Ruairí Quinn, T.D., Minister for Education and Skills Addresses the INTO Annual Conference
Aibreán 22, 2014
Thank you once again for your invitation to address your Annual Congress.
This is the fourth Congress at which I’ve had the opportunity to address you as Minister for Education and Skills.
And I do view these events as an opportunity.
For dialogue and discussion.
And for all of us to learn from each other.
As you are aware, there is a very considerable reform agenda underway in education.
These are not changes for the sake of reform.
They are part of a continuous process of learning from educational research and best practice, both here in Ireland and abroad.
As our society evolves, our primary education system must reflect that change.
It has done so from the publication of the Stanley letter in 1831, through to the present day.
And our responsibility is to continue that proud tradition.
The current reforms can be summarised under three themes:
• Supporting inclusion and diversity;
• Improving quality and accountability; and
• Creating opportunities – essentially this is about reshaping further and higher education, to better provide people with pathways to work.
My remarks today will focus on the idea of supporting inclusion and diversity in our schools.
However, I would like to begin by outlining our approach to improving quality and accountability.
Improving Quality and Accountability
Quality and accountability underpin most efforts at school reforms around the world.
Ultimately, it’s a simple idea that we should continually improve the education we provide to children and young people.
And that educators and education systems should be accountable to the public for delivering those improvements.
Countries differ in the manner in which they are seeking to enhance quality and accountability.
In some, the introduction of performance related pay, an increased use of standardised tests, and the publication of league tables have been the central elements of reforms.
This is not my vision of accountability.
Why?
Because it suggests that teachers must be constantly monitored and incentivised by central Government.
I much prefer an idea of accountability similar to that which US education academic and author Diane Ravitch has advanced.
She argues that “the goal of accountability should be to support and improve schools, not the heedless destruction of careers, reputations, communities and institutions”.
We must aim for models of accountability that validate the excellent work taking place in all schools, and which encourage all public servants to strive to achieve more.
In Ireland, our focus is on curricular reform, improving teacher quality, promoting school self-evaluation, and having a modern inspection system, strongly focussed on improvements for learners.
The primary curriculum in Ireland, introduced in 1999, was a huge improvement on what had gone before.
But this year, that curriculum will be 15 years old.
It is timely that the NCCA has begun developing proposals to revise the primary school curriculum.
Unlike in 1999, the new curriculum won’t be rolled out in a big-bang approach, but will be phased, allowing teachers to adapt to the changes over a number of years.
A draft integrated languages curriculum for junior infants through to second class has now been published.
Revising the Maths curriculum will also begin later this year.
Significantly, a consultation process will begin in the autumn on the structure, aims and learning outcomes of the overall primary curriculum framework.
Quality Teaching
A major focus in improving quality in our schools, must be to ensure that we have the best quality teachers in every classroom.
Teaching is a widely respected and sought after profession in Ireland.
We need to continue to ensure that most entrants to Initial Teacher Education come from the top 15% of all Leaving Cert students.
As you know, we have expanded the B.Ed. from 3 years to 4 years.
There is now an increased focus on pedagogy, rather than academic subjects.
I also want to see Higher Level Mathematics in the Leaving Cert become part of the minimum entry requirements for Initial Teacher Education, and will be in discussion with the relevant bodies on this issue shortly.
Meanwhile, the historic amalgamation of 19 colleges of education into 6 centres is now happening –
This had been recommended by an international expert panel on teacher education.
Ensuring that our teachers are prepared to the very highest standard is essential.
Building on the great tradition which the famous ‘call to training’ symbolised in decades past.
We must also ensure that school leaders are equally well trained.
We are continuing to look closely in the Department, at how school leadership in Ireland can be strengthened – I will engage with you further in this area during 2014.
Once we have trained our teachers and school leaders to the highest possible standard, we must then work to ensure that they retain those standards throughout their careers.
Earlier this year, Section 30 of the Teaching Council Act finally came into force.
For the first time in our history, all teachers are now required to be registered with the Teaching Council in order to receive any payment from the State.
It has been too long a wait for this date.
The Teaching Council legislation was enacted in 2001, and the Council was established in 2006!
But the implementation of Section 30 is only the first step.
I will be amending the Teaching Council Act this year.
This will give the Teaching Council a broader range of actions to tackle below-standard teaching.
The changes to the Act will also include amendments, to support the vetting of teachers under the new vetting legislation.
Making all teachers accountable to their own regulatory body is a key component of improved accountability within our education system.
Doing so will ensure that your profession is fully recognised within society, in the same way as other regulated professions, such as doctors, architects, lawyers and engineers.
School Self-Evaluation and Inspection
Let me turn now to school self-evaluations and inspection.
Improving quality is linked to increasing the accountability of schools to their communities.
At primary level, detailed end-of-year reports for parents include the results of their children’s standardised tests in literacy and numeracy.
We will extend this standardised testing and reporting into second-level school.
We have also increased the frequency of school inspections, and ensured that, for the first time, parents’ and students’ views are fully incorporated into inspections.
The Chief Inspector has published national analyses of inspection findings, providing more detail than has ever been previously available.
Since 2012, schools have been working to implement a model of school self-evaluation, or SSE.
This allows schools to reflect on their own performance, and requires that they produce an SSE Report and School Improvement Plan, by the end of the current school year.
By June of this year, each school will provide a short summary of its self-evaluation report and improvement plan to its parents.
This is how we will empower parents, and make schools accountable to their communities.
The major theme, which I wish to focus on today, is the idea of supporting inclusion and diversity.
The American poet Maya Angelou once said:
“Growing up, I decided… I wouldn’t accept any manmade differences between human beings, differences made at somebody else’s insistence or someone else’s whim or convenience.”
That quote represents the idea which our reforms are intended to underpin.
An idea that the children of our nation.
Children whom we treasure and esteem.
And who in turn delight and sustain us.
Must never be divided from each other,
By differences that society has itself created.
In Ireland, DEIS is our principal mechanism for systematically promoting greater equity within our school system.
Thanks to good planning, additional supports, and quality research, we are beginning to see compelling evidence that DEIS works in primary schools.
Absenteeism is down is these schools, while the performance of children in DEIS schools is showing significant and sustained improvement.
Next month, I will host a conference in Marino Institute of Education about DEIS.
We will bring together teachers and other school leaders from disadvantaged schools;
Alongside parents, academics and other experts in educational disadvantage.
To explore what we have learned from almost 10 years of DEIS.
And more importantly, to begin to figure out where we need to go next.
Diversity in Ireland
Our children are as diverse as our society.
The Growing up in Ireland study has suggested that 25% of Irish children have special educational needs.
In other words, one quarter of all children in our schools have some restriction on their capacity to participate in and benefit from education.
Diversity is shown in other statistics.
According to the last Census, 10% of children in this country who are 14 or younger, were born outside Ireland.
The Census data also show us that just over 12,000 Irish Travellers aged 14 or under were recorded as resident in Ireland.
Another statistic from the same census is equally illuminating – the fastest growing group of adults in our society are people who profess to having no religion.
The 1981 census recorded 39,000 people as having no religion.
By 2011, that number had risen to almost 260,000 people – the second largest group in the country.
Poverty, immigration, differences in capacity.
Domestic dysfunction, embedded educational disadvantage, cultural changes in our nation.
All of these are challenges to how we as a nation imagine our schools can and should operate.
More than most, as teachers, you are witnesses to the dramatic changes in Irish society over recent years.
You see these changes every day in your classrooms.
Our schools strive to be caring, supportive environments, working to achieve the very best outcomes for each of our children.
Regardless of background or gender; of ability or religion.
But there are other areas where we need to work together to support inclusion and diversity.
Religious Education
One of the most contentious is that of education about religion.
I’ve spoken on this topic on a few occasions.
And I wish to do so again today, as I believe that my views on this topic have often been misrepresented
Hilary Clinton once spoke of the polarisation of American society, and noted that:
“What we have to do… is to find a way to celebrate our diversity and debate our differences without fracturing our communities.”
I have always strongly believed, that knowledge of world religions is essential to understanding how our world works.
And I have been equally clear that I have no desire to see an end to denominational education in Ireland.
I have no wish to engage in culture wars, or to bring division to Irish society.
I have long admired the Catholic theologian, Hans Küng.
Whose work I first encountered as a very young man.
He once wrote, and I quote:
“No peace among the nations, without peace among the religions.
No peace among the religions, without dialogue between the religions.
No dialogue between the religions, without investigation of the foundation of the religions.”
It is in that spirit of investigation that I believe we must continue to explore this area.
We cannot pretend that our society has not changed.
