Why is School Attendance, Here in Northern Ireland, the Worst on Record?

Posted in: Cassidy's Comments on 09/11/2023 School attendance levels in Northern Ireland are getting much worse. Statistics provided by the Department of Education (DE) since 2021 show that 30% of pupils had absence rates which were classed as "chronic" or "severe chronic". This means that a pupil has been absent for over 10% of school days ...

Cyberbullying – a Real and Present Danger to our Young People

Posted in: Cassidy's Comments on 27/09/2023 Brian O'Donovan, RTE’s work and technology correspondent has flagged up a concern expressed by online safety charity, Cyber Safe Kids. The CEO, Alex Cooney, has warned that online safety for children remains a critical issue that is not being sufficiently addressed in our schools or by the social m...

Overuse of Technology in the Classroom?

Posted in: Cassidy's Comments on 04/09/2023 Emma O Kelly, RTÉ’s Education correspondent, has highlighted a concