Overhauling school admission
Meán Fómhair 3, 2013
A commitment to introduce a fair and transparent admission system for primary and secondary schools represents a small advance.
The draft legislation from Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn is likely to be regarded in some quarters as an attack on the autonomy of fee-paying schools. But it will have wider implications in promoting greater diversity and transparency in the way in which all State-funded and fee-paying schools operate their intake policies.
The Bill will go to an Oireachtas committee for consideration and Mr Quinn has signalled his willingness to respond to “reasonable suggestions for improvement”.
In view of the critical surveys and consultation processes that underpin these proposals further changes are likely to be small. The measures will apply to all 4,000 primary and post-primary schools and are designed to remove discriminatory practices against the admission of children with disabilities, from poor backgrounds or from immigrant and ethnic groups. Legislation will also provide for a parent-friendly appeals system.
The Bill goes further than addressing the elitist practices of most fee-paying schools. It identifies various forms of discrimination, exclusion and preferment that have operated right across the education system.
Specifically, it states that schools may not refuse admittance because of special education needs, sexual orientation, family status, race, faith or religious tradition. In addition, schools will not be allowed to charge application fees; operate waiting lists or interview parents or their children for school places. Fee-paying schools, in particular, have been accused of operating “soft barriers” to exclude children with special educational needs; of maintaining long waiting lists and of operating enrolment policies that are not transparent.
While not wishing to “overly intrude” in the day-to-day operation of schools, Mr Quinn has made it clear institutions receiving State funds will have to introduce fair and transparent admission policies.
Schools will be required to publish enrolment criteria and, where waiting lists exist, they will be asked to phase them out within five years. It sounds like a tough approach and, considering the disjointed system that exists, it is. However, schools that consciously discriminate through intake practices are unlikely to come out with their hands up.
At primary school level, once enrolment priorities have been published, such as living near the school, having a sibling as a former pupil or ensuring the characteristic spirit of the school, old systems may continue. Religious ethos can be used to prioritise membership of a particular church as a condition for enrolment. That is likely to cause social friction because of a rising birth rate and Catholic Church control of 90 per cent of primary schools.
www.irishtimes.com
SPRAOI ag Tuistí agus Leanaí ar ais don fhómhar
Meán Fómhair 3, 2013
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Bíonn tae agus caife do na tuismitheoirí agus comhrá dátheangach ar siúl acu fhad is a bhíonn na páistí ag spraoi. Cuirtear fíorchaoin fáilte roimh éinne go bhfuil suim acu Gaeilge a labhairt lena bpáistí agus iad i suíomh spraíúil, neamhfhoirmiúil. Ní gá a bheith líofa sa Ghaeilge ach díreach suim agus sásta triail a bhaint aisti!
Eagraithe i gcomhar le Comhluadar Teo tá an grúpa SPRAOI oiriúnach d’éinne le páistí suas go 5 bliana d’aois. Tiocfaidh an grúpa le chéile ar an 7ú agus 21ú Meán Fómhair agus ar an 5ú agus 19ú Deireadh Fómhair. Tá gach eolas ar fáil ó Emma i nGlór Cheatharlach ar (085) 1340047. Bígí linn agus beidh fáilte roimh cách!
www.carlow-nationalist.ie
Devil in the detail of Quinn’s new admissions
Meán Fómhair 3, 2013
Bill Legislation could cause headaches for boards of management
Booking deposits are unpopular but serve a function: to discourage multiple applications to different schools
There was a measured response to yesterday’s draft proposals for a Bill to bring transparency to schools’ admissions policies. While no one could publicly argue with the Bill’s intent to make our schools more egalitarian, there is plenty in the draft that could cause headaches for boards of management when the legislation is finally enacted.
Much like the Education Act it seeks to alter, this is a Bill that will translate into more paperwork for schools and some knotty problems for smaller schools and those in the fee-paying sector.
It’s a lengthy document that will have i mplications not just for those 300-odd students and their parents who challenge the system through the section 29 appeal process each year, but for every oversubscribed school in the country that has managed their problems using waiting lists.
Waiting lists
The Minister has suggested that students on waiting lists may be allowed to work their way through the system before the lists are closed down, up to a period of five years. How these schools will manage demand when the first-come-first serve system is dismantled is not clear.
The suggestion that boards of management handle their own problems when it comes to parental challenges on admission could cause some discomfort in small communities where parents and boards of management members live in close quarters.
