Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 27 October 2004
134 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Minister for Education and Science the position regarding the closure of schools for teacher training on 22 October and 1 November 2004 and the dispute with the Episcopal Commission on this issue; the reason her Department arranged the in-service days in contravention of the Department’s regulations; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26127/04]
View answerUnder the agreed arrangements standardising the school year, schools are required to remain open for students on the weekday immediately preceding, and immediately following, school holidays. This excludes the possibility of using these days for the provision of in-service for teachers as well as for internal school meetings for planning and other related purposes. The standardisation of the school year has been overwhelmingly successful in bringing clarity for parents in terms of making arrangements for the care of their children during school holidays. The agreement for all schools to take their Christmas, Easter, summer and mid-term breaks at the same time followed in-depth negotiations involving all the partners in the education process.
This year's October mid-term break runs from 25 to 29 October. Despite the restriction on closures, my Department became aware that primary curriculum in-service, delivered under devolved arrangements, for music and physical education was scheduled in a number of cases by the primary curriculum support programme, PCSP, for Friday, 22 October and Monday, 1 November — the weekdays immediately preceding, and following, the holidays.
It appears that, for a variety of reasons, in-service was scheduled on 22 October and 1 November in a number of locations. In part, this related to the subject matter and content of the music and physical education in-service currently being delivered to primary schools. Both areas require specialised equipment and venues which creates difficulties when attempting to deliver in-service in the most efficient and effective manner. In other cases, the in-service was scheduled in schools for the two dates in question due to administrative oversights.
When my Department became aware of the scheduling of music and physical education in-service on 22 October and 1 November, it immediately instructed that it be re-scheduled for a later date, in accordance with the standardisation agreement. This was done by the education centres and, in most cases, the in-service was re-scheduled.
As an exception, it was decided that, where cancellations would have greatly upset the plans of schools and parents, the in-service could proceed as originally planned. Some flexibility was needed in order to minimise the inconvenience to schools and parents who had already made arrangements for the dates in question. The vast majority of over three thousand schools will fully comply with the standardisation agreement; only a tiny minority of schools will have in-service training on one or both of the two days, 22 October and 1 November.
There is no question of a dispute with the Episcopal Commission in this matter. The Department's instructions to the PCSP were issued, coincidentally, around the same time that the Catholic bishops were directing that schools under their patronage were to close on 1 November, the Feast of All Saints.
It should be noted that the Catholic bishops are fully entitled to request that these schools observe All Saints' Day by closing on 1 November. As a result, there is no question of any dispute between my Department and the bishops about this issue. In this regard, the position as set out in the circular on the standardisation of the school year are very clear: "the arrangements are agreed without prejudice to closure (of schools) on specific days, within the overall requirement of 167 days at post-primary level and 183 days at primary level, dictated by religious observance that is required under the patronage of different denominations or faiths". The circular also states: "The scheduling of such days must not be used to extend or modify the period set out in respect of mid-term .... breaks save where religious observance requirements of a school under a particular patronage make this necessary". This arrangement covers Catholic schools and the schools under the patronage of other denominations and religions.
