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Teacher unions 'asked to hold separate talks'
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 15/05/2013.Tags: Teachers News
Teacher unions in Ireland will be asked to stage separate discussions following their ballots on industrial action.
This is according to Kieran Mulvey, the Labour Relations Commission Chief, who explained these talks are likely to take place early next week, the Irish Examiner reports.
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Teacher pay issue 'to be settled in a month or two'
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 13/05/2013.Tags: Teachers News
A Department of Education payroll problem that has affected hundreds of teachers in Ireland is likely to be settled in a month or so.
Education Minister Ruairi Quinn has informed the Irish National Teachers' Organisation that he expects the issue - which has seen a backlog of thousands of euros building up since September last year - to be settled shortly, the Irish Examiner reports.
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Bursary awarded to students for Irish language game
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 30/04/2013.Tags: Teachers News
A bursary has been awarded to three students after they decided to produce their Irish language word game in Ireland and not China.
The pupils of Regina Mundi College in Douglas, a suburb of Cork, were handed €2,000 from RTE TV's Junior Dragons' Den for the Focail Iontacha game, which is aimed at teaching Irish to schoolchildren in a fun way, the Irish Examiner reports.
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Lack of jobs 'creating primary school teacher surplus'
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 29/04/2013.Tags: Teachers News
A lack of available jobs in Ireland is creating a surplus of primary school teacher graduates.
There are no positions open for around 600 graduates who finish their studies every year, which means many individuals are left disappointed when they fail to find work despite gaining the right qualifications, the Irish Independent reports.
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ASTI rejects Croke Park II deal
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 17/04/2013.Tags: Teachers News
The Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) has voted to reject the proposals of the Croke Park II deal.
According to the body, this stance reflects the deep anger felt by teachers across Ireland at what they see as an unfair agreement.
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School pays out after blackboard duster incident
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 09/04/2013.Tags: Teachers News
A school in Killarney and one of its former teachers - who is also a Gaelic football star - have paid out €8,000 to a pupil following a case concerning the throwing of a blackboard duster.
St Brendan's College and Paul Galvin paid the money after former student Nathan Adams lodged a claim for personal injuries in the Circuit Civil Court through his father Gerry Adams.
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IMPACT urges education staff to accept new Croke Park deal
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 04/04/2013.Tags: Teachers News
Staff in Ireland's education sector have been urged to accept the new Croke Park deal.
IMPACT has called on employees to back the agreement because valuable protections for the most vulnerable workers could be lost should it be rejected
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Croke Park changes 'could lead to school activities reduction'
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 26/03/2013.Tags: Teachers News
Changes brought about through Croke Park II could impact the number of school activities children are able to take part in, it has been suggested.
In a letter to Education Minister Ruairi Quinn, the Joint Managerial Body (JMB) warned the extra-curricular programme for pupils could be significantly reduced due to a lack of substitution cover for teachers, the Irish Independent reports.
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Annual reviews to be introduced for teachers?
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 22/03/2013.Tags: Teachers News
Teachers and principals in Ireland could soon be subject to annual reviews of their performance.
Harold Hislop, the chief inspector at the Department of Education and Skills, has raised the possibility of such assessments for school staff after noting the country does not have a system in place that regularly evaluates how well teachers are getting on, the Irish Independent reports.
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Gay teachers 'to receive greater protection'
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 08/03/2013.Tags: Teachers News
Gay and lesbian teachers in Ireland could be set to enjoy greater job protection thanks to proposed new legislation.
The newly-published Bill is aimed at safeguarding teachers against dismissal based on the idea that their life choices might undermine the religious ethos of their working practices, the Irish Independent reports.
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Special needs pupils 'losing out' due to teaching cap
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 01/03/2013.Tags: Teachers News
Children with special needs are losing out on extra learning time due to a cap on teacher numbers.
The Irish Examiner reports that pupils in hundreds of schools in Ireland are receiving less than 85 per cent of the additional teaching they require for special needs as a consequence of this limit being reached.