It has, and it will continue to do so.
That is why we must continually reform our education system – so that it reflects and supports all of our people.
Your union was the very first organisation to call for the establishment of a forum on patronage and pluralism in our primary schools.
I was pleased to announce the establishment of such a forum on my first full day in office.
As you know, the report of the forum was launched in 2012.
By Easter 2013 surveys of parents had been carried out across 43 towns and areas of Ireland, as recommended in the report.
In 28 areas, parents have expressed a desire to see greater choice in the models of patronage available.
4 new Educate Together schools will open this September as a result of this process: in Trim, Tramore, Ballina and Malahide.
This is a significant first step.
The Forum report also raised important issues about respecting a child’s rights not to receive religious instruction.
In working on proposals for a white paper, I am conscious of our constitutional and international obligations.
Ireland is a party to a wide range of European and International conventions and covenants,
Which require us to respect the rights of children and parents in relation to education and freedom of religion.
The approach we have adopted is designed to ensure we meet all of our international obligations, as well as those detailed in our own constitution.
As part of a reasoned debate in this area, we must begin to differentiate between faith formation, and education about religion and beliefs.
Education about religion and beliefs, as I have said repeatedly, is an essential component of any well-rounded education.
We cannot understand the frontiers of nations, the borders of countries, without a knowledge of religion.
We cannot understand history without understanding the role of differing belief systems.
The origins of European architecture, and the majesty of Renaissance painting and sculpture would remain mysteries without a knowledge of religion.
Religion has shaped all of these areas, and much more – music, science and literature were all shaped by religion through the ages.
Throughout human history, differing religions and belief systems have been present.
They remain so today.
Informing us, guiding us, and opening opportunities for us.
All of our children have a right to develop this understanding of the world.
Faith formation is equally important for many families; indeed for most families –
They want their children to be nourished by faith and belief.
The rights of these families are clearly outlined in our constitution.
So too are the rights of families who wish to allow their children to opt-out of this aspect of religious education.
We are regularly told that our denominational schools are inclusive and there is anecdotal evidence that this is true in many cases – thanks to the good work of teachers, who are determined to welcome all children.
However, we need clearly demonstrated examples of genuinely inclusive schools, so that other schools can learn what works for them.
It is regrettable that, two years after the publication of the Forum report, we have yet to see such exemplars furnished by the Catholic Church – the main Patron of primary schools in this country.
That is disappointing, but I remain convinced of the importance of having such exemplars, to help guide the approach in all of our schools.
Archbishop Diarmuid Martin was quoted over the weekend, suggesting that “a more robust collaboration between the Department and the Church would make these things move a little quickly”.
I look forward to working with Archbishop Martin and others to develop that robust collaboration.
I don’t believe that we should be overly prescriptive in working towards a white paper on inclusive schools.
But I do believe there are suggestions which could be usefully aired.
For example we could have more flexible timetabling for religious education.
One possibility, raised in the Forum report, was for religion classes to be held at different times for different class groups.
This would allow students opting out of religion classes to participate in another class.
Such an arrangement could work better in larger schools.
Another option in some cases would be to have faith formation at the start or end of a school day.
Issues would still remain around school transport, supervision of children who are not participating, and so on.
There may be other options which occur to you.
I believe we can work together, to explore how our schools can accommodate the changing contours of belief and religious practice in Ireland.
Teasing out directions for a white paper is not the only relevant development in this area.
This October, the NCCA will publish for consultation proposals for the revision of the primary curriculum.
This will again allow for an examination of timetabling religion at the start or end of the school day, or scheduling religion at different times for different classes in larger schools.
I have focussed on the issue of religious education to a significant degree today.
Not to divide opinion, but to outline the challenges to ensure that we support inclusion and diversity in our schools.
And to suggest some ways in which we can better respect the variety of children you meet and educate each day.
In addressing that theme – that idea of removing the manmade differences we have created – there are two other policy areas I want to mention.
Special Education
Over the last twenty years, Ireland has taken an enormous step forward in our support for children with special educational needs.
It is now 10 years since my predecessor Noel Dempsey oversaw the introduction of the EPSEN Act, the establishment of the NCSE, and a massive increase in Resource Teachers and SNAs.
Even during the challenges we have faced over the last five years, investment in supporting children with special educational needs has risen from just over €800m a year, to over €1.3bn each year.
