April 2011
INTO in the Media
No plans to close small schools -Quinn - Donegal News
29th April 2011
...The minister's comments were welcomed by the INTO, which has opposed the proposal to close schools with less than 50 pupils. There are over 200 primary schools across Donegal The union has said the proposal made no economic sense and had put small schools under needless pressure.
Ouinn and the teachers avoid mutually assured destruction for now - Irish Examiner
29th April 2011
...INTO delegate Barbara Jones described the removal of home school co-ordinator posts she and almost 50 others fill in rural disadvantaged communities as a direct attack on rural children...
Gay principal praises law on same-sex civil union - Irish Independent
29th April 2011
A gay principal of a small rural primary school has welcomed the law allowing same-sex civil partnerships...
INTO condemns cuts to special needs supports - Irish Examiner
28th April 2011
Primary teachers have unanimously condemned cuts and freezes to supports for pupils with special needs but backed down from calls for industrial action on the issue...
School bus rule changes are an attack on rural Ireland, claim teachers - Irish Examiner
28th April 2011
Changes to school bus rules are an attack on rural Ireland...
In Brief - Irish Independent
28th April 2011
INTO appoints full female leadership. For the first time the Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO) has an all-female leadership...
Industrial action bid sunk by Croke Park deal - Irish Independent
28th April 2011
Union leaders have told teachers how the Croke Park agreement has tied their hands on taking industrial action...
Teachers vote against strike action on special needs cuts - Irish Times
28th April 2011
Primary school teachers have voted against industrial action on the issue of cuts to special needs support...
Fermoy-based Anne is new VP of INTO - Evening Echo
28th April 2011
A principal of a school in Fermoy has been named the new vice-president of the (INTO). Anne Fay, who works at St Joseph's National School, today took over the new role...
INTO refuses to work with untrained staff - Irish Examiner
27th April 2011
Education Minister Ruairi Quinn faces a race against time to deal with unqualified people being given teaching work after a union decided its members will be banned from hiring or working with them after the summer...
Principals face ban on hiring substitute teachers - Irish Examiner
27th April 2011
Primary principals will be banned by their union from hiring unqualified people from September in protest at their continued use for substitution instead of unemployed teachers...
Strike rejected - Irish Examiner
27th April 2011
Primary teachers voted against possible strike action over the loss of more than 600 jobs on support programmes for Traveller pupils and disadvantaged children in rural areas...
Union promises action on pay and pensions - Irish Examiner
27th April 2011
A major effort to increase job opportunities for out-of-work teachers and restore equal pay and pensions for those starting their careers has been promised by the INTO...
Unqualified teachers ban pushed forward to September - Irish Independent
27th April 2011
Primary school teachers have threatened to refuse to work in the same school as unqualified staff from September. The INTO yesterday delivered the ultimatum by fast tracking a ban that they had not planned to implement until 2013...
Frustrated youth rails against the system that lured them in only to shut them out - Irish Times
27th April 2011
Newly qualified teachers make it clear they are willing to fight for their right to work...
Teachers vote not to work with unqualified staff - Irish Times
27th April 2011
Directive to be issued in September. Primary teachers have voted not to work alongside unqualified personnel in schools from September...
Teachers veto unqualified staff - Metro-Herald
27th April 2011
Teachers will refuse to work with unqualified staff amid concerns over thousands of unemployed graduates...
Teachers take stand - Star
27th April 2011
Primary teachers have voted to direct members of a union representing them not to work alongside unqualified people in schools from next September...
Teachers' conference warns of bleak future - Irish Daily Mirror
27th April 2011
...South Dublin Principal John Boyle told the INTO Conference young teachers will be forced to leave the country if there are more State cuts to education. This conference is all about Jobs, jobs, jobs...
Dole big threat for teachers - Irish Sun
27th April 2011
..."Every qualified teacher forced into emigration or onto the dole queue is a victim of this collateral redundancy". Mr. Higgins added "we are fully aware of the scale of the economic challenge facing the country"...
We will refuse to work with unqualified staff, say teachers - Irish Daily Mail
27th April 2011
...INTO General Secretary Sheila Nunan warned that children would be stopped from going to classes staffed by unqualified teachers. 'We simply have to get the message across, we will not allow children going into a class of an unqualified person and redistribute the children around the rest of the school'...
