Schools – Slugger O'Toole

Why small rural schools facing closure should consider local amalgamation…

Soapbox on June 14, 2022, 2:44 pm

| Readers 1408

Twins

After the passing of an integrated education bill at Stormont, Peter Osborne, a former chair of the Community Relations Council and Parades Commission, and Board member of the Integrated Education Fund, reflects on the burden of history. Integrated education is not the final and only answer to the illness that is sectarianism in a region that has lived with segregation for decades and centuries. Since the mid-19th century those vested interests that drove a segregated education system have contributed to …

Futureproofing our schools…

David Bell on May 16, 2022, 12:15 pm

| Readers 1624

person holding red and white pen

While the constitutional question appears to have been consigned to the back burner for now, it’s an issue that cannot be avoided indefinitely. A recent Slugger article reflected on the question of pension provision following some future unification of north and south. The integration of State benefits and of services such as housing and health would undoubtedly be challenging, however, unifying the island’s education systems may prove the most difficult task of all. It is worth noting the religious composition …

Why we need to invest in insulation and renewable energy projects…

Brian O'Neill on February 25, 2022, 10:01 am

| Readers 2936

solar panels, placement, green energy

I was chatting with the principal of my son’s primary school this morning. He was telling me that the school’s gas bill has gone from £3000 to £10,000 a month. This is in line with the Department of Education forecasting an increase of 13 million for school energy costs in Northern Ireland. As we were chatting I was looking up at the huge roof of the school and thinking you could get a whole pile of solar panels up there. …

The fourth ‘R’ – the role of religion in the segregation of schools…

Ulster University on November 16, 2021, 11:16 am

| Readers 4838

teacher, learning, school

Standing shoulder to shoulder at a recent ecumenical event to mark the centenary of Northern Ireland, men of the cloth from the Catholic Church and three Protestant denominations declared that: “the churches could have done more to deepen our understanding of each other and to bring healing and peace to our divided and wounded communities.” Few of those who live on this troubled and contested island would argue with that brave and bold confession, but, in this age of the …

A ‘single system of education’: the beginning of the end for segregated schools?

Ulster University on June 9, 2021, 11:51 am

| Readers 4257

Many years ago anyone with half-a-titter-of-wit realised that the configuration of education in Northern Ireland was restricting the possibility of restoring fractured community relations. With the exception of the wilfully ignorant, no one has seriously argued that those children who attend separated schools in a segregated system are being adequately prepared for future engagement in an inclusive, egalitarian, peaceful society. Finally, these simple truths seem also to be dawning on our politicians. The New Decade New Approach agreement that brought …

Education is the key to progress

Paul Gosling on April 30, 2021, 9:05 am

| Readers 941

Education is the key to moving our society forward, says Tony Gallagher in the latest Forward Together podcast interview. But that has to mean much more than encouraging as many students as possible to go to university and obtain a degree. Our society has become fixated with university education, at the expense of school pupils who do not aspire to higher education. More has to be done to support children from deprived families, to encourage them through careers guidance and …

What was the sense of closing the schools only to put all the kids into every shopping centre?

Brian O'Neill on October 26, 2020, 9:08 am

| Readers 1756

I imagine most parents had that sinking feeling when they learned that they were closing the schools – here we go again. Still, it was only one week extra so we had to suck it up and take one for the team. It could have been worse, it seems Sinn Fein were pushing for a ludicrous 6 weeks off. There has been lots of debate around the importance of school to children. There are obvious things like the value of …

The schools are back, but for how long?

Brian O'Neill on September 1, 2020, 12:40 pm

| Readers 1593

At last, the moment parents have been waiting for – the kids are back at school. There may be lots of new rules, visors and more alcohol than a party conference but the main thing is they are back. It has been a hard aul slog these past few months trying to keep the kids entertained at home. Homeschooling was a complete head wreck for both children and parents. Whatever teachers get paid it is not enough – give them …

RIP Sir Ken Robinson: may your creative spirit inspire us to change…

Jay Burbank on August 29, 2020, 9:03 am

| Readers 2531

This week I was challenged by a comment on this platform which claimed that studies over the last 35 years have shown that intelligence is largely ‘innate.’ In simpler terms it is implied that intelligence is the sum of genetic characteristics which give some individuals natural advantage (or “talent”) over others no matter what environmental factors are applied – i.e. education, health or nutrition. I struggled greatly with this, as in our age of fake news and ‘feeling’ politics I …

How best to manage school transfers?

