The Minister of Education and Youth’s announcement of the opening of “Inclusive special classes” in September has sparked criticism from advocacy groups who say they were not consulted. The initiative, announced last week, represents the latest phase in the ongoing rapid expansion of provision for students with additional educational needs. Five postprimary schools have been…
The CEO of the Catholic Education Partnership (CEP) has welcomed the release of the first set of data from the national survey on school patronage, but has warned that the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018 has become a major barrier to real progress on divestment. Speaking to the Education Nation podcast, Alan Hynes reiterated…
It is right, as many have already so done, to acknowledge and welcome the release of the first tranche of data from last year’s survey of parents and school communities on issues relating to patronage, language of instruction and single sex/mixed school settings. This is an important milestone marking that perhaps for the first time,…
Seamus Mulconry in conversation with Education Nation This week’s guest on the Education Nation podcast is Seamus Mulconry, the CEO of the Catholic Primary Schools Management Association (CPSMA), a key stakeholder in Irish education and the national body supporting the Boards of Management and leaders of almost 3,000 Catholic primary schools across the country. Originally…
With First Communion and Confirmation season in full swing, the Education Nation podcast is turning its attention to the primary sector for a while. Next week’s guest is Seamus Mulconry, CEO of the Catholic Primary School Managers Association. This week, in the first of our ‘focus on primary education’ series, the spotlight falls on someone…
On this week’s Education Nation podcast, we turned our attention to one of the pinch points of our education system, perhaps the most pressurised and least understood roles in Irish education: school leadership. More specifically, the conversation focused on the lived reality of principals and deputy principals in post-primary schools. Our guest, Rachel O’Connor, a…
Speaking on the Education Nation podcast, this week, the Irish Times columnist and longtime catechist doesn’t mince her words; if Catholic schools do not actively invest in their ethos, they risk becoming “Catholic in name only.” “We have fantastic young teachers,” she acknowledges, “but many have grown up in an entirely secular environment.” In words…
This week’s guest on EDUCATION NATION Jonathan Tiernan, CEO of the Jesuit Education Trust provides a clear-eyed assessment of what lies ahead for Catholic schools should we fail to capitalise on the opportunities before us or if we do not respond adequately to the challenges of the next ten years. He suggests that “the concept…
Just before Christmas we were delighted to welcome Dr Eilis Humphreys into the offices of The Irish Catholic to record an interview for our new podcast, Education Nation. The first episode, which drops later this month, is a fascinating and personal insight into the career of one of the leading figures in Irish education over the last three decades. In the interview Eilis shares with us some of the foundations of her love of teaching and learning and her passion for all things education. Along the way she…
Predictions, they say, are difficult to make, especially the ones about the future! But we need neither a crystal ball nor the gift of prophecy to know that 2026 is going to be another immensely challenging, if rewarding, year for everyone engaged in the leadership and management of Catholic primary and post-primary schools. At primary…