Town opens ‘unofficial’ gaelscoil
August 30, 2010
A SCHOOL and its 11 junior infant pupils entering the education system mark a double first today — but the Department of Education doesn’t want to know.
The all-Irish Gaelscoil Ráth Tó, in Ratoath, Co Meath, opens its doors for the first time but the school, with one teacher, Tricia Ni Mhaolagain, has been set up despite a refusal by the department to recognise it or provide state funding.
The lack of official recognition meant the school had to find up to €100,000 to cover its costs for the first year, with funding coming through donations, fundraising and from Irish language organisations both in Ireland and abroad.
Today marks the culmination of two years’ work by parents and Irish language enthusiasts to set up a gaelscoil in the expanding town.
Last year, hopes were high that the gaelscoil would be recognised after the department announced that, based on population trends, a new school would be needed in Ratoath.
However, earlier this year, the department changed its mind and said that existing schools could cater for the projected increase in pupil numbers.
A department spokesperson said they had “no comment” to make on the school’s decision to open today.
The Ratoath gaelscoil promoters say the department’s position not to recognise their school ignores the desire of parents to have their children educated through Irish.
At one stage, over 30 local children were signed up for the Gaelscoil Ráth Tó, but after the department’s decision, some parents looked elsewhere, reducing the number of enrolments to 11.
– Katherine Donnelly
Irish Independent
Irish-medium schools funding row
July 28, 2010
The Stormont education minister has approved funding for four new Irish-medium schools even though hundreds of places remain unfilled in existing schools.
Premises in Magherafelt, Limavady, Kilkeel and Ballymena are scheduled to open in September.
However, Ulster Unionist Assembly member Tom Elliott criticised minister Caitriona Ruane for supporting Irish language schools while desks remain unfilled.
The Fermanagh and South Tyrone MLA said: “The minister has increased the capital budget of the Irish medium sector five-fold over the past two and half years despite there being a clear under-subscription of some 830 places.
“Today’s announcement will do nothing to allay the fear that this minister has no meaningful plan for dealing with a reduced budget and a need to rationalise the entire school estate. This is a fear that exists in all sectors.”
However, the minister said the new schools reflected the demand from parents for education in Irish.
She said: “The Department of Education has a statutory duty to encourage and facilitate the development of Irish-medium education. I am therefore giving these four new schools conditional approval because I believe they will ensure that the choice of primary education through the medium of Irish is available to a growing number of children.”
The new schools are Gaelscoil an tSeanchai, Magherafelt; Gaelscoil na mBeann, Kilkeel; Gaelscoil Leim an Mhadaidh, Limavady and Gaelscoil Choin Ri Uladh, Ballymena.
The 830 empty places were disclosed by the minister in an Assembly written answer.
Ms Ruane said that despite unequal provision in some areas she had a statutory responsibility to meet demand. She added: “There are empty desks in every sector and in all cases, a strategic approach is taken regarding funding decisions.”
Irish Independent
28 Iúil 2010
Irish language schools needed
July 22, 2010
There are only eight secondlevel gaelscoileanna or gaelcholaisti in Dublin today – five on the southside of the city and three on the northside.
I have the height of respect for Tanaiste and Education Minister Mary Coughlan. I am, however, surprised that she still has not given the people involved in setting up two new gaelcholaisti a date for when they can open. Colaiste Ghlor na Mara, on the northside, and Gaelcholaiste Deisceart Bhaile Atha Cliath, on the southside, would be very welcome schools to thousands of young people.
The Irish language community needs these schools in Dublin if we are to noticeably increase the number of Irish speakers in the country. As the capital, Dublin is crucially important for those of us interested in seeing our native language being promoted well.
Darren J Prior
Leamhain Chaislean Cnucha, Caislean Cnucha, Baile Atha Cliath 15
Irish Independent – Litir chuig an Eagarthóir
21 Iúil 2010
Inspectors reveal poor level of Irish at Gaelscoil
June 25, 2010
An all-Irish primary school named after Peig Sayers has been criticised for the poor standard of Irish among its pupils.