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New teacher pay change 'will restore losses'
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 26/02/2013.Tags: Teachers News
A new deal should go some way to restoring the pay losses suffered by new teachers in Ireland.
Those who entered the profession after September 2011 are to go up by one point on the pay scale, which should cushion the blow of taking up their roles on lower salaries and losing their supervision and substitution pay, the Irish Independent reports.
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Teachers to lose supervision and substitution pay?
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 22/02/2013.Tags: Teachers News
A proposed new pay deal could see teachers in Ireland losing their supervision and substitution pay.
Government plans unveiled during talks on a new Croke Park deal have shown college lecturers stand to lose nine million euros a year in allowances for correcting exams - although efforts to reach a compromise are now underway, the Irish Independent reports.
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Concerns raised over Irish level increase proposals for teachers
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 19/02/2013.Tags: Teachers News
Concerns have been raised regarding proposals to raise the standard of Irish required for trainee primary teachers in Ireland.
Education Minister Ruairi Quinn has followed the example of Labour backbencher Aodhan O Riordain and suggested Teaching Council plans to set a higher standard for Irish could result in students from regions with lower Leaving Cert performance being excluded from the teaching profession, the Irish Independent reports.
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UK job offers increase for Irish teachers
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 18/02/2013.Tags: Teachers News
Irish teachers are increasingly being offered jobs in the UK, with recruitment companies travelling to Dublin in order to hire staff.
A Jobs Expo in Croke Park has seen more than 1,000 overseas posts offered to out of work Irish teachers, with the positions promising the same pay as jobs at home, the Irish Independent reports.
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Graduate teachers 'having difficulty finding work'
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 15/02/2013.Tags: Teachers News
Finding a job is proving difficult for many graduate teachers in Ireland, the latest Department of Education figures have shown.
It has emerged these young professionals are struggling to kick-start their career while retired teachers are being re-hired in primary schools on long-term contracts, the Irish Independent reports.
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Guidelines on promoting positive mental health and suicide prevention in post-primary schools published
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 31/01/2013.Tags: Education And Politics Teachers News Parenting
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New national Guidelines on promoting positive mental health and suicide prevention in post-primary schools published.“Well-Being in Post-Primary Schools” important tool for schools
The Minister for Education and Skills, the Minister of State for Disability, Older People, Equality & Mental Health and the Director of the National Office of Suicide Prevention launched new guidelines for mental health and suicide prevention for post-primary schools today (31st January).
The Guidelines provide a framework, with information for schools ... click to read full post & comments
New Action Plan on Bullying Launched
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 30/01/2013.Tags: Education And Politics Teachers News Parenting
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The new Action Plan on Bullying was launched yesterday by the Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairí Quinn T.D. and the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Frances Fitzgerald T.D. The Plan sets out twelve actions to help prevent and tackle bullying in primary and second level schools. The report makes it clear that preventing and tackling bullying requires support from parents and wider society and is not a problem schools can solve alone.
At the launch of the Action Plan in Dublin, Minister Quinn said he ... click to read full post & comments
Paper attendance records 'are wasting teachers' time'
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 25/01/2013.Tags: Teachers News
Paper attendance records used in primary schools are wasting teachers' time, it has been claimed.
Gerry Murphy, president of the Irish Primary Principals Network (IPPN), suggested these details should be kept in digital format in order to free up more hours for teachers and to prepare children for the 'knowledge economy', the Irish Independent reports.
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A third of maths teachers fear they are under-qualified
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 17/01/2013.Tags: Teachers News
More than a third of second-level maths teachers do not feel they are sufficiently qualified to assess a pupil's performance in the subject, according to latest research.
The survey, conducted by the Educational Research Centre (ERC) in Dublin, also discovered that 28 per cent feel they lack proficient teaching methods.
