Deirdre Sullivan, Training and Development Officer at dsullivan@npc.ie or directly on 01-8874481.
US visitors treated to early morning Spirit of Connemara wake-up call
March 28, 2013
Vistors from the US arrived off a flight at 5am to be greeted to more of an Irish experience than they had bargained for as local sean-nós dancer Emma O’Sullivan and Aran Island natives, the Mulkerrin Brothers, were there at Shannon Airport recently ready to treat them to a musical performance traditional Irish style.
This musical wake-up call was not just some bonus that came with increased air miles, but rather it was part of an unique marketing campaign to promote the new tourism initiative ‘Spirit of Connemara’ which hopes to attract more visitors to our shores giving them a real taste of Connemara.
The ‘Spirit of Connemara’, run by Celtic Footstep, is a specially tailored Irish culture tourism package set up to coincide with The Gathering and the International Hurling Festival which takes place in Galway this September. It aims to showcase the very best talent of Connemara cultural traditions, from folklore to history, and Irish language to music and dance. During their tour, guests will be treated to lessons in the basics of Irish language, ceili dancing, and taken to hurling matches. Well known local broadcaster Séan Bán Breachnach will also be on hand to act as MC for the guests at a Ceili Mor.
Speaking at the early morning launch at Shannon Airport, Celtic Footstep spokesperson Kerry O’Sullivan said: “The ‘Spirit of Connemara’ is all about showcasing Connemara as the best place in the world to experience Irish language and traditions. In the words of President Michael D Higgins we are putting out a call or ‘Glaoch’ to all those with a connection to Connemara, to those who attended Irish college here or who have an interest in Irish culture and language to connect with the unique heritage of the Connemara Gaeltacht in September.”
Celtic Footstep has created a group tour package, which will showcase the unique experience that the Connemara Gaeltacht has to offer visitors to the area, which will comprise six nights’ accommodation, transport and tour package from September 19 to 24.
For further information log onto www.celticfootstep.com /join-a-tour/spirit-of-connemara, phone 091 591222, or email enquiries@celticfootstep.com.
http://www.advertiser.ie/galway/
Foilsithe ar 28 Márta 2013
Grá don Ghaeilge
March 28, 2013
Seachtain na Gaeilge 2013 took place this year on March 4-17, and Irish people everywhere were dusting off their cúpla focal for the occasion.
Events as Gaeilge were organised around the country and national media and businesses took part; including Tayto, who released a limited edition multipack of ‘cáis agus oinniún’ crisps.
Unfortunately, with the end of the celebration comes the end of the use of Irish. Which begs the question – is two weeks a year enough to keep Ireland’s first national language alive?
Yvonne Ní Mhurchú, principal of Gaelscoil Longfoirt says that the language should be embraced all year long. “Consistency has to be shown and Irish should be used all year long. They can’t think of it as a festival or event that’s celebrated once a year like Christmas, and Hallowe’en,” she said.
Gaelscoil Longfoirt first opened its doors in 1998, and this year the school will celebrate its 15th birthday with the launch of their new interactive website. Ms Ní Mhurchú hopes that this website will help both those in the school community and the wider public to keep up their use of the Irish language, and encourage them to continue to learn.
Of course, there are those who say Irish is a dead language and a waste of valuable resources. It has even been suggested that Irish should become an optional subject in schools. Ms Ní Mhurchú strongly disagrees, saying that people’s mindset towards the language needs to change.
“It’s very important to focus on the positive, not the negative. If Irish is optional, should maths be optional? If school was optional, how many would attend? It’s all about living the language and using it as a social medium. What’s good for Béarla is good for Gaeilge.”
Indeed according to the 2011 census figures, Irish is far from dead. The results gathered by the CSO tell us that 1,759,026 people in Ireland – over a third of the population- have some knowledge of the Irish language. Out of those people, over 77,000 said that they used Irish on a daily basis outside of the education system. Furthermore, according to Gaelscoileanna TEO in the academic year 2011/2012 there was over 43,000 pupils attending Irish-medium education outside of the Gaeltacht in the island of Ireland.
Irish-medium schools are crucial to the development and upkeep of the language, and there are several advantages to a Gaelscoil education. Ms Ní Mhurchú explains that when a child attends a Gaelscoil “that child is not just learning a language, but becoming bilingual” which has proven to be beneficial when it comes to understanding other cultures and learning new languages.
In the President’s “Being Young and Irish” report which was published in March 2013, the Irish language and identity are listed amongst the most important things to the youth in Ireland today. Ms Ní Mhurchú believes we should grant them their wish and give them their identity, adding that “identity is the one thing we have. It is important and crucial to us all.”
While Seachtain na Gaeilge is a wonderful celebration of Irish and “irishness”, more needs to be done all year round to keep that same love and enthusiasm for the language.
Ms Ní Mhurchú makes the point that it’s not difficult to keep using Irish, and that there are opportunities out there for those wishing to use it.
“I love giving children a love for Irish and I encourage them to avail of the opportunities that are available to them. Irish has to be a living language. Put your Irish on Facebook and Twitter, and enjoy yourself in Irish.”
Foilsithe ar Gaelport.com 28 Márta 2013
Ceardlann Drámaíochta: Tuairimí Drámaíochta don Aos Óg
March 27, 2013
Cén uair? Dé Sathairn an 13 Aibreán, 10.30 – 1.30
Cén áit? Seomra M229, Institúid Oideachais Marino.
Úna McCabe a bheidh i mbun na ceardlainne seo, dírithe ar an drámaiocht don aos óg, 3-6 bliana d’aois. Ceardlann phraiticiúil a bheidh anseo, do dhaoine a bhíonn ag obair le leanaí 3-6 bliana d’aois. Pléifear neart smaointe agus tuairimí maidir le tús a chur le drámaíocht, agus le bogadh ar aghaidh le drámaíocht leis an aoisghrúpa seo. Díreofar ar an leabhar “Owl Babies”, le Martin Waddell. Foghlaimeoidh na rannpháirtithe conas pointí tosaigh maithe don drámaíocht a aithint. Beidh na gníomhaíochtaí sa cheardlann seo inaistrithe thar leabhair agus topaicí eile. Cuirfear nótaí ar fáil freisin, agus moltaí maidir leis na gníomhaíochtaí a chur in oiriúint don raon aoise, ón bpáiste réamhscoile go dtí na Naíonáin Shinsearacha.
As Béarla a reachtálfar an Cheardlann, ach beidh na tuairimí agus gníomhaíochtaí luachmhar do gach duine a bhíonn ag obair leis an aoisghrúpa seo.
Bhain an Dr. Una McCabe PhD in Drámaíocht sna Blianta Tosaigh amach i Roinn an Oideachais Luath-Óige i gColáiste na hOllscoile, Corcaigh, agus múineann sí Oideachas Drámaíochta i gColáiste Phádraig, Drom Conrach. Scríobh sí an leabhar “Classroom Drama: A Practical Guide”, téacs luachmhar do mhúinteoirí agus do mhicléinn drámaíochta. Tá spéis ar leith ag Una in obair le páistí réamhscoile agus le naíonáin.
Téigh chuig www.adei.ie chun tuilleadh eolais a fháil agus chun áit a chur in áirithint.