Noreen Campbell on May 18, 2020, 9:42 am

| Readers 1087

The coronavirus crisis upends society, changes the way we live and presents huge challenges to every sector, including the education sector. The crisis has both led to immediate and dramatic changes and prompted a deeper analysis of how we structure our system in the future. The initial response of closing schools led to the challenge of how examinations would be managed. In the unprecedented circumstances of school closures, DE rightly decided that GCSE and A level exams would not take …

Schools: Locked down, separately…

Ulster University on April 27, 2020, 7:05 am

| Readers 2281

On 12th March, from the steps of the President’s Guest House in Washington, Leo Varadkar announced that schools across the Republic of Ireland would be closed to slow the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. His statement echoed concerns that had been raised by teaching unions and parents in Northern Ireland and increased pressure on the Assembly to follow suit. On 18th March, First Minister Arlene Foster declared that NI would by closing all schools with effect from Monday, 23rd March, …

Peter Weir – broaden the scope of your underachievement report…

Jay Burbank on January 24, 2020, 12:27 pm

| Readers 2188

The announcement by Peter Weir of a new report into the underachievement of working-class protestant boys will (as noted by Brian) stack up on a dusty old shelf in the Department of Education, the eighth since 2011 and these official reports are not isolated in the wider discussion on the issue. It got me thinking when Deirdre Heenan this week said about having a ‘philosophical debate’ about what we actually want from education in NI, as noted by many Slugger …

So do we have too many school places or too few?

Brian O'Neill on April 11, 2019, 3:26 pm

| Readers 1240

The front page of today’s Daily Mirror has the headline ‘Soaring student numbers means Northern Ireland needs almost 300 new classrooms, study shows‘. From the story: Research from public sector procurement specialist Scape shows a sharp rise in the number of school-age children, with an extra 7,332 pupils expected to start secondary school in 2020/21. According to the report, the 9.4% rise means Northern Ireland urgently needs to build the equivalent of eight new schools to accommodate its pupils. But …

Begging for bog rolls just beggars belief…

John Lavery on November 2, 2018, 2:54 pm

| Readers 926

‘Pathetic games… a disgrace…it feels Victorian’ These were the words of the Principal of Maghaberry Primary School in describing the education funding system here to the NI Affairs Committee earlier this week. An impassioned Graham Gault sat alongside three other local School principals as he described how his budget had been squeezed so much he now has to ask parents for funding for sundry items such as toilet roll and pritt-stick. The group articulated a range of issues arising from …

The £105m education shortfall – behind the headlines…

Brian O'Neill on September 26, 2017, 5:08 pm

| Readers 1319

The head honcho of the Department of Education says there is a rather big hole in the education budget, from the BBC: Derek Baker, the department’s permanent secretary and the man in charge of the department in the absence of a minister. Mr Baker said that the department had £24m less in cash than last year, but rising costs meant pressures of £105m. He said the funding pressure was mainly due to rising pay, special educational needs and maintenance costs. Mr …

Why are NI schools sitting on £50 million of unspent money?

Brian O'Neill on March 2, 2016, 2:17 pm

| Readers 1478

Great story from Simon Doyle over at the Irish News. To quote: It shows that of the north’s 814 primary schools, 617 ended 2014/15 with a budget surplus. Christ the Redeemer in Lagmore, which received an annual budget of £1.8 million, ended the year more than £375,000 in the black. St Patrick’s PS in Armagh, which had a budget of £1.2m, ended with a surplus of about £342,000. Grange Park PS in Bangor’s surplus was £310,000 while Holy Trinity PS …

niedcamp: Teachers Taking the Initiative

Blagger on July 16, 2015, 11:05 pm

| Readers 794

It is now widely accepted that reform of public services must continue over the coming years as both central and local government try to offer the same level of service with less money to spend. As a result we can expect further decentralisation, eradication or contracting out of some back-office functions and ever-closer relationships with partners in the private and voluntary sector. The education sector here in Northern Ireland has not been spared. The Education Authority, established to provide a …

Education – Exam culture put to the Test

Soapbox on May 4, 2015, 4:12 pm

| Readers 605

I taught English and Drama in local schools from 1979 to 2005. I have great memories of the classroom and enjoy seeing some of my former students go on to flourish in the wider world. In some ways education got rather better during my years as a teacher. There was more accountability, and I guess that that probably helped raise standards amongst some teachers who lacked drive and competence. And new subjects such as A level Theatre Studies, which I …

Meanwhile over at what really matters…

Brian Walker on October 8, 2013, 5:14 pm

| Readers 49

Well below the big headline on the latest torrid twist with Gerry Adams’ grim mugshot at the top, lurks the unassuming headline “NI trailing in English and Maths”. This is the local version of the big OECD report on educational performance in England and NI which concludes that today’s kids are less well educated in the basics than their grandparents (people like me). And yes there’s a paradox here.” Northern Ireland is ‘best in Europe’ at primary maths. But that …

Schools Common Funding Scheme Review: “with close monitoring and intervention when outcomes are not satisfactory…”

Pete Baker on January 21, 2013, 4:15 pm

| Readers 93

The BBC’s Martina Purdy has a short report on the recommendations of the Independent Review of the Common Funding Scheme, as appointed by the NI Education Minister, Sinn Féin’s John O’Dowd, on 12 June 2012. The ministerial welcome for the publication of the review is here. From the BBC report The panel examined the Common Funding Schemes and found that it was outdated, too complicated and failing pupils. The gap between the best and worst performing schools was wider than other …