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Teachers' union makes Croke Park agreement warning
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 15/01/2013.Tags: Education And Politics Teachers News
The largest teachers' union in the country has warned its members there are likely to be "very difficult elements" in any extension package of the Croke Park agreement.
Under the existing agreement, the public sector is committed to making savings of EUR3.3 billion between 2013-15, but the government are now demanding further cuts of around EUR1 billion.
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Retired teachers given primary school jobs over graduates
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 07/01/2013.Tags: Primary School News Teachers News
Education Minister Ruairi Quinn has demanded answers after it was revealed primary schools across the country are continuing to employ retired teachers over graduates.
A freedom of information request by the Irish Independent discovered 237 instances of retired teachers employed on a temporary basis between the start of term last September and the mid-term break in October.
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Brendan Howlin warns he will sack bad teachers
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 27/12/2012.Tags: Education And Politics Teachers News
Minister for Public Spending Brendan Howlin has issued a warning to teachers that the government are looking to remove those who are not performing.
During an interview with the Irish Independent, Mr Howlin warned the performance of people in public sector jobs will be scrutinised much more closely from now on.
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Cuts to hours forcing post-primary teachers into income poverty
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 19/11/2012.Tags: Teachers News
An increasing number of post-primary teachers are experiencing income poverty, according to senior Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI) officials.
The Irish Times reports how TUI general secretary John MacGabhann made the claim before he addressed the annual conference of the Principals' and Deputy Principals' Association.
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Additional funding announced for Teaching and SNAs posts to support special needs children
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 16/11/2012.Tags: Teachers News
A further €28 million is to be provided for additional teaching and care supports for children with special educational needs.
The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) announced these posts are in addition to those previously sanctioned by the body in June for the 2012/13 school year.
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Two-tier teacher pay rates 'may lead to resentment'
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 15/11/2012.Tags: Teachers News
The government's decision to cut the pay rates of young teachers when they enter the profession could create problems in schools, one expert has warned.
Professor of Industrial Relations and Human Resources Bill Roche told the Irish Independent that the two-tier pay system is likely to foster resentment among some teachers.
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New teachers overpaid by 350 euros in 2011
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 28/09/2012.Tags: Teachers News
A new report has revealed new teachers were overpaid by a total of 1.18 million euros in 2011, due to delays in implementing budget cuts.
Data collected by the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) showed the Department of Education took nine months to implement salary cuts.
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Professional maths diploma launched
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 24/09/2012.Tags: Teachers News
A new course aimed at improving the skills of maths teachers at post-primary level has been backed by the Minister of State for Research and Innovation Sean Sherlock.
The minister welcomed the launch of the Professional Diploma in Mathematics for Teaching, which is designed for 'out-of-field' teachers of the subject.
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New teacher allowance cuts to remain
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 19/09/2012.Tags: Teachers News
The announcement that suspended teacher allowances will not be reversed has been met with criticism from teachers' unions that claim educators are facing a third annual pay cut.
A review of public sector allowances and premium payments by the government has led to the decision to retain a reduction in allowances for new teachers.
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Extra 3,000 teachers needed to meet class size demand
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 18/09/2012.Tags: Teachers News
A predicted surge in the number of children entering the school system means an extra 3,000 teachers will be needed to maintain class sizes at their current levels.
Minister for Education Ruairi Quinn has acknowledged that a recruitment drive will be required to meet growing demand, the Irish Times reports.
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Taoiseach 'calls for extension to teacher's working hours'
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 17/09/2012.Tags: Teachers News
Reports that the Taoiseach has called for the working week in schools to be extended to 40 hours has been met with claims that teachers already put in more hours than this.
The Sunday Independent cited a letter sent to cabinet members by Enda Kenny that called for Education Minister Ruairi Quinn to increase hours so that productivity is boosted across the public sector.
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Are Schools letting down our young children?
