InTouch April 2005 - INTO - Irish National Teachers` Organisation

InTouch
Irish National Teachers’ Organization
Cumann Múinteoirí Éire a n n
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Annual Congress
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Northern
Conference
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educatɪoɴaʟ ɪɴseʀt
Dublin Zoo The
Living Classroom
Issue No 66 April 2005
ISSN 1393-4813
It’s Still Class
Size!
School
Administration
Review
Teaching Council
Launched
Walk Tall
North and South
INTO/ICTU Tsunami
Appeal
pgs 33
pg 35
pg 35
IN THE NEWS
S cé a l ta Reatha
G E N E R A L S E C R E TARY’S CO M M E N T
Congress sets the Agenda
B
efore Mary Hanafin left
the INTO Congress in
Galway last month she
wondered if she was a positive
n e gative or a negative positive. Was she simply an ABD
( a n y body but Dempsey) or
were delegates less than
impressed with what she had
to say?
In truth it was both. Her
approach was a welcome
change from that of her pre d ecessor and teachers appre c iated it. But on the issues that
matter there was either no
progress or little detail.
Class size, special education,
tackling educational disadvantage and removing untrained
personnel from our
classrooms are what matter to
teachers. We have high expectations of this Minister to
deliver.
The INTO has made a major
issue of class size. Be fore
Congress we had many of the
country’s elected repre s e n t atives into classrooms to see for
themselves the size of our
classes. Many expressed
support for reduced class size .
It is down for debate in the
Dail. The media gave it wide
coverage. The Minister failed
to deliver.
The INTO will not let this
drop and will continue to keep
class size up there until real
progress is made. We want
short term and long term
action. In the short term the
fact is that if the Minister fails
to take action eight hundre d
teachers will be walking the
streets next September while
children enrol in classes of
t h i r tyor more. In the long
term there is a government
commitment to reduce class
s i zes that must be honoured
b e fo re the next election.
That’s not going away.
The Minister gave outline
details of a package on educational disadvantage. There
appears to be some good
proposals in it but because of
the lack of detail it is hard to
InTouch April 2005
know how to assess its merits.
She has indicated her intention to reduce class sizes to 24
in senior classes in the most
disadvantaged schools. There
were other promises including
300 new jobs across the
education sector and a
scheme of sabbatical leave. In
truth, we can say nothing
a bout these until we see the
package in its totality later this
month. If it fails to meet the
needs of disadvantaged child ren and their teachers we will
reject it out of hand.
The third area where teachers expect progress is in
special needs. This saga has
been dragging on for over a
year. We got the new system
f r o zen before last summer to
prevent chaos in the system.
Unless there is delivery in the
immediate future then special
education will grind to a halt
and the blame for that will rest
fairly and squ a rely with
government. Primary schools
cannot be inclusive when they
l a ckthe teachers to deliver a
service.
On the positive side this was
the first Congress held under
the new INTO Rules and
Constitution. It was a day
shorter, had fewer delegates
and a revamped timetable and
way of doing business. From
the Organisation’s point of
view the new format works. I
thank every delegate for their
attendance and participation,
particularly those who
attended for the first time.
The support and involvement of every teacher will be
needed, particularly in the
difficult months ahead.
NEWS IN BRIEF
New Teaching
Council

On 28 February last
Minister Mary Hanafin,
TD, Minister for Education and
Science, launched the first ever
Teaching Council for the
Republic of Ireland.
At the subsequent meeting of
the full Council, Joan Ward, an
I N TO member and currently a
member of the INTO Benefit
Funds Committee, was elected
as the first Chairperson of the
Council. See page 33 for further
coverage.
tation with the Trustees/Patron
of the school. This decision
should also be made in consultation with other boa rds of
management in the area.
If a Catholic school decided to
open for the instruction of
pupils on church holy days, the
Bishops would encourage the
school community to attend
mass within the school day
where feasible.
Responding to the letter,
John Carr said that he
welcomed the clarification
and the flexibility it brought
for schools in deciding their
calendar for the year.
Catholic Days of Te m p o ra ry
Obligation
Teachers Job
Leo O’Reilly,
Sharing
 Bishop
Chairman of the Irish
Catholic Bishops Commission
Breakthrough
for Education, wrote to INTO
General Secretary John Carr
prior to Easter clarifying their
position on Holy Days of
O b l i gation.
He outlined that these days
are a valuable expression of the
ethos of a Catholic school and
that it is desirable that all
Catholic schools observe, as far
as possible, the holy days of
obligation.
He said he had consulted
with the Management bodies of
Catholic Primary and PostPrimary schools, and the
Religious Trustees.
In view of the variety of
conditions which may affe c t
schools in diffe rent areas and
circumstances, the Bishops’
Conference decided that the
ultimate decision abo u t
whether or not a school may
remain closed on church holidays should be made at boa rd
of management level in consul-

Following intensive
negotiations the DES has
indicated that it is pre p a red to
allow job sharing arrangements
between permanent teachers
and temporary teachers in
cases where there is no permanent teacher available as a jobsharing partner. This
arrangement has been
approved on a pilot basis fo r
the 2005/2006 school year
subject to a number of conditions which are outlined on the
INTO website.
As the closing date for receipt
of applications for job sharing
for the 2005/2006 school year
has passed, the DES is prepared
to consider late applications.
Anyone who is interested in
this proposal should immediately contact Eileen O’Donnell
at INTO Head Office – Tel: 01
804-7700 or e-mail
[email protected]
Staffing News on Pages 5 and 12
Congress News on Pages 25 – 31
3
N ATIONAL NEWS
S cé a l ta Náisiúnta
It’s Still Class Size!
INTO Campaign Continues
T
he INTO has begun a
major campaign to exert
public pre s s u re on
government to reduce class
s i zes in primary schools. Class
s i zes in Ireland are the second
highest in the EU. There is a
government commitment to
reduce class size to below international best practice of 20:1.
There has been no reduction in
class size in primary schools fo r
the last four years.
“The clock is ticking on this
government commitment,”
said INTO general secretary,
John Carr. “This government is
running out of time and
excuses. The teachers are there .
The public support is there. The
children are certainly there.
Where is the political will to
implement promises made?”
The INTO will seek the
support of parents and management in this campaign. Class
s i ze meetings will continue
with public re p resentatives
where a school in a
constituency will host a meeting of public representatives.
Representatives of neighbo u ring schools (principals,
management and parents) will
be invited to meet the public
representatives in the designated school. These meetings
will put the issues before the
public representatives in a very
real way.
See letter on page 47.
Why do Smaller Classes make a
Differe n ce ?
Reducing class size naturally
alters the classroom environ-
AVERAGE PRIMARY CLASS SIZE IN EUROPEAN UNION
Country
UK
Ireland
France
Germany
C zech Rep.
Poland
Slovak Rep.
Hungary
Austria
Size
26.0
24.2
22.3
22.2
21.3
21.1
20.8
20.5
20.0
Country
Size
Belgium
20.0
Denmark
19.4
Spain
19.4
Portugal
18.7
Italy
18.1
Latvia
18.0
Greece
17.2
Luxembourg 15.6
Lithuania
15.2
Country
Malta
Estonia
Finland
Cy p r u s
Sweden
Netherlands
Slovenia
Size
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
ment and creates a better classroom atmosphere where :
• pupils receive more individual attention from the
teacher;
• teachers have more flexibility
to use diffe rent teaching
techniques;
• teachers and pupils have
more classroom space in
which to work;
• teachers have more time to
devote to working with the
parents of their pupils;
• fewer students distract each
other;
• every pupil gets more time to
speak;
• the level of noise in a classroom is reduced;
• each pupil gets a larger
portion of the educational
resources;
• quality of teaching is
improved;
CLASS SIZE BY COUNTY IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS
Co u n ty
Carlow
Cavan
Clare
Cork City
Cork County
Donegal
Dublin So u t h
Dublin City
Dublin Fingal
Dun LaoghaireRathdown
Galway City
Galway County
Kerry
Kildare
Kilkenny
Laois
Leitrim
Pupils Teachers
5,256
210
6,948
302
11,256
486
14,480
600
34,742
1,420
16,829
729
25,790
1,031
41,654
1,794
21,803
811
16,402
5,641
16,756
14,024
19,686
9,171
6,570
2,880
InTouch April 2005
612
230
766
594
723
366
276
135
Av. Class Size
25.0
23.0
23.1
24.1
24.4
23.0
25.0
23.2
26.8
26.8
24.5
21.8
23.6
27.2
25.0
23.8
21.3
County
Pu p i l s Teachers
Limerick C i ty
6,514
279
Limerick County 13,188
549
Longford
3,462
162
Louth
11,860
466
Mayo
13,544
642
Meath
15,701
602
Monaghan
6,258
273
Offaly
8,048
339
Roscommon
6,007
292
Sligo
6,427
287
Tipperary
16,092
697
Waterford C i ty
5,210
203
Waterford C o u n ty 6,361
265
Westmeath
8,696
356
We x fo rd
14,085
557
Wicklow
13,366
522
Total
424,707
17,576
Av. Class Size
23.3
24.0
21.3
25.4
21.0
26.0
22.9
23.7
20.5
22.3
23.0
24.8
24.0
24.4
25.2
25.6
• teachers know their pupils
better;
• teachers can keep track of
how each pupil is doing;
• teachers can intervene more
e f fectively to help individual
pupils make more progress;
• smaller classes are friendlier
classes where better re l a t i o nships are developed;
• it is harder to escape the positive influence of the educational experience.
With re t i rements running at
approximately 800 per year it is
clear that over the next three
years the teachers will be available to provide for significant
reductions in class size. Failure
to implement these reductions
will result in widespread
teacher unemployment.
Numbers of EU and non-EU
teachers 2001-2005
In addition to teachers trained
in Ireland, many non-Irish
trained teachers are joining the
schools wo r k force. Many of
these are Irish students who are
undergoing teacher education
overseas, particularly in Britain.
The following table shows the
growth in overseas trained
teachers’ working in Irish
primary schools.
EU
Non-EU Totals
Trained Permanent
1/ 1/’01 498
1/ 1/’02 703
1/ 1/’03 913
1/ 1/’04 1,023
1/ 1/’05 1,101
2
12
38
39
37
500
715
951
1,062
1,147
5
N ATIONAL NEWS
S cé a l ta Náisiúnta
Conferring at Congress
In this Issue
INTO News and Information
News
John Carr, General Secreta ry, Austin Corcoran, INTO President 2004/05 and Minister Mary
Hanafin TD, pictured on the Tu e s d ay morning of Congress
A Busy Committee
T
he local organising committee of
Galway Congress 2005 did an
outstanding job in ensuring that
d e l e gates benefited from both the business and social side of Congress. Among
3, 5,7,8,24,37
Conditions of Employment
L e gal and Industrial Relations
Communications, Principals
and Social Inclusion
Education
Equality
P r o fessional Development
& Trade Union Training
9
10
INTO Benefits and Discounts
Media Report
Student Members
16
17
18
12
13
14
15
Northern Ireland News
19-23
Annual Congress
25-31
Teaching Council
33
Tips – Science
Tips – PE
39
43
Around the Branches
Letters
Reviews
Comhar Linn
Notices
45
47
49
53
55
the many items organised locally were a
table quiz and dance in aid of the INTO
Spouses and Orphans appeal, crèche
facilities and stewards for the various
Congress sessions and receptions.
Emma is New CEC Rep
mma Dineen who teaches in Cloghroe NS
in Co Cork is the newly elected CEC
Representative for District 1 2.
A native of Inniscarra, Emma has been an
active member of the INTO and has served as
Staff Representative, Branch and District
Chairperson, Trade Union and Professional
Development Tutor. Since 2000 she has been on
the INTO Education Committee.
Emma has also served as a PCSP Tutor in
English and Art.
E
InTouch April 2005
Cover pic: First time delegates at Congress
included Niall Smyth (Dublin City North),
Alison Passmore (Navan), Alice Holland
(Portlaoise) and Nichola Spokes (Clifden).
7
N ATIONAL NEWS
S cé a l ta Náisiúnta
Sheila Nunan
INTO President 2005 – 2006
T
he new President of the Irish
National Teachers' Organisation is
Sheila Nunan. She was born in
Newbridge, Co Kildare, and now lives in
Glencullen, Co Dublin.
Sheila attended primary school in St
Conleth’s NS and completed her secondary education in the Holy Family Post
primary school in Newbridge. In 1975
Sheila went to UCD where she graduated
with B Soc Sc. She then did the graduate
teaching diploma in St Patrick’s College,
Drumcondra, in 1978.
Sheila has enjoyed a number of diffe rent roles as a primary teacher. Her
teaching career began in 1979 in Our
Lady of Loreto Boys' NS, Tallaght. In 1982
she was appointed as the first Visiting
Teacher for Travellers in the So u t h
County Dublin/ North Wicklow region.
In 1995 she joined the staff of St Kieran’s
NS in Bray having completed a Diploma
in Special Education in St Patrick’s
Drumcondra. She was Acting Principal
from 1999 until 2005 while the principal
was on secondment.
Sheila has been an active INTO
member for many years. She was a
Branch Organiser and Branch Secre t a ry
for Tallaght Branch and is currently a
member of Cualann Branch. From 19952004 Sheila re p resented District VIII
(South County, Tallaght, Cualann and
Blessington) on the Central Executive
Committee.
She was appointed to the Council of
the National Council for Curriculum and
Assessment (NCCA) and also serves as
INTO representative on the Schools
Implementation Committee of the
National Education Welfare Boa rd
(NEWB) and on the Commission on
School Accommodation.
The Presidential year will be a busy
one for Sheila as the INTO steps up its
class size and teacher supply campaign.
The establishment of the next benchmarking body and its terms of re fe rence
will also be an important objective fo r
the union. Developments arising out of
the recently established Teaching
Council, the issue of school leadership
in primary schools, special education
provision and closer working relationships with other teacher unions will also
be high on Sheila’s agenda.
Denis Bohane
INTO Vice President 2005 – 2006
T
he new Vice President of the
INTO is Denis Bohane. Denis,
a Corkman, is a resource teacher
for Travellers in Scoil an Spoiraid
Naoimh, Bishopstown, Cork.
Denis attended the Presentation
Brothers’ Primary School in Greenmount, Cork, which celebrated 150
years in existence last year. He went to
secondary school in Coláiste Mhuire ,
Douglas, Cork.
He was a member of the Presentation
Brothers for seven years. During
this time he completed his teacher
education in De La Salle Training
College, Waterford.
For the past fifteen years, Denis has
been a member of the Central
Executive Committee having been
very active at every level of the
Organisation. He has been a member of
Cork City South Branch since 1971 and
8
served as Branch Rúnaí from 1985 1 9 9 0.
Denis is particularly interested in
c h i l d ren with special needs. Since 1977,
he has been a member of the Cope
Foundation which provides a comprehensive range of services for people
with mental disability in the Cork
region. He has representated the
organisation on the Council of the
National Association for the Mentally
H a n d i c a pped of Ireland.
Denis is also interested in
Developing World issues and is a
member of the Irish Congress of Trade
Union’s Solidarity Committ e e .
Denis has acted as a re fe ree for Bord
na nÓg in Cork City for nearly thirty
years.
Denis is married to Noreen
M c S w e e n eyand they have three
c h i l d ren Ciarán, Aodhán and Cillian.
InTouch April 2005
CONDITIONS OF EMPLOY M E N T
Coinníollacha Fostaíochta
New Arrangements for Substitute Payments
C
ircular 28/04 which
issued to schools advises
boa rds of management
and teachers of new arrangements that apply in relation to
the payment of substitute
teachers from 1 January 2 0 0 5.
The following is a summary of
the main points of the Circular:
A single pay-roll has been
introduced from 1 January 2005.
The employer number for the
single pay-roll will be 4000099
H. Permanent, temporary and
substitute teachers will now be
paid on a fortnightly basis on
the same day.
Rates of Pay
A qualified substitute teacher
will be paid at a fixed rate of
e172.26 (effective from 1 Dec ’0 4)
which is inclusive of holiday pay
until s/he has worked for a
period in excess of 40 days in a
school during the academic year.
In the event that a qualified
substitute teacher works fo r
more than 40 days in the
academic year, each additional
day worked over and above 40
days will be paid at a personal
daily rate. The personal daily
rate is determined by the incremental point of the common
basic scale and the appropriate
qualification allowance.
The personal daily rate can be
calculated by dividing the
appropriate annual salary by
183 (number of days in the
academic year). For example:
A teacher has worked 40 days at
the daily rate of e172.26 then goes
on to work in excess of 40 days.
This teacher has 9 years service
and there fo re is on the tenth point
of the incremental Common Ba s i c
Scale and also has a Pass Degree.
Common Basic Scale
(1 0th point)
Pass Degre e
Total:
Daily Ra t e:
(e40,226/1 8 3) =
e38,611
e1,615
e40,226
e219.81
For every day the teacher works
in excess of 40 days, s/he will be
paid the new rate of e219.81.
Non-Casual Contracts
A non-casual contract is considered a contract of more than 40
days. Maternity/ Adoptive leave
contracts are the only types of
non-casual contract available
to primary substitute teachers.
Qualified substitute teachers
who are employed in and
complete a non-casual contract
will be eligible to be paid the
personal daily rate of pay from
the first day of the non-casual
contract. In such cases, the
substitute will be paid the fixed
daily rate (casual rate) for up to
40 days and the personal daily
rate will be paid in arrears when
the 40 day threshold is passed.
Incre m e n tal credit
Prior to this, incremental cre d i t
was only awarded to trained
substitute teachers on app o i n tment to a permanent post and
the level of award was limited to
two years. This will remain to be
the case in respect of substitute
service given prior to 20
December 2 0 0 1. However, with
effect from 20 December 2 0 0 1,
one increment will be awarded
for each 183 days service given
by qualified substitute teachers.
Arrangements are being put in
place by the DES to calculate
and pay any arrears of
incremental credit due.
Payment by Pay-Path
All substitute teachers will be
paid by Pay-Path with effe c t
from 1 January 2 0 0 5. Boa rds of
management should ensure
that all details regarding paypath are completed on the
initial claim form completed by
the substitute teacher, to
ensure that delays in payment
are avoided. Pay-Path details
need only be re-submitted if
there is a change in bank
account details.
Date of Submission of Claims to
the DES
Under the new payroll arrangements, the latest date that a
claim for the payment of substitute teachers can be inputted
by the DES will be 10 days in
advance of the date the substitute receives the payment.
Superannuation Deductions for
Substitute Teachers
Superannuation deductions
commenced for substitute
teachers on 1 January 2 0 0 5. The
only group for whom deductions will not be made are
teachers who retired on
compulsory age grounds and
are not new entrants as
explained in Circular 10⁄04. In
this context, it should be noted
that teachers over age 6 5, who
undertake substitute work after
31 March 2004, will have superannuation deductions made if a
break of more than 26 weeks
occurs between periods of
employment. Superannuation
deductions will be made from
each salary payment. In
general, substitute teachers
(who are paying Class A PRSI
contributions) will pay superannuation deductions as
follows:
1 . 5% Spouses and Children’s
Pension (pre-tax deduction from gross salary).