The practice of schools taking booking deposits from would-be applicants used to be the preserve of secondary schools but more recently primary schools have got in on the game. They are unpopular but serve a function: to discourage multiple applications to different schools. Once this deterrent is removed, how will schools manage numbers in the closing weeks of the summer as they wait to find out who will actually turn up at the school gate?
Management headaches notwithstanding, would this Bill, if enacted as it stands, actually make our schools more democratic places?
Special needs
For students with special education needs, the prospects are good. Any school with available places will, under this proposal, have to take all-comers. That should eradicate the practice of sending children down the road to the school “with more appropriate resources”.
Patron bodies and management groups say this practice is exaggerated, but parenting and disability groups claim otherwise.
Schools that are oversubscribed will not be allowed to discriminate on the grounds of “the student having a disability or special educational need”, so where parents feel they have been turned away on those grounds, the rules will be clear.
For groups other than those with special needs, however, there is less to applaud. While everything from sexual orientation to religious belief is listed among the grounds upon which schools cannot discriminate, there remains in place an exemption for religious-run organisations from basic equality criteria, if they can demonstrate a threat to their ethos. As long as that remains in place in our Equal Status Act (2000), it undermines the spirit of yesterday’s draft scheme
www.irishtimes.com
Review of Leaving Cert results
Meán Fómhair 2, 2013
Sir, –
This weekend many Leaving Certificate students will be requesting a review of their marks, with the hope of achieving higher grades so that they can attain entry to their preferred course in higher education institutions
There were 16,700 students who completed higher level Irish and 15 per cent achieved an A (Home News, August 14th). The oral component of the exam represents 40 per cent of the total marks, yet these marks cannot be evaluated as teachers do not have access to the interview tapes. This may result in an unfair process for students.
Would it be possible for teachers to have access to these oral recordings?
– Yours, etc,
SEÁN Ó CATHASAIGH,
Secondary School Teacher, Moyglare Village, Maynooth, Co Kildare.
www.irishtimes.com
Foilsithe ar Gaelport.com 2 Meán Fómhair 2013
The Irish Times – Litir Chuig an Eagarthóir
Minister overhauls school enrolment policies
Meán Fómhair 2, 2013
Application fees, waiting lists and interviews banned by new legislation Parent-friendly appeals system to be put in place should disputes arise
Schools will no longer be allowed to charge application fees, operate waiting lists or interview parents or children for school places under new legislation to control admissions policies.
Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn, who is publishing the draft legislation and regulations this morning, said their goal was to ensure “a fair and balanced school admissions process”.
The policies, applying to all 4,000 Irish primary and post-primary schools, would end waiting lists and prohibit the acceptance of applications for admission any sooner than October 1st in the year preceding the planned year of the student’s enrolment.
It would also provide for a new parent-friendly appeals system should disputes arise, a much simpler process that would avoid cases sometimes reaching the courts for a decision.
The existing methods used to enrol students have often caused controversy, either because a child was blocked from attending a nearby school or refused enrolment without a satisfactory explanation for the parents.
Fee-paying schools in particular have come under fire for running long waiting lists and adopting enrolment policies that are not transparent.
Many fee paying and State schools also apply charges when a student applies for enrolment ranging from €50 to as much as €200. Many parents concerned to ensure their child gets a place may apply to several schools and apply soon after birth. These charges would be banned under the new legislation.
Complaints
There were also complaints that schools were able to apply “soft barriers” to exclude children with special educational needs. This would no longer apply under the planned legislation as schools would be required to publish the criteria they use for enrolment.
For example, a school might prioritise an applicant who is a sibling of an existing or former student. Schools run by the Church of Ireland would be able to prioritise membership of that church as a condition for enrolment.
Prioritise enrolment
Living near a school could also be used to prioritise enrolment but whatever criteria are used these must be published by the school.
Schools that can show they have existing waiting lists will be given a derogation so that these lists can be cleared over a number of years. However, no new waiting lists can be applied should the legislation come into force.
A first-come-first-served policy for enrolment would also be eliminated under the regulations. This can exclude children who move from one part of the country to another or those who arrive in Ireland from abroad. Instead, students would be accepted for enrolment on the basis of the priorities adopted by the school. Once these had been addressed any remaining places could be selected by a lottery, according to the department.
The regulations were meant to ensure that enrolment i n all schools i n receipt of State funding was transparent, the Minister said.
While he didn’t want to “overly intrude” in the day-to-day operation of schools, the framework “strikes a balance between school autonomy and fairness in our education system and would require schools to provide a better service for parents”, Mr Quinn said.
