-
Here to help with questions like:...or search from all of our articles:
-
Here to help with questions like:...or search from all of our articles:
-
Here to help with questions like:...or search from all of our articles:
-
Here to help with questions like:...or search from all of our articles:
-
Here to help with questions like:...or search from all of our articles:
Browse our Articles
- How do you set up G Suite in an Irish school?
- How can I verify ownership of a hosted domain to access G Suite for Education?
- We’re buying a class set of tablets, which would you recommend between Android and iPad?
- We bought iPads but our wifi is poor. What do we do?
- Cost of setting up an email address for each member of staff
- My pen for my IWB is broken. Can I use any Interactive pen?
- What is IGTV?
- What should schools do regarding smartphone & tablet use?
- What do I do about GDPR if I have a teacher blog?
- Review:Songs and Fingerplays for the Early Years published by Prim Ed
- A Beginner’s Guide to Buying an Interactive Whiteboard
- What are the different types of Interactive Whiteboard?
- Primary Schools and Facebook Pages
- What is Cloud Computing?
- Google Apps: How to make a virtual staffroom noticeboard
- A Simple Guide to Visualisers
- How do you set up an email like [email protected]?
- Do you really need to spend loads of money on Visualisers?
- Review: Gross Motor Skills Development Activities
- Interactive Whiteboard Review-May/June 2009
Latest Videos


















The INTO and the Mysterious Case of the Missing Droichead Video Footage
Just before the Christmas break, the INTO had their latest leg of their series of debates as part of their 150th year celebrations. These events
Latest News
4 hours ago
Finally a newspaper says something positive about teachers! #edchatie … See MoreSee Less
Good on you Ross O Carroll Kelly😀
Maybe so, but I'd rather be on a teacher's wage than a nurse's wage.
Anseo.net Anseo.net shared a post.
15 hours ago
Wow. I never thought we’d turn into the UK so quickly, but here we are. We treat teachers with suspicion and contempt then wonder why nobody wants to become one. Then someone says… I know, let’s do an ad! Those who can… 🙄
merrionstreet.ie
The Department of Education and Skills recently launched an online resource with information for anyone thinking of becoming a teacher or returning to work as a teacher in Ireland. 

Professional Master of Education course applications are closing soon: Visit Gov.ie/TeachingTransforms to find out more.

#TeachingTransforms #ShapetheFuture … See MoreSee Less
I don't know whether to laugh or puke.🙄
That ad. The rage.
21 hours ago
I’m really confused. Didn’t the INTO do everything in the power to encourage us to vote for the PSSA deal which didn’t give Pay Equality? Now, they are in the European Court claiming that they’ll never stop fighting for Pay Equality. #edchatie
into.newsweaver.ie/enewsletter1/1wc3xwlcsfb1pnnue8nwr5?email=true&a=2&p=54571514&t=21951305 … See MoreSee Less
That’s my entire problem with my trade union activism, the leadership/spin/PR element speaks out of two sides of their mouth. It’s pathetic and exists because basically 90% of the members don’t care and don’t engage... which completely suits the leadership. Btw this has all been said to the faces of the leadership so I’ve no problem saying it here too.
The problem with that court case was that they were blaming the inequality on the basis of ageism, which wasn't the case. It went on the basis of year of qualification. You could have been 35 and qualified in 2012. We were never going to go anywhere with that case. And INTO members will have to pay for the legal costs no doubt.
I completely disagree... I've been to my into meetings, and knew the different avenues they were trying to get pay equality. They were the only trade union to bring a case to the European court and if they won... would have changed everything for all public servants. With regards to the most recent ballot... they're thinking was completely for the new entrants as they'll get all brand new entrants back on par with just 3 year groups left... they never said they'll stop the fight, but this was like a banker before pushing on! Like Seamus said above... if union members actually came out one way or another and gave the leadership a proper mandate (eg the nurses with over 90% backing the unions stance) I'd be more inclined to complain then. But as it is... it's very difficult to argue with the gov with such little backing from its members!
1 day ago
School Completion Programme to be renamed #edchatie
Recently, DEIS schools around Ireland woke up to a new dawn. The School Completion Programme, which aims to target children at risk of early school leaving, has been renamed thanks to a big rebrand from Tusla, who are now in charge of the programme.