1 . 5% Superannuation (pre-tax
deduction from gross
salary).
3.5% Superannuation (pre-tax
deduction from gross
salary, less twice the rate
of Department of So c i a l
and Family Affairs Old Age
Pension).
Teachers on Career Break
Circular 28⁄04 states: “A teacher
on a career break should not
normally undertake any substitute teaching. In exceptional
circumstances, however, a
teacher on career break may be
employed in a substitute capaci ty. It should be noted that
teachers on career break will be
paid at the casual rate only.”
Retired Teachers
Circular 28⁄04 states: “The
implications for pension on
payment to re t i redteachers
who undertake substitute work
will be clarified in a further
Circular which will issue from
Pensions Unit in the near
future.”
Spouses' and Children's Pension Scheme
A
revised option to join the
Spouses’ and Childre n ' s
Pension Scheme is to be
extended to these women who
opted out of the scheme at the
time of the original option in
1 9 8 1. (The scheme became
compulsory for all women who
commenced teaching since 1
November 1 9 8 1).
The contribution rates that
InTouch April 2005
will apply to the revised offer
will be as follows:
• Periodic Contributions: 2%
of salary;
• Deductions in respect of
service prior to joining the
scheme: 1 . 5%of final salary
per outstanding year.
A DES Circular is being
drafted in relation to this
matter. When the Circular
issues, teachers who opted out
in 1981 will have approximately
six months to consider the
matter and make a decision as
to whether to opt in or not.
The DES has confirmed to the
INTO that all Primary (and
Secondary) teachers in service
on or after 1 April 2004 are to be
given the option to join the
Revised Spouses’ and Children’s
Pension Scheme. The DES have
also confirmed that in the event
that a woman teacher dies
b e fo re she has the opportunity
to join the scheme, she will be
included in the scheme
(providing she was in service
on or after 1 April 2 0 0 4) – if it is
to the financial advantage of
her spouse / dependants.
9
L E GAL & INDUSTRIAL REL AT I O N S
Caidrimh Tionsclaíochta agus Dlí
Seminars on School Attendance
F
ollowing discussions
between the INTO, NEWB
and School Management
Authorities, a number of information seminars have been
organised throughout the
country, including two which
were held prior to Easter in
Dublin. Schools have been
notified of seminars in their
region and the details have also
been posted on the INTO
website.
Despite INTO representations, the DES refused to allow
substitute cover for principals
or designated teachers to
attend these seminars during
school time and, therefore, the
GUIDELINES FOR
PRIMARY
TEACHERS ON
PROBATION
F
or some time the INTO, in
an effort to bring consistency into the probation
process, has demanded that the
DES Inspectorate produce
Guidelines for Primary Teachers
on Probation in Recognised
Schools.
A draft of the guidelines was
produced by the Inspectorate
prior to Congress, containing
i n formation on what probation
entails and general advice on
the creation of a purposeful
learning environment including
activity areas, classroom displays
and the use of resources. A
central part of the draft document refers to long and short
term planning and preparation.
It contains advice in relation to
Effective Learning and Teaching
App r oaches and Assessment
and Record Keeping. At the
time of writing the INTO is
considering the draft document
and will resume discussions
with the Inspectorate on the
issue. The INTO is seeking to
ensure that the current unsatisfactory situation and lack of
consistency is resolved satisfactorily. It is intended that the
document will be available at
the start of the next school year.
10
seminars have been organised
on a voluntary basis outside
school time. The Management
Authorities of Catholic schools
have agreed, and the Management Authorities of other
schools are recommending, the
payment of travelling expenses
of E1 per mile to teachers
attending the seminars. In
deciding to facilitate the
seminars the CEC was aware of
the many queries received by
INTO and NEWB on the practicalities and details of the report
forms.
The issues raised at the first
two seminars echoed many of
the comments and proposals
made by the INTO in discussions on the development of
reporting procedures for
schools. These included data
protection, pupils under 6
years of age, roll books and
registers, IT support, and enrolment application forms.
The NEWB also stated at the
seminars that almost 2,000
reports have been received for
the first reporting period, that
discussions were starting in
relation to re-designing roll
books for primary schools and
that follow-up action, including prosecutions where necessary, was being initiated by the
NEWB.
INTO members at the seminars also raised the
requirement to report up to
five times in any one year and
the difficulties in accurately
giving a breakdown of reasons
in the first reporting period
given the amount of the school
year that had elapsed. The
INTO has previously advised
the NEWB that ticking the
boxes under the various headings for student absences
should suffice at this point in
the year. Further discussions
are to be held in relation to
reporting processes and
other issues arising from the
seminars.
Equalitycase settled
M
s Marga ret Mc Ginn,
a primary teacher,
discriminated
against when she applied for a
principal’s job in a Co Wicklow
school, has settled her claim
against the school management in the Labour Court. The
school has agreed to pay Ms
McGinn ?2 5 , 0 0 0 and issue her
an apology to include an
undertaking that she will not
be victimised in future.
Last June, an Equality Officer
found that Ms McGinn was
discriminated against and
ordered that Ms McGinn be
paid ?10,000 by way of
compensation. The Equality
Officer also upheld a complaint
of victimisation and ord e red
that the sum of ?117,236 be
paid to Ms McGinn. This award
of two years salary was the
maximum payable.
The Equ a l i tyOfficer’s finding
also contained a number of
other orders including that Ms
McGinn receive a written
acknowledgement from the
Boa rd of Management that she
was discriminated against and
a full apology for the hurt
e x p e r ienced along with a
commitment that she would
not be victimised in future. The
Equality Officer also
recommended that the
Department of Education and
Science, managerial repre s e ntatives and the INTO agree on a
body to enforce the Rules and
Procedures of Boa rds of
Management. It was further
recommended that these groups
review the manner in which
Selection Boa rds are appointed
with a view to achieving greater
independence and the possib i l i ty of appointing outside,
professional, independent
Chairpersons. These re c o mmendations are unaffected by
the settlement, which was
reached following legal advice.
“This case is of fundamental
importance for all teachers. It
preserves the Equ a l i ty Officer’s
findings and clearly establishes
what has to happen to tackle
discrimination in schools,”
said John Carr. “The INTO
wants to see the implementation of the recommendations.”
Ms McGinn said that it had
been challenging to pursue the
case over the last four years. She
said that her aims were to highlight unlawful gender discrimination, vindicate the integrity
of her position in taking this
case, and to ensure that interview boa rds were more transparent, objective and
accountable. “These aims have
now been achieved,” she said.
“Once this case was appealed
to the La bour Court I was
determined that it would be
concluded using the available
l e gal structures rather than
through any out of court,
confidential settlement. I
a g reed to a reduced monetary
a w a rdwhen the unlawful
gender discrimination was
acknowledged and an apology
was forthcoming.”
She said that she was
relieved and happy that
closure had been brought to
the case. “I recommend that
others who experience
discrimination use the lega l
means available to counteract
such injustice. This case has
set a clear marker that those
who continue to discriminate
may no longer do so with
i m p u n i ty, knowing that the
full light of the law can be
focussed on such injustice.”
Ms McGinn also ack n o w ledged the vital role of the INTO
in representing her in the case.
InTouch April 2005
CO M M U N I CATIONS, PRINCIPALS & SOCIAL INCLUSION
Cumarsáid, Príomhoidí agus Cuimsiú Sóisialta
Review of School Administration
T
he Minister for Education
and Science, Mary
Hanafin TD, has indicated
her intention to review the
administrative burden imposed
on schools arising from
Departmental and legislative
requirements. The DES has
written to the INTO seeking its
views on activities and re quirements which might be diminished, or performed in a more
e f fective way. Responding to
this initiative, John Carr, General
Secretary, said he welcomed the
fact that the Minister recognised
the ever-increasing demands
being made on schools and, in
particular, principal teachers in
relation to administration and
policy formation. He said the
INTO had raised this issue
consistently with the DES in
recent times and was pleased
that the Minister was now
responding positively to the
topic.
The INTO is now seeking the
views of members on administrative processes which arise
within schools, and on strategies for alleviating these
b u rdens. This issue has already
been considered by both the
CEC and the Interim Review
Committee of the INTO
Principals Fora in recent times.
The newly appointed INTO
Principal and Deputy Principals
Committee will also be considering this issue at its first meeting on 6 May. Members who
wish to contribute to this
review are welcome to fo rw a rd
their views and ideas to Tom
O'Sullivan, Assistant General
Secretary, in INTO Head Office
or email them to [email protected]
Special Education
Tr a velling for 25 years
NCSE Update
he Visiting Teacher
Service for Travellers
recently celebrated 25
years since its establishment.
The Service started in 1980 as a
pilot scheme in Co Galway. It
was the first home-school
community scheme in Ireland
and gradually evolved over the
The National Council for
Special Education (NCSE) has
recently advertised the post of
Head of Research and
Development for the Council.
This is a welcome development
which will see the Council
undertaking the research functions assigned to it under the
Education for Persons with
Special Educational Needs Act
2004.
NCSE is also recruiting SENOs
to fill the current vacancies.
Schools who have not yet been
assigned a SENO, and who wish
to make application for
resource teaching for childre n
with low incidence special
educational needs, or SNA
support, should contact the
office of the NCSE in Trim (Tel:
046- 9486400). NCSE will then
assign a SENO to process the
application.
Schools are advised that additional hours sanctioned by the
SENO should be filled immediately and the details of the
teacher employed forwarded to
the payroll section of DES.
Review of General Allocation
System
T
At the time of going to press,
decisions are awaited on the
allocation of special education
resource teachers under the
new system for the coming
school year.
In her speech to INTO
C o n g ress 2005, the Minister fo r
Education stated that she was
conscious of the need to inform
schools as soon as possible as to
the procedures that will apply
for the allocation of resource
teachers for the next school
year. Further news will be
posted on the INTO website as
it becomes available.
years to a point where today 40
teachers are employed in the
Service.
The success of the Service is
clear from the improved att e ndance of Traveller children and
the increased inclusion that is
evident in primary schools
throughout the country.
Pictured at the
VTST confe r e n ce
in Athlone are
Maugie Francis
(National
E d u cation Officer
for Travellers),
Assumpta
Vaughan and
Bernie Murray
(Cork), who are
amongst the
l o n gest serving
members of the
service.
Minister Announces New Disadvantage Framework
S
peaking at INTO
C o n g ress, Minister Mary
Hanafin, TD, announced
she will be publishing a new
framework for tackling disadvantage in April. She said the
new framework will involve the
provision of 300 additional
posts across the education
system generally with a total
annual investment of E40
million. She said some of these
12
posts will be used to reduce
class sizes at senior level to 24
in targeted disadvantaged
schools. She will also be extending measures to improve literacy and numeracy, to provide
home school liaison teachers to
more disadvantage schools and
to encourage greater cooperation between primary and post
primary schools. She said the
new programme will give fund-
ing to schools to provide a mix
of both academic and nonacademic supports during and
outside school time.
She also said that she had
decided that administrative
principals will be provided fo r
targeted disadvantaged schools
on lower enrolment and
staffing figures.She also
intended to provide enhanced
p r o fessional development and
a new scheme of paid sabbatical
leave. A crucial aspect of the
new approach will be a more
developed planning process,
more target setting and
improved procedures for measuring progress. She said the
Educational Research Centre
will be carrying out a new
s u rv ey in April in relation to
identifying levels of disadvantage in primary schools.
InTouch April 2005
E D U CAT I O N
Oideachas
Conference Considers Challenges for Teachers
E
ducation International,
the international re p resentative trade union fo r
teachers – pan-European
section, held an international
conference on teacher education in Dublin in February
2005. The confe rence was
attended by members of various teacher trade unions in
Europe, including the INTO ,
ASTI, TUI and IFUT. In opening
the conference Minister Mary
Hanafin TD welcomed the
international delegation and
acknowledged the high
demands made on the profe ssionalism of teachers in meeting the demands of pupils,
parents, special needs, multiculturalism and a changing
school environment.
Teacher Education in Europe
into the 21st Century
P r o fessor John Coolahan in his
k eynote address spoke abo u t
the impact of the knowledge
and learning society, globalisation, lifelong learning, and
societal changes on the work of
teachers in the 2 1st century.
The emphasis today has shifted
from teaching to learning, with
a focus on activist learning,
multiple intelligences, skills
and competencies, creating a
more extended role for the
teacher. He noted, however,
as the demands being made
on teachers increase, the
p r o fession suffers increasingly
from difficulties in relation to
image, recruitment, induction,
retention, aging, feminisation,
slipp a ge in salary and disimprovements in conditions of
work. He said that teachers
often presented negative
images of teaching and that it
was time for teachers to take
pride in the profession.
P r o fessor Coolahan highlighted challenges for teacher
education. He argued that
creative and divergent thinkers
were re qu i red in teaching. He
called for a closer relationship
between the teaching profe ssion and teacher education
agencies. He highlighted the
InTouch April 2005
Pictured at the Confe r e n ceare Charlie Lennon (EI); John Carr, General Secreta ry; Minister Mary Hanafin TD;
Pr o fe ssor John Coolahan and Deirbhile NicCraith, INTO Education Officer
need for initial teacher education to reflect a variety of teaching and learning styles and to
embrace reflective practice.
P r o fessor Coolahan stated
that induction programmes
have attracted a variety of
policy responses including
reduced wo r k l oads, and is
seen as distinct from probation.
Continuous professional
development he argued, must
be seen as an investment
and integral to the career of
teaching. He stated the importance of professional development being linked to the
c a reer stages of teachers, being
varied in nature, duration and
timing, inclusive of school
based dimensions, research
based and involving the
p r o fession.
In his conclusion, he
challenged teachers and
teacher educators to champion
qu a l i ty, to be open to evolving
change, to adopt a strategic
view, to interpret the policy
context, to press for policy
implementation, to be
constructively critical of international trends, to highlight the
contribution of teachers, to
support the work of teaching
councils, to encourage R & D
projects in schools and to lobby
for resources to match the
needs of the knowledge society .
Comparative Developments
R i c h a rdHarrison gave an
overview of the current UK
Government Strategy on
continuous professional development (CPD) for teachers. He
stated that CPD was seen bo t h
as a right and a responsibility
and that it was considered to be
at the core of school improvement. He indicated that there
was a positive link between
c o l l a borative and sustained
CPD and teacher selfconfidence, ability to change
practice and re p e r t o i reof
strategies and that peer support
was more important than
supervision. He mentioned the
work of the National College of
School Leadership, which was
self directed and learner driven,
involving collective enquiry,
networking, sharing knowledge
and problem solving.
Christine Moe Hovind from
Norway presented the curre n t
position in Scandinavian countries, where quality is the main
priority. Teaching is considered
a very attractive career in
Finland – only 17% of applicants
succeed in gaining entry. In
Norway, all applicants are
usually accepted.
Odile Cordelier gave a brief
overview of the current situation at second level in France
and highlighted the need for
more research. Gabor Kerpen of
Hungary gave an overview of
current developments in
Eastern Europe, highlighting the
lack of respect for schooling at a
time when there was an increasing expectation of schools
OECD Teacher Policy
Paulo Santiago, of the Directorate for Education in the OECD
outlined the main policy directions arising from the recent
OECD study on Teachers Matter:
Attracting, Developing and
Retaining Effective Teachers. The
full report, based on research
from 25 countries (including
Ireland) is due to be publishedsoon. An overview will be carried
in a later edition of InTo u c h.
Other Presentations
Monique Fouilhoux of EI outlined
the impact on teacher education of the Bologna Process,
which aims to increase re c o g n ition of third level qualifications
throughout Europe. Arlett e
Delhaxhe of Eurydice spoke on
keeping experienced teachers
motivated. John Carr, General
Secretary, INTO, argued for the
need for Teaching Councils, in
enhancing the teaching profe ssion. He said they provided the
best means for enhancing and
developing the role and status
of the teaching profession.
13
E Q UA L I T Y
Comhionnanas
Equality Tribunal Decisions – Review Women in
3. Marital Status and Family Status Grounds
Marital Status
Family Status
Defined as “single, married,
separated, divorced or
widowed” marital status is not
f re quently cited as the sole
ground for a claim; just one
such case was located for 2004
and five for 2 0 0 3. One significant finding was that in
Superq u i n n. Here the employer
deducted more from the sick
pay of married employees on
the assumption that they were
being paid a dependent
allowance in respect of their
spouse, in addition to disability
benefit.
In Delaney, while discrimination on the age ground was
proven, the Equality Officer
found that a prima facie case
had not been established on
the marital status ground.
T h e re have been similar
findings in a number of other
cases.
This ground re fers to a person
being a parent or “in loco
parentis” for a person under 1 8,
or a resident primary carer in
relation to a person with a
d i s a b i l i ty, re gardless of age.
Family status, too, has rarely
been the sole ground in decided
cases. Taking the seven such
cases located for 2 0 0 4, in none
of these was discrimination
found. There have, however,
been a number of successful
cases under equal status law
where for example, service was
refused because a person had a
baby with him/her.
In Quigley, the Equality
Officer found that both the
complainant and the person
appointed to a disputed post
had family status, and there fo re
a claim on this ground could
not succeed. The La bour Court
has found that the dismissal of
a school secretary, as the BO M
did not wish to have a parent as
secretary, was discriminatory.
The sum of e6,500 was award e d
against Gaelscoil Thulach na
nÓg Dunbo y n e .
The third in a five-part series
reviewing cases taken to the
Equality Tribunal on each of the
Nine Grounds and highlighting
i s s u es raised: not intended as lega l
advice. One source for these artic l es is the Legal Review produced
annually by the Tribunal.
References for cases cited given
below – for full case re p o r tssee
www.equalitytribunal.ie.
Decisions cited: 44 Named
Complainants V Superqu i n n
E2 0 0 3 - 0 0 3; Delaney V BOM
Drumshanbo NS E2 0 0 4 - 0 6 7;
Qu i g l ey V John Dickinson
Stationery E2 0 0 4 - 0 2 6. La bo u r
court case – EED 049 Gaelscoil
Thulach na nÓg v FitzsimonsMarkey.
■
GOODBYE AND THANKS
This Easter the Equality Committee
said farewell to four long-serving
members not seeking re-election.
Outgoing Cathaoirleach, Mary
Culhane, is now on the Teaching
Council, and former Leas-Chathaoirleach, Bernie McCloskey, who also
s t e pped down, represents INTO
on the National Women’s Council.
Mary Horan and Anne Madden
are leaving the Committee on
their retirement from teaching.
We wish all four the ve ry best. The
newly-elected Equality Committee
(2005-2008) will be featured in
the next issue of InTouch.
Left to right: Mary Horan, Bernie McCloskey, Mary Culhane, Anne Madden
IN BRIEF….
■
Initial difficulties with
[email protected] are now
corrected and details of the
next INTO LGBT Gro u p m e e ting, scheduled for May, are
available by emailing this
address.
In Equality Tribunal
cases, the Delaney case
■
14
(InTouch Jan/Feb 2005 p .2 0) has
now been settled and the appeal
to the Labour Court against the
findings has been withdrawn.
