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Teachers unions advise on allowance freezes
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 08/02/2012.Tags: Teachers News
Advice has been given to teachers who have been affected by the Department of Education's recent announcement that the payment of allowances has been suspended.
The ASTI and the TUI have written to their members to advise how to cover situations arising in the short-term due to the suspension of the allowances.
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Up to 1,600 teachers set for retirement from next month
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 23/01/2012.Tags: Teachers News
Many schools may be forced to re-evaluate their teaching resources next month, as a large number of educators are set to take early retirement.
Under the terms of the Croke Park agreement, teachers who leave the classroom in February will not be affected by changes to pension rules and will see their income based on their 2009 salary.
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Teachers 'cannot be exempted' from cuts
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 18/01/2012.Tags: Teachers News
Education Minister Ruairi Quinn has stated that teaching resources cannot be made exempt from budget cuts.
He told the Dail that as one-third of all public sector employees work in the education sector, they must participate in austerity measures, the Irish Times reports.
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New bill to ensure teachers are qualified
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 10/01/2012.Tags: Teachers News
Education Minister Ruairi Quinn has published the Education (Amendment) Bill 2012, which includes a number of important changes to the Education Act 1998 and the Teaching Council Act 2001.
Central to these are a number of measures that will make certain all educators are qualified and registered with the Teaching Council.
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Quinn 'to press ahead' with teaching post cuts
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 15/12/2011.Tags: Teachers News
Education Minister Ruairi Quinn is set to go ahead with plans that could see almost 430 teaching posts lost in disadvantaged schools, despite objections from principals and backbench TDs.
The Irish Independent reports he has warned there is no "magic wand" to solve the problem, following a meeting this week with backbenchers and teachers from establishments likely to be affected.
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Many teachers set for early retirement
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 08/12/2011.Tags: Teachers News
A large number of teachers are expected to leave the education system in Ireland in the coming months.
This is according to figures obtained by the Irish Independent, which found almost 1,000 educators have applied to take early retirement before the end of February.
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Modern Languages in Primary Schools Initiative Abolished
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 08/12/2011.Tags: Teachers News Primary School News Educations And Politics
Response by Tanya Flanagan, National Coordinator, Modern Languages in Primary Schools Initiative' to this weeks budget proposal to abolish the 'Modern Languages in Primary Schools Initiative' The budget announcements included a proposal to abolish the Modern Languages in Primary Schools Initiative with immediate effect. As you can appreciate, we are ... click to read full post & comments(3)
Teachers told to refuse intern jobs
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 22/11/2011.Tags: Teachers News
Members of one of the country's largest teaching unions have been told they should not accept positions under the government's JobBridge internship programme.
The Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO) has urged newly qualified educators to avoid the scheme and instead build their experience through temporary work covering sick or maternity leave, the Irish Independent reports.
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Govt cuts 'could result in loss of 2,000 teaching posts'
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 08/11/2011.Tags: Teachers News
Up to 2,000 teachers may face the prospect of losing their jobs next year under radical cost-cutting measures to be proposed by the Department of Education.
This is according to an article in the Sunday Times, which claimed such a move would make up five per cent of the 2.2 billion euros of budget reductions ordered by Finance Minister Michael Noonan and Public Expenditure Minister Brendan Howlin.
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Teachers 'will challenge' pay rules for new entrants
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 25/10/2011.Tags: Teachers News
Teachers in Ireland are set to challenge new pay levels that will see people entering the profession receive lower wages than in the past.
According to the Irish Independent, unions have claimed these rules are discriminatory against younger individuals, with three of the country's major organisations stating they will consider legal action.
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Retiring teachers 'to be allowed to remain in the classroom'
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 24/10/2011.Tags: Teachers News
Teachers who are taking early retirement in February will be allowed to stay on until the end of the school year in order to prepare their Junior and Leaving Certificate classes for their exams.