The draft General Scheme for an Education (Admission to Schools) Bill, 2013 was approved by the Cabinet and will be issued to the Oireachtas Joint committee on Education and Social Protection today to allow a full public discussion, Mr Quinn said.
www.irishtimes.com
Foilsithe ar Gaelport.com 2 Meán Fómhair 2013
The Irish Times – Dick Ahlstrom
An lucht léinn
Meán Fómhair 2, 2013
Creidtear go minic go mbíonn léachtóirí ollscoile ina suí go te i dtúr eabhair, ag déanamh taighde ar rudaí nach bhfuil suim ag a lán daoine iontu.
Ach caithfidh tú dul siar sa stair agus sa litríocht más mian leat litríocht an lae inniu agus saol an lae inniu a thuiscint fiú. An féidir le duine ar bith a rá gur saineolaí ar litríocht Bhéarla é, mar shampla, mura bhfuil Shakespeare léite aige? An bhfuil duine ar bith ábalta Éire i 2013 a thuiscint mura bhfuil eolas aige ar stair na tíre san 20ú haois?
Cé go ndéantar ‘taighde mionlacha’ in Ollscoil Uladh, tá ‘obair phraiticiúil’ ar siúl san Ollscoil fosta. Bhí beirt den fhoireann i gColáiste Mhig Aoidh ina n-eagarthóirí ar an iris An tUltach ar feadh roinnt blianta. Tá baint ag foireann na hOllscoile leis na foclóirí Gaeilge Collins – sraith atá thar a bheith úsáideach don fhoghlaimeoir.
Ó thaobh na gramadaí de, tá dhá leabhar ar bhriathair na Gaeilge agus teacsleabhair do dhaoine fásta foilsithe ag Art Hughes, agus tá Collins Easy Learning Irish Grammar scríofa ag Niall Comer. Bhí cuid de na léachtóirí ina múinteoirí scoile sular thosaigh siad ag teagasc san Ollscoil. Mar sin de tá a fhios acu riachtanais an fhoghlaimeora.
Tá an tOllamh Ailbhe Ó Curráin agus an Dochtúir Peadar Mac Gabhann ar bhunaitheorí Éigse Cholm Cille, a eagraíonn Scoil dheireadh seachtaine gach bliain. Is é an aidhm atá ag an Éigse ná oidhreacht litríochta an Iarthuaiscirt a chur chun cinn agus scríbhneoireacht nua sa Ghaeilge a spreagadh. Tá an ceangal seo idir an Ollscoil agus an ceantar ina bhfuil sí suite mórluachach.
Tá leabhair, ailt in irisí léinn, agus ábhar físe curtha amach ag an fhoireann Ghaeilge – agus téann gnáthobair na hOllscoile ar aghaidh ag an am céanna, ar ndóigh– cúrsaí céime agus traenáil taighdeoirí. Is léir go bhfuil ról lárnach ag Ollscoil Uladh i mbuanú na teanga.
www.derryjournal.com
Foilsithe ar Gaelport.com 2 Meán Fómhair 2013
Derry Journal – Liam Mac Lochlainn
New entry rules will prevent schools from ‘cherry-picking’ pupils
Meán Fómhair 2, 2013
THE biggest shake-up ever of school entrance rules will ban booking deposits, while putting a strict cap on the number of past-pupils’ children who can be enrolled.
Key legislation published today will radically change the practices schools may employ when it comes to selecting pupils. Schools will no longer be allowed to charge parents booking deposits of up to € 200 under the rules unveiled by Education Minister Ruairi Quinn.
New laws are on the way setting out exactly which practices both primary and post-primary schools may employ when it comes to enrolling pupils. They are designed to give greater clarity to parents, and ensure that enrolment policies and procedures apply fairly to all children.
About one in five schools has selective admissions policies, using criteria such as academic ability or family connections to prioritise who they enrol. A key focus of the reform is to stop such “cherry- picking”, which can result in the exclusion of certain children, such as those with special educational needs.
Another priority is to ensure that children who are newcomers to a community are not at any disadvantage when it comes to getting into a local school.
The ‘firstcome, firstserved’ approach has had the unintended consequence of uneven concentrations of children from migrant families in schools in some communities.
The changes are also aimed at eliminating the costly and cumbersome Section 29 appeals process, the mechanism currently available to parents who want to challenge a school’s refusal to enrol.
But the new ‘ open door’ admissions framework will force some schools to hold a lottery to decide who to enrol, in situations when demand exceeds the number of available places. Key reforms in legislation being published today include:
- A ban on the widespread use by secondary schools of asking parents for money – usually between €50-€200 – in order to hold a place.