Meanwhile, INTO member
Margaret O’Neill has won an
age discrimination case against
the BOM of St Gabriel’s NS,
Ba l l y fermot. Ms O’Neill, was
a w a rded e5,000 in compensation.: See
www.equalitytribunal.ie; case
E2005 - 007.
■
A range of Women’s
Studies courses is available in UCD, 2005-2006. For
details, see www.ucd.ie/werrc.
the New
Europe
T
en INTO delegates
attended an ICTU Seminar
on this theme in Belfast
on 5 and 6 March 2005.
Speakers examined the
experience of women in civil
and political life, and in trade
unions, in the new EU member
states. There were also
presentations on migrant
workers in Ireland and on antitrafficking.
A speaker from Slovakia
described the experience of
women under communism
where there app e a red to be
equality, but of the “top down”
v a r i e ty. She also re fe r red to the
particular pre s s u res on women,
the “sandwich situation” where
women workers also cared fo r
children and for older parents.
A Polish speaker examined the
passive tradition among orga nisations in post-communist
states; faith in the State had
given way to faith in market
forces to faith in the EU; in each
case the idea of a force from
a bove to lead change was
embedded.
Irish speakers re fe r red to the
experience of migrant workers
here. Immigrant women, in
particular, were part of the
“care chain”. Examples were
given of the exploitation of
migrant workers through
“ l o y a l ty bonuses” and denials of
basic rights.
An ILO speaker referred to
the trafficking of women as “the
underside of globalisation”.
Although EU enlargement had
somewhat eased migration
pressures, there remained a
need for trade unions to be
active in identifying potential
victims of trafficking, wo r k
mostly done by nongovernmental organisations to
date.
Further Seminar details are
available from the Equality
Section at Head Office.
InTouch April 2005
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT & TR ADE UNION TR A I N I N G
Forbairt Ghairmiúil agus Oiliúint Ceardchumann
Summer Programme 2005
T
he Professional
Development Unit is
currently preparing its 2005
Summer Programme. In collaboration with NCTE we will be
offering a countrywide
programme of ICT – Practical
Projects in the Classroom
courses and a new course
specifically aimed at teachers
involved in setting up an ICT
system in their schools. In
c o l l a boration with the
Department of Education and
Science we hope to offer a variety of courses and summer
schools on topics including
d i v e r s i ty, behaviour in the
classroom, effective teaching
methodologies, multiclass
teaching. physical education,
music, SPHE and a course
specifically for newly appointed
principals.
ENFO EVENING
SEMINARS
CHALLENGING
BEHAVIOUR SEMINARS
A
C
series of evening seminars
in environmental education is being organized by ENFO
and the INTO. These seminars
will take place in the west and
south east in late May/early
June. Full details will appear in
the next issue of InTouch and on
the website.
losing dates for app l i c ations for the Challenging
Behaviour Seminars are :
Dublin – 21 April and
Limerick – 5 May.
Full details and application
form in the March issue of
InTouch and on the INTO
website.
Bringing History to Life
in Colaiste Mhuire
Marino
T
he INTO and the Heritage
Council were once again
very proud to be involved
in this inspiring project coord inated by Paddy Madden,
l e c t u rer in SESE in Colaiste
M h u i re, Marino.
Second year and Post
Graduate Students researched
the life and times of a senior
family member or friend or a
local area/enterprise and
presented their findings in
project form. Through working
on the project not only did they
learn more about the person or
place in question but they also
gained valuable first hand
experience of the various facets
of active learning from working
with evidence to interviewing
for research purposes –
methodologies they will use in
their classrooms in the future.
P h o toshows the project medal winners along with Paddy Madden,
Colaiste Mhuire Marino, Marion Rollins, AirfieldTrust, Catherine
G r a l ton, The Herita ge Council and Catherine Byrne, General Treasurer,
INTO
Trade Union Training
Fo ra Officers’ Training
59 Officers of the INTO
Principals’ and Deputy
Principals’ Fora attended a
training seminar in the Hodson
Bay Hotel, Athlone on 24 and 25
February. The delegates represented 42 of the 48 local Fora,
established under rule at the
2004 Rules Congress.
The seminar incorporated
lively discussion of issues
related to leadership in schools
as well as matters relating to
the running of INTO Fora.
New Branch Officers’ Training
A training seminar for newly
InTouch April 2005
elected Branch Secretaries and
Cathaoirligh will take place in
the Mullingar Park Hotel on 1 3,
14 and 15 April. Approximately
70 new officers have been
invited.
The training will incorporate
exploration of the role and
functions of INTO branch
officers, discussion of developments in the educational
landscape and training in
communication and interpersonal skills.
District officers, newly
elected at the District AGMs in
June will be offered training in
September.
15
INTO BENEFIT S AND DISCO U N T S
Buntáistí agus Lascainní CMÉ
Dingle World
of Leisure
T
his is a complete all
weather family entertainment complex, with cosmic ten
pin bowling, pool tables, children’s activity gym, swimming
pool and interactive amusements and café .
An action packed day is guaranteed for all ages.
INTO members and their
families can now avail of
discounted rates at Dingle
World of Leisure.
Please contact (0 6 6) 915
0660, for information this offer
is valid from the 1 April to 31
August 0 5.
Clarion Hotel
F
eel like a break... The
Clarion Hotel Limerick
offers all INTO Members a
special rate of e1 4 5 per person
sharing for 2 nights B&B with
dinner and wine on one
evening in their waterfront
Sinergie Restaurant.
This offer is subject to
availability.
• Treat yourself to four star
deluxe luxury on the river
Shannon waterfront in
Limerick city centre.
• Relax in air-conditioned
bedrooms with luxurious
Egyptian cotton linen.
Aqua Dome Tralee
T
he Tralee Aqua Dome is one
of Ireland’s largest indoor
waterworlds and is brimming
with exciting features that
capture the imagination of child ren and adults alike.
INTO members and their
families can now avail of a 20%
discount on family admission
fees (minimum of 1 a d u l t /3
juniors or 2 adults/2 juniors).
O f fer valid for April, May
and June.
The Aqua Dome is located in
thrilling surroundings, a world
Stein Travel
Radisson SAS Hotel, Athlone
S
tein Travel is the largest
Irish owned independent
tour operator chartering over
125,000 seats every year and
provides direct service from
Dublin, Cork and Knock
airports.
Stein Travel specialise in
package holidays, golf breaks
and also offer competitive
flight only rates. Stein Travel
are delighted to extend their 5%
discount to INTO members
until 30 April 2 0 0 6. Book
online www.steintravel.ie/into
and enter password, INTO54 or
locall 1890 408 408.
Competition
Stein Travel are offering one
l u cky winner the chance to win
a travel voucher worth e2 0 0.
Send the answer to the fo l l o wing question: Stein Travel operates direct services from which
three Irish Airports? on a postc a rd to Stein Travel
Competition, INTO, 3 5, Parnell
Square, Dublin 1 or email:
[email protected]
• Unwind in SanoVitae Health
and Fitness club with indoor
heated pool.
• Enjoy Malaysian or Thai
cuisine in Kudos Bar.
Choose from the sumptuous
European Menu in Sinergie
Restaurant.
Don’t delay. Phone today
061 444100 or email:
[email protected]
Website:
www.clarionhotellimerick.com
16
of enchantment awaits you
under a canopy of glass where
the temperature never drops
and the fun never stops.
All ages can enjoy the thrills
of the Aqua Dome. Have even
more fun playing Aqua Golf –
An 18 hole miniature golf
course located next to the Aqua
Dome.
For further information ring
(0 6 6) 7128899 or
www.aquadome.ie
Sense the sublime at the Radisson SAS Hotel, Athlone
T
here is something distinctly
u n i que and yet intriguing
a bout the new Radisson SAS
Hotel, At h l o n e .
• Relax or invigorate in the
hotel’s pool, sauna, steam
room or gym.
• The hotel’s Elements re s t a urant offers the finest in local
and international cuisine.
• The Quayside Bar and Lounge
with outdoor Riverside
Terrace is the idyllic spot to
unwind.
I N TO members can avail of mid
week breaks for e1 2 5pps and
e1 4 0pps at weekends at the
Radisson SAS Hotel in Athlone,
this includes two nights B&B
and dinner on one evening.
Offer valid until 31 August 2005
and subject to availability .
Ring (0 9 0) 644 2600 or
email reservations.athlone
@radissonsas.com and
quote INTO when making your
reservation.
Competition
For a chance to win a weekend
break for two at the Radisson
SAS Hotel, send the answer to
the following question on a
p o s t c a rdto the Radisson SAS
Hotel Competition, Benefits
Section, INTO, 3 5, Parnell
Squ a re, Dublin 1.
What is the name of the
Restaurant at the Radisson SAS
Hotel, Athlone?
Letterkenny Leisure Ce n t re
I
NTO members and their
families can now avail of
special discounted rates at
Letterkenny Leisure Centre.
The leisure centre has facilities for adults and children and
guarantees fun for all the family
with fitness room, tennis
courts, an outdoor children’s
play area, sauna, steam room,
whirlpool, plunge pool and
swimming pools.
Please phone (074) 9125251
for more information.
Competition Winners
T
he lucky winners of the NOKIA 3220 mobile
phone courtesy of the Carphone Warehouse
is Bríd Gibbons. Congratulations also to Mrs
Maura Roche, St Stephen's De La'Salle, 25 Patrick
Street, Waterford who won two nights B&B in the
Randles hotel and Elaine Byrne, 96 Upper
Rathmines Road, Dublin 6 who won the e100
Hughes and Hughes Book voucher.
InTouch April 2005
MEDIA REPORT
Tuairisc na Meán
Class Size in the Headlines
Survey paints a grim picture for schools.
Clare Champion, 18 March 2005
Sligo schools struggle to cope with growing
class size crisis.
INTO demand Smaller Class Size.
Northern Standard, 24 March 2005
The Sligo Champion, 23 March 2005
North Tipp Schools most overcrowded in
Europe.
The Nenagh Guardian, 19 March 2005
C i ty’s teachers’ challenge government to
l i veup to pre-election promises.
A complete disgrace.
Dundalk Democra t, 23 March 2005
TDs get primary school invite to reduce
nation’s class size.
Irish Independent, 22 March 2005
Class size in primary schools a “shock” fo r
parents.
Politicians need to learn lesson on class size
say teachers
Irish Examiner, 22 March 2005
S u rvey shows class sizes the largest in Europe.
Galway City Tribune, 25 March 2005
Protest over overcrowded primary schools.
Longford Leader, 25 March 2005
Limerick Leader, 23 March 2005
Lu can school heads lash Harney.
The Kerr y m a n, 24 March 2005
Lucan Gazette, 27 March 2005
Congress in the Media
They strongly favour lower
class sizes. Nothing surprising, of course, in teachers
wanting smaller classes.
But lower numbers in each
classroom are as desirable
from the viewpoint of
education as of discipline.
On this point, the teachers
are right.
Irish Independent
28 March 2005
Mr Carr said serious incidents such as verbal and
physical abuse of a pupil or,
occasionally, a teacher
often literally brought
teaching to a halt.
"Teachers then switch to
being detectives investigating what happened, judges
deciding where the fault lies
and journalists because
everything must be
recorded. All the while the
other 30 pupils in the class
who came to school to learn
are left abandoned," he
added.
Irish Independent
28 March 2005
Because parents are
determined to place
(special needs) children in
mainstream schools, Ireland
risks following the trend
seen in Britain where almost
InTouch April 2005
100 special schools and
countless special classes
have been closed over the
past seven years.
Irish Examiner
29 March 2005
As INTO president Austin
Corcoran pointed out in
his address to delegates
last night, spending on
education in this State
continues to lag behind
other less prosperous
countries.
Irish Times
29 March 2005
Class sizes much too large –
Corcoran
Irish Times
29 March 2005
Hanafin warms them up,
then leaves them cold.
Irish Examiner
30 March 2005
An emboldened John Carr
spelt it out in his response to
her address. “Don’t come
back here next year without
a reduction in class size.”
Irish Independent
30 March 2005
Inadequate funding is forcing many primary schools
to borrow money, switch off
radiators to conserve oil
supplies or allow buildings
go unpainted for years, the
INTO congress was told
yesterday.
Irish Independent
31 March 2005
n contrast to the angry mood
of teachers at last year’s
gatherings, Ms Hanafin
received no fewer than five
generous rounds of applause
from the delegatges. But they
were scathing, and rightly so,
of Government’s failure to
reduce class size.
Irish Examiner
30 March 2005
Primary teachers to press
for smaller class sizes
Irish Times
30 March 2005
Teachers demand action on
class size
Irish Examiner
30 March 2005
The most surprising feature
of the congress is the
relative youth of many
delegates. At a time when
many organisations and
political parties bemoan
the lack of involvement
by the young, the INTO
conference still manages to
attract scores of young
teachers
Irish Times
31 March 2005
THE INTO is to seek a meeting with the Taoiseach to
convey the "anger and frustration" of primary teachers
over large classes in primary
schools. Delegates quoted
the commitment in the
programme for government
to bringing average class
sizes for children under nine
to below 20:1.
Irish Independent
31 March 2005
Principals seek backing for
pay parity
Irish Examiner
31 March 2005
Inspector “should mentor
not tormentor”
Irish Examiner
31 March 2005
In the coming months, she
needs to convince her
Cabinet colleagues about
the scandal of overcrowded
classrooms and about the
scale of the education crisis
in poorer areas.
Irish Times
31 March 2005
17
STUDENT MEMBERS
Leathanach na Macléinn
INTO Highlights Cost of Teaching Practice
T
he INTO highlighted a
survey carried out
amongst third year
education students in Mary
Immaculate College, Limerick,
at the beginning of March while
students were on teaching practice. The survey found that
students spent a minimum of
E50 a week and sometimes over
E2 0 0 per week during their
teaching practice.
Many students commented
that the reason they spend so
much is they feel that in order
to get a decent grade, a large
amount of money must be
spent on displays.
Nearly 6 in 10 students said
t h ey had to work to cover the
costs and that on top of the
teaching day, they spent an
average of 5-7 hours per day on
preparation.
Responding to the surv ey ,
INTO General Secretary, John
Carr, said he was gravely
concerned at the high costs
incurred in teaching practice as
this was an essential part of
teacher training and every
student spent at least 16 weeks
in schools during their training
period. He called for proper
financial support for teaching
practice and that this issue
needed to be addressed in a
realistic manner by the relevant
section of the Department of
Education and Science.
Numbers in Colleges
2004
B.Ed
2005
2006
2007
Grad
B.Ed
Grad
B.Ed
Grad
B.Ed
Grad
St Patricks
396
170
400
100
400
100(?)
400
100(?)
Mary Immaculate
400
100
400
100
400
100(?)
436
100(?)
Marino
106
50
114
50
115
50(?)
105
50(?)
Froebel
66
60
65
30
61
30
63
30
CICE
33
–
31
–
31
–
31
–
–
–
–
*404
–
200
–
200(?)
1,001
380
480(?) 1,035
480(?)
Hibernia
T O TA L S
1,381
1,010 684(?) 1,007
1,694
1,487
1,515
Out put from Colleges of Education by Year of Graduation: Republic of Ireland
*This figure contains two groups:
(1) Started in October 2003 – Due out May 2 0 0 5.
(2) Started in February 2004 – Due out September/October 2005.
Studying
Form
Tom O’Brien and Paddy Harte
(Kilkenny South) and Willie
Moran (Wa t e r ford City) review
the order paper at Congress
18
InTouch April 2005
NORTHERN IREL AND NEWS
Nuacht an Tuaiscirt
Chairperson outlines Serious Concerns
C
harlie Glenn referred to
a number of key points
in his well-received
conference address:
● the cuts in teachers’ pay and
management allowances;
● the lack of any genuine social
partnership arrangements;
● unwieldy, non-teacher
friendly pupil assessment
proposals; and
● the forthcoming termination
of the 1 1+ in 2008.
Charlie criticised the inadequate funding for education,
with particular re fe rence to the
on-going crisis in the Education
and Library Boa rds’ budgets,
some of which were the subject
of statutory inquiries by DE. In
welcoming the new changes in
school funding, Charlie
expressed the hope that the
Common Formula for Funding,
due to be introduced on 1 April,
would rectify inequities in the
present system.
He highlighted inadequacies
in the current inspection
system and queried the volume
of paperwork involved. Charlie
paid attention to the fo r t h c o ming implementation of SENDA.
He expressed re s e rvations
a bout the definition of disability under SENDA and criticised
the lack of funding and
resources for the scheme.
Charlie savaged the unsatisfactory arrangements for teachers’ pay. He condemned the
management side for the
“unwieldy and bureaucratic”
PRSDS arrangements and criticised their lack of vision with
re gard to professional development. He drew particular att e ntion to the fre ezing and intended
removal of teachers’ management allowances. How can
social partnership arrangements
be developed when there was
no common understanding of
what ‘pay parity’ meant and the
Charles Glenn, Chairperson INTO, Tony Carlin and Paul McAllister DE ETI
Education Minister was engaging
in a blame game for teachers
sustaining substantial pay cuts.
Charlie concluded by re a ffirming his confidence in the
union. He also welcomed the
INTO President calls for
Greater Accountability in
Education
Danny
Kennnedy,
UUP; Patricia
O’Farrell, NC;
Dominic
Bradley, SDLP;
David Hyland,
SF; Rita Fox,
NC; and Don
Campbell,
newly elected
NEELB representa t i veat
Northern
Conference.
I
NTO President, Austin
Corcoran called for the
reinstatement of the
Northern Ireland Assembly in
his confe rence address. He said
he would welcome the return of
a Northern Ireland Minister fo r
Education and the restoration
of local procedures of consultation and accountability.
He welcomed the recommendations of the Curran Enqu i ry
into teachers’ salaries and
conditions of service, particularly those relating to substitute
cover and planning, preparation
and assessment time. However,
he was critical of the “antiunion, anti-teacher stance”
taken by employer repre s e n t atives on the management side.
Austin welcomed the
proposed and belated abo l i t i o n
of the 11 plus transfer system to
secondary education, noting
that INTO had campaigned
19
since 1967 to abolish the exam.
However, he stated the re c o mmendations of the Costello
Report did not fully meet
“INTO’s desire for a fully
comprehensive, non-selective
system and integrated system of
post-primary education.”
number of new members who
have joined the union as a
result of INTO campaigning on
the bread and butter issues
concerning teachers in
Northern Ireland.
Una McAllister
and Liz Smith,
Belfast West
delegates to
Northern
Confe r e n ce
InTouch April 2005
NORTHERN IREL AND NEWS
Nuacht an Tuaiscirt
Not Responsible for Teachers’ Pay Cuts,
claims Education Minister
E
ducation Minister, Barry
G a rdiner’s speech was
the talk of Conference.
Much of the speech was wellbalanced. However, towards the
end, when he told INTO
members that the introduction
of a Performance Management
Scheme was integral to the deal
on pay, not an “uncomfo r t a b l e
side-effect” and unjustifiably
criticised the leaderships of the
teachers’ unions for teacher pay
cuts brought on by his determination. Worse still, off the
Minister went without waiting
for the Northern Secre t a ry’s
response.