The Irish Independent reports that a large number of educators are expected to apply for such packages as they try to ensure their retirement savings and lump-sum payouts will not be affected by recent austerity measures.
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Kids encouraged to embrace 'the joy of maths'
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 19/10/2011.Tags: Education And Politics Teachers News
Children in Ireland are being encouraged this week to become more involved with maths and see it as more than a collection of dull numbers.
As part of Maths Week, which is running until October 22nd, 'maths magician' Andrew Jeffrey stated there are many things that parents can do to make the subject more interesting, the Irish Independent reports.
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Junior Certificate reforms 'must be carefully considered'
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 14/10/2011.Tags: Education And Politics Teachers News
Reforms to the Junior Certificate are essential for the future of Ireland's education system, but the impact of proposed changes must be carefully considered.
This is according to Pat King, general secretary of the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI), who wrote in the Irish Examiner that the restructuring needs to have the confidence of the public.
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Teaching unions criticise changes to pensions
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 30/09/2011.Tags: Teachers News
Teaching unions have condemned proposed changes to public sector pension schemes that they claim will see their members paying more in than they will get out.
The plans, which have been outlined as part of the Public Service Pensions (Single Scheme) and Remuneration Bill 2011 published by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin, were described by the Irish National Teachers' Organisation as "unfair, unnecessary and probably unlawful".
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Publication of updated Child Protection Procedures for schools
Posted by Mother Hen on 30/09/2011.Tags: Education And Politics Parenting Teachers News
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The Minister for Education and Skills Ruairi Quinn, TD, today published updated child protection procedures for schools. The "Child Protection Procedures for Primary and Post Primary Schools" have been developed following extensive consultation with the education partners and are based on the recently published Children First – National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children 2011. The procedures will apply with immediate effect to ... click to read full post & comments
A third of maths teachers are under-qualified, survey finds
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 29/09/2011.Tags: Teachers News
As many as one in three maths teachers in secondary schools are not fully qualified for their subject, according to the results of a new study.
The research, conducted by the Teaching Council, examined educators at more than 400 schools around the country, RTE reports.
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Extra training to be offered to under-qualified maths teachers
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 12/09/2011.Tags: Teachers News
Maths teachers in Ireland who are not fully qualified to teach their subject are to be offered extra training to try and boost the standard of results in Ireland.
Figures released by the Teaching Council reveal that, while 30 per cent of educators studied maths for at least one year in college, it was not the main focus of their degree, while 49 individuals out of more than 2,000 surveyed by the organisation held no relevant qualifications at all, the Irish Times reports.
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Put road safety on ‘Back to School’ checklist
Posted by Schooldays Newshound on 24/08/2011.Tags: Parenting Teachers News
As schoolchildren enter the final few weeks of their summer holidays, the Road Safety Authority (RSA) is asking parents, guardians and teachers to make road safety a priority in their back to school preparations. To help keep children safe on the roads, the RSA and ESB Electric Ireland will once again be providing every child starting school this year with a high viz vest. Advising parents Mr. Noel Brett, CEO, Road Safety Authority said, “Children are ... click to read full post & comments
Govt 'may change criteria' for maths teachers
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 23/08/2011.Tags: Teachers News
The qualifications needed to become a maths teacher in Ireland may be reviewed in the wake of this year's disappointing Leaving Certificate results.
Education Minister Ruairi Quinn has instructed the Teaching Council to carry out a study of the number of qualified professionals in the subject to determine whether specific standards are required, the Sunday Business Post reports.
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Changes to pay system "demoralising" for new teachers
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 06/07/2011.Tags: Teachers News
Newly-qualified teachers may find that changes to the profession's pay structure will lead to them earning less than their colleagues.
This is according to teaching union ASTI, which stated many entrants could consider the prospect of taking home less money for doing the same amount of work "demoralising".