Almost 11,000 SNAs and over 10,000 resource and learning support teachers now work in our schools.
Working alongside the other 40,000 mainstream teachers.
The €1.3 billion we spend in this area is as much as we spend on the Gardaí, or on Higher Education.
And it’s a statement of the priorities of our nation, and one we can be proud of.
But is this investment genuinely leading to inclusion of that quarter of our children who must overcome restrictions in their capacity to participate in and benefit from education?
We know that there are problems with how we currently allocate those resources.
We know that the system for allocating additional supports is somewhat unfair.
In comparison with their needs, schools in some wealthier communities are receiving more support than disadvantaged schools.
Some parents who cannot afford to pay for assessments, see their children having difficulty accessing necessary resources.
Everyone knows that this system must change.
And we all know that we must work carefully to implement a more equitable system.
The NCSE is suggesting a new model for the allocation of additional teachers to support children with special educational needs.
I warmly welcome the work the Council is doing, and particularly the way in which it has involved parents and education partners at all stages of developing its proposals.
But I need to know what the impact on individual schools would be, before I can form a judgement on how workable any new model may be.
The Department will be looking carefully at this over the coming months.
I want to make a commitment here today.
All voices in education – parents, teachers, unions and managers – all of you will be deeply involved in the discussion on this area over the coming months.
Together, I believe we will succeed in making sure that the allocation of all resources works to support the inclusion of all children in our schools.
There is one further point I would like to make on this topic.
Since 2010, the number of special classes in mainstream schools has increased from less than 500, to over 730.
An additional 100 or more special classes will be open next September – I want to thank every teacher and principal in these schools today.
However, the NCSE have also advised that they are encountering quite “hard” barriers in trying to open special classes in certain areas.
Regardless of the supports available to mainstream schools, some students need the support of special class places.
I would ask that all of your members remain conscious of the role individual schools can play, in ensuring that all children are welcomed into the education system.
Parents’ and Learners’ Charter
No discussion of inclusion and diversity in education would be complete without addressing the role of parents in our school communities.
Our constitution recognises the role of the family as “the primary and natural educator of the child”.
The Education Act of 1998 sought to put the involvement of parents at the heart of our education system.
And this has been realised in many schools.
Parents’ Associations have flourished across the country.
And the two National Parents’ Councils now play a meaningful role in the development of education policies.
But in truth, we have not done enough to underpin the involvement of parents in all aspects of education.
Section 28 of the Act allows for procedures to be implemented to support the expression of grievances by parents.
Unfortunately, it has not been possible to give meaningful effect to that section of the Act.
But more troubling is that Section 28 does not set out principles on how schools should engage positively with parents, so that grievances are minimised.
Providing such principles in legislation would be a recognition, that parents must have positive rights in relation to the operation of school.
Here and in other countries, we have seen the development of charters in public and private sector organisations in recent years.
These charters set out what those in receipt of services can expect, and how those delivering the services account to the public for what they are providing.
This year, I will publish revised legislation to create a Parents’ and Learners’ Charter for the first time – putting the involvement of parents and learners at the heart of how our schools operate.
The Charter will be underpinned by a revised section 28 of the Education Act.
It will be designed to foster a culture of better engagement and communication by schools with parents and students.
Ultimately, this should reduce the need for invoking the complaints and grievances procedures.
But more importantly, it will help us see a change in culture.
We are moving away from a situation where the state or other bodies dictate to parents.
Towards a culture of genuine school communities.
Teachers, parents and students – all as equal partners in the operation of our schools.
Equal partners working to set aside the differences which separate our children from each other.
Conclusion
I have taken some time to outline my idea of supporting inclusion and diversity in our schools today.
I have also outlined some of our approach to improving quality and accountability.
Before I conclude, I also want to underline our commitment to enhancing the infrastructure which underpins these developments.
We will spend almost €550 million on infrastructure this year, continuing the five-year building programme.
Round 1 of the Summer Works Scheme has seen funding made available to 386 schools to keep them safe and warm.
And round 2 of that scheme will be announced next week.
There are many other issues which I would have liked to address today.
For instance, we will need to discuss the future for small schools.
The development of new models of middle management in schools deserves further consideration.
You have concerns about multiple pay scales, and I believe progress can be made on that in the near future.
I look forward to engaging with your leadership on these, and many other issues over the coming weeks and months.
Thank you once again for your invitation to be here with you today.