The Minister called on teachers to embrace a robust, effective
P e r formance Review and Staff
Development (PRSD) scheme,
which would support their
personal and professional development, within the context of
their school’s development plan
for improvement. “PRSD should
not be rega rded as a ‘big stick’.
Performance management is the
norm now, in every public sector
organisation. People like to see
reward for a job well done. That’s
what performance management is all about. People who
are doing a good job have nothing to fear from having their
p e r formance reviewed,”
On parity with teachers in GB,
the Minister said: “For me, parity
means not just the same pay, but
the same rewards for the same
responsibilities. If the unions
had accepted the performance
management scheme proposal
in 2000, you would have had
UPS2 m o n ey from 2002, and you
would have been a year better off
in cash terms.”
The Minister highlighted that
teachers had received a 2.5 %
increase from April 2004, that
next month they would receive
another 2.5% and from September this will increase to 3.25%.
We declared “From September,
most classroom teachers will
be on almost £31,500 a year – a
salary many people would
envy ”. Alongside this, Mr
20
“Independent Inquiry recommendations not dead.”
Education Minister Ba rry Gardiner, MP.
Gardiner said he was committed to trying to secure funding
to pay UPS3 earlier than
September 2 0 0 5.
Reassuring teachers on
assessment and the use of the
Pupil Profile, Mr Gardiner said:
“The Pupil Profile should
become the focal point for the
ongoing dialogue between
parents and their childre n ’ s
teachers. That will be the case
throughout the pupil’s school
c a reer, but the Profile will have
a particular role to play in
i n forming the choice of postprimary school at age 11 - but not
as a means of selection by schools
– it will also inform the choice
of courses at the age of 14.”
On school funding, the
Minister made clear the importance he attached to increasing
the proportion of funding made
available to Early Years and his
decision to narrow the funding
gap that exists between primary
and post-primary schools. He
also said that there would be
transitional arrangements over
three years to allow funding
changes to be phased in
progressively and help schools
cope with the changes. “There
is much more work to be done
to improve the way schools
work and your own working
conditions. I hope that we can
do it in a collective manner,
through social partnership,
mutual respect and a share d
d e s i re to make the system
better and improve the opportunities we can offer our child ren. For my part, I will do my
utmost to ensure that your
voice counts, at the heart of
education policy development.
Conference was dismayed by
some of these ruminations.
General Secretary, John Carr,
told Confe rence that the
a d d ress was far removed from
social partnership
arrangements in the Republic.
No Education Minister had the
right to single out and criticise
any employee of the
Organisation for carrying out
union policy. If the Minister
wished to see the development
of social partnership arrangements with teachers’ unions,
significant adjustments wo u l d
need to be made by him to
develop the necessary trust and
confidence and the Republic of
I reland partnership model
would be a good starting point.
Minister Talks ‘Social
Partnership’
“Teachers’ views should be at
the heart of policy development
and the decision-making
process,” said Education
Minister Barry Gardiner, MP.
“Teachers are the education
system’s greatest asset. They
know best what goes on in the
classroom, what their problems
and pressures are, what it is
about the ‘system’ that needs to
be fixed to improve children’s
learning.’’
The Minister spoke about a
new Social Partnership fo r
Northern Ireland and highlighted the importance of
government and teachers wo r king together. “I want to work
with you to create the sort of
structures where teachers’
voices can have a real and positive impact on the direction of
the education service.
“The wider Social
Partnership I am talking about
will need to embrace not just
teachers and the Government,
but also representatives from
the non-teaching unions and
from the employers.
“We all need to be talking
much more openly and
realistically together abo u t
issues affecting the service,
about priorities and about
pressures.
“It seems to me that only
when we have reached this sort
of working partnership can we
properly discuss terms and
conditions in context, in an
informed and realistic way that
leads to real benefits to the
service – to children and their
learning – as well as to the
people who work in it.
“In the next few weeks I will
be sharing with you my
thoughts on how a So c i a l
Partnership model might wo r k
in the education sector in NI. I
would like your views and
comments on that.
“I would very much hope this
could be a new beginning for
relations between Government,
employers and the education
sector unions and a constructive and productive way for us
to do business.”
InTouch April 2005
NORTHERN IREL AND NEWS
Nuacht an Tu a i s c i rt
Northern Secretary responds
to Education Minister
I
n his absence, Frank Bunting reminded
Conference of this Education Minister’s
considerable achievements which have
benefited pupils and teachers:
(i) Ensuring the ending of the 1 1+ in 2 0 0 8;
(ii) Guaranteeing Pupil Profiles will never
be used for the purpose of academic
selection;
(iii) Promoting the enriched and revised
curriculum;
(iv) Ensuring a £2 2 2million settlement fo r
school building programme for the
year
(v) Allocating school funding to reflect
levels of social deprivation;
(vi) Securing funding for UPS2 and teacher
salaries.
However obsessing about the INTO
rendering PRSDS ‘toothless’ is so far off the
mark to merit response. The Minister sees
it as a ‘performance tool’, teachers will use
it as a professional development tool.
Ultimately, as long as the Minister can
resource the scheme, children will be the
benefactors. PRSDS is a TNC agreement
which INTO will participate in, irrespective
of our longstanding opposition to perfo r mance related pay in teaching.
Teachers in Northern Ireland work at
least as hard as their colleagues in England
and Wales and deserve at least the same
Minister leaves conference in a hurry
wages. This is the only valid interpretation
of parity. Teachers in Scotland get paid
more. Teachers in the Republic of Ireland
get paid more. It is the Minister’s duty to
endure that teachers in Northern Ire l a n d
are not treated differently when it comes to
their salaries and conditions of service.
The Minister’s declaration that the
Curran recommendations are ‘not dead’ is
welcome as is his assertion that he will seek
resources for backdating of UPS3 closer to
the parity date. This is welcome news which
will go down well with teachers and teaching principals in particular.
INTO seeks Genuine Social Partnership
A
ll the talk about how
wonderful teachers are is
not worth a bean unless
the health and welfare of teachers is protected. Fifteen years of
change and managerialism has
taken its toll on the profession.
INTO has been campaigning fo r
years and has now written to
Education Minister, Barry
Gardiner seeking funds for a
charity providing independent
w e l f a re for teachers called
Teachers’ Support Network.
Eddie Keenan, new Northern
Committee Chairperson said:
“This charity provides the
safety net that teachers require.
Its services include:
● A 24-hour telephone support
and counselling service.
● School mediation and
InTouch April 2005
conflict resolution service.
School staff ‘well-being’
programmes.
Our vision is for a service
which is free and accessible to
teachers which is independent
of the employing authority
funded by the Department of
Education. There are so many
school types in Northern
Ireland that the most equitable
solution is for an overarching
service to be provided. We are
optimistic for success as
Government in every other
part of the UK – England,
Scotland and Wales – has
already provided seed funding
to the development of Teacher
Support Network services so
Northern Ireland should not be
left out of the loop.”
●
The initial response from
Barry Gardiner Education
Minister is surprisingly bleak
and unhelpful. Although his
Department is the employer of
all Northern Ireland teachers
and pays all their salaries and
pensions, Barry disingenuously
now argues that the responsibility for the health and wellbeing of teachers rests with the
teacher employers. This
niggardly response is not the
stuff of genuine social partnership. INTO has requested the
Minister to reflect again and at
least guarantee the resource for
a Teacher Support Network
pilot in Northern Ireland.
Eddie Keenan, Chair, Northern
C o m m i t t ee2005/06
21
NORTHERN IREL AND NEWS
Nuacht an Tuaiscirt
Resolutions passed at Northern Conference 20
1A. Conference rejects the 2 0 0 4/06 pay
and conditions of service settlement
for teachers in Northern Ireland.
Conference rejects in particular:
(i) the linking of PRSD with the
Unsatisfactory Teaching Procedure;
(ii) the agreement to fre eze and eventually abolish Management
Allowances;
(iii)the reduction of the Upper Pay
Scale from 5 to 3 points; and
(iv) the introduction of the Excellent
Teachers’ Scheme into Northern
Ireland.
1B. Conference instructs Northern
Committee in the forthcoming negotiations:
(a) to seek the restoration of points 4
and 5 of the Upper Pay Scale;
(b) to oppose attempts to reduce the
numbers of teachers who hold
promoted posts;
(c) to oppose any proposals to limit
the time that a teacher can avail of
salary safeguarding.
1C. Conference further instructs Northern
Committee to take all necessary measures, including industrial action up to
and including strike action, in pursuit
of the objective of safe g u a rding teachers’ salaries.
2. Conference condemns the Education
Minister and the DE for not securing
adequate resources to implement any
of the recommendations of the
Independent Enquiry Report on
Teachers’ Conditions of Service.
Conference instructs Northern
Committee to pursue with vigour,
using all the means at its disposal
including industrial action, up to and
including strike action, the INTO
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
campaign for more money for the
education budget to secure those
elements of the Independent Enquiry
Report which are of benefit to the
teaching profession including
adequate classroom resources and
adequate levels of teachers’ salaries.
Conference ca l l s on the Northern
Committee to campaign vigorously fo r
the abolition of the CCMS under the
auspices of the Review of Public
Administration.
Conference congr a t u l a t e s the
Northern Committee on its continuing
campaign to rationalise the Education
and Library Boa rd structure.
Conference notes with concern that
funding shortfalls in the ELBs will lead
to enforced redundancies and job losses.
Conference ca l l s on Northern
Committee to campaign to prevent cuts
in schools and frontline education
services provided by the ELBs.
Conference instructs the Northern
Committee to monitor carefully the
implementation of PRSDS and to act
swiftly in the case of any abuse of the
process by school / boa rd management.
Conference rejects the concept of
Regional Pay for teachers and calls on
the Northern Committee to campaign
up to and including strike action
against this imposition.
Conference ca l l s on Northern
Committee to carry out an evaluation
of the impact of the policy of integration of pupils with disabilities into
mainstream schools, and to seek any
necessary refinements.
Conference ca l l s on Northern
Committee to oppose any delay in the
timetable for abolishing the 1 1+.
“Best” speaker at Confe r e n cewas Terry Pattison with South Armagh
Branch colleague, Cathy Crozier
22
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
Conference further demands that
adequate funding is provided for the
implementation of the recommendations of the Costello Report.
Conference calls on Northern Committee
to campaign to ensure that any changes
to pre-school education following the
Review of Pre-School Education
enhances the qu a l i ty of teaching and
learning of pre-school children and
protects the professionalism, status
and employment of Nursery teachers.
Conference ca l l s on Northern
Committee to vigorously campaign fo r
sufficient funding to be made available
to school budgets to enable Boa rds of
Governors to award Principals and
Vice-Principals their movement up the
Leadership Group Salary Points.
Conference welcomes proposals to
revise inspection procedures and calls
upon Northern Committee to enter
into discussions to ensure that the
levels of stress upon teachers and
pupils during inspections be reduced.
Conference notes with concern that
many teachers are being required to
provide cover for absent colleagues in
excess of the provisions of the
Jordanstown Agreement and
subsequent circulars. Confe rence calls
on Northern Committee to instruct
members to refuse to provide cover in
such circumstances.
Conference views with concern the
continuing high levels of adult bullying
in schools and demands rigorous
implementation of the revised Bullying
and Harassment Procedure.
Conference gives a general welcome to
the recommendations of the
Independent Enqu i ry, particularly
Nuala O’Donnell, Senior Official, INTO, and Jim Magee, Newry Branch
Secretary tete-á-tete at Confe r e n ce
InTouch April 2005
NORTHERN IREL AND NEWS
Nuacht an Tu a i s c i rt
ce 2005
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
those relating to:
(i) planning, preparation and assessment time for all teachers;
(ii) a maximum of 3 days teaching time
for Principals;
(iii)cover for absent colleagues;
(iv) Newly Qualified Teachers.
Conference ca l l s on the Minister fo r
Education to provide the funding
necessary to implement the
recommendations.
Conference ca l l s upon Government
and employers to use the demographic
downturn in the school population as
an opp o r t u n i tyto reduce class sizes in
all school sectors.
Conference ca l l s on the Northern
Committee to press for Professional
Development for all teachers that is:
(i) available for all teachers;
(ii) in keeping with the Wo r k - L i fe
Balance position articulated by
INTO;
(iii)accessible at no cost to teachers.
Conference ca l l s on Northern
Committee to lobby DE for proper
statutory funding for the Teacher
Support Network.
Conference, having noted the steadily
increasing number of non-English
speaking children from migrant families
attending our schools, calls on Northern
Committee to press the DE to properly
fund and resource those schools
attempting to provide a proper and
balanced education for these children.
Conference notes with concern the
lack of ICT provision within the Nursery
Sector and calls on the Northern
Committee to make representations to
the DE to redress this imbalance.
Conference ca l l s on Northern
Delegates at Northern Conference 2005
Committee and CEC District I and II
Representatives to investigate the
apparent discrimination experienced
by Northern Ireland based teachers in
gaining access to courses preparing
candidates for Scrudú Cailíocht na
Gaeilge.
21. Conference condemns the Teaching
Unions who agreed to the erosion of
teachers’ terms and conditions of service by accepting a settlement that
phased out Management Allowances
and the subsequent implications fo r
pay and pensions.
Conference ca l l s on the Northern
Committee to vigorously campaign
for the reinstatement of
Management Allowances to
pre -2003 conditions.
22. Conference ca l l s on Northern
CEC Reps Tony Lappin and Mary Cahillane with GTC Registrar, Eddie McArdle
InTouch April 2005
Committee to initiate informal
contacts with other teacher unions in
Northern Ireland in order to identify
areas of common concern with the
purpose to increase cohesion and unity
at NITC level.
23. Conference commends
Carrick fe rgus/Newtownabb ey Branch
on its continuing campaign to have the
annual commemoration for Vere Foster
raised to a level befitting his status
within the organisation.
Conference ca l l s upon Northern
Committee to implement previous
resolutions agreed at Conference, with
rega rd to Vere Foster.
Brendan Harron, INTO Negotiating Committee
Representa t i vebeing interviewed at Confe r e n ce
23
N ATIONAL NEWS
S cé a l ta Náisiúnta
PE or not PE?
Orla Rigney reflects on an Inservice Day
March 1st 10.30pm
It’s a Tuesday night and instead
of thinking about what I’ll be
teaching tomorrow or what last
minute “fearas” do I need to
grab from around the house.
I’m considering what I’ll wear!
Thinking back to a conversation I had today with colleague,
Siobhán Fenton, I’m just
wondering, will I go for the
Lycra aerobics gear? Will
Siobhán really choose to wear
her bright pink leotard? Will the
youngest male on our staff, Noel
Costello, wear his GAA kit? Will
the ‘fashion divas’ ditch their
high heels for runners? But the
questions on everyone’s lips is –
will principal Tom replace his
smart suit with a tracksuit?
Be fo re you ask, the staff of
Milford NS are not being sent to
some Boot Camp! Nor are we
indulging in a day of yoga
(more’s the pity!) We are off to
our PE in-service day tomorrow!
Bring it on is what I say…
March 2nd 10pm
Phew! What a fun-filled, action
packed day we had today! I’d say
there’ll be sore muscles galore
tomorrow due to the day we
■ … will I go for the
Lycra aerobics gear?
had of running, jumping
around and playing games! I’m
sure it was a howl for any parents
or pupils to see the staff ga t h e r
at the Kilmurray Lodge Hotel all
looking as though we worked at
the local gym! Runners replaced
the high heels; tracksuits
replaced nice tops and skirts.
T h e rewasn’t a shirt and tie to
be seen. Our PE day began with
a discussion of the Aqu a t i c s
strand, and I started to worry
were we supposed to have
brought swimsuits! (Luckily
no!)
Next, we went onto the
Games strand and us in our
role as ‘civilised teachers’ went
out the window. As soon as
we’d been given beanbags and
footballs we became as giddy as
an infant class an hour before a
school tour! The shouting and
laughing that went on as we
played team games must have
raised an eyebrow or two in the
hotel reception. Even the
quietest members of staff went
wild – roaring, tackling opponents and generally getting
caught up in the madness.
After lunch, we were more
subdued and discussed the
Outdoor and Adventure
Activities strand, which
provided us with a wealth of
ideas and simple orienteering
games that could be adapted to
suit any class. So now, with the
coming of the good weather,
and the pitch beginning to dry
out, I’d say I feel a unit of work
on outdoor orienteering
coming on!
All had a great day, where
learning about the PE curriculum and laughing were top of
the menu. And befo re I go, NO
pink leotards or GAA kits made
an appearance!
To be continued...
The Children’s Medical and Re s e a rch Foundation
INTO Fund – 2005 Appeal
I
t’s that time of year again
when the INTO Appeal for
Our Lady’s Hospital fo r
Sick Children in Crumlin is
launched in every staff room
in the country. The prizes this
year are,
1st Prize
Toyota Avensis
2nd Prize
e5,000
3rd/4th Prizes
e2,500
5t h /6th Prizes
e2,000
7th, 8t h , 9th and
1 0th Prizes
e1,000
With the funds raised from the
draw this year, Our Lady’s
Hospital can refurbish the x-ray
rooms in their radiology department and purchase the vital
24
equipment necessary to
modernise and upgrade this
area of the hospital.
The radiology department is
an important service for the
assessment and treatment of
children, and provides services
over a wide range of treatment
specialities such as orthopaedics,
c a rdiology and cancer care. A
modern radiology facility will
enable the hospital to attract,
train and retain highly profe ssional staff. The new technology
will improve image quality,
reduce the time taken fo r
patients, particularly children,
improve patient comfort and
provide variable table heights
and increase amount of filtration in the x-ray tube reducing
the amount of non useful radiation reaching sick children.
Last year INTO members
generously contributed e136,500
to the Children’s Medical and
Research Foundation INTO
appeal, the highest amount ever
raised.
Since 2002 the amount of
money donated by INTO
members to Our Lady’s Hospital
has significantly increased from
e4 1 , 9 0 1 . 3 6, in 2001 to e136,500
in 2 0 0 4. It would be wonderful
to continue this upward tre n d
and we are confident that, with
your support, we can exceed
last year’s figure. We, therefore,
appeal to you and your colleagues
once again to give your full
support and contribute to this
worthy cause by purchasing one
of the tickets. Tickets cost e1 2
each.
T i ckets for the draw have
been sent to Staff
Representatives. Please return
the ticket counterfoils and
payment to Georgina Markey by
Wednesday 15 June 2 0 0 5.
The draw will take place on
Friday 17 June 2005 in INTO
Head Office.
Further tickets may be obtained
if required, by contacting
Georgina Markey at 01 804 7745.
InTouch April 2005
INTO ANNUAL CO N G R E S S
CONGRESS 2005
I
NTO Congr e ss 2005 in
Galway was dominated by
the twin issues of the
staffing and teacher supply. In
his opening address INTO
President, Austin Corcoran,
clearly outlined the variety of
staffing issues to be dealt with
in primary schools, particularly in relation to class size.