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Teachers call for leniency when marking 'unfair' paper
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 01/07/2011.Tags: Teachers News
A number of teachers have called on the State Examinations Commission (SEC) to be lenient when marking what they claim was an unreasonably hard maths paper.
The Project Maths Higher Level Paper 1, which was taken by around 400 Leaving Certificate students last month, was heavily criticised by some schools for its difficulty, the Irish Independent reports.
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Union welcomes move to prevent schools using unqualified teachers
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 15/06/2011.Tags: Teachers News
The Department of Education has announced that planned changes to the law that could see untrained staff employed as teachers will not go ahead.
Last year, the previous government caused controversy when it brought forward an amendment to the Teaching Council Act that would have allowed non-teaching staff to be employed as teachers and paid the same rate, the Irish Independent reports.
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Teaching cap 'affecting special needs students'
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 18/05/2011.Tags: Teachers News
A freeze on the number of teachers available to provide support for children with special needs and learning difficulties has led to a soaring number who are being taught in mainstream schools without the help they need.
According to the Irish Independent, more than 84,000 students who may benefit from additional support are now in standard educational facilities – accounting for almost one in ten pupils in primary and secondary schools.
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Teachers avoid strikes on cutting special needs support in school
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 03/05/2011.Tags: Teachers News
Teachers in Ireland have voted to avoid industrial action regarding spending cuts on special needs support in primary schools.
Members of staff decided not to pursue strikes against the government's plans to reduce expenditure on assistants to help children with learning disabilities after general secretary of the Irish National Teachers' Organisation reminded them the Croke Park agreement does not allow for industrial action.
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Teachers 'could work longer hours to avoid pay cuts'
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 19/04/2011.Tags: Teachers News
Teachers in primary and secondary schools could find themselves working longer hours in order to avoid getting a pay cut, it has been said.
Labour Relations Commission chief executive Kieran Mulvey stated that public servant employees who wanted their salaries to remain the same could work more in order to avoid this.
"Nobody wants any more pay cuts, but we can change the way we work," he said, in an attempt to resolve the government's financial problems.
Mr Mulvey is the chief broker of the Croke Park agreement, which suggests that areas of the public service could make employees work longer shifts in order to help the nation's fiscal situation to recover.
His comments come after Minister for Education Ruairi Quinn suggested last week that salary reductions in the education system could be imposed if the Croke Park deal does not deliver.
He told the Irish Times that the country is in a "difficult state" at the moment and this may impact on teaching staff.
Written by Donal Walsh
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Teachers warned about prospect of pay cuts
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 13/04/2011.Tags: Teachers News
Teachers in primary and secondary schools have been warned that they could see their salaries slashed.
Minister for Education Ruairi Quinn has reiterated the prospect of cutting wages in the education system in order to make significant savings.
He stated that unless the Croke Park Agreement is able to deliver tangible results, teachers could face salary reductions and redundancies.
The deal originally stipulated that these would not be implemented until 2014, but the Irish Times reported Mr Quinn as saying: "The country is in a very difficult state and we are not in control of our sovereignty."
He added that only by meeting targets can salaries be protected but according to the Department of Finance, 39 million euros have been saved from the nine billion euro education budget under the agreement so far.
This comes after Pat Goff, president of the Irish Primary Principals Network, told the newspaper that the capping of special needs assistants in schools in an attempt to save money could have an impact on whether a facility takes in a child with a disability.
Written by Donal Walsh
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Principals 'need support to handle bullying in school'
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 07/04/2011.Tags: Teachers News
Principals should be given greater support to handle difficult cases of bullying in primary and secondary schools, according to one opinion.
Brian Mooney, writing for the Irish Times, stated that they are not receiving enough backing from their peers or the Department of Education, leaving them vulnerable to making mistakes.
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Cap on special needs assistants 'is a problem for school kids'
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 25/03/2011.Tags: Primary School News Teachers News
The limit on the number of special needs assistants (SNAs) available in the Irish education system is going to be a problem for all school kids, it has been argued.