Numbers of helpers for special needs are capped - but cost of new posts would be a fraction of the bailout - Irish Daily Mail
27th April 2011
...Teachers organisations have said that the implications of the cap have not yet been worked out. 'There is no system in place to ensure that available resources can be moved to where they are needed' said Peter Mullan of the INTO...
Six One News - RTE One
27th April 2011
Emma O Kelly reports on the INTO conference
Drivetime - RTE Radio 1
27th April 2011
Minister Quinn comments and unions reaction - INTO conference
The Spin - Spin 103.8
27th April 2011
INTO delegates voted unanimously against working alongside unqualified teachers. Discussion about hiring retired teachers for cover over newly qualified teachers
One News - RTE One
27th April 2011
INTO Conference. INTO delegates have heard issues about cutbacks and industrial action debated today
Sue Nunn Show - KCLR
27th April 2011
Presenter is joined Naoimh OHiggins (Primary School Teacher) to discuss the INTO conference
Morning Focus - Clare FM
27th April 2011
Teacher conferences continuing throughout the country and Sean McMahon (INTO) discusses what has been addressed at the INTO conference
Hard choices lie ahead Quinn warns teachers - Evening Herald
26th April 2011
...INTO Sheila Nunan also criticised the Government's handling of the economic crisis, saying there was no balance, fairness or justice...
Retired teachers barred from work - Evening Echo
26th April 2011
...Members of the INTO, whose annual conference started today in Sligo, have threatened previously to take industrial action on the issue...
Protests voiced over pay cuts for new staff - Irish Examiner
26th April 2011
...INTO general secretary Sheila Nunan said we are already paying billions in interest to other countries for the bad loans of the banks and we don't have to give them our brightest graduates and our young, talented and enthusiastic teachers...
Quinn warns of more pain to come - Irish Examiner
26th April 2011
...Since February, INTO members have given one hour a week towards non-classroom duties, including school planning, afterschool staff or parent-teacher meetings and other roles...
Welcome for assurances on keeping small schools - Irish Examiner
26th April 2011
...INTO president Jim Higgins welcomed the commitment and said a shadow had been hanging over smaller schools since the An Bord Snip Nua report in 2009 recommended hundreds of them be amalgamated to save costs...
Calls for increase in time spent teaching maths to students - Irish Independent
26th April 2011
...INTO president Jim Higgins said the decision to reduce the time allocated to maths 10 years ago should be reviewed...
Unemployment concern for teachers - Irish Independent
26th April 2011
Unemployment is the single biggest challenge facing primary school teachers...
Quinn pledges to rid schools of unqualified substitutes - Irish Independent
26th April 2011
...INTO general secretary Sheila Nunan called for a panel, or panels, to be set up to act as a point of contact for schools with subbing or temporary vacancies, and available qualified staff...
Ruairi gets off to flyer by keeping his feet on the ground - Irish Independent
26th April 2011
...INTO president Jim Higgins spoke for almost an hour and stoutly defended the public sector.... Ruairi declared himself wowed by what he hailed as a "tour-de-force" speech...
Fewer jobs for teachers next year, says Quinn - Irish Times
26th April 2011
...One of the key issues at this year's conference of the INTO is the working conditions and job opportunities for newly qualified teachers...
Getting ready to whip up a storm - Irish Times
26th April 2011
...Some unions are better than others at crystallising the various viewpoints of teachers into broad statements of intent that the government, the media and the public can understand...
Quinn warns teachers of difficult and painful decisions - Irish Times
26th April 2011
...Mr Quinn received a polite response from over 750 primary teachers at the annual conference of the INTO...
Rewarding banks' bad behaviour 'unfair' - Irish Times
26th April 2011
...Union general secretary Sheila Nunan claimed there was "no balance, fairness or justice" in the handling of the banking crisis, and no appetite to tackle the excessive bonuses and exit packages to failed banking executives...
Teachers warned of tough decisions - Metro-Herald
26th April 2011
...The INTO's Sheila Nunan criticised the handling of the economic crisis, claiming the futures of young teachers had been determined by the banking crisis...
'Close the book on new school editions' - Star
26th April 2011
...The INTO said publishers should not produce new editions of school books - unless absolutely necessary. INTO President Jim Higgins also asked schools not to replace books that are fit for purpose this year in light of the economic hardship felt by parents...
Teachers leader happy with pledge on schools - Sligo Weekender
26th April 2011
...The INTO recently made a submission to the Department of Education on the value of small schools and pointed out there were no educational reasons to close viable schools...
More cuts for schools - Irish Daily Mail
26th April 2011
...INTO is calling for a system to be established by the Department of Education where vacancies are filled from a panel of qualified teachers. Union threatened industrial action in schools where unqualified persons are employed from 2013
Six One News - RTE One
26th April 2011
Delegates at the INTO annual conference have voted to instruct members not to work with unqualified teachers from September
Drivetime - RTE Radio 1
26th April 2011
Latest from INTO Conference, reaction to cutbacks and the Croke Park deal. Interview: Sheila Nunan (INTO)
Five News - Newstalk
26th April 2011
The INTO have voted to direct its members not to work alongside unqualified teachers in schools from next September
Three News - RTE Radio 1
26th April 2011
INTO Annual Congress. Delegates at the INTO Congress in Sligo have voted unanimously to instruct members not to work with unqualified teachers from this September
News at One - RTE Radio 1
26th April 2011
Day two of the annual teacher conferences, as Minister for Education and Skills Ruairi Quinn insists further cuts in the education system will be targeted as fairly as possible.
One News - RTE One
26th April 2011
INTO Conference. Delegates have raised concern about lack of jobs and cuts to Education at today's event -Reporter: Emma O'Kelly says a call for a strike was rejected
Deise AM - WLR
26th April 2011
Presenter is joined by Declan Kelleher (Former President, INTO) to discuss the INTO conference and the scale of unqualified teachers teaching
Midlands Today - Midlands Radio 103
26th April 2011
Helen OGorman (INTO delegate) joins the presenter to discuss the recent INTO conference and Ruairi Quinns announcement
Today with Myles Dungan - RTE Radio 1
26th April 2011
Feature on protests against Education cuts that affect Special Needs and other students - Reporter: Valerie Cox on Minister Quinn's visits to the INTO conference
The Last Word - Today FM
26th April 2011
Interview with Jim Higgins (INTO) who discusses the issues to be discussed at the INTO conference and also speaks about the cost of school books
Kerry Today - Radio Kerry
26th April 2011
Ger Doyle (Tralee Branch Secretary, INTO) discusses Minister Ruairi Quinn's address to the INTO conference, in particular his comments in relation to the closure of small rural schools
'Delegation will fight to save our rural schools' - Clare People
26th April 2011
..."Clare INTO delegates will argue that primary consideration should be given to the needs of pupils, their parents and the wider community," said McMahon. "A significant rationalisation of small rural schools has already taken place in Ireland and any consideration of future school provision must bear that in mind and be particularly sensitive to community wishes."...
More than 1,200 retired teachers get subbing jobs - Irish Examiner
25th April 2011
...The INTO, whose members include principals of the 3,300 primary schools, said it consistently urged schools to ensure all vacancies be filled by qualified teachers...
Children suffer in teaching scandal - Irish Independent
25th April 2011
...Sadly ironic, then, that at a time like this it should emerge that up to 400 unqualified or retired people taught in our primary schools for 50 days or more in the current school year. This is a problem of long standing. It has so incensed the INTO that it has provoked a threat of industrial action from 2013...
Frightening figures on 'babysitting teachers must be a wake-up call - Irish Independent
25th April 2011
...A suggestion from the INTO is that supply panels be set up. They could operate on a regional basis, instead of the current ad-hoc arrangements where principals rely on a few phone numbers, a 'text a sub' messaging service or the union's online 'sub search'...
Hundreds of unqualified taking work off teachers - Irish Independent
25th April 2011
...The INTO has threatened industrial action in schools where unqualified persons are employed from 2013...
Substitutes get paid between EUR127 and EUR195 a day - Irish Independent
25th April 2011
...Surely there should be a proper panel from which the principal can choose a qualified teacher? INTO has continually sought this but to no avail. Up to a few years ago, there were no surplus teachers to go on such a panel...
Minister will tell teachers no plan exists to shut small schools - Irish Times
25th April 2011
...INTO president Jim Higgins will raise the small schools issue at the conference. The union has termed as relatively small the projected EUR18 million saving from closing small schools...
We'll stop plans to slash pay, say teachers - Irish Daily Mail
25th April 2011
...Sheila Nunan, INTO General Secretary claimed the agreement has given primary schools more than a million additional work hours a year at no extra cost...
One News - Today FM
25th April 2011
Pay, pensions and job prospects are likely to dominate the INTO conference in Sligo. Meanwhile, new figures show that over 400 people with no teaching qualifications were employed in primary schools last year. Interview - Sheila Nunan (INTO)
Teachers threaten to strike over pay deal - Irish Daily Mirror
25th April 2011
...INTO believes any cuts to the pay of teachers will constitute a break of the Croke Park Agreement. They believe such a break will mean the collapse of the agreement and that all other elements, such as changes to time in school and to teachers' contracts, will be null and void. They will demand that the terms of the Public Service Agreement 2010 - 2014, guaranteeing no further pay cuts and no compulsory redundancies, continue to apply...
Lunchtime Show - Newstalk
25th April 2011
Interview with Sheila Nunan (INTO) who discusses the issues to be discussed at the INTO conference in Sligo
Today with Pat Kenny - RTE Radio 1
25th April 2011
Interview with Sheila Nunan (INTO) and Pat King (ASTI) who discuss the issues likely to be discussed at the INTO, ASTI and TUI conferences this week
One News - Newstalk
25th April 2011
Pay, pensions and job prospects are likely to dominate the INTO conference in Sligo. Meanwhile, new figures show that over 400 people with no teaching qualifications were employed in primary schools last year. Interview - Sheila Nunan (INTO)
News at One - RTE Radio 1
25th April 2011
Interview with Mairead Dunphy (Newly qualified teacher) discusses the INTO conference in Sligo and speaks about her difficulty finding work
Nine O'Clock News - RTE One
25th April 2011
Minister for Education Ruairi Quinn has warned delegates that the INTO conference in Sligo of further difficult decisions ahead. Emma O Kelly reports. Interview with Sheila Nunan (INTO)
Five News - Newstalk
25th April 2011
A protest has been held outside the INTO conference in Sligo over cuts to special needs assistant posts. Interview - Sheila Nunan (INTO)
Pay to top the agenda at annual teacher meetings - Sunday Business Post
24th April 2011
..."It's no surprise that this year's conference will be dominated by teachers' conditions of employment as opposed to education issues," said INTO general secretary Sheila Nunan. "In previous years we have had campaigns on class sizes, special needs and disadvantaged. It doesn't mean [these issues have] disappeared but this year you are going to see teachers' salaries, pensions and conditions of employment coming to the fore, particularly for new teachers."...
Six One News - RTE One
24th April 2011
Emma O Kelly reports that the main teacher conferences take place this week. Interview with Sheila Nunan (INTO)
INTO conference next week - Limerick Leader
23rd April 2011
The agenda for Congress includes motions on cutbacks in special education, small schools, teacher unemployment, pay and pensions.
Kelleher urges Tipp graduates to vote - Nenagh Guardian
23rd April 2011
...Declan Kelleher said understandably many voters are cynical about the Seanad and the limited role that it has played in Irish governance for the past decade but I believe that can be reformed and through the presence of independent voices we can hold the government to account for its actions...
Top marks for pupils' handwriting - Meath Chronicle
23rd April 2011
...Jim Higgins, president of the INTO said the competition showed the art and skill of handwriting was flourishing in Ireland. "Despite competition from computers, the standard of handwriting is as high as ever. I congratulate the pupils and their teachers on keeping this very important skill alive and well in primary classrooms thorough out the country"...
LMFM - Michael Reade Show
22nd April 2011
Presenter is joined by Noreen Flynn (Vice-President INTO) to discuss the upcoming annual conference and the various issues facing primary school
Limerick teachers for INTO congress - Vale Star
21st April 2011
...The INTO said the threatened cut in resource teaching hours to special needs pupils is a matter of grave concern to teachers, the union said teachers in primary schools had supported the full integration of special needs children but needed additional resources to make it work. "Unsupported integration will not work," said INTO general secretary Sheila Nunan. Ms Nunan said the threatened cuts would see special needs children in some of the largest classes in the EU getting less help than before. "Calls to do more with less should not extend to special needs children," she said...
Smith takes education role in tough times - Anglo Celt
21st April 2011
...Rural counties like Cavan are likely to feel substantial pain in terms of cutbacks in services if the McCarthy report is to be implemented. According to the Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO), the McCarthy report advocates the closure of all small schools with less than 50 pupils with the further suggested closure of a large number of schools in the 50 to 100 pupil bracket. The INTO's Peter Mullen says that if these measures were implemented, it would hit Cavan and Monaghan particularly hard. Schools such as Corratober NS, Corliss NS, Kildallan NS, Corlea, Glangevlin, Coronea and many others which have less than 50 pupils would appear to be under threat....The INTO's Peter Mullen acknowledges that the Mc-Carthy report is only a series of proposals at this stage but warns that any attempt to close smaller rural schools will be met by huge opposition at local level by parents and communities who would see it as an attack on rural Ireland
'No evidence that big means better' - Sligo Champion
20th April 2011
Pat Stenson local area representative of the INTO told the meeting that his organisation believe that primary consideration in any proposed amalgation of schools should be given to the needs of pupils, their parents and the wider community and the views of teachers working in the schools...
Primary school teachers' dismay over job losses - Meath Chronicle
16th April 2011
...Noel Ward, INTO deputy general secretary, opened the meeting with a very clear message outlining the importance for all parties affected by reductions in teaching posts to engage with the redeployment panel process and procedures...
15 small schools facing amalgamation - Leitrim Observer
15th April 2011
...The Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO) has made a detailed submission as part of the review noting that there is no evidence to support the assertion that bigger schools provide better value for money. The INTO accepted there is evidence that teachers in general do not support the long term continuance of very small schools, particularly one teacher schools, however it stressed that amalgamations should go ahead only with the full support of the community
C103 - Cork Today
15th April 2011
Presenter is joined by Peter Mullans (INTO) to discuss the capping of resource teachers for special needs students as a result of EU/IMF deal. He makes a reference to INTOs meeting with the Department of Education
Restrictions on allocation of new resource teachers - Evening Echo
15th April 2011
Children with learning disabilities wUl receive reduced support from September because of new restrictions on the allocation of resource teachers, it's feared....Teacher union INTO is gravely concerned
Students put their best foot forward in handwriting test! - Connacht Tribune
15th April 2011
"It is fantastic to have watched the popularity of this competition grow over the last number of years and we are grateful to EBS for continuing to partner with us in our pursuit to keep the art of handwriting alive." Former INTO President, Galway woman Maire Ni Chuinnegain, congratulated all the winners and thanked their parents and teachers for their great support...
RTE Radio 1 - The Late Debate
14th April 2011
Resource Teahcers. Panel discuss plans to cap the number of resource teachers - Pascal Donoghue TD (Fine Gael), Sheila Nunan (INTO), Tom Lyons (Sunday Times), Tom McIneney (Irish Daily Mail) and Mary Regan (Irish Examiner) [22:37]
Special needs cuts hit thousands of children - Irish Examiner
14th April 2011
Thousands of children with special needs will have their resource teaching hours cut in September because of unexpected levels of demand....The 300 posts which would go unapproved as a result could cost around EUR13.5 million a year, but the Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO) said the department has spent the same amount in recent years fighting parents who try to get a fair deal for their children with special needs...
No bailout for our most vulnerable - Irish Examiner
14th April 2011
Pupils with special needs are suffering most from Government cutbacks...Irish National Teachers' Organisation general secretary Sheila Nunan said primary schools have supported full integration of special needs children but need extra resources to make it work. She said the rise in demand partly relates to more children with speech and language difficulties being identified by speech therapists...
Midwest Radio - The Tommy Marren Show
13th April 2011
Interview with Sheila Nunan Sheila Nunan, General Secretary of the INTO makes the point that in relation to the Croke Park deal national school teachers are definitely delivering at no extra cost to the State
Ocean FM - Northwest Today
13th April 2011
Rural Schools. Jim Higgins (President of INTO) is interviewed by the presenter to discuss the closure of rural schools
Quinn warns of teacher pay cuts if deal fails to deliver - Irish Times
12th April 2011
Pay cuts for teachers and other public servants have not been ruled out if the Croke Park agreement fails to deliver real savings, Minister for Education Ruairi Quinn has signalled....Last night the Irish National Teachers' Organisation claimed the Croke Park agreement had given primary schools more than a million additional work hours per year at no extra cost to the State. The union said schools were fully implementing the agreement. "In effect, Croke Park is giving the State more than 1,000 teachers for no cost," union general secretary Sheila Nunan said
Campaign to save small rural schools - Irish Times
11th April 2011
Concern as Sligo schools face financial review...Jim Higgins, INTO president, who has spent most of his career teaching in Co Sligo, urged the Minister for Education to reassure parents and communities that their schools would not be closed. He predicted that this issue would be very high on the agenda at the union's national conference in Sligo later this month...