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 12/09/2012.Tags: Education And Politics Parenting Teachers News
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The 2012 edition of 'Education at a Glance' was published yesterday and enables countries to see themselves in the light of other countries’ educational performance. The wide-ranging 'Education at a Glance' is an annual OECD report that compares countries in a range of areas. These include the amount of time spent teaching in schools, teacher salaries, the government spend on education and social gains from education.The Report shows that shows that Irish second-level schools out-perform most other countries in terms of ... click to read full post & comments
Cuts to new teachers' qualification allowances proposed
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 05/09/2012.Tags: Teachers News
Proposals to cut the qualification allowance for new teachers have been met with criticism from unions that claim such a move would be "unacceptable and unfair".
The cabinet is set to review plans to increase the starting salary of new entrants to teaching from €27,800 to €30,000, but remove their qualification allowance, the Irish Times reports.
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Teachers to have a say on Children First Bill
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 26/06/2012.Tags: Teachers News
The Joint Committee on Health and Children will today (June 26th) meet with teachers to discuss the Children First Bill.
Representatives from the Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland, the Irish National Teacher's Organisation, the Teacher's Union of Ireland and the Irish Primary Principals Network will be given the opportunity to have their say on the Bill, the Journal reports.
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Cuts to special needs teaching time criticised
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 14/06/2012.Tags: Teachers News
The Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO) has criticised the announcement of further reductions to resource teaching time for children with special needs.
From the start of the next school year, this will be cut by five per cent and the government has been slated for its delay in declaring the move.
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Vetting of over 42,000 teachers expected to be delayed
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 09/05/2012.Tags: Teachers News
Staffing levels mean additional delays are expected to be placed upon the Garda vetting of more than 42,000 teachers.
The Irish Examiner reports how the Teaching Council has just 28 of the 48 employees required to ensure the process is completed in the three-year timeframe.
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Teachers 'need to come from diverse backgrounds'
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 21/03/2012.Tags: Teachers News
The education system in Ireland needs more teachers who come from disadvantaged backgrounds in order to form a better connection with students from these communities.
This is according to school principal and Labour TD Aodhan O Riordain, who stated in an article for the Irish Times that there is currently a lack of educators from such areas who return to be leaders in their former schools.
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Maths teacher upskilling course 'will be delayed'
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 19/03/2012.Tags: Teachers News
A scheme to improve the quality of maths education in Ireland by ensuring all teachers have adequate qualifications is to be delayed.
The Irish Examiner reports the first post-graduate courses for teachers in this area are not expected to begin until September, as the Department of Education is still finalising the tender process for selecting an establishment to run the programme.
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Quinn announces plans to reform teacher training
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 24/02/2012.Tags: Teachers News
More emphasis is to be placed on training primary and secondary school teachers in pedagogical skills so they can help pupils to "shine".
Education Minister Ruairi Quinn told the Irish Times more needs to be done to "empower teachers to be better at what they're doing".
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DOE to retain 235 DEIS posts
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 21/02/2012.Tags: Education And Politics Teachers News
According to RTE this evening, the Government has announced that the 235 DEIS teaching posts that were due to be axed will now be retained. The 2012 Budget had proposed cutting almost 300 'legacy' teaching posts in DEIS schools but the Department of Education has now said, that following a review of the DEIS cuts, those schools would now be given a slightly higher allocation of resource teachers than that envisaged in the budget proposals. However, the Department says it will now cut the overall grant to all schools to ... click to read full post & comments
Fianna Fail announces support for LGB teachers
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 20/02/2012.Tags: Teachers News
New legislation has been proposed that aims to prevent schools from discriminating against lesbian, gay and bisexual teachers (LGB).
Fianna Fail senator Averil Power announced details of a bill that makes amendments to the current Employment Equality Act.
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Report finds teaching salaries directly linked to pupil performance
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 17/02/2012.Tags: Teachers News
The findings of a new report may help support recent calls for a reversal of the decision to suspend payment allowance for new teachers.
Research from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has revealed the countries with the highest performing educational systems are those where higher teaching salaries are prioritised.
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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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