In her first add r e ss to an
INTO Congr e ss, Minister Mary
Hanafin, TD, acknowledged
the Government commitment
to reducing class sizes but said
her priority this year centred
around special educa t i o n a l
needs and educational disadvantage.
Re s ponding to the Minister,
INTO General Secretary John
Carr said there would be keen
sense of anger and frustration
in schools throughout Ireland
be cause of the failure to move
on class size this year.
The motions listed for the
debate included class size,
special education, teacher
qualifications and teacher
supply. Other issues related to
inspection, probation,
pensions, incremental credit
and pro f e ssional development.
The following pages
summarise the speeches,
debates and business of
Congress.
Further information can be
accessed on the INTO website.
Working Well But Overcrowded
I
NTO President Austin
Corcoran delivered a wide
ranging address to delega t e s
on the opening day of Congre s s .
In welcoming people to his
native county he outlined a
b r oad agenda which the INTO
was pursuing in order to
improve primary education in
Ireland. He said the days are
gone when government can
legitimately state that much
needed money and teachers
would be provided “when
resources will allow.”
Funding
On education funding, Austin
said that Education
International, the worldwide
body representing teachers to
which the INTO is affiliated, has
laid down an international
benchmark that government
investment in education in all
of its affiliate countries should
be “at least 6% of Gross National
Product.” He said that Ireland
had not once exceeded even
that modest target. He also said
that half of the nation’s children are being educated at
primary level on less than onethird of total education expenditure.
Salaries
Referring to the need to protect
the salary levels of our
members, the President said
that ever increasing house
prices, child care costs, transport issues and stealth taxes,
coupled with draconian cuts in
pension entitlements on all
InTouch April 2005
new entrants to the teaching
p r o fession from 1 April 2004
o n w a rds, meant that improved
salary and pension provision
would remain central to INTO
objectives.
co-ordinated and targeted
response on a banded basis to
the issues arising from educational disadvantage.
Principal Teachers
In re ferring to the fact that
seventy three percent of
primary principals teach all day
and when this work is done
turn their attention to the ever
more demanding task of
managing their schools, Austin
called for a package of re form to
ensure that the demanding and
pivotal role of principal is made
viable.
Staffing
“But the immediate challenge is
to ensure that all newly qu a l ified teachers succeed in gaining
continuous employment as
teachers. It is a national scandal
that at a time when over fo u r
h u n d redpeople with no qu a l i f ications are allowed to practice
in our classrooms as teachers,
many fully qualified teachers
are walking the streets looking
for work.” said Austin. He also
said that average class sizes in
Ireland were the 2nd worst
figure in the enlarged EU.
Re ferring to the Programme for
Governmemnt he said that
“Class size was an issue in
Kildare and Meath recently. I
assure you that unless resolved
it will be an issue in the other
39 constituencies in the next
general election.”
Special Education
On special education the
President said that the provision of two and a half or thre e
hours a week of one to one
teaching while spending twenty
five hours unsupported in a
class of thirty or more children
will not work. “Government
must provide a choice of placement and build a real continuum of provision between
special and mainstream
Other Matters
President Austin Corcoran
addressing Congress
schools. The most important
challenge facing the new
National Special Education
Council is to put a real choice
before parents.”said Austin. He
also called fo r :
• additional teaching posts,
particularly in smaller
schools and schools serving
disadvantaged communities;
• a recognition that current
government estimates of
special needs are understated
and that up to one in five
children have special needs;
• capitation grants to be paid
at the level that applies in
special schools and classes.
E d u cational Disadvantage
Re ferring to recently published
INTO policy, Austin called for a
Amongst other issues covered
in his speech Austin congratulated all eleven INTO members
who have successfully gained
seats on the Teaching Council.
He also called on the Minister
to re-introduce an employee
assistance service in the
coming year.
Referring to co-operation
between the INTO, ASTI and
TUI he said that there are so
many issues which unite us that
Teacher Unity must be an
inevitable goal for our thre e
organisations.
Referring to the recent
controversy about deportations
he called for schools to be given
the status of embassies.
“Parents should have an assurance that when their children
are placed in a school they will
not be abducted from their
place of learning by the state,”
he said.
25
INTO ANNUAL CO N G R E S S
Minister Affirms Primary Teachers
I
n her first address to an INTO
Congress, Minister Mary
Hanafin TD spoke abo u t
creating a learning environment for all children, providing
targeted supports for children
from disadvantaged backgrounds and those with special
needs, and empowering principals. Acknowledging that Irish
education has been well served
by primary teachers she said
that changes in society and
legislative re quirements have
placed greater demands on
schools and that her Department
needed to do more to support
teachers in providing the best
education for children. Speaking
on the issue of profe s s i o n a l
development, she outlined that
this year the in-service budget
had increased by almost 19%
and that she was looking at a
wider spread of in-service
programmes in the curre n t
year, including the potential of
the internet. She said she
wanted to improve the probationary process for new teachers
and that a new circular will issue
shortly. The Minister said that
she believed the new Teaching
Council has the potential to
have a major impact on teacher
training and standards and that
the Government believed in the
capacity of teachers to regulate
their own profession.
Re ferring to school buildings,
the Minister outlined the
improvements that have been
made in funding and in particular listed the various new projects which would proceed this
year. She said this years building allocation had been
increased again and is now over
six times the 1997 amount.
Acknowledging the legacy of
under investment in this area,
she said she was determined to
ensure that the modernisation
of schools would be done as
soon as possible. Turning to the
issue of staffing in primary
schools, the Minister stated
that while she was committ e d ,
in line with Government policy,
to delivering further reductions
in class size, her priority in the
first instance will be given to
c h i l d ren with special needs and
those in disadvantaged areas.
The Minister went on to
announce that she will be
publishing a new framework in
April for tackling disadvantage.
She said the new approach would
include better identification, a
single integrated programme of
support for schools with
concentrated levels of disadvantage and that each school on
the programme will benefit
from a package of supports.
Moving on to talk abo u t
special education, she said the
re c o rd of the State over the
decades had been poor. The
Minister said she wanted to
recognise in particular the role
that special schools and special
classes played. In relation to the
General Allocation Model
announced last year, the
Minister said that she was very
conscious of the need to info r m
schools of the procedures that
will apply for the next school
year and there fo re wanted the
outcome of the review communicated as soon as possible.
Moving on to talk about
school leadership, she said she
wanted to empower principals
to become strong leaders of
their school communities. To
this end she said she was determined to reduce bureaucracy,
provide greater guidance and
extend the Leadership
Development Programme.
In conclusion she said that,
having identified the main
issues, and in a spirit of consultation and partnership, she will
continue to deliver on those
issues.
he expressed disappointment
that no mention had been
made of increasing release time
or reducing the administrative
principal point. In welcoming
the Minister’s announcement
on a new initiative on educational disadvantage, he said
there was a need for major change
and not minor revisions and
that any new initiative should
not be delayed unnecessarily by
s u rv eys or bureaucracy.
Turning to the central issue
of class size, John said too many
progressive and positive developments in primary education
were floundering in the second
largest class sizes in the EU. He
said that, while he
acknowledged the minister’s
intention to prioritise disadvantage and special education
this year, the children had but
one childhood. The INTO had
put fo rward progressive
proposals in relation to tackling
class size on a phased basis and
now is the time for the Cabinet
to deliver.
In conclusion, he said that
the issues in primary education
needed creative and radical
solutions and the INTO wanted
the new Minister to deliver.
GS Outlines Priorities
R
esponding to the addre s s
by the Minister for
Education and Science,
INTO General Secretary, John
Carr, welcomed her to her first
INTO Congress along with
Bridget McManus, the newly
appointed Secretary General.
John said he welcomed the
change of app r oach by the new
Minister including the fact that
last Christmas the Inspectorate
was confined to barracks and a
Christmas card wishing teachers well was issued instead. He
went on to say, however, that
while good wishes were all very
well it is delivery that counts
most of all for teachers. Referring
to a media story about compliance, John said the teachers have
no difficulty with accountability
but any review of educational
issues needed to look at inputs
as well as outputs and that of late
26
t h e re had been too much of a
focus on the latter. Acknowledging progress on school buildings, John went on to re fer the
staffing needs of primary schools.
On special education, he said
the INTO had consistently said
it would take up to 1,000 additional teachers to really address
the issue of inclusion of pupils
with special education needs in
mainstream schools. He called
for decisive action to end the
uncertainty, the allocation of
sufficient posts and for a proper
appeals mechanism for schools
to be put in place.
On school leadership he said
the twin issues of minimising
paperwork and maximising
allowances need to be resolved.
Acknowledging that the Minister
had a review committee looking
at wo r k l oad, inschool management and the teaching principal,
InTouch April 2005
INTO ANNUAL CONGRESS - Tu e s d a y
Staffing, Special Ed, Supply
T
he first motion debated
at Congress 2005
deplored the failure of
the DES to improve the staffing
schedule in recent years.
Proposer Jimmy Collins from
Cairbre Láir branch said the
lack of improvement in the last
three years was a damming
indictment of Government.
Nora Hamill from Dublin North
East, seconding the motion,
said that despite the research
on the benefits of smaller
classes, the Government had
failed to act. This was an issue
that parents, teachers and
management wanted
movement on, she said. Nore e n
Flynn from the CEC said that the
campaign initiated by the CEC
on class size had successfully
highlighted the issue to date
but now was the time for delivery. Brendan O’Sullivan of the
CEC said that modern dynamic
classroom practice required
smaller class sizes in line with
our European neighbours. John
Carr, General Secre t a ry, said
that the INTO campaign would
be pursued until we achieved
realistic reductions in class size.
A
nn McMahon of
Limerick City branch,
proposing the motion
on special education, said that
there had been significant
changes in the educational
landscape in recent years,
including the level of inclusion
of pupils with special education
needs. However, the unplanned
and uncoordinated system
needed to be replaced by
proper planning and adequate
resources for all pupils with
identified needs. Dick
O’Connell of Ennis said that
now was the time to introduce a
dual enrolment policy so that
pupils could benefit from bo t h
mainstream and special school
settings as appropriate. Seamus
Long of the CEC condemned any
attempt to decrease provision
to children and spoke abo u t
proper caseloads for resource
and learning support teachers.
Sheila Coyle of the Education
Committee raised concerns
InTouch April 2005
Máire Ní Chuinneagáin, CEC District 6, and Noreen Flynn,
CEC District 9, prepare to speak at Congress
a bout the proposed ratios
particularly as they would apply
in all-girls school and stated
that children’s needs should be
the primary criteria for accessing resources.
P
roposing the motion on
u n qualified personnel,
Declan Kelleher of the
CEC said that the planners of
the 9 0’s had let down the child ren of that decade. He said the
INTO had worked tirelessly to
increase the number of qu a l ified teachers but that the real
solution lay in the creation of
panels of supply teachers. It
was, however, no longer acceptable that any unqualified
person should be employed on
a long term temporary position
in primary schools.
There was a lengthy and
heated discussion on various
options for the implementation
of this motion. Joe Lyons from
L i m e r i ckCity said there was no
reason why Congress should
change from the original
motion in 2001 which would
bring in a blanket ban on wo r k-
ing with unqualified personnel
from September next. Dónal
Healy of Dublin West believed
that bringing the issue to a
head now meant that supply
panels would have to be
created. Carmel Niland of the
Education Committee spoke
about the impact of a blanket
ban in rural areas where
qualified substitutes were hard
to come by. After a lengthy
discussion, an amended
motion was adopted including
re fe rence to a covering period
of 18 weeks.
27
INTO ANNUAL CONGRESS - We d n e s d a y
Provision, Pensions, Procedures
T
he first motion in public
session debated on the
Wednesday morning of
Congress related to equality of
provision between
gaelscoileanna, gaeltacht and
galltacht schools. Proposing the
motion, Siobhan McGorty,
Donegal Branch, said that this
was not an attempt to interfe re
in a negative way with
gaelscoileanna, it simply
demanded parity between all
schools. Fintan Gorman from
Ballinrobe said that this was an
issue about natural justice and
that the principle of fair play
and equality should apply to all
schools. Sean O hArgain from
Kilkenny spoke against the
motion. He said there were
already diffe rential ratios
between disadvantaged
schools, gaelscoileanna and
mainstream schools and that
different types of schools
needed diffe rent supports.
Denis Bohane from the CEC
speaking in favour of the
motion pointed out that no one
should be discriminated
against on the basis of
language. He said we were looking for equal treatment for all
pupils in our schools.
P
roposing the motion on
pension rights, Catherine
Byrne, General Treasurer,
said that we needed to think of
pensions as a fundamental
element of working conditions.
Seconding the motion Máire Ní
C h u i n n e gain, from the CEC,
said the CEC was opposed to the
decision taken last year and will
be campaigning at every opp o rt u n i tyto seek the reverse of
discrimination that now
existed.
Proposing the motion on
appointment figures Kathleen
L o w n ey of Bandon Branch said
that having to wait a full year
after schools achieve the
appointment figure on 30
September made no
educational sense. Emma
Dinneen of the Education
Committee outlined difficulties
in growing school situations
where multi-grade classes had
28
very large numbers and having
to wait a year was unfair on all
the pupils concerned.
Addressing the motion calling for new structures for qu a l ification allowances for
teachers, John Brennan of
Dublin South County said
teachers have become more
involved in recent years with a
much wider range of
p r o fessional development
courses yet many of these did
not qualify for an additional
allowance. Máirín Barry of
South County Dublin said that
the further study undertaken by
teachers made available a
wealth of expertise and knowledge to the education system
and that it was now time for the
DES to play their part in
adequately recognising this.
A motion proposed by Frank
Bradley from Drogheda Branch
called for a new management
structure for primary schools.
Frank said that the present
model which was in operation
since the 1970s had outlived its
usefulness. Mary Conneely of
Drogheda Branch said the present structure meant much of
the responsibilitywas falling
b a ckon a small number of
people at management level
including principals. She said it
was now time to look at a new
realistic structure at local level.
Proposing the motion on the
induction of newly qualified
teachers Declan Kelleher of the
CEC said that the pre s e n t
system was very unsatisfactory
and putting inordinate pressure
on many teachers in their first
year. He said the Teaching
Council, given the proper
resources, should be able to
revolutionise the induction
process and support new teachers. Nicola Spokes who is in her
probationary year said she fe l t
that inspectors should be more
supportive. She also felt there
should be more emphasis in
pre-service training on multigrade class teaching.
P
Maria Foy, Castlebar, Ann McMahon, Limerick City and Ness a
M c G owan, Castlebar, pictured at Congress
Nunan, Vi c e - P resident, said that
at a time of increased numbers
coming out from the colleges of
education and greater mobility
it was noteworthy that so many
members had found themselves
unhappy with selection processes.
She said there was a need fo r
consistency in the standard
interviewing procedures and a
mechanism for processing
complaints. Catherine Ferris of
Listowel branch proposed the
motion calling for the recognition of substitute service given
in the 1980s for incremental
and pension purposes. While
the INTO had made some
progress on this a surv ey done
in Listowel showed that 28
members of 140 members had
completed service for which
they had been given no credit.
Aidan Gaughran, Clonmel
branch, said that teachers who
acted as substitutes in the 80s
now need proper recognition
for their service. Proposing the
motion for a re-negotiation of
the standardised school year
arrangements, Jim Hicks,
Clonakilty branch, that teachers needed certainty about July
and August closings. Padraig O
Connaill from District 12 said
that while he welcomed the
availability of flexible days during
the year, a dictat not allowing
planning days to be taken at the
beginning or end of standardised breaks was counterproductive.
roposing the motion on
review of appointment
procedures Sheila
InTouch April 2005
INTO ANNUAL CO N G R E S S
Congress in Numbers
the number of
d e l e gates listed to
736
23
6
attend
the number of
resolutions adopted
the number of national
or other committee reports
adopted by Congress
the number of reports by
Standing Orders Committee with recommendations
a bout the business of Congress
8
Congress on
the Web
T
he following are available on the INTO
website at www.into.ie:
• Video-clip archive of all
public sessions
• Full list of proceedings/
motions passed etc.
• Photos of delegates
• Speeches from the
President, General
Secretary and Minister.
InTouch April 2005
the number of tellers
elected to count card votes
the number of INTO
staff involved in
backup and support
the number on the local
organising committee
the number of individual delegates who
contributed to debates
the number of
people who tuned
4
24
28
136
4 87
into the live webcasts on
the INTO website during
Congress
the number of trade
stands
the number of teams in
the table qu i z
the number of
invited guests to the
opening session
the number of debates
with all male contributions
22
27
150
2
- on standardisation of the
school year and supply
panels
the number of debates
with all female contributions - on criteria for app o i n tments
the number of
Congresses held by
the INTO to date
the number of pints
drunk during the week.
1
137
? ??
Austin
Corcoran,
President, Billy
Sheehan,
Ass i s tant
Ge n e r a l
Secretary, and
Catherine
Byrne, Deputy
Ge n e r a l
Secretary,
pictured
during
Congress
29
INTO ANNUAL CO N G R E S S
Resolutions Adopted in Public Se
Class Size
Congress deplores the failure of the
DES to improve the staffing schedule
for primary schools in the last fo u r
years and instructs the CEC to enter
into immediate negotiations with the
DES to seek:
a. a reduction in the appointment
schedule of at least 5 pupils per
mainstream class teacher;
b. a new retention schedule that will
be at least five pupils less than the
new appointment figures.
Special Educa t i o n
Congress:
a. notes with extreme concern the
breakdown in the system for the
allocation of Special Education
Needs Resources and the resultant
denial of the constitutional rights
of children with Special
Educational Needs to an app r o p r iate education;
b. instructs the CEC to immediately
negotiate an equitable, educationally sound system of Special
Education Needs resources
including resource teaching
hours and Special Needs
Assistant support;
c. further instructs the CEC to ensure
that any general allocation system
considered for pupils with Mild
General Learning Difficulties,
bo rderline Mild General Learning
Difficulties or Specific Learning
Difficulties will guarantee a minimum of 2.5 hours per week individual resource teaching or its
equivalent 11:1 pupil teacher ratio
as recommended by the Special
Education Review Committee
Report (1 9 9 3);
d. calls on the CEC to negotiate with
the Department of Education and
Science, a dual system of enrolment for special needs pupils, so
that they may have available to
them the positive attributes of
integration in their local school as
well as access to the specialised
therapies of the special school.
beginning of the school year 05⁄06 to
refuse to co-operate with the
appointment of unqualified personnel to positions covering periods of 18
weeks or longer and that members in
schools where unqualified personnel
a re so appointed, will refuse to work
with such personnel.
Principals
C o n g ress recognising the increasingly
complex and challenging nature of
the role of principalship in primary
schools demands:
a. that the next round of
Benchmarking satisfactorily
addresses the anomaly of
allowances between primary and
post-primary leadership
positions, recognising all ancillary
staffing in primary schools in the
calculation of allowances and
awarding a salary increase
commensurate with the levels of
responsibility carried by school
leaders;
b. that the INTO negotiates with the
Department of Education and
Science and Management representatives a replacement of
Circular 16/7 3 which would place
school leadership in a modern
educational context;
c. an expansion of the Leadership
Development for Schools
programme and other
p r o fessional development opp o rtunities for principals, which
would include modules on conflict
resolution and human resource
management;
d. that all primary schools would
have adequate support services,
including office, secretarial and
c a retaking facilities to enable
them to meet their legislative and
regulatory requirements;
e. that administrative principals be
appointed at six teacher school
level and that supply cover on the
basis of one administrative day
per week for teaching principals
be implemented on a phased
basis.