Gaelscoil Pheig Sayers, on the Mallow Road in Cork, underwent an evaluation by inspectors from the Department of Education and Skills.
The inspectors found that pupils had “little understanding of basic writing skills, spelling patterns or punctuation rules.
“Presentation of written work in copybooks is poor,” the report on the 98-pupil school said.
The inspectors said it was necessary to develop basic writing skills, to expose pupils to a wider range of genres and to engage in the ongoing monitoring of children’s work.
But it wasn’t just in Irish that pupils were having problems. The inspectors also found significant difficulties in spelling and grammar in English in the senior classes.
The report called for a whole-school programme of grammar, spelling and punctuation, as well as greater emphasis on handwriting.
Nor did the pupils have an acceptable level of achievement in mathematical skills. Many experienced difficulty in understanding basic concepts and solving fundamental problems.
Leadership
The report also found that there was no school plan, as required by the department.
“The various curriculum documents on file have not been discussed on a whole-school basis and the teaching programme has not been agreed by staff,” it said.
“The planning process has not been developed appropriately. This weakness impacts significantly on curriculum implementation and on the standards of education.”
The report also found that the school “lacks leadership” and it noted that the current staff had all been appointed in the past three years.
It said the school had had to appoint substitute teachers for considerable periods of time.
The report said the acting principal had succeeded in creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere and that she worked conscientiously to fulfil her duties.
However, it also urged that an in-school management structure should be established.
It said poor organisational structures had prevented teachers from optimising resources, such as computers and library books, that had been provided recently.
Written progress reports were not provided to parents and no child-protection policy was available at the time of the inspection. School records were not being maintained as required by the department.
Although some teachers were conscientious in preparing their work, inspectors found that there were significant weaknesses in the planning for many other classes. Plans did not always specify appropriate learning targets for lessons.
The report also noted that the school is located in a business park, where there are considerable difficulties in ensuring the safety of pupils because of traffic.
Irish Independent – John Walshe Education Editor
25 Meitheamh 2010
Gaelgeoirs are the elite – but thousands are saying ‘Ní hea’
March 17, 2010
Irish language activists will celebrate St Patrick’s Day and the end of Seachtain na Gaeilge today with mixed feelings.
In certain areas the language is booming, driven by the growth in the number of Gaelscoileanna and a brighter, sexier image in the media.
On the minus side, there is a large section of the population that treats the learning of the language in school as a monumental waste of time.
While Gaelscoileanna are bulging at the seams and there is a huge demand for places, the health of the language is less certain in mainstream schools.
A growing number of students are failing to sit an Irish exam in the Leaving Cert, even though the language is compulsory in the Senior Cycle. They simply fail to turn up for the exam on the day.
Last year, the proportion of Leaving Certificate candidates taking Irish dipped below 80pc for the first time.
Unless an exemption is granted, study of Irish is mandatory at school, but there is no requirement to sit the exam.
Robbie Cronin, ASTI’s Gaeilge subject representative and a teacher at Marian College, says: “There is a much more positive attitude to the language in the media through stations such as TG4, and perhaps less negativity. But you still hear people say that they hate the language and that it is useless.”
While the success of Irish teaching in mainstream schools appears patchy, the rapid growth of Gaelscoileanna has for some time been seen as a towering bright light on the horizon.
Nationally, the number of students enrolled at Irish-speaking primary and second-level schools outside Gaeltacht areas has doubled since the early 1990s to 38,000. The vast majority of these pupils are in primary schools in urban areas.
But the relentless expansion of Irish-language schools has recently been halted by the Department of Education.
Gaelscoileanna Teo, the schools’ representative body for 140 Irish-medium primary schools, has expressed bitter disappointment at the department’s decision not to give the green light to any new Irish language schools this year.
Bláthnaid Ní Ghréacháin, chief executive officer of Gaelscoileanna Teo, said: “The biggest challenge we face is that we cannot cater for all the parents who want Irish language schools. At the moment we have to turn away hundreds of children.”