Sheila Wayman, writing for the Irish Times, stated that having fewer SNAs per class is not only going to have an impact on children with special needs, but other pupils too.
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Schools could split Irish education in two
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 18/03/2011.Tags: Secondary School News Teachers News
Secondary school education in Ireland could be set for a major overhaul.
Language Commissioner Sean O Cuirreain stated that the teaching of Irish in the education system could be divided up into two different strands, reports the Irish Independent.
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Teachers in single-sex schools 'find it easier to plan lessons'
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 11/03/2011.Tags: Teachers News
Teachers in both secondary and primary schools across Ireland may find it easier to do their job effectively if they are working at a single-sex establishment.
That is if comments made by Kimble Earl, editor of The Independent Schools Magazine in the UK, are anything to go by, as he feels that communicating with a classroom full of pupils of one gender can often be simpler for teaching professionals across all disciplines.
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School secretaries vote for industrial action after pay cuts
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 08/03/2011.Tags: Teachers News
Secretaries at both secondary schools and primary schools could go on strike in protest at pay cuts being imposed on them, it has emerged.
According to Impact - Ireland's largest public and services trade union with 65,000 members across a wide variety of sectors - its School Secretaries branch has "voted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action by a margin of 72 per cent" after their wages were reduced by five per cent as of January 1st 2011.
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INTO offers advice to teachers about the Croke Park Agreement
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 01/03/2011.Tags: Teachers News
Teachers all over Ireland have today (March 1st 2011) been reminded of the clauses included in the Croke Park Agreement (CPA).
According to the Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO), many professionals in the sector are seemingly confused about exactly what the CPA entails and how it will affect their day-to-day operations.
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Teachers urged to attend meeting about pension alterations
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 28/02/2011.Tags: Teachers News
Teachers from across Ireland are expected to attend a meeting in Galway to discuss potential changes to their pension plans later this week (March 2nd 2011).
Members of institutions such as the Irish National Teachers' Organisation, the ASTI and the Teachers' Union of Ireland are likely to want to participate in the event, which is scheduled to take place at 8pm local time in the Aras Moyola Theatre at the National University of Ireland.
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DES invites submissions for 'Small Primary Schools Value for Money Review'
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 18/02/2011.Tags: Education And Politics Teachers News
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The Department of Education and Skills has commenced a value for money review of the provision of small primary schools and your views are welcome. For the purpose of the review a small primary school is taken to be one with less than 50 pupils. The objective of the review of small primary schools is to assess the efficiency, effectiveness and examine the value for money of these schools as currently configured and organised. The review should examine the scope for alternative organisational approaches to improve efficiency and effectiveness of provision. The context in which the review takes place is ... click to read full post & comments(2)
Private schools in Ireland continued to receive government finance in 2010
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 19/01/2011.Tags: Teachers News
Private schools in Ireland continued to receive government support last year despite being fee-paying, it has been revealed.
The Irish Times has acquired new figures which showed that more than 100 million euros was given to these education establishments over the 12 months to fund the teachers' salaries.
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Small Irish primary schools could close to save money
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 18/01/2011.Tags: Primary School News Teachers News
Small primary schools in Ireland could be shut in an attempt to save the government money.
The Irish Independent has reported that some of the country's two-teacher facilities will be looked at as part of the Department of Education's value-for-money review.
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Irish school policies on closing for staff meetings to change
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 17/01/2011.Tags: Teachers News
Primary and secondary schools in Ireland will no longer close for events such as staff meetings.
As part of the Croke Park agreement, there will be major changes to the education system in Ireland.
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Irish students told to pick higher maths for Leaving Certificate
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 11/01/2011.Tags: Secondary School News Teachers News
Pupils in Irish schools have been told that it may be a good idea to pick higher maths when choosing their Leaving Certificate subjects.
According to Mark Rogers, dean of science at the University College Dublin, taking the subject at this level will "equip them to succeed at university and in life".