- A limit of 25pc on the number of past pupils’ children that a school may enrol in any school year.
- Ending lengthy waiting lists by setting October 1 of the previous year as the start date for accepting applications.
- A ban on interviews of parents or children ahead of enrolments.
- A simplified school- level arrangement for enrolment appeals.
Schools will continue to be allowed to give preference to brothers or sisters of existing or former pupils to avoid disrupting families. And there will be no change to the current arrangements that allow schools to prioritise pupils on the grounds of religion.
The new laws will have little or no impact on the 80pc of schools that currently accommodate all comers, but will force changes for the 20pc that use selection criteria.
The proposals, which have been the subject of discussion and consultation for two years, will now go through the usual legislative process before enactment. This will include consideration by the Oireachtas education committee.
Announcing the proposed legislation, Mr Quinn said he believed “there is a better way of dealing with school admissions”.
He added: “These measures are about what might be described as ‘good housekeeping’ and will bring about greater transparency, fairness and consistency in the way schools operate their admission processes.”
He said while he didn’t want to overly intrude in day-to-day school management, he said the proposed new regulatory framework struck a balance between school autonomy and fairness in the education system.
www.independent.ie
Foilsithe ar Gaelport.com 2 Meán Fómhair 2013
Irish Independent – Katherine Donnelly
Legislation to create more fair and transparent school enrolment process
Meán Fómhair 2, 2013
New rules will stop State schools from using ‘low-level discrimination’
The Minister for Education will gain significant new powers to ensure fairness and balance in the enrolment policies of our schools, due to draft legislation published by the Government this morning.
No school in receipt of State funding will be allowed to opt out of the new process: if lack of co-operation persists, an independent person can be appointed, on the approval of a court, to operate its enrolment process.
Students will not be left behind if nearby schools are full or if the child has special educational needs. The National Council for Special Education may designate a place in a particular school to ensure their participation. If a child can’t get a place at a nearby school, the National Educational Welfare Board will also have powers to insist a school provides a place.
‘Soft barriers’
Schools sometimes used “soft barriers” to exclude some children, particularly those with a learning disability, the department said.
“It is below the radar, low-level discrimination,” one source added. The new legislation should now make the process as transparent as possible.
One of the biggest changes is that waiting lists will end. While some schools may be allowed to clear existing waiting lists, in the main these “first come first served” lists will go and different criteria will be applied in enrolment. These will be chosen by the school itself but must be published, making discrimination difficult.
Gone also is the invidious practice of charging for inclusion on the list in the first place. Parents with concerns about getting a place in a neighbouring school might sign up for several schools, paying the charges to each and making a final decision when the child reached school-going age.
Some schools adopted other ways of checking out the ‘suitability’ of prospective students and parents. One was to hold “open days”, making attendance compulsory as a condition of signing up. Compulsory interviews for the child and parents were also used. All of these would be banned under the new legislation.
An ESRI study some years ago showed that 80 per cent of schools in receipt of State funding took in every child presented for admission, the departmental source notes. But that meant 20 per cent claimed they were full up and had to send students away.
These were not all fee-paying schools by any means. Smaller towns might have, say, two secondary schools, with one considered the “good school” and more desirable than the other. This could put admissions pressure on the “good school”, with places unfilled in the other.
Perhaps one of the biggest changes is to the appeals procedures if parents decide to challenge a school’s rejection of a child. Cases taken in this regard often triggered multiple appeals, creating a “significant administrative burden” for schools. The new legislation removes the burden of appealing school decisions from parents.
www.irishtimes.com
Foilsithe ar Gaelport.com 2 Meán Fómhair 2013
The Irish Times, Analysis – Dick Ahlstrom
Schools plan adds 7,500 places
Lúnasa 30, 2013
Unions say 15 new schools, 3 extensions are barely adequate to meet demand
INTO says 10,000 pupils starting school will add to overcrowding at primary level
Fifteen new schools will open across the State this autumn and three more have undergone extensions, together providing almost 7,500 permanent school places. But this is barely enough to keep up with growing demand, according to a teachers’ union.
The 18 new and extended schools were built under the “rapid delivery programme”, a fast-track scheme launched in 2007 to deliver schools quickly in areas experiencing rapid growth, where there is no existing school or the existing provision is unable to meet demand.
Together, the 14 primary and four postprimary schools will provide 7,488 permanent places, the Department of Education said. The pupils would benefit from “modern, energy-efficient buildings and improved learning environments”, a spokeswoman said.
