Are the Teaching Council acting ethically?
Right now, teachers are being asked to vote in a ballot as to whether to take part in Droichead or not. The ballot question is as follows: Do you agree to participate in industrial action, with effect from 1 July 2016, in the form of a directive to be issued by the Central Executive Committee on […]
Another Alternative to Droichead
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 […]
Droichead: The Film Script
The story of Droichead has been worthy of a film. It’s got a cast of characters, a big problem to be resolved, some bad guys, good guys and everything in between. If Droichead was to become a film, here’s my attempt at a script. Some meeting room somewhere. Inspectors: We don’t want to probate newly […]
Teaching Council Interview: Gregor Kerr
The third person aiming to be a member of the Teaching Council, Gregor Kerr, agreed to go through our interview. Have a read through his answers to our tough questions. Why do you want to be a rep for the Teaching Council? The main reason I have decided to stand in this election is because I […]
Teaching Council Interviews: Mary Claire Relihan
We have given a platform to any primary school teacher wishing to be on the Teaching Council to answer some tough questions. Last time Séamus O’Connor answered our questions and now it is Mary Claire Relihan’s turn. If you haven’t seen her on the posters in your school, it’s because she is running independently. She has not been […]
Droichead: A bridge too far
Droichead is a new model of induction and probation for newly qualified teachers, which has been introduced by the Teaching Council, and is currently in a pilot phase. The model will replace the current probation process where Department of Education inspectors evaluate all newly qualified teachers and deem them satisfactory or not to be a […]
No wishes for pay equality from INTO
This week an email went out to all INTO members to welcome them back to school. Many teachers had a very bad end to the school year when INTO members voted in favour of the Lansdowne Road Agreement, effectively allowing the government to pay newer teachers on a lower pay scale. At the time, the […]
It's oh so quiet..New draft document on Inspectorate handing probation to Principals
Email I got an email today from the Teaching Council and I almost deleted it straightaway! I was glad I didn’t. Last year at the Irish Primary Principals Conference, Harold Hislop played panto bad guy with the principals. He told us that we would probate newly qualified teachers. We told him we wouldn’t. He told […]
Teacher Induction Web Site
Thanks to Seomra Ranga for bringing this web site to my intention through Twitter. Apparently, the pilot scheme for NQTs and mentors now has a web site. It’s fairly rudamentry at present but there are some nice examples of NQT’s displays in various subjects. I won’t go as far as saying that this seems to […]