Unqualified Personnel
In the context of the Teacher Supply
resolution adopted by Congress 2001
and the INTO staffing strategy,
Congress instructs the CEC to direct
all members with effect from the
30
Capitation Grants
Congress:
a. demands that the capitation grant
payable to primary school authorities adequately reflect the costs of
Carmel Niland,
Education
C o m m i t t ee
running a modern, well equ i pped
school in the 2 1st century;
b. instructs the CEC to negotiate with
the DES that from September 2006
the minimum capitation grant
payable per child would be Ä2 5 0
per annum and that this grant
would be increased by 5% per
annum in succeeding years;
c. demands that the first instalment
of the capitation grant be paid at
the start of the school year.
Inspection
Siobhán
McGroarty,
Donegal
Seán
ÓhArgáin,
Kilkenny
C o n g ress demands that the CEC:
a. negotiate with the DES to reach
a g reement on a proper and fair
procedure for processing
complaints against inspectors;
b. continue dialogue with the
inspectorate in relation to the
phased introduction of WSE
including ongoing review;
c. negotiate sufficient release time
for whole school staffs to carry out
the assessment and evaluation
demanded by WSE;
d. secure a thorough review on the
demands, stress and wo r k l oad of
teachers arising from various
forms of evaluation particularly in
the case of probationary teachers.
C o n g ress further demands that
the paperwork and preparation
expected of teachers on probation
be standardised nationwide and
that the professionalism and
morale of teachers on probation
be enhanced at all times in a spirit
of trust and dignity .
Equality of Provision
Congress demands that the CEC enter
into negotiations with DES to redress
the discrimination inherent in the
DES regulations governing the
appointment and retention of teachers and provision of resources in
primary schools.
C o n g ress further demands that in
these matters Gaelscoileanna,
Gaeltacht and Galltacht schools shall
be treated equally.
Jimmy Collins,
Cairbre Láir
Pensions
Congress:
a. instructs the CEC to reject outright
any attempts to erode any aspect
of pre 1 April 2004 pension rights
and demands the maintenance of
Intouch April 2005
INTO ANNUAL CO N G R E S S
ic Session
defined benefit rights for all re t i ring teachers;
b. calls on the Government to implement the agreed outstanding
recommendations of the
Commission on Public Service
Pensions;
c. demands the retention and
enhancement of the ERAC retirement strands in the forthcoming
review of that scheme; and
d. demands that the principle of
pension parity be rigorously
defended in all negotiations relating to salary.
Induction of NQTs
Dónal
O’Donoghue,
CEC
Appointment Figures
Congress demands that when the
enrolment figure on 30 September of
a given year warrants the appointment of a mainstream teacher this
appointment should be filled immediately.
Congress demands that:
a. a comprehensive induction
programme be set up for all newly
qualified teachers during their
first year of teaching;
b. full substitute cover and travel
costs be provided for newly qu a l ified teachers for any programme
related days out of school;
c. the transition of responsibilityfo r
probating newly qualified teachers
from the DES inspectorate to the
Teaching Council be expedited;
d. that all teachers newly appointed
to the position of Special
Education Needs teacher,
Learning Support teacher or
Resource teacher receive training
and inservice during their first
term of undertaking such a position.
Appointment Procedures
Qualification Allowance s
Congress condemns the inadequ a c y
of the recognition and the level of
payment to teachers by DES for qu a l ifications that are supplemental to
their basic qualification and that
enhance their professional skill and
knowledge. In recognising the contribution teachers have made to the
conduct of in-service and the implementation of reform, Congress
demands that the CEC open immediate negotiations to structure new
allowances for teachers that:
a. represent a significant improvement of terms and conditions fo r
teachers;
b. contribute in real terms to re couping course costs;
c. encourage teachers to enga ge in
continuing education and training;
d. re w a rdteachers in a manner that
encourages continued and
enhanced contributions to the
education system.
Dónal Healy,
Dublin West
Rosena Jordan,
Education
C o m m i t t ee
In light of recent Equality Tribunal
findings and recommendations,
Congress demands that a review be
conducted of all aspects of the selection and appointment procedures for
teaching posts at primary level, and
that:
a. this review process include representatives of the DES, of
Managerial Associations and of
the INTO ;
b. the terms of reference address the
e n forcement of the Rules of
Procedure of Boa rds of
Management and a review of the
procedures for the appointment of
Selection Boa rds including the
selection of Boa rd Chairpersons;
and
c. all members of interview boa rds
for positions in primary schools
receive comprehensive training,
such training to include the Rules
of Procedure for selection and the
implications of employment
equ a l i tylegislation.
Management Structures
Incre m e n tal Credit
In light of the unwillingness of many
of the partners in education to serve
on Boa rds of Management in a meaningful way, Congress demands that
the CEC enter into negotiations with
the DES and management authorities
to formulate a new management
structure for primary schools.
Congress demands:
(i) that the CEC initiate immediate
discussion with the DES in order to
procure incremental credit and
pension rights for substitution
service undertaken by qualified B
Eds /NTs;
(ii) that incremental credit be given
InTouch April 2005
Margaret
Bernard,
Limerick City
to teachers who qualified in the
Northern jurisdiction but who
worked for many years in the
South as substitute teachers, who
were paid at the untrained rate,
not given restricted recognition
and who have lost out on salary;
and
(iii) that the CEC report on progress,
to Congress 2 0 0 6.
Sta n d a rdised School Year
C o n g ress instructs the CEC:
(i) to renegotiate the arrangements
for a standardised school year so
that:
a. schools remain closed for the
e n t i re months of July and
August;
b. teachers have greater discretion in arranging in-service
and school planning days.
c. school openings on church
holidays which fall on school
days be at the discretion of the
Boa rd of Management
(ii)resist any attempts by the DES to
introduce compulsory in-service
training at weekends or during
holiday periods.
Supply Panel
C o n g ress views with alarm the
impending employment crisis in
primary teaching and demands that
the CEC enter into urgent negotiations with the DES to establish, with
e f fect from 1 September 2005, nationwide panels of Supply Teachers,
located on a defined geographical
basis, to cover Release Time fo r
Teaching Principals, all approved
teacher absences and EPV days.
Traveller Educa t i o n
C o n g ress calls on the Department of
Education to:
a. establish a Traveller Education
Unit as recommended by the Task
Force on Traveller Education; and
b. that this Traveller Education Unit
oversee the development of
Traveller education strategies to
e n s u re the maximum benefit by
travellers from education and;
c. that it develops culturally app r opriate education access and
benefits for nomadic Travellers
and those Travellers out of
school.
31
TE ACHING CO U N C I L
An Comhairle Múinteoire a c h ta
Teaching Council Launched
T
he first ever Teaching
Council for the Republic
of Ireland was launched
by Minister Mary Hanafin, TD,
on 28 February last. Speaking at
the launch, the Minister said
that the new Teaching Council
will seek to affirm all that is good
in the profession in Ireland. She
said it has very real potential to
secure and enhance the status
of the profession in the eyes of
people throughout the country.
The Council held its first
meeting on 1 March and unanimously elected Joan Ward, former
President of the INTO and now
teaching in Griffeen Va l l ey
Educate Together NS as the first
Chairperson. A central role of
the Teaching Council will be to
regulate key aspects of the
teaching profession including
the quality of teaching, profe s-
sional conduct of teachers and
the promotion of continuing
p r o fessional development.
The Council has a total of 37
members, 22 of whom are regist e red teachers at primary or
post-primary level.
The Council is currently in the
process of establishing an Executive Committee, an Investigating Committee and Disciplinary
Committee and is also looking
at the issue related of a profe ssional registration fee for all
teachers at first and second
level in the Republic of Ireland.
A key function for the Council
in its initial stages will to be to
establish a register of all qu a l ified teachers which will be the
authoritative source of info rmation rega rding which persons
are eligible to teach in primary
and post-primary schools.
MEMBERS OF THE TEACHING COUNCIL
Baill na Comhairle Múinteoireachta
Name
Category
Seán Rowley
Maree O’Connell
Michael Griffin
Joan Ward
Dympna Mulkerrins
Milo Walsh
Eileen Ward
Justin Mc Carthy
Mary Culhane
Anne McElduff
Gerry Malone
John J. Keane
Primary
Primary
Primary
Primary
Primary
Primary
Primary
Primary
Primary
Nominee
Nominee
Vol Secondary
Elizabeth Cronin
Vol Secondary
Dermot Quish
Vol Secondary
Bernadine O’Sullivan Vol Secondary
Tommy Glynn
Vocational
Patrick McQuaile
Susie Hall
Vocational
Comm
& Comp
Máire Ní Laoire
Nominee
Christopher Maginn Nominee
Derek Dunne
Nominee
Jacqueline Sheil
Nominee
Dr Peadar Cremin
Nominee
Sr Darina Hosey
Nominee
Dr Jim Gleeson
Nominee
Prof. Sheelagh Drudy Nominee
Fr Dan O’Connor
Nominee
Deirdre O’Donoghue Nominee
George O’Callaghan
Nominee
Jacinta Stuart
Nominee
Anita McCann
Nominee
Eleanor Petrie
Nominee
Oliver Donohoe
Frank Turpin
Tomás Ó Cruadhlaoich
Kevin O’Driscoll
Emer Egan
Nominee
Nominee
Nominee
Nominee
Nominee
InTouch April 2005
Constituency/
Sector
Connaught, Ulster
Connaught, Ulster
Dublin
Dublin
Dublin
Leinster
Leinster
Munster
Munster
INTO
INTO
Connaught,
Munster, Ulster
Connaught,
Munster, Ulster
Leinster
Leinster
Connaught,
Munster, Ulster
Leinster
Connaught, Leinster,
Munster, Ulster
ASTI
ASTI
TUI
TUI
Colleges of Education
Colleges of Education
Universities & HEIs
Universities & HEIs
School Management
(P – CPSMA)
School Management
(P – Educate
Together)
School Management
(PP – JMB)
School Management
(PP – IVEA)
National Parents’
Council (P)
National Parents’
Council (PP)
Minister (ICTU)
Minister (IBEC)
Minister
Minister
Minister
Above: John Carr INTO Ge n e r a l
Secretary; Áine Lawlor, Director
of the Teaching Council; Minister
Mary Hanafin TD; Joan Ward,
Chairperson, and Bridge t
McManus Secreta ry General of
DES at the launch.
Right: Joan Crowley O’Sullivan
Special Education Supp o rt
Service, Catherine Byrne, Deputy
General Sec, Teresa O’Doherty ,
Head of Education in Mary
Immaculate College and Ann
Looney, CEO of the NCCA
Left: INTO
members of
the Teaching
Council with
the Minister
33
N ATIONAL NEWS
S cé a l ta Náisiúnta
Walk Tall in Northern Ireland
T
he Walk Tall Programme
is currently being piloted
in Northern Ireland. This
follows a smaller scale pilot in
2003-04 when the programme
was piloted in four primary
schools in the South Eastern
Education and Library Boa rd
(SEELB).
The schools involved piloted
some units of the Walk Tall
Programme. Walk Tall materials
and additional RSE materials
were used during the pilot.
Feedback from teachers was
very positive.
In May 2004 Mary Johnston,
Walk Tall, was contacted by Kim
Scott Assistant Advisory Officer,
Drugs Education ,SEELB, to
discuss the possibility of a
larger scale pilot in 2 0 0 4-0 5.
A meeting was scheduled for
Dublin West Education Centre
in June 04 to discuss the pilot.
The following attended the
meeting, Alison Vance, Principal
Officer, Primary Personal
Development and PE, Council
for Curriculum Evaluation and
Assessment (CCEA) Kim Scott,
Ed Sipler, Health Promotion
Specialist in Alcohol and Drugs,
Health Promotion Department ,
Down and Lisburn Health and
Social Services Trust, Kathryn
Armstrong and Peter Dornan,
Belfast Education and Library
Boa rd (BELB), and Mary
Johnston.
A pilot extending to all five
Education and Library Boa rds
and titled ‘Walking Tall Together’
was proposed by Alison Vance.
From l. to r.:Breandán Ó Murchú, Senior Inspector TES (Teacher Education Section) DES, Bernie McCabe, DES
Regional Offi ce , Tallaght (representing John Maloney) Andrew Diggins, Regional Directorate, DES, Noel Doyle,
TES, DES, Yvonne Fitzgibbon, Walk Tall Offi ce, Lisa Ba ggot, Local Drugs Task Force Co-Ordinators Netwo r k
Mary Johnston, National Supp o rt Offi cer, Walk Tall, Gerard McHugh, Director, Dublin West Education Centre.
It was envisaged that five
schools in each Education and
Library Boa rd would be involved
(max 25 schools). Schools were
selected on the basis that they
had prioritised Personal Development in their school plan.
Alison Vance, re quested official permission for the pilot
from the Department of
Education and Science. Mary
Johnston informed Senior
Inspector Breandan O’ Murchu,
Teacher Education Section,
Department of Education and
Science of developments at
every stage.
Additional materials, RSE and
Parent materials, were used in
conjunction with Walk Tall
materials to complete a PSHE
(Personal, Social and Health
Education) curriculum for the
pilot.
PSHE is due to be rolled out on
a phased basis in Northern
Ireland in 2006. Prior to the
pilot, Mary Johnston and Susan
Dixon of Walk Tall were invited
to Belfast to deliver training on
Walk Tall to trainers from all five
Education and Library Boa rds.
The training included information on the Walk Tall
Programme, the background,
rationale, content (skills,
values/attitudes and
knowledge), best practice in
substance use education, the
Walk Tall Support Service and
training in active learning
strategies.
Trainers from Northern
Ireland commented positively
on the structure of the Walk Tall
Manuals, and the content of the
lesson plans.
Kim Scott and Ed Sipler copresented a session on the
parent materials they developed.
Approximately 25 trainers
from Northern Ireland attended
the two day residential training.
All involved agreed it was a
very productive two days,
including the social time. Alison
Vance and Mary Johnston will
keep in contact to discuss the
progress and the evaluation of
the pilot (May 2005).
members to take part in the
Send a Friend to School global
action. A brochure explaining
the Send a Friend to School
campaign was included with
this edition of Intouch (one per
school). This can be
photocopied for use in class.
You can be part of the Send a
Friend to School action by
asking pupils to cut out and
decorate a cut-out friend. Each
one of these Friends will repre-
sent one of the 100 million
out-of-school children and
860 million illiterate adults.
Schools are asked to return
Friends to Lizzy Noone,
“Send a Fiend to School”
Concern 52 – 55 Lr Camden
Street Dublin 1, befo re 31 May
2005. A number of these will be
sent to the G8 Summit to be
held in Scotland later this year.
Further information: http://www.
campaignforeducation.ie
Global Action Week 2005
T
he Irish Coalition for the
Global Campaign fo r
Education (GCE) was founded
in 2000 and is a member of the
Global Campaign for Education.
The INTO is a founder member
of the Irish Coalition. The aim
of GCE is “to mobilise public
pressure on governments to
fulfil promises to provide free
quality education for all” made
at the Education For All Summit
in Dakar. During the 2005
InTouch April 2005
Action Week, we will demand
that politicians keep their
promises to achieve gender
equity in education by 2005
and universal primary education by 2015. These are 2 of the
eight Millennium Development
G oals for ending world poverty but on current trends, they will
be missed. Universal basic
education is needed now to
end poverty and empower
girls and women. We ask INTO
35
N ATIONAL NEWS
Scéalta Náisiúnta
Lift Off Human Rights Education!
Primary Schools Needed to Help Project
I
NTO, UTU, Amnesty
International and
Education International are
embarking on the third phase
of an exciting Cross-Border
Human Rights Education
Initiative for primary schools in
the Republic of Ireland and
Northern Ireland.
Based on the fundamentals of
human rights and responsibilities, as outlined in the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights,
the project will continue to
address the concepts of respecting diversity and mutual understanding, both here on the
island of Ireland and throughout the world.
Following two successful pilot
phases, which resulted in the
creation of human rights
education materials for 8-1 2
year olds, (3rd -6t h / P4- P7) ,
A m n e s ty are now extending the
project to cater for the junior
years of primary education,
(Junior Infants – 2nd class/ P1-P3. )
A m n e s ty are inviting primary
schools to take part in phase 3
of the project.
During phase 3 t h ey will be:
• Involving 60 primary schools
in the Republic of Ireland and
Northern Ireland.
• Developing guidelines and a
teachers’ handbook on introducing human rights education to the junior end of the
school (Junior Infants – 2nd
class/ P1- P3) .
• Piloting the new whole school
approaches and curriculum
support materials in partici-
pating schools.
• Twinning students in pilot
schools with a partner school
in another jurisdiction.
• Enabling participating
schools to link with and learn
from each other through ICT.
• Sponsoring a human rights
education confe rence to
showcase the achievements
of participating schools;
• Supporting participating
schools to become ‘model
schools’ in the area of human
rights education.
If you are interested in
involving your class and school
in this progressive initiative
application forms are
available from Amnesty at
http://www.amnesty.ie/user/
content/view/full/67 or contact
Aoife Ruane at (0 1)6776361.
(Republic of Ireland) or
www.amnesty.org.uk/ni/liftoff.
shtml or contact Deird re
M c A l i s k ey at (0 2 8) 90643000
(Northern Ireland)
Further details of the LIFT
OFF project are also available
on Amnesty’s website.
Completed application forms
should be returned by post or
email to either Aoife Ruane,
A m n e s ty International,
48 Fleet Street, Dublin,
[email protected] or
Deird re McAliskey, Amnesty
International, 397 Ormeau
Road, Belfast BT7 3G P .
deirdre.mcaliskey@amnesty.
org.uk.
The closing date for app l i c ations is Friday, 6 May 2005.
District VIII: Proinsias ÓhÓgáin
District IX: Matt Hume
District X: David Finneagan
District XI: Sean McMahon
District XII: Con Lynch
District XIII: Jeremiah Kirby
District XIV: Valerie Monaghan
District XV: Pat Keaveny
District XVI: Mary O’Callaghan
North Eastern Area
Primary: Don Campbell
Post Primary: Ba r n ey Magill
INTO Committees Elected
CEC 2005-2006
President: Sheila Nunan
Vice President: Denis Bohane
District I: Mary Cahillane
District II: Tony Lappin
District III: Mary McIntyre
District IV: Jim Higgins
District V: Peter McGrane
District VI: Máire Ní
Chuinneagáin
District VII: Helen O’Gorman
District VIII: John Boyle
District IX: Noreen Flynn
District X: Angela Dunne
District XI: Declan Kelleher
District XII: Emma Dineen
District XIII: Seamus Long
District XIV: Brenda
O’Sullivan
District XV: Donal O’Donoghue
District XVI: Anne Fay
Education Committee
2003-2006
The Education Committee took
office in 2003 and will service
for a 3 year term which will
conclude at Easter 2 0 0 6.
