Minister Quinn announces JCSA as the new name for the reformed Junior Cycle
January 17, 2014
The Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairí Quinn T.D., has today announced that the new name for the reformed Junior Certificate will be the JCSA or Junior Cycle Student Award.
Minister Quinn said, “The overhaul of junior cycle is long over-due and much needed. The new JCSA will put students, rather than exams, at the centre of the three year cycle.
Minister Quinn continued, “Most parents and teachers that I meet are supportive of the need to overhaul junior cycle – for the good of students. However, I do acknowledge that many teachers have legitimate concerns about how these new changes will be introduced in schools.
“A new Working Group on Junior Cycle Reform will meet for the first time this Friday, 17th of January. This working group will be a forum where the concerns of the partners can be heard and addressed over the next number of months and years. The group is made up of representatives from the teacher unions, the ASTI and TUI, management bodies, parents, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment and the Department of Education and Skills.
“While reform of the junior cycle is urgently required, it is being phased in over several years from September 2014. I am determined that the new JCSA will be introduced at a rate which will allow our schools, students and teachers the time to embed these changes.
“We have lost some time over the last few months but I am confident that this group can provide a focus for meaningful and effective dialogue that will address legitimate concerns and enable implementation to proceed,” said the Minister.
“This is an opportunity for all the partners to influence the development and implementation of junior cycle reform and I am fully committed to taking on board the outcomes of the Working Group’s deliberations,” concluded the Minister.
The current Junior Cycle curriculum has been in place for 25 years without any fundamental reform. There is compelling evidence that it is failing some young people as significant numbers of first years do not make progress in the key building blocks of learning: English and Maths.
There is also evidence of students ‘switching off’ in second year and in many cases they never reconnect to learning; while the experience of third year is dominated and narrowed by preparations for the Junior Cert exams. The new JCSA will address these problems and ensure students become informed teenagers and citizens with the tools to achieve their full potential.
www.education.ie
An spásaire Chris Hadfield ag Gaelscoil Bhun Cranncha
January 17, 2014
Irish ‘blocked’ in the North
January 17, 2014
Growth and promotion of the Irish language in Northern Ireland is being blocked by hostile attitudes in Stormont and a lack of support for its use in the courts and in education.
The Council of Europe have warned authorities they may also be in breach of a charter of rights because of delays and attempts to block requests for bilingual street names.
The review of minority languages in the UK said the Government has not been able to justify banning the use of Irish in the courts.
www.irishexaminer.com
Promotion of Irish in North ‘blocked by hostile attitudes’
January 17, 2014
Growth and promotion of the Irish language in Northern Ireland is being blocked by hostile attitudes in Stormont and a lack of support for its use in the courts and in education, according to the Council of Europe.
The body has warned authorities they may also be in breach of a charter of rights because of delays and attempts to block requests for bilingual street names.
The review of minority languages in the UK said the government had not been able to justify banning the use of Irish in the courts or allowing people to take citizenship tests through the language.
The Council of Europe criticised the Assembly’s “persisting hostile climate”.
Minister for Culture Caral Ni Chuilin, said she would bring in legislation during the current Assembly term.
www.irishtimes.com
Unionists reject Euro report on Irish language
January 17, 2014
Unionists have defended the Northern Ireland Executive’s policy on the Irish language following criticism from a major EU body.
In a new report, the Council of Europe said that a “persisting hostile climate” exists in the Stormont Assembly and that more should be done to promote the language.
Using information provided by various governments, every three years the council compiles a report on the state of minority languages, including Welsh and Scottish Gaelic.
DUP MEP Diane Dodds has dismissed the report, saying the Irish language is “funded and supported by the Executive in line with its commitments”.
Mrs Dodds said the focus for public expenditure in difficult economic time must be on vital public services.
“The report from the Council of Europe in relation to the Irish language takes a long list of aims, objectives and grievances from Irish language activist groups and places them in list form within the report.
“It is of course unsurprising that such groups will always want to see greater and greater use of Irish. It is worth noting that the Executive does meet its commitments in law, including the St Andrews Agreement.”
Ulster Unionist culture spokesman Michael McGimpsey said: “The Council of Europe cannot make binding laws and seems oblivious to the fact that the 1998 Belfast Agreement was the settlement regarding minority languages in Northern Ireland and we have fulfilled our obligations under it.
“There are a number of human rights issues within European borders which the Council of Europe should be busying itself with. The position of the Irish language in Northern Ireland is not one of them.”
Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams welcomed the report.
He said the Irish language “threatens no one” and added: “There is an onus on the British and Irish governments to support the Irish language and to ensure the introduction of an Irish Language Act.”
www.newsletter.co.uk
Príomhoide Iarbhunscoile
January 17, 2014
Chris Hadfield in Gaelscoil Bhunn Cranncha
January 16, 2014
The famous astronaut, Chris Hadfield, visited Gaelscoil Bhun Cranncha this week. Listen to the interview which was broadcast on Raidió na Gaeltachta.
Call for Irish language support
January 16, 2014
Growth and promotion of the Irish language in Northern Ireland is being blocked by hostile attitudes in Stormont and a lack of support for its use in the courts and in education, according to the Council of Europe.
European chiefs have warned authorities they may also be in breach of a charter of rights because of delays and attempts to block requests for bilingual street names. The review of minority languages in the UK said the Government has not been able to justify banning the use of Irish in the courts or allowing people to take citizenship tests through the language. The Council of Europe criticised attitudes to Irish in some official circles and what it said is the Stormont Assembly’s “persisting hostile climate”. Caral Ni Chuilin, Minister for Culture, Arts and Leisure who is responsible for overall promotion of the language, said she would bring in new legislation during the current Assembly term. “There is a large body of support for an Irish Language Act in the North,” she said. “As languages are now a devolved matter full legislation will require the agreement of the Executive and Assembly. I hope that all supporters of the Irish language will work together to convince the Executive, the Assembly and all our people of the merits of supporting an Irish Language Act.”
Ms Ni Chuilin said her Liofa campaign to promote the language also showed the room for cross community support. The report from the Council of Europe also looked at the standing of Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, Cornish, and Ulster Scots which it said has improved even if it ” still remains absent from public life”. The review team hit out at a lack of political consensus in Northern Ireland on the language and the lack of a long-awaited Irish Language Act. In education it found many obstacles hampering an adequate offering of Irish-medium pre-schools and it called for concrete steps to be taken to meet the growth in demand for primary education in Irish. It raised concerns that the Colaiste Feirste secondary school still suffers from lack of free school transport, despite having won a judicial review case against the Department of Education on the issue, and increased efforts are needed to overcome the shortage of teachers for specialist subjects in secondary education.
It called for new measures to allow for simultaneous translation in the Assembly. Overall the panel of experts from the Strasbourg-based Council – Europe’s leading human rights agency – found many difficulties persist in the development of Irish. It said work has been hampered by a lack of information from the authorities and t he UK Government was also criticised for late and incomplete responses to requests for information about the standing of Irish in Northern Ireland. In repsonse to issues on road signs, the Department of Regional Development said: “Early in 2012 the Minister for Regional Development (Danny Kennedy) decided not to pursue the matter and no further work has been undertaken since.”
www.independent.ie
Feachtas cearta seolta
January 16, 2014
Discussions on school admissions legislation continues
January 15, 2014
The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Education and Social Protection continued its hearings today in relation to upcoming legislation on school admissions.
The Draft General Scheme of an Education (Admission to Schools) Bill 2013 was published by the Minister Ruairi Quinn in September 2013. The Bill sets out to regulate the admission of children to primary and post-primary schools, to ensure a fair and transparent enrolment process.
Minister Quinn referred the draft General Scheme and the draft regulations to the Oireachtas Joint Committee, with a view to seeking input from key stakeholders on the proposals. In October 2013, the Committee issued an invitation to interested individuals and groups to have their say on the Draft Bill.
Oireachtas Joint Committee Chairperson Joanna Tuffy TD said: “As well as seeking to curb the practice of cherry-picking students, the legislation also proposes to ban non-fee paying schools from seeking deposits or payments to secure places.”
Addressing the Oireachtas Joint Committee today were: Marie Céline Clegg, Loreto Education Centre (Dublin); John Suttle; Derval Duggan; Noel P Malone, Coláiste Chiaráin, Croom, Limerick; Gabriel McCabe; Eithne Reid O’Doherty, Agnes Russell.
Below is the oral submission to the Oireachtas Joint Committee by Noel P Malone, Principal, Coláiste Chiaráin, Co Limerick:
“As an experienced principal, I would urge this Committee to review these proposed regulations in the light of the experience of the Limerick Area Post-Primary Schools Common Application System.
“Limerick is an area of the country that has grappled with the whole issue of educational inequality for many years and remains the only area in the country where a common admissions and application system applies. It is therefore an ideal test-case for the application of these regulations.