School Completion Programme will now be known as the Form Completion Programme.
Schools in the programme used to be trusted to be able to identify children most at risk and then work with project workers to design interventions, which generally could be put in place almost immediately.
Tusla, obviously unhappy with this efficiency, designed a form to ensure that any child at risk would have to wait up to 3 months before any intervention could be put in place. The form, which goes on for almost 10 pages, asks schools to fill in all sorts of information about a child, their family, their personal circumstances, and so on. The form takes at least an hour to complete (up to 2 hours depending on the circumstances) If a school requires a project worker to work with 5 children, that’s around 5-10 hours of paperwork before anything happens.
However, it gets worse! Filling in the form doesn’t guarantee intervention. The forms go off to a local committee who process the forms and give them points based on a standardised (read arbitrary) scoresheet. These meetings only take place "every so often" and after that a school will learn if they’ve scored enough points to get intervention. By the way, there are no teachers or principals on this committee.
And yet there’s more, the findings of this committee go to another committee to be given approval for School Completion Programme intervention to begin.
By this stage, these vulnerable children may already have been referred to Tusla for Child Protection reasons or will have fallen even further behind where they could have been if it weren’t for the box-ticking.
Naturally, when Tusla were organising this Form Completion Programme, they didn’t bother checking with school principals who were going to be taking on all this extra pointless paperwork. So far, 3 Dublin SCP clusters have refused to engage with it but, as a result, they won’t receive any support from the programme.
Tusla appear to hate trees. It seems that any intervention now requires lengthy pointless forms to access anything. A couple of years ago, schools learned that they would now have to fill in 2 forms to have the NEWB intervene in cases where a child had poor attendance. Tusla head up the NEWB.
Representative bodies, as usual, are silent on the matter. The INTO appear to be "listening" to groups of principals but they have yet to tell Tusla where to go with their forms.
Every school wants to help their most vulnerable pupils, whether that’s due to poor attendance or high risk of not completing school, but no school needs to fill in form after form so somebody in an office has something to do with their fingers. If a school believes a child is at risk, that should be enough. I’m sure we’d be willing to fill in a one-page thing to cover GDPR but the excessive paperwork required by Tusla in order for anything to be done reeks of caring more about bureaucracy than children.
The Form Completion Programme needs to be stopped and the focus needs to get back to children with immediate needs. … See MoreSee Less
Anne Smith
INTO held consultation meetings around the country on this issue. There wasn't any in Limerick so I went to the Cork one. Consensus at that meeting was exactly as stated in this post. All information from these meetings will be collated and submitted to Tusla on behalf of INTO members. I presume this submission will be published by INTO.
Well written Simon. Another complete disgrace stemming from complete lack of consultation by DES with those charged with ALL the responsibility for these matters – Principals. This absolute insanity must stop.
Reads a bit like Waterford Whispers News
Succinctly put Simon...we simply cannot allow a working system (albeit poorly funded) to be ground down by unnecessary and intrusive paperwork. INTO must step up now.
Ros O'Neill
I attended a Tusla ( now class TESS) Consultation Day for Patrons on behalf of Educate Together ( the other patrons and NAPD and INTO were also there). It was the least consultative Consultation Day I have ever attended in 36years of doing this kind of thing. Educate Together are responding to TESS on the basis of my report of the day. Please let your Patron Bodies (CPSMA, ETB etc) know your feelings.
Bolm Cannon
This is scandalous. As usual the child will suffer due to ridiculous amounts of paperwork coming first. 😡
Child and Family Agency – Tusla
Ridiculous. Bureaucratic nonsense. This will reduce participation obviously.
Brian Partridge
Just another way for the government depts to claw back money !!! The paperwork overload & committee meetings ensure the process takes much longer saving money !!! We all know at the end of the day moneysaving is more important than children's welfare with the dept of education !!!
I wouldn’t put Tusla in charge of blowing up paper bags!
This is unbelievable. These forms go off to two sets of committees who have no relation to the child what so ever. It is the schools who should have the say what these vulnerable children need as they are the ones working hands on with them. Is education even about the success of our future generation anymore?
This article is not written accurately at all with regards, the new intake framework. The new intake framework can work very well for all concerned when supported and implemented properly. Referrals, while mostly come from HSCL’s and principals, also come from other outside agencies. All this ‘unnessary’ paperwork you say allow the SCP / coordinators to fully understand the students and family position (not just the school) and the inclusion of the family with filling in the form can very much lead into more successful interventions as they feel included and listened to.
Ah now. Seriously???
GraceMc
Catherine Dwyer
Maire McManus
I thought this was a joke when I read it first. Actual facepalm.
It's like everything now with education assessments upon assessments and lots of paperwork
And if you object to all this form completion, and want to continue meeting needs immediately as and when required, you will be accused of not having the children's best interests at heart. (Like the secondary teacher unions and their objection to the IEP paperwork- or am I misunderstanding that issue?)
The poor HSCL it seems gets the brunt of this running around too. Why not the coordinators?
Niamh Ní Cheallaigh
2 days ago
It isn’t really good enough but good to see the INTO working in the background. Should this be national headline stuff? #edchatie
into.newsweaver.ie/enewsletter1/19ferffliw01pnnue8nwr5?email=true&a=2&p=54571514&t=21765015 … See MoreSee Less
into.newsweaver.ie
The INTO met with officials from the DES on Tuesday, 12 February in relation to this issue. The INTO reiterated that the continued over-taxation of subs is wholly unacceptable and has cau…
Blog Hop
http://t.co/xhfevTWcln – http://t.co/jiQg67d8II
http://t.co/bbp5Crggoe
Register as an Tweacher with http://t.co/aVmlQfsFEX http://t.co/1PBngs5zUP #edchatie @simonmlewis
RT @TeachingCouncil: Register as an Tweacher with http://t.co/aVmlQfsFEX http://t.co/1PBngs5zUP #edchatie @simonmlewis
RT @TeachingCouncil: Register as an Tweacher with http://t.co/aVmlQfsFEX http://t.co/1PBngs5zUP #edchatie @simonmlewis
RT @TeachingCouncil: Register as an Tweacher with http://t.co/aVmlQfsFEX http://t.co/1PBngs5zUP #edchatie @simonmlewis
ClassDojo releases ClassStory
http://t.co/PRUZsidILW – http://t.co/jiQg67d8II
http://t.co/15GupU5LE2
Where do unbaptised children fit in? | http://t.co/mdiXI4IciE http://t.co/CZ7fs45zTS
Excellent article re School Patronage from http://t.co/uYtdwCrkmq: http://t.co/NekNuRMg7Q
@MrDJKellyBsc It’s an http://t.co/aVmlQfsFEX initiative.
Where do unbaptised children fit in? | http://t.co/psiezm4CHM http://t.co/05xBkZtdfc
Spending Summer with a Chromebook
http://t.co/SwTMiPCxxu – http://t.co/jiQg67d8II
http://t.co/oZDJrf5NBB
RT @IrishTeachers: Spending Summer with a Chromebook
http://t.co/SwTMiPCxxu – http://t.co/jiQg67d8II
http://t.co/oZDJrf5NBB
5 educational technology networks you need to join
http://t.co/LKTHJ8c8dB – http://t.co/jiQg67d8II
http://t.co/bj2x71wp7t
#AnShop Supermarket Maths
http://t.co/a6Aemn5r4X – http://t.co/jiQg67d8II
http://t.co/aQZVzZy5ex
Are you ready for electronic roll books?
http://t.co/wXgw7OL4Nx – http://t.co/jiQg67d8II
http://t.co/h4IU9Zl2BG
RT @IrishTeachers: Are you ready for electronic roll books?
http://t.co/wXgw7OL4Nx – http://t.co/jiQg67d8II
http://t.co/h4IU9Zl2BG
Two Line Tuesday
http://t.co/0PRdD84QeK – http://t.co/jiQg67d8II
http://t.co/9GiqB64XwQ
Burren National School: A symbol of the divestment process
http://t.co/ix1nHUmVYb – http://t.co/jiQg67d8II
http://t.co/ffbvUoU72k
RT @IrishTeachers: Burren National School: A symbol of the divestment process
http://t.co/ix1nHUmVYb – http://t.co/jiQg67d8II
http://t.co…
#AnShop Supermarket Maths
http://t.co/vuKr19tMi4 – http://t.co/jiQg67d8II
http://t.co/0p2wM3TBqI
Two Line Tuesday
http://t.co/HwvK7w1FIZ – http://t.co/jiQg67uJAg
http://t.co/nH8IDWA38V