Equality Committee
2005-2008
District I: Barra Ó Dochartaigh
District II: Patricia O’Farrell
District III: Doreen Sheridan
InTouch April 2005
District IV: Anna Stanton
District V: Anne McQu a i l e
District VI: Eoin Shaughnessy
District VII: Moira Liddane
District VIII: Kathy McHugh
District IX: Mary Mullen
District X: Sheelagh Coyle
District XI: Eleanor O’Dwyer
District XII: Bernadette
Murray
District XIII: Margaret Be r n a rd
District XIV: Maree Farrell
District XV: Nora Hamill
District XVI: Ka y ren Hayes
Be n e fit Funds Committee
2005-2007
Division I: Paddy McAllister
Division II: Joan Ward
South Eastern Area
Primary: Kevin Smyth
Post Primary: Patrick Hanna
2005-2006
Southern Area
Primary A: Mary Hughes
Primary B: Paddy McAllister
Post Primary: Patricia O’Farrell
Be l f a st
Primary A: Eddie Keenan
Primary B: Gerry Murphy
Post Primary: Des McDonagh
Western Area
Primary A: Rita Fox
Primary B: Charles Glenn
Post Primary: Brendan Harron
Northern Committee
National Appeals Panel
2005-2007
Division I: Peter Darcy
Division II: Eamonn Henry
Principals’ and Deputy
Principals’ Committee
District I: Don Campbell
District II: Vacant
District III: Luke Kilcoyne
District IV: Declan Kyne
District V: Frank Bradley
District VI: Michael Gallagher
District VII: Fergal Fitz p a t r i ck
Diarmuid O’Connor,
Droichead Nua
Kathleen Lynch,
C a h e r c i veen
37
TIPS
Nodanna
Curriculum Strand: Energy and Forces
Sound
S
ound is a very suitable
science topic to teach this
school year given the
opportunities there are to integrate work in this strand unit
with music. Most of the equipment re qu i red would be readily
available in school year given
the opportunities there are to
integrate work in this strand
unit with music. Most of the
equipment required would be
readily available in school or at
home. It is also an ideal topic to
teach in the multi-class situation since many of the objectives for the diffe rent class
levels are similar.
The teacher can compile a list
of sound concept words
suggested by the children.
These can then be connected,
using joining words. The
teacher can re c o rd this activity
on the boa rd or the children
can make the connections
themselves either in pairs,
small groups or individually.
The children could also be
asked to complete another
concept map at the end of the
topic of sound, which can indicate whether their initial ideas
have changed and/or if learning
has take place.
Content Objective :
Children’s ideas using a concept
map
Children’s ideas should be the
starting points for all science
work in the classroom. Concept
maps (Science Teacher Guidelines,
p. 1 4 4. see example below) are
one of a range of tools which
teachers can use to gather
i n formation about childre n ’ s
ideas. They can be introduced
to, and used by, children in the
junior classes up.
InTouch April 2005
39
The child should be enabled to
recognise and identify a variety
of sounds in the environment
(Infants – Sixth Class)
Sound and Music
It will be important that the
work on sound be linked
to the music curriculum
(Science Teacher
Guidelines, p.9 2)
• Classroom sounds. Ask the
children to close their ey e s
and listen to sounds in the
classroom, the school or
coming in through an open
window. Ask them to list
and/or re c o rdall the sounds
they can hear. Older children
can be asked to distinguish
between natural and manmade sounds.
• Sound walks. Go on a sound
walk in the school grounds
(Exemplar 11, Teacher
Guidelines, p. 6 2). The children
can be encouraged to re c o rd
the sounds that they hear
pictorially or re c o rd where
sounds were heard on a
simple sound map. Older
children can discuss the
range of sounds that were
heard at various places in the
school grounds and identify
quiet and noisy areas of
the school. This can
lead to an openended investigation:
Where is the noisiest place in the
school/ school
grounds? If you
carried out a sound surv ey at
different times would your
findings be the same?
• Body sounds. What sounds
can we make with our body?
Clap hands, stamp feet etc.
• Mystery Sounds 1. Place various familiar items from the
classroom (paperclips,
marbles, rubber bands) in a
closed opaque container like
an empty butter spread bo x .
The children shake the
container and try to predict
what is inside.
• Mystery Sounds 2. A child
goes behind a scre e n / b l a ckboa rd and uses one of the
sound makers provided (bicycle bell, balloon, spoon, musical instrument). The other
children try to guess the
source of the sound.
TIPS
Nodanna
‘Making’ instruments
Alternatively, the children
can try to identify who is
speaking behind the scre e n .
• Mystery Sounds 3. Many of
the oral language schemes
have re c o rdings of sounds fo r
the children to identify .
These can include animal
sounds, everyday sounds (tap
dripping, shower, washing
machine, door bell,
telephone) and/or match the
sound to a picture or word.
Depending on ability level,
groups of children could be
asked to produce their own
re c o rdings of mystery sounds
to be used with the rest of the
class.
•
•
Content Objective
The child should be enabled to
explore ways of making diffe rent sounds using a variety of
materials. (Infants – Second
Class)
The child should be enabled
to understand and explore how
different sounds may be made
by making a variety of materials
vibrate. (Third – Sixth Class)
• E x p l o rea variety of objects
(tins, metals, plastic bo ttles)
to explore what sounds they
can produce. Use these materials to make soft and loud,
high and low sounds.
• Ask children to use these or
other materials to create an
accompaniment to a song or
poem.
• How many diffe rent sounds
can be made using one sheet
of paper eg tearing, crunching etc?
• Ask the children to place
their fingers gently over their
voice box (ie larynx at the
base of the neck) to feel the
vocal vibrations when they
InTouch April 2005
•
•
speak. Is it any diffe rent if
t h ey whisper/shout/sing?
Gather a collection of musical
instruments. Ask the children
to play them and re c o rdhow
t h ey are played (blow, pluck ,
s t r u ck, shake) Classify the
instruments into groups and
discuss how they are the
same/different. Discuss and
s u ggest what is vibrating each
time. Is it the instrument, a
piece of the instrument or
perhaps the air?
Hold a ruler on the end of the
table and twang it. It vibrates
and produces a sound. What
h a ppens when you alter the
length of ruler that is free to
vibrate? (The pitch of sound
produced changes). What
h a ppens when you stop the
ruler vibrating?
Blow up a balloon, stretch the
n e ck of it and slowly let the
air escape. What happens?
Sound is produced as the
escaping air causes the neck
of the balloon to vibrate.
Collect about five or six identical glass bo ttles. How could
we make the bo ttles produce
a sound (tap them, blow
across the top) The children
can investigate the effect of
different water levels in the
bo ttles on the sound
produced. How could they
produce a diffe rent sound or
note for example by adding
varying amounts of water?
Tap the bo ttles and identify
which produces the
highest/lowest notes. Blow
over the tops and identify
which produces the
highest/lowest notes. Does
the same bo ttle produce the
highest note each time? Why
do you think this is so?
Content Objective
The child should be enabled to
design and make a range of
simple percussion instruments
(First and Second class), string
instruments (Third and Fourth
class) and woodwind
instruments (Fifth and Sixth
class)
• Exemplar 2 3, Teacher Guidelines
p. 94. Can you make a banjo
from rubber bands? This
exemplar can be used as the
basis for a lesson to design
and make any instrument.
• Percussion instruments:
Make drums (various
containers/boxes with a skin
pulled across), shakers (use
crisp tubes, bo ttles etc),
t a m bourines (use paper
plates with discs around the
edge), xylophone (using glass
bo ttles), castanets and/or
triangles of diffe rent sizes and
using different materials.
Investigate how changes in
the materials used affect the
sound produced. Does the
material from which the
container is made make a
difference? Does the size of
the container make a diffe rence to the sound?
• Shakers: Test diffe rent fillings. Does the type/amount of
filling make a difference to
the sound? (High/low;
loud/soft)
• String instruments: Make a
rubber band banjo or guitar
using a variety of rubber
bands of different thickness
and width and card boa rd
plastic or metal containers.
possɪʙʟe ɪɴvestɪɢatɪoɴs
D o es the length of the rubber
band affect the sound produced?
D o es the thickness or the tension
of the rubber band affect the
sound produced?
What other materials can I use?
Wool, thread, string, cord.
D o es the size of the box make a
difference? Butter box, biscuit
tin, tissue box.
Can I make the same note/sound
with different types of rubber
bands?
• Wind instruments: Make
straw oboes. Use drinking or
art straws. Flatten about 2cm
at the end with your teeth
and use a scissors to cut off
the flattened corners to make
a point. Put about 2cm of the
cut straw end in your mouth,
with your lips closed but a
little loose. Blow hard into the
straw. If there is no sound,
blow less hard until a sound
is made.
• Make panpipes using a selection of straws or narrow tubes
connected together. Blow
gently over the top to
produce a sound.
possɪʙʟe ɪɴvestɪɢatɪoɴs
What happens to the sound
produced if we shorten the
straw? This can be very effective
if one child snips pieces from the
end of the straw oboe as another
child is blowing into it.
Remember to keep safety to the
fo re when using scissors.
D o es the diameter of the straw
make a diffe rence to the sound?
D o es the material (paper/plastic) make a diffe rence to the
sound of the straw oboe?
■
Compiled by the science
team of the Primary
Curriculum Support
Pro gramme.
The activities outlined abo ve
have been taken from the PCSP
website. For further ideas visit
the website at www.pcsp.ie
41
TIPS
Nodanna
Playground Games and Cluichí Clóis!
H
ere are a number of fun
games to get your class
up and moving, fo r
which very little equipment is
required. Using small groups
will ensure high levels of individual activity. There is no form
of elimination in any of these
games and this is to encourage
maximum participation.
Playground games such as
these allow for high levels of
aerobic activity, encourage
multi-directional movement
and the development of spatial
a w a reness. Most importantly
the games are great fun. Bíodh
spraoi agaibh agus bainigí
taithneamh astu!
beat the number of times they
hit the ball from the previous
game.
Hot Potato
Equipment: Balloon
Description: Children stand
within a square (marked by
cones or chalk), group of 4 - 6.
The balloon is tossed into the
air. Children must keep the
balloon in play by using their
head, arms, hands, legs and
feet. The game continues until
the balloon touches the ground.
For a more challenging ga m e ,
have the children holds hands
and only allow them to use their
legs and feet to keep the
balloon in the air.
Beach Ball High
Equipment: Beach Ba l l
Description: Children stand in a
circle, group of 4 - 6, they continually hit the beach ball and try
to keep it in the air. If the ball
hits the ground they must start
over. One child could count and
see how many times they hit the
ball before it falls to the ground.
Next game the group try and
Magpies
Equipment: None
Description:Children line up
along the start line at one end
of the play area. Two children
are selected to be magpies and
t h ey stand in the middle of the
play area. When these two child ren yell, “Magpies”, the other
players must attempt to run
across from one side of the play
area to the other without been
tagged by the Magpies. Each
child tagged also becomes a
Magpie for the next run.
Continue playing until there are
more Magpies than runners.
Team Tag
Equipment: Bibs
Description: Divide the class
into four equal teams. Each
team wears a diffe rent colour
bib. One team is selected to act
as chasers. A given time, max of
t wo minutes, is allowed for the
chasing team to tag as many of
the other players as possible.
When a person is tagged they
must stand still. When the time
is up, all those tagged are
counted. Each team in turn acts
as chasers. The team with the
greatest number of tags is the
winner.
Éininí Ocracha
Fe a ra s: Málaí Pónairí
Cur síos: Malaí pónairí
scaipaithe sa chlós. Bíodh níos
lú málaí pónairí ná páistí.
Thósaíonn na páistí (éininí) ag
rith ( eilit) timpeall. Nuair a
shéidtear an fhéadóg déanann
gach páiste iarracht mála
ponaire a phiocadh suas.
Na Bláthanna agus na Be a c h a
Fearas: Cóin
Cur síos: Marcáil baile le cóin
ná cailc i leathtaobh den chlós.
Na Bláthanna, leath den rang,
(páistí ar a ghluine nó ag cromadh síos) scapaithe ar fud an
chlóis. Ritheann (eitlíonn) na
Beacha, an leath eile den rang,
isteach is amach eathortha.
Nuair a shéidtear an fhéadóg
léimeann na Bláthanna in
airde2 agus déanann siad iarracht breith ar na Beacha sular
sroiceann siad an baile.
Compiled by Ita Seoighe,
a member of the IPPEA,
Irish Primary Physica l
E d u cation Association. Vi s i t
www.irishprimarype.com
for more details.
(More playground games
available in the Physica l
E d u cation Teacher Guidelines
and on the PCSP website.)
■
■ Most importantly the
games are great fun.
Bíodh spraoi agaibh
agus bainigí
taithneamh astu!
InTouch April 2005
43
AROUND THE BR A N C H E S
Timpeall na Craoibhe
Teachers’ So ccer Tournament
M
ore than 300 primary
teachers participated
in the Annual Indoor
Soccer Tournament organised
by Limerick teachers in
February. The competition
attracted a wide variety of
teams from throughout the
country in three categories:
• Men’s open
• Women’s open
• Men’s over 35 tournament
Competition was very tight
over the weekend and in the
end a Bunch of Bucks beat
C a r r i ckin the men’s open
final, while the honours went
to the ABR team who beat
High Flyers in the women’s
competition.
In the over 35 men’s competition Limerick Veterans just
edged out Mary I Veterans in a
close fought final.
A Bunch of Bucks: (Ba c k
R ow) Richard Dolan,
Mick Keville, Jimmy
Byrne, Kieran Lyons
(Front Row) Mícheál
Cannon, Adrian Carey,
Paul Daly.
Cork: (Back Row)Dónal
O’Sullivan, Criostó i r
Ó’Cathasaigh, Pádraig
Ó’Conchúir, Gabriel
Ó’Cathasaigh
(Front Row) Ciarán
Ó’Muircheartaigh,
Dermot Murr ay ,
Gerard Coakley
A r c h b i s h opRyan NS:
( Back Row) Regina
Corrigan, Fiona Kiveney,
Nicole Kaye, Cliona
Currid, Áine Curran,
Jerry Fitz gerald (Front
Row) Deirdre McMahon,
Angela Gallagher,
Róisín Lyng, Jill Farrell.
High Flyers: (Back Row )
Karen O’Leary, Erin
Cleary, Joanne McNally,
Bríd Burke, (Front Row )
Andrea Gallen, Nicola
Corcoran, Caitríona Ní
Dhonnchú,
Limerick Veterans:
( Back Row) Tom
O’Dwyer, Brian Dillon,
Flan Clune, Pat
O’Gorman
(Front Row) Ba rry
Lordan, Michael
O’Sullivan, Ciarán
C r ow e
Mary I Veterans:
John McDonagh,
Diarmuid O’Driscoll,
Neil O’Conaill, John
Doyle, John Coady
InTouch April 2005
45
LET TERS
Litreacha
Challenges of 34 Children
Dear Editor,
The first thing that struck me
when I was faced with a class of
34 c h i l d ren was simply the
logistics of where all the
‘ bodies’ would fit. That was
back in September and still I’m
struggling to find seating
arrangements suitable for all
children to ensure everyone has
a clear view of the black boa rd
and the other teaching points I
use in the classroom and also
ensure that the children have
sufficient working space at the
table. Making the classrooms
physically bigger is not the
answer to this challenge,
because the bigger the room
the further away the childre n
are from important teaching
points, not to mention the
strain on the teacher’s voice.
Classrooms simply weren’t made
to cater for classes of such size s .
More pressing, however, are
the challenges I, and other
teachers of large classes, face on
a daily basis, of ensuring every
pupil under our care is progressing and learning effectively.
The larger the class size, the
b r oader the range of abilities in
the class; the broader the range
of abilities, the more enormous
the task is for the teacher to tend
to the needs of the children.
For a practical example, I see
and struggle with challenge
daily as I teach maths. It is one
subject where there is huge
variation in abilities. Just as I
finish explaining and/or set an
exercise for the children to
work on, it can often happen
Into Rules And Constitution
The INTO Rules and Constitution
booklet was updated and
reprinted following the Rules
Conference held in June 2004.
Copies have been sent to
members of INTO National
Committees and Branch and
District Secretaries. It is also
available as a
d o w n l oad from
the INTO website
at www.into.ie
under ‘The
INTO’ and
‘Publications’
tabs.
InTouch April 2005
that the top group of students
have it finished while I have just
begun to explain the concept to
the weaker group using concrete
materials and examples.
And so, begins the challenge
of keeping those children at the
top of the ability range in the
class sufficiently challenged
and engaged. It hardly seems
fair or right to make them work
at a slower pace than they are
capable of.
Within my class of 34 pupils,
approximately 1/5 of them attend
learning support or re quire
individual tuition throughout
the day. This often means that
homework I assign is not suitable
for this cohort of students. This
results in me assigning more
suitable material for them and
helping them to write it down as
promptly as possible befo re the
remainder of the class ‘run amoch’
(you can only expect a group of
2 6/2 7 children to sit patiently
and quietly for a short time).
Other challenges which arise
are such things as finding the
time to correct 34 copies, bo o k s
and/or worksheets on a regular
basis and to mount and display
c h i l d ren’s work around the
classroom.
Being my first year teaching
and having one of the biggest
classes in the school, I suppose I
have never known any diffe rent. It was only until recently,
when, one Friday, I had an
exceptionally low attendance
rate. With only 21 pupils in the
classroom I could actually see
the diffe rence and thought to
myself; “I actually got the
opp o r t u n i tyto spend time with
those who needed extra guidance and explain the tasks at
hand, rather than hoping and
praying that they’ll be ‘carried
in the wave.”
As a person who was taught
in a class of 40 children in
primary school, it is disheartening to see that we haven’t come
very far in reducing class size s
and making education more
e f fective. It’s simply not good
enough that the children in
most need of our guidance,
instruction and help are
expected to be ‘carried along on
the wave’
Áine O’Callaghan,
2nd class teacher
Scoil Mhuire, Ballymany,
Newbridge,Co Ki l a re
Qualifying by Degrees
Dear Editor,
Like many other readers, I was
intrigued by the Turas chun na
Gaeltachta article by a Hibernia
College student in the March
issue of InTo u c h. I'm not sure
what relevance a ‘Lá Cois
Farraige’ type essay has to what
is supposedly a trade union
m a gazine other than as an exercise in corporate toe dipping on
the part of the INTO to see just
how far out it can push the boa t
on the vexed question of
Hibernia’s part-time express
course enabling participants to
obtain a qualification to teach
in Primary schools.
Readers will be aware that the
original rationale behind
Hibernia’s course was that
there was a shortage of teachers. I suggest that Hibernia
check with many of the recently
qualified teachers who took the
scenic route (three years fulltime study) to obtaining a
teaching qualification and who
have yet to secure permanent
employment in order to find
out more about the nature of
this ‘shortage’ in 2 0 0 5.
Hibernia says it is facilitating
m o b i l i tyat graduate level. This
is all very worthwhile until you
consider that the same privilege is not accorded to holders
of the ill-fated B Ed. degree.
At a time when it is widely
accepted that there is a shortage of speech and language
therapists, educational psychologists and science teachers in
schools how come we don’t see
similar graduate transfer
programmes for holders of the
B Ed? Why, for example, is the B
Ed one of the few degrees not
accepted for the purposes of
entry into the H Dip in Ed
(Secondary) even though it is a
degree in education with entry
requirements in excess of many
other qualifying degrees?
Flying kites with the
academic qualifications of its
own members may seem like a
good idea to some people in the
INTO. However, until such time
as the B Ed is recognised as an
equal with other degrees I
would suggest that the INTO
would be better employed in
defending the academic qu a l i f ications of its own members.
Daniel Horgan
Cork City
Challenges of Learning
P
art one of this just
published report contains
the proceedings of the
Consultative Confe renc on
Education (2 0 0 2) on the theme
of ‘Enhancing Pupils’ learning
Experience. It includes a background paper pre p a red by the
INTO Education Committee,
focussing on the debate
concerning gender differences
in education performance. It
also includes the keynote
a d d ress given by Prof John
Abo tt of the 2 1st Learning
Intitiative, presentatons by the
Education Committee and
reports of the discussion
groups. Part two of the report
contains the proceedings of the
Conference held in 2003 on the
theme of ‘Supporting Special
Education in Mainstream
Schools’. An overview of recent
developments in the area of
special education is given. The
perspectives of a principal
teacher, a class teacher, a
teacher in a multi-class situation,
and a parent of a child with
special needs
are presented.
Finally, a
paper outlining difficulties
associated
with the use
of standardised assessment fo r
the puposes of selecting pupils
for special needs support is
included.
Challenges of learning is
available from Publications
Section, head office, Cost Ä6
plus p&p.
47
BOOK REVIEWS
Léirmheasanna Leabhar
Putting Out the Stars
by Roisin Meaney
R
oisin Meaney’s second
novel, Putting Out the Stars
is one of family, love and friendship mingled with betrayal and
deceit.
The story, set in Limerick,
entwines characters’ lives cleverly. Laura longs desperately to
have a child with her husband
Donal whose secret past life
prevents this. Herbest friend,
Breffini fell pregnant by chance
while in America where she
had fled after her romantic
relationship with Laura’s
brother, Andrew, ended. The
light of his mother, Cecily’s life,
she made sure he married a girl
who would not steal her
precious child from her. The
misfortunate girl was Ruth,
who lived with her mother-inlaw for their first months of
marriage. She befriends Laura
but is intimidated by the beautiful Breffini though she cannot
understand why. Meanwhile,
recently widowed Frank
entrusts his life story to Cecily.
He had suffered form the death
of his daughter and has long
since been estranged from his
son. Little did he know what lay
in store for him and the others.
Although quite predictable,
Putting Out the Stars is a most
enjoyable, easy read – ideal fo r
the holidays!
Putting Out the Stars is
published by Gill and
Macmillan. Cost e8.99. 20%
discount by visiting the website
www.gillmacmillan.ie
Reviewed by Áine O’
Sullivan. Co Limerick
■
Be Safe – Health and Safety in Primary School
by The Association for Science Education
T
his teachers’ handbook is pre p a red by
the Irish Science Teachers’ Association
for use in Irish schools, with permission of
the Association for Science Education
(Scotland).
The book contains general guidelines for
best practice in the teaching of primary
school science, for non specialist teachers
in non specialist accommodation.
The purpose of the books is to promote
the health and safety of all participants in
the teaching of science and refers to the
SESE teachers guidelines and the principal
regulations of the Safe ty, Health and
welfare at Work Act.
T h e re are 14 chapters covering the various themes in the SESE curriculum, such as
forces, electricity, ourselves, plants etc. In
each chapter there are detailed and easy to
apply safe ty codes, so that teachers can be
a w a reof and pre p a red of any accidents.
Various symbols are used throughout the
manual to highlight particular issues,
points of confirmation and potential
h a z a rds or risks.
The book also lists useful reference,
videos, addresses and websites so that
teachers can access more information and
material to supplement their teaching.
This is an excellent handbook for all
teachers and schools. The advice runs from
the general common sense issues to areas
where more specific guidance may be
needed.
It is not a alarmist approach, in fact, qu i t e
the opposite. It is a reassuring, awareness –
raising manual that should be read by all
personnel involving in the teaching of
science in primary schools, to ensure the
successful and safe delivery of this new
exciting and wide ranging subject.
You can order a copy of Be Safe from the
ISTA website at www.ista.ie
Reviewed by Regina Halpin
Arc h b i s h op Ryan SNS, B’algaddy,
Co Dublin.
■
The Compass
by the children from Monkstown Educate Together NS
T
he Compass is an anthology of poems written by children in fourth class in
Monkstown Educate Together NS.
Poet, Anne Fitzgerald, facilitated poetry workshops in class, exploring the local history of the
harbour. The children were asked to imagine
the experience of the people who built
Kingstown Harbour, who sailed from Dun
Laoghaire and who made a living from harbo u r
l i fe .
InTouch April 2005
A limited number of books come with a CD of
the children reading their poems.
The project was sponsored by Dun La o g h a i re
H a r bour Co, Poetry Ireland and Dun La o g h a i re
Rathdown County Council.
The Compass is available from the school (Tel 01
2 3 0 3 6 9 6), in Green's and Reads bookshops in
Dublin, and in Easons and Wise Owl in Dun
Laoghaire. Cost: ?10 or ?15 with CD
49
N ATIONAL NEWS
S cé a l ta Náisiúnta
INTO/ICTU
Tsumani
Appeal
Advance Notice
T
he Irish Congress of
Trade Unions has
launched an appeal
amongst all affiliate unions fo r
financial contributions toward s
rebuilding and redevelopment
costs in the countries affected
by the Tsunami at Christmas.
The CEC has decided to
request staff re p resentatives to
organise a collection at school
level in the third term.
The proceeds from the collection can be lodged directly to a
bank account designated for
this purpose.
The CEC has further decided
to get this fund established by
contributing Ä5 0 , 0 0 0 on
behalf of the Organisation.
The CEC is aware that
members have alre a d y
contributed in a variety of ways
to Tsunami relief. Nonetheless,
we are anxious to facilitate
members who wish to be part of
theresponse of the trade union
movement to the Tsunami
disaster.
The General Secretary will
shortly write to staff repre s e n t atives with further details and
the name and number of the
specially established bank
account.
Union members are being
asked to contribute one hour’s
wages to the Fund.
INTO Solidarity Fund
T
he INTO Solidarity fund is set up to
provide support for the development
of educational facilities for developing countries. In applications for funding,
p r i o r i tyis given to:
• Pre-primary or Primary school related
projects
• Projects which are under the sponsorship
of a recognised Development Agency/
Missionary So c i e ty or Trade Union Group
InTouch April 2005
• Projects related to capital expenditure ,
training or professional development fo r
teachers, curriculum development ,
provision of materials or teachers
salaries,
• Projects with the direct involvement of
an INTO member or branch in the sponsorship/ delivery of the programme.
During 2004 a total of ?53,779.72 was
allocated from the fund for projects in vari-
ous parts of the developing world. These
projects included support for schools and
teachers in Pakistan, Sudan, Indonesia,
Kenya, Uganda, Haiti, Gambia, Zambia and
Ghana, as well as grants for two projects
related to the Beslan school tragedy.
Applications for funding should be made
on the appropriate form, available from
INTO Head Office, and will be considered by
the CEC on a quarterly basis.
51
COMHAR LINN
Congress
Quiz
Winning
Team:
Dublin West
Pictured are: Pat Costello
Quiz Master, Teresa Murphy,
Austin Corcoran, President
I.N.T.O., Noel Morgan, Mary
O'Flaherty, John O'Flaherty
and Jim Hynes, Congress
Organising Committee.
Winners of February
Draw
Car – Toyota Corolla
Eileen Dineen, Kilcoe NS, Skibbereen, Co Cork.
Cash – Ä1,500
Mary Dunne, Scoil Muire Naofa, Kiltale,
Dunsany, Co Meath.
Weekend for two in a Jury’s Doyle Hotel
Fiona Duggan, St Oliver Plunkett’s NS,
Malahide, Co Dublin.
Weekend for two in a Jury’s Doyle Hotel
Michele O’Callaghan, Presentation Convent
NS, Millstreet, Mallow, Co Cork.
Crossword No. 77
A draw for 2 x £100 will be made from all correct entries
Simply complete the crossword and send it
to InTouch, 35 Parnell Square, Dublin 1, by Friday 29th April 2005
Down
1. An examination of the destruction
of the sett. (4)
2. Such a blast might spoil oxen. (9)
3. At this stage, is the competition
warming up? (5)
4. Fifty lead nine astray with this
material. (5)
5. Verne's submariner turns up an
NAME:
ADDRESS:
InTouch
Across
1. To the east, the sentence the
actor says must conform. (3,3,4)
6. Employed the American editor. (4)
10. The colour of the centre of those
pianos. (5)
11. It's fractionally on top! (9)
12. Agree to have Conor dispatched.
(7)
15. Chopped meat that makes one
walk affectedly. (5)
17. The continent is back in the
Automobile Association. (4)
18. Part of the eye essential to a
satirist. (4)
19. Get down after this and score in
America. (5)
21. Might the eel clog up this school?
(7)
23. Don't hone X or Z for the sweet
stuff! (5)
24. Is an accountant not applicable in
this miraculous place? (4)
25. Overturn the moor before I make
it a desert. (4)
26. Font 'e breaks frequently. (5)
28. Can a pin hold this sea mammal?
(7)
33. Such outstanding quality might
have sent gears changing. (9)
34. Does one get this wine from a
Brazilian city? In Germany, yes.
(5)
35. Tear about at speed.
(4)
36. The intruder might make the Press
stare. (10)
April 2005
omen. (4)
7. Material that stood out? Quite the
opposite. (5)
8. Might Dad eye Rush from this
West Cork promontory? (6,4)
9. Rip meat asunder, you ape! (7)
13. This will give you a sound return.
(4)
14. I'd a bolt of paper this size. (7)
16. Form hinges into a seafood vendor. (10)
20. A union sum with no dissenter. (9)
21. Such youngsters just swan about.
(7)
22. Target that makes one leave
before Capone. (4)
27. I'd leave Neptune's weapon in an
English river. (5)
29. The right place in the desert to
love a little sister. (5)
30. The average mother names this
Italian town. (5)
31. Is this drink a Stinger? Right. (4)
32. Brace with the soft atmosphere.
(4)
Gordius - In Touch No. 76 March ‘05
Across
1. Volleyball 6. Ache 10. Lemur 11.
Sophomore 12. Asphalt 15. Audit 17.
Aver 18. Avon 19. Cider 21. Abolish
23. Dread 24. Swat 25. Oils 26. Let
up 28. Tantrum 33. Butterfly 34.
Nadir 35. Airs 36. Aristocrat
Down
1. Vale 2. Limestone 3. Earth 4. Basil
5. Lips 7. Crowd 8. Electorate 9.
Monarch 13. Ahab 14. Tallest 16.
Candelabra 20. Down Under 21.
Adopted 22. Span 27. Tutor 29.
Abyss 30. Tango 31. Afar 32.
FretEclair 7. Eon 12. Falling star 13.
Below 14. Trade 17. Shercock 18.
Cistern 19. Castle 22. Tired 23. Spear
24. Cob
Winners of Jan/Feb Crossword were:
Carmel Kelly, Brideswell, N.S. Co. Roscommon and
Catherine Roden, St. Mark’s JNS, Dublin 24
53
NOTICES
Fógraí
COPY DATE
■
Copy you wish to have
considered for publication
in the May issue of InTouch
should arrive in Head Office by
11 April. Copy date for the June
issue is 9 May.
MULTI-SENSORY
IMPAIRMENT
■
Pauline Morley wishes to
thank all the visiting
teachers, and other teachers,
who completed her qu e s t i o nnaire on training needs.
Contributions have been valuable. If you still have a qu e s t i o nnaire Pauline would appreciate
it if you would complete and
return to her. If you need a
further copy please contact
[email protected] or tel
087 2265792.
REUNIONS
■
MARY I CLASSES OF 74 AND 75
– 30 YEAR REUNION
The reunion will take place on
Saturday, 17 September in
Limerick. For details contact
Tom O’Sullivan, tel 086 2540787
or Mags Coffey at 086 3898425
ST PAT’S CLA S S OF 1980
2 5th reunion will take place on
Saturday, 24 September, 2005.
To be placed on contact list fo r
further information please
forw a rd your email address to
[email protected]. In the
coming weeks a website will be
developed at this addre s s :
http://www.iol.ie/~patsreunion
CLASS OF 1982 – 1985 MARY
IMMACULATE
Date: Saturday, 23 April.
Time: 6 p.m. Venue: Clare Inn
Hotel, Limerick.
For details contact Tomás
O’Conchúir (TC), 087 6736773
(mob); 066 7142022 (w); 066
7142268 (h)
InTouch General Editor: John Carr
Editor: Tom O’Sullivan
As s i s tant Editor: Lori Kealy
Editorial Assistants; Merrilyn
Campbell, Niamh Corduff
Adve rtising: Mary Bird Smyth,
Advertising Executive;
Design: David Cooke
Photography: Moya Nolan, Photodisc,
Digital Vision, Image 1 0 0.
Correspondence to: The Editor,
InTouch April 2005
BEREAVEMENT
COUNSELLING
■
The Bereavement
Counselling Service is
holding an Open Day, entitled
‘Coping with Loss’. Chief
speaker is Marie Murray,
Director of Psychology, St
Vincent’s Hospital. Date: 16
April (from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.).
Venue: Bank of Ireland Arts
C e n t re, Foster Place, Dublin 2.
Adm Free. Info: 01 8391766.
STSG
■
INTO/STSG (Separated
Teachers’ Support Group) open to widowed, divorced and
single parents.
Next meeting: Friday, 22
April, in the Teachers' Club,
Parnell Squ a re, starting at 8
p.m. sharp. Speaker t.b.c. –
please contact Seána Haughey
at 071-9189116/087-9556468 fo r
further details closer to the date
of the meeting.
Guided tour of National Art
Gallery, Merrion Squ a re, on
Saturday, 23 April – meeting
outside ga l l e ry at 10.45 a.m.
Lunch afterwards in Gallery
Restaurant.
New members always
welcome. Please contact Brid
Joyce at 01-4507751.
ALZHEIMER TEA DAY
■
“Irish teachers are leading
by example in supporting
local Alzheimer So c i e ty services” – that is the message from
The Alzheimer So c i e ty of
Ireland to the educational
c o m m u n i tyas part of their
preparation for the launch of
the 1 1th Tea Day campaign, on
Thursday, 5 May. Special Tea
P a cks available from the
Alzheimer So c i e ty, 43
Northumberland Ave, Dun
Laoghaire, Co Dublin. Tel 1850
931 931
InTouch, INTO Head Office,
Vere Foster House, 35 Parnell Squ a re ,
Dublin 1. Telephone: 8047700.
Fax: 8 7 2 2 4 6 2. LoCall: 1850 708 708
Email: [email protected]
We b s i t e : http://www.into.ie
R AI
■
The Reading Association of
Ireland Spring Seminar
2005 will be held on Saturd a y ,
23 April. Oisín McGann (child ren’s author and illustrator)
will present a workshop entitled ‘Writing with Children.
Giving Children Confidence to
Write – Techniques that Work’.
This workshop will look at
storytelling and writing with
c h i l d ren from junior infants to
sixth class. Venue: Church of
I reland College of Education,
Upr Rathmines Rd, Dublin 6.
Registration: RAI members Ä2 0;
non-members Ä2 5; students
Ä1 0. Enquiries and bookings:
[email protected] Places are
limited so please book early.
IFI – PRIMARY EVENTS
■
For information on the
Irish Film Institute’s 2005
education programme see their
website at www.irishfilm.ie.
Coming up in June:
Millions (Free preview screening
for primary schools of this new
film. When two children find a
s a ckof stolen cash, they take it
home and hide it until they can
decide what to do. The problem
is that Euroday is coming up! If
you would like to book your
pupils in for this free event call
IFI Education on 01 6795744 to
re s e rve places.
FORUM ON EUROPE
■
The Forum on Europe has
organised a programme of
regional meetings addre s s i n g
the theme ‘Getting to know the
new European Constitution’. It
will look at issues ranging from
s e c u r i tyand defence aspects of
the Constitution to issues of
economic governance, freedom
s e c u r i tyand justice. Dates:
16 May: Abb ey Hotel,
Roscommon.
education magazine in Ireland. Ar t i c l es
published in InTouch are also available
on our website www.into.ie
The views expressed in this journal are
those of the individual authors and are
not neces sarily endorsed by the INTO.
While every care has been taken to
InTouch is published by the Irish National ensure that the information contained in
Teachers’ Organization and distributed
this publication is up to date and correct,
to members and educational institutions. no responsibility will be taken by the Irish
InTouch is the most widely circulated
National Teachers’ Organization for any
30 May: Bracken Court Hotel
Balbrigga n
20 June: Cavan Crystal Hotel,
Cavan Town.
Further information on
www.forumoneurope.ie
ARTS FESTIVAL FOR
CHILDREN
■
Spréacha 2 0 0 5, Finga l ’ s
International Arts Festival,
a six day international festival
for children aged between 3 and
12 years takes place from 13 to 18
June. Companies from
Denmark, Scotland, England,
Belgium and Canada will take
part. Listen to stories about a
100 year old oak tree, runaway
chickens, minotaurs, adventurous goldfish and magic.
Spréacha is presented by
Draíocht in partnership with
Fingal County Council. Tel
Draíocht at 01 8852622 or check
out website at www.draiocht.ie
ROLE OF HORSE IN
HUMAN THER APY
■
An evening seminar on the
‘Role of the Horse in
Human Therapy, Rehabilitation
and Aid’, will take place in the
C i ty West Hotel Confe rence
Centre, Saggart, Co Dublin, on
Tuesday, 17 May at 7.30 p.m.
Currently, for example, the
horse is used in the treatment
of a wide range of physical and
mental illnesses, in the rehabilitation of young offenders, in
helping cancer patients and as
guide ponies for the blind.
Chairperson: Jessica
Harrington, leading racehorse
trainer. Speakers: Jill Carey ,
Festina Lente; Noneen Fox,
Riding for the Disabled Ireland
and Enable Ireland; Kevin
Smith, former President, Racing
Club of Ireland. Adm: Ä10 (all
proceeds to Riding for the
Disabled Ireland). Contact
Rosaleen Smith, Tel: 045 435791
e rror which might occur.
Except where the Irish National
Teachers’ Organization has formally
negotiated agreements as part of its
services to members, inclusion of an
advertisement does not imply any form
of recommendation.
While every effort is made to ensure the
reliability of advertisers, the INTO cannot
accept liability for the quality of goods and
services offered.
55