Overcrowding
The Irish National Teachers’ Organisation argues, however, that the extra 10,000 new pupils starting school this year would cause more overcrowding in primary schools.
A record 70,000 new pupils will enter the system in 2013, said INTO general secretary Sheila Nunan. Irish primary classes were already the second-most crowded in the EU, with an average of 24.5 pupils, she said. The EU average is 20, and Luxembourg is the country with the lowest at 15.
The Irish figure was an average, and at the most crowded end of the scale Ireland had more than 100,000 children in classes of 30 pupils, she said.
The largest class sizes were found in counties Dublin, Kildare, Meath and Wicklow. Other schools with large class sizes were found in urban centres in Limerick, Cork and Waterford.
Growing population
While the new school places were very welcome, they are barely able to keep up with the rise in pupil numbers, said Peter Mullan of the INTO. “That is just keeping pace with the demand for more spaces in a growing population,” he said.
All but six of the new schools are ready for use, but of these six, four are only days away from completion, the department said. Another, in Navan, is due for completion later this month and another, in Carlow, by late October. Nine of the new schools are in constituencies where a Government Minister holds a seat.
The department uses a geographical information system to assess the likely changes to the schoolgoing population in those areas, the spokeswoman said.
New Schools
Primary Schools
Carlow Educate Together NS Co Carlow
Gaelscoil Mhichíl Uí Choileáin, Clonakilty Co Cork
Carrigaline Educate Together NS Co Cork
Scoil Phádraig Naofa, Rochestown Co Cork
Portlaoise Educate Together NS Co Laois
Gaelscoil Phortlaoise Co Laois
Maryborough NS, Portlaoise Co Laois
St Francis NS, Blackrock Co Louth
St Stephen’s NS, c/o St Martha’s College, Johnstown Co Meath
Gaelscoil Inis Córthaidh, Enniscorthy Co Wexford
Greystones Educate Together NS Co Wicklow
Postprimary Schools
Luttrellstown Community College, Blanchardstown Dublin 15
Lusk Community College, Lusk Co Dublin
Coláiste Bhaile Chláir, Claregalway Co Galway
Coláiste na Mí, Navan Co Meath
Extensions
Gaelscoil Moshíólóg, Bóthar Charn an Bhua, Guaire Co Wexford
Scoil Choilm, Porterstown Rd, Clonsilla Dublin 15
Skerries Educate Together NS, Barnageeragh Cove, Skerries Co Dublin
www.irishtimes.com
After 19 years on road Gaelscoil gets €3.15m home
Lúnasa 29, 2013
A Gaelscoil that started out in a dancehall 19 years ago moved to a permanent home in a ¤3.147 million purpose-built school in Clonakilty, Co Cork, yesterday.
There were high-fives from local priest Fr Eddie Collins as the children of Gaelscoil Mhichíl Uí Choileáin climbed the steps to the new building.
Principal Carmel Nic Airt, who started out with 17 students on September 1st, 1994, has overseen classes in a former Church of Ireland teacher’s residence, a mobile home, a holiday home and a bank.
“This is the culmination of 19 years’ effort. It’s what I’ve worked for, and what I’ve wanted, and to think it’s happened is so gratifying.”
Ms Nic Airt, who collected the keys to the new school on Fernhill Road just 24 hours previously, praised the co-operation and leadership of the Department of Education.
“They are a much maligned body who really have stood behind us right from the very beginning,” she said.
‘Tabtop’ facilities
The Gaelscoil is home to a gateway technology project which has equipped 40 students in fifth and sixth class with interactive “tabtops” linked to a TV screen that replaces the traditional whiteboard.
Part-sponsored by Intel and German electronics company Grundig, the tabtops are a cross between laptops and tablets and will phase out the need for heavy schoolbags.
“The teachers need never raise their voice again; just send a message to a particular child that might not be co-operating, with no need to disturb the class,” Ms Nic Airt said.
Some 200 students took part in a march from the school’s former rented premises at Clarke Street through the town centre to arrive at their new school for a formal flag-raising ceremony yesterday.
The 265 pupils and 25 staff will have the use of 12 classrooms, three autistic spectrum disorder rooms including an early intervention unit, four support rooms and a general hall as well as playground areas.
Wish list
“If somebody told you ‘sit down and write a wish list for a school with everything you could want’, this is that and more, because there are things here that I would never have dreamed of,” Ms Nic Airt said.
www.irishtimes.com
