Opinion
Cutting through the latest spin on cuts to education
A day or so after the majority of primary school teachers decided to vote in favour of the Haddington Road Agreement, the government announced another cut to education. Resource hours for children with diagnosed special educational needs, (SEN), have been … Read on…
Irish Primary Classrooms according to ERSC study:Not the best!
Why Standardised Testing plans are rubbish
Last year, as part of the government’s literacy and numeracy improvement plan, primary school were expected to submit the results of their standardised tests to the Department of Education. I have no idea what the government plan to do with … Read on…
Before you vote on Croke Park 2…
Croke Park 2 has caused a lot of discussion in the teaching community. The INTO, which represents Irish primary teachers have been hosting a number of meetings both face-to-face and online through their Facebook page, dialoging with their members. However, … Read on…
CESI Keynote Speakers
Here are two videos well worth watching if you didn’t get to CESI’s 40th anniversary conference. In fact, even if you did get to the conference and saw these speakers, it’s well worth watching the videos below again. Both Dan … Read on…
Textbooks, Post Holders and Teacher’s Autonomy?
I trained to become a teacher in the UK back in 2002 after “teaching” for a year in Ireland when there was a huge teacher shortage and anyone with a degree could get themselves a position. Like many untrained personnel … Read on…
The online rollbook is coming
Last week, at the IPPN conference, words that I never thought I would hear in my career were uttered by Sean Ó Foghlú, the General Secretary of the Department of Education. Ó Foghlú said that the Department of Education are … Read on…
Cyberbullying and School Policies
At the IPPN conference this year, the Minister for Education announced that he will be publishing guidelines and laws about bullying in schools. In particular, cyber-bullying is to be dealt with for the first time at government level. Bullying is … Read on…
What good writers do? Teaching writing in the primary classroom part 6
Good writers share their work with others!
This might sound obvious; after all it cannot really be called a piece of writing until it shared with other people. Then, it becomes communicative which is what we are trying to … Read on…
Wifi Warning or Scaremongering?
During the week, I received an email from an organisation called IDEA, with a letter attached giving a stark warning about the use of wifi in schools. The email was sent to every primary school principal in Ireland. It was … Read on…










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