“I welcome the fact that the Bill has included the right of the Minister to impose a similar system elsewhere. However, it is with some alarm and regret that I note the Minister’s assertion that; “it is not the intention, in such a scenario, that the schools concerned will be required to apply a common policy. Rather that each school will continue to apply its own policy, in that only the process will have to operate in co-operation with other schools.”
“On this point in particular, I believe the Minister should insist on a common admissions policy across all participant schools, with geographical location as first priority, after brothers or sisters of existing students. Unfortunately, in my experience in Limerick, it is widely perceived that the system as it operates is unfair and discriminatory, and the last thing such a system needs is light touch regulation.
“A key characteristic of schools in Limerick is the lack of social mix. This has negative consequences on those lower down the social hierarchy, and brings additional advantage to pupils in those schools which are almost entirely middle class in their social composition.
“The centralised procedure has brought about considerable anguish and uncertainty among parents and children. If children do not get their first or second preference school, they may be left with the very last of their preferences. Ironically, participant schools are given a certain level of protection from any imputation of perpetuating inequality, by using the scheme as a kind of cover.
“Schools cannot be allowed to continue to operate independently in terms of their admission criteria, and therefore decide their selection criteria with no independent scrutiny. Of course this really becomes relevant where demand exceeds supply.
“Generally speaking, there is an ageing population within the city boundary – most of the growth in population is in the suburbs and outlying areas. In some areas where you have large and highly sought after schools, the profile of the immediate area is one of an ageing and sometimes affluent population, so they must draw from a larger catchment area.
“Unfortunately, in many instances this is largely contrived. Vast swathes of population are often ignored in favour of other applicants living significantly further away. This can mean travelling substantial distances away from their home by private bus or car. A key point is that current admissions policies do not observe the spirit of inclusiveness, even though many claim to do so. That is what has to change. If it does, greater equality of opportunity will follow.
“Some schools apply preferential criteria, such as favouring children living in certain affluent areas, cherry-picked traditional feeder schools, brothers or sisters of past pupils, sons or daughters of past pupils and so on, and finally, of course, ‘all others.’ In effect, very few places are left in this last category, as the schools have pretty much wrapped up their preferred clientele, and end up sending refusal letters to so many disappointed twelve-year olds.
“This leads to an extraordinary situation, where some children have right of entry, although they live some distance from the school, and other children are refused, even if they reside adjacent to the school, or indeed attend the local feeder primary school. Surely proximity to a school should have a higher ranking than when a child has a father or mother who attended a generation earlier? This could be construed that this is a means by which a certain social class is protected and the best students are cherry-picked, to the detriment of those schools who genuinely strive for inclusivity.
“The fact that the Minister may now consider granting a derogation to permit a school’s admission policy to include a past pupil criteria of up to 25% will skew the process, and cannot be explained away by defending its inclusion on the basis of tradition. If it is accepted that tradition can be used by a school to discriminate against other applicants, the very basis of the proposed regulation is undermined.
“Who will oversee the selection of this 25%, and where is the transparency in terms of selection? Surely, this will give licence to some schools to continue to actively favour the socially advantaged, academically gifted, or those who have exceptional sporting prowess.
“Furthermore, this proposal appears to reward those schools who have adopted such discriminatory practices in the past, by limiting this derogation to those who allowed such a provision in the last five years, effectively penalising those schools which have embraced a much more progressive and open admissions policy.
“There is no real justification for giving preference to children of past pupils or to a lesser extent, siblings of former pupils. Again, this is always discriminatory and unfair. The proposed limit of 25 per cent should be withdrawn and no derogation should be applicable. A fair and reasonable geographical radius of any particular school in a city or rural location, should be agreed. It would put all students in the agreed catchment of that school on an equal footing, and where there is an over-subscription for that school, other priorities can be addressed.
“Allocations to each school should be based on a common agreed admissions policy, on a genuine lottery basis and centrally managed by the local Education Centre. This would make the system completely transparent and avoid any suspicion of manipulation.
“In conclusion Chairperson, I wish to put on record that I very much welcome the spirit and philosophy behind this draft Bill, but strongly feel that unless these fundamental issues are addressed, the current iniquitous system may be preserved under an illusion of fairness.
“These proposed changes are long overdue and I would urge this Committee to consider this submission in the spirit of true equality and justice for our boys and girls, regardless of background.
“They deserve nothing less.”
www.educationmatters.ie