There are committees campaigning for new primary Gaelscoileanna in 10 areas, and for new secondary Gaelscoileanna in eight areas.
She says the minister’s decision not to open any new Irish-medium schools in 2010 contradicts the Government’s own strategy for the language.
Education Minister Batt O’Keeffe hopes to revive the fortunes of the language in mainstream second-level education by awarding 40pc of marks for an oral component in both Leaving and Junior Cert Irish.
The social profile of the language seems to have changed dramatically since the days when it was considered the mother tongue of the downtrodden.
A recent report from researchers at the University of Ulster and the University of Limerick suggests that Irish is now the language of the elite.
The report found that non-speakers of Irish are twice as likely to be unemployed as Irish speakers.
The report found that 42pc of Irish speakers work in senior professional, managerial or technical jobs.
Irish Independent
17 Márta 2010
Lack of a new gaelscoil angers teaching groups
February 10, 2010
Education Minister Batt O’Keeffe has angered Irish-language teaching groups with the announcement of approval for seven new primary schools.
Gaelscoileanna spokesperson Blathnaid Ni Ghreachain claimed the department breached parents’ constitutional right to education for their children, and the State’s obligation to protect and nurture the Irish language by not providing for an Irish-medium school among the seven.
The announcement of the primary schools is separate from yesterday’s school buildings announcement. But a department spokesperson claimed that in the seven areas “the view of the Gaelscoileanna movement was that there was not sufficient additional demand for all-Irish provision to warrant a new gaelscoil”.
Irish Independent – John Walshe
17 Feabhra 2010
Irish must come first in our country’s Gaelscoils
February 3, 2010
In my opinion: Irish must come first in our country’s gaelscoils.
The first time I saw Circular 44/07 I reacted with horror and disbelief in common with other gaelscoil principals and their school communities. I knew from the onset that I was prepared to do almost anything to have the circular withdrawn. This is because I firmly believe that early total immersion (ETI) education is the right approach having experienced it first hand as a pupil in Tallaght and later as an infant teacher and principal in Gaelscoil Nás na Ríogh. Although I do admit to a few sleepless nights, seeking a judicial review in the High Court seemed the most logical step to take by our Board of Management in order to safeguard the current practice and characteristic spirit of our school.
The announcement last month that the Minister for Education was to withdraw Circular 44/07 just a week before the hearing was met with widespread delight by all involved in the Gaelscoil and Irish language movement. I shared in this delight, of course, but was also cautious. I was not surprised when a statement was issued by the department announcing that the curriculum was to be proscribed. Our legal team had had discussions with the other side in the case and an agreement document had been forwarded to us. Whilst this document recognised ETI education favourably, one of the conditions of allowing schools to practice ETI education was that the schools would have to provide instruction in English for an infant pupil if a parent requested it. It would seem that this document will form the basis for the regulation and yet this document was rejected by all applicants in the case. I am still vehemently opposed to such a condition and see no resolution to the question if this condition remains.
It seems contradictory that the minister will, on one hand, support ETI and then allow a parent who has chosen a gaelscoil for their child not to do the same. Practically, does the minister intend to provide extra teachers and resources to teach English if a parent requests it in every gaelscoil in the country? More importantly, ETI is part of the characteristic spirit and ethos of Gaelscoil Nás na Ríogh. It is what we do and it is our responsibility and honour to uphold the same. If a parent wishes a child to learn English and Irish from the outset, he/she is free to enrol them in any of the excellent English medium national schools but if they enrol their child in a gaelscoil they must trust that the internationally proven and researched practice of delaying teaching in the non-target language is to the benefit of their child. In any case, all strands of the English curriculum, except for oral language, are met by the Department’s own excellent Irish language programme ‘Seideán Sí’.
I also believe that if this condition is included, a precedent is being set which should send shivers down the spine of the whole education system where the whims of one parent can result in a kowtowing by the department and schools being forced to change their characteristic spirit. For example, if the tables were to be reversed, would parents on my waiting list for junior infants who cannot be accommodated be justified in demanding that another local school provide ETI for their child?
Irish Independent
03 Feabhra 2010
