Schools

#AssetTransfer: Investing in schools in order to help meet community demands…

Mick Fealty on March 2, 2012, 1:02 pm

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One of the issues in Belfast is the crumbling leisure infrastructure. The (relatively speaking) cvast number of centres were built in thick of the troubles in the late seventies and early eighties as a large scale capital investment programme. They were located in specific areas in order to take account of the physical separation of working class urban communities. At the time it was not reasonable to expect individuals from the lower Shankill to visit the Falls. Some are already …

“all schools in the Catholic sector should move to an alternative form of transfer as soon as possible and by no later than 2012…”

Pete Baker on February 13, 2012, 11:12 pm

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Six years in the writing, the Northern Ireland Commission for Catholic Education (NICCE) has published its Post-Primary Review Strategic Regional Report. It’s a mixture of proposals of limited school closures, amalgamations… and wishful thinking. As the BBC reports, Catholic Church representatives have been focusing on one issue in particular. Cardinal Brady was speaking at St Mary’s College in Belfast when he criticised continuing academic selection by schools. “It is totally unacceptable that some Catholic schools are, in effect, becoming all ability …

“We believe this is a crude attempt to circumvent the proper and long-established channels of financial accountability within education”

Pete Baker on October 22, 2010, 4:01 pm

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The BBC notes the declared intention of the board of governors of Catholic grammar school Loreto College to end academic selection from 2012 or 2013 – you can check the most recent figures on Loreto’s academically selected intake here. By the way, how is that review going? And the BBC report quotes the Catholic Principals’ Association chair Seamus Quinn CPA chair Seamus Quinn said: “Loreto has followed the moral and spiritual guidance provided by the Commission for Catholic Education (NICCE). “Their decision is an important step …

Religion in schools. More than just Catholics

Blank on October 19, 2010, 2:15 pm

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Peter Robinson’s comments on education have opened up a discussion that is solely focusing on the role of the Catholic Maintained Sector. While the discussion is worthwhile, having it without addressing other elements of religious involvement across education is dealing with less than half of the issue. As noted in Tony Macaulay’s report on Churches and Christian Ethos in Integrated Schools: The assumption that integrated schools would solve the sectarianism problem in Northern Ireland was a false one, a speaker …

“But there is no guarantee that any will be built…”

Pete Baker on July 5, 2010, 9:21 pm

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The Northern Ireland Education Minister, Sinn Féin’s Caitriona Ruane, refused to tell the Assembly the details of the outcome of her department’s review of the schools capital build programme last week. The BBC reports today that the department has now released the list of the schools whose plans comply fully with departmental policy (34), those who might, with further work, comply with policy (24), and those whose plans do not comply (8). But as the BBC report also notes A total of …

“we are over committed to over spend and these projects will be delayed”

Pete Baker on June 29, 2010, 2:49 pm

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Unlike last week, the Northern Ireland Education Minister, Sinn Féin’s Caitriona Ruane, was on time today to make a statement to the Assembly on the review of her department’s programme of capital building schemes. But, as the BBC reports, the statement was somewhat lacking in detail The minister told the assembly that she has made decisions on which of the 69 schools are to get the go ahead for new buildings. She said most have been approved, some have been …