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Report reveals plans for Irish primary schools to share sites
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 04/01/2011.Tags: Education And Politics Teachers News
A draft report has revealed plans to overhaul the education system in Ireland by suggesting that new primary schools share grounds.
The document, released by senior Department of Education officials, calls for changes in the existing procedures on how new education facilities gain recognition, the Irish Times reported.
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Irish schools 'descending into chaos' due to hiring ban
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 29/12/2010.Tags: Education And Politics Teachers News
A ban on hiring staff is leading to the organisational structure of Irish schools "descending into chaos".
The Irish National Teachers Organisation was told by one school that the government's ban on employing staff means many have been left without employees in key middle-management positions, reports the Irish Independent.
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School policies on teacher bullying in Ireland 'need to change'
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 02/12/2010.Tags: Teachers News
School policies to help prevent bullying on teachers in the education system in Ireland need to be developed, members of staff have urged.
An article in the Irish Independent examined the growing occupational hazard that teachers face, after suffering an increasing level of violence from pupils.
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Half days for school kids in Ireland 'could end'
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 12/11/2010.Tags: Teachers News
Primary and secondary school children in Ireland could see the end of their half days, if plans to make the education system more "parent-friendly" go ahead.
The Department of Education has proposed that closing schools for half days in order to facilitate teacher meetings and training sessions could be a thing of the past.
Prepared as part of the Croke Park agreement, the plans entail that teachers will have to work an additional hour every week to limit the necessity for school closures.
This, it stated, would help make it easier for parents of school kids as it would reduce the number of times they have to pick their kids up from school early.
On average, primary schools shut prematurely once a month, while both primary and secondary schools are regularly closed early the day they re-open after the holidays.
This move could encourage more teachers to engage in industrial action in protest, as the members of the Teachers' Union of Ireland have already expressed their discontent at the changes the government is planning to make, with 75 per cent of the group voting against planned budget cuts last month.
Written by Donal Walsh
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Unemployed Irish teachers to maintain skills next school year
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 11/11/2010.Tags: Teachers News
Teachers in Ireland who find themselves without a job will be able to improve their skills by practising in secondary schools next year.
Mary Coughlan, the minister for education, has spoken about the concerns that a number of teachers will qualify at the end of the year and not be able to find employment.
She told the Dail that the government is launching a programme to enable these teachers to practise their skills by continuing to teach children in primary and secondary schools.
"This could at least give some people the opportunity to become probationary teachers," Ms Coughlan stated.
The programme, which is already available to primary school teachers qualified from this year, will be rolled out to secondary school teachers next year.
Ireland's teachers are likely to breathe a sigh of relief at the news, after the Irish Independent reported earlier this week that up to five per cent of the country's special needs assistants are likely to lose their jobs as a result of budget cuts.
Written by Donal Walsh
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Teachers urged to promote happiness for school kids in Ireland
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 10/11/2010.Tags: Teachers News
Irish teachers have been told that they can help primary and secondary school kids to be content by educating them in happiness.
Writing for the Irish Times, Cian Traynor examines the practice of learned optimism, which stipulates that people can be taught how to be happy.
He looked at American psychologist's Martin Seligman's work, which is slowly making its way throughout the education system in the US and the UK.
There are now 400 primary and secondary school teachers in Ireland who have enrolled on to the Teaching Happiness programme, created in response to his theory.
He states that if teachers can learn how to teach happiness, this will enable them to improve kids' attention spans, memory and help them to solve problems.
Finola D'Arcy, a teacher in County Laois, told the newspaper that she thought the programme should be compulsory for all teachers.
"Children inherently have fabulous hearts. They just need to be given the opportunities to display them," she said.
Seligman has been theorising about learned helplessness and happiness for the last 20 years and has released a number of books on the matter including his best-known work entitled Learned Optimism: How To Change Your Mind and Your Life.
Written by Donal Walsh
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