SNAs cap impacting on most vulnerable schoolchildren - Meath Chronicle
9th April 2011
...Spokesperson for the Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO) in Meath, Colin Quigley, said the cap on SNAs is an issue the organisation is very aware of and concerned about. He said the demographics show that more children will be coming into the system and this also means more children with special needs. He said the cap on resources and SNAs will ultimately have an effect. Mr Quigley said he is based in a small school where there is one full-time SNA. He said the work the SNAs do is invaluable. Mr Quigley explained the idea is that a child will become more independent as they go through school and said that the SNAs are very capable of ensuring that the child does not become overdependent...
Small is beautiful as country areas fight to retain schools - Irish Independent
6th April 2011
...The INTO supports-amalgamation of schools where this is the clear wish of the school community. But the INTO's general secretary Sheila Nunan said financial issues should not be the only concern. She said: "Other considerations must be taken into account such as the adverse effect for the child who is being bussed to a different environment, the importance of the rural school to the community, and its role in the preservation of local history, culture, and folklore."...
The battle begins to save Sligo's smaller schools - Sligo Weekender
5th April 2011
An attendance of around 1,000 people is expected at a protest meeting being organised next week as part of a campaign to save over 20 of Sligo's smaller schools from closure....Among the submissions was one from the Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO). The Sligo based national president of the organisation Jim Higgins said that people who favoured amalgamation of schools argued that bigger schools gave a wider curriculum and saved money but there was no evidence to support that view...
Schools say changes must be voluntary - Irish Times
7th April 2011
Catholic schools will resist any moves to impose changes in patronage against their will and without the agreement of parents and the wider school community....The patronage debate was triggered more than five years ago by the Irish National Teachers' Organisation and moved forward by Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, who acknowledged that the church was over-represented in education...
RTE Radio 1 - Drivetime
6th April 2011
School Patronage. Education Minister's plans to alter patronage of Irish schools discussed with reference to Catholic Schools Partnership's resistance to speedy changes - Reporter: Sean Flynn [5:07pm]- Interview: Shiela Nunan (INTO) - Mention of Educate Together model
The school that's more crowded than Manila - Irish Daily Mail
2nd April 2011
With a population density greater than the world's most cramped city, it's a daily fight to find a space in the playground in Gaelscoil de hÍde...A survey by the Irish National Teachers' Organisation showed that schools are paying rent of more than 100,000euro on prefabs...
Meath primary teachers back Kelleher for Senad - Meath News and Sport
2nd April 2011
...Speaking last week, the principal of Rathoath Senior National School Maurice Kearney said he was getting behind Mr Kelleher because he said he would make practical changes for the country. "We need people who will go further than that and actively work for a fairer more inclusive society. Every Irish citizen must have access to quality services like healthcare, education and justice...
Delays in support forpupils with learning difficulties - Irish Examiner
1st April 2011
Children with severe learning difficulties face delays getting vital teaching supports due to a staffing review ordered by the Department of Education....The department is concerned because the number of resource teachers already sanctioned is higher than expected and if it continues it could lead to a breach of the projection of overall teacher numbers given to the Government as part of the EU/IMF bailout. The Irish National Teachers' Organisation has objected to the expected delay in appointments and is seeking an urgent meeting with the department...
Youngsters prove they've got the write stuff! - Evening Echo
1st April 2011
The written word was celebrated in style at a special awards ceremony in Cork's Rochestown Park Hotel. From upstrokes to downstrokes and italics to curlicues, the strokes of the pen came under close scrutiny at the annual Irish National Teacher's Organistion (INTO)/ Educational Building Society (EBS) handwriting competition area finals...
Kitt calls for small schools protection - Clare Champion
1st April 2011
...The Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO) representative in Galway, Lough Cultra National School principal Joe Killeen, spoke to The Clare Champion last week stressing the quality of education given to children in small schools as well as the intensely positive effects of the small school on the community in general. In light of the Government review of small primary schools, Mr Killeen contended that they give value for money. "The standard of education is very high in small schools and this is borne out by Whole School Evaluations carried out on them," he said...