Droichead is the Teaching Council’s answer to inducting Newly Qualified Teachers, the year after they finish college. It is replacing the model where an inspector would visit an NQT twice in their year and assess whether they were effective enough to carry on being a teacher for the rest of their career. Droichead has had … Read more
The Teaching Council is made up of several union representatives, which make decisions on teaching conditions. The union therefore becomes both the decision maker and gatekeeper of the Teaching Council, which makes little sense. The union needs to take on the role of a strong gatekeeper from the Teaching Council. Droichead was an example of … Read more
Yesterday, the INTO revealed the results of the ballot regarding non-cooperation with the Droichead scheme. Despite all the obstacles put in the way from the CEC of the INTO and all the propaganda from the Teaching Council, 91% of INTO members have voted in favour of the ballot, which means that Droichead cannot happen in … Read more
In my opinion, the answer to the above question is the same. I know some people won’t agree with me, but I believe all three are a good idea in theory. Taking them in reverse: the Junior Cert is a ridiculously outdated examination that no longer has any purpose. It is simply a practice for … Read more
If you ask any principal in Ireland what the biggest threat to our education system is, it is likely that Droichead, the scheme where schools will be responsible for deciding whether a newly qualified teacher is fit to be a teacher, would be high on the list. While most principals feel the extra workload should not … Read more
Following my blog post on Droichead last week, I thought I might expand on my thoughts regarding an alternative solution to teacher probation. I want to first reiterate that I do believe the Teaching Council are correct in changing from the current model of inspectorate to a more internal mechanism and I have been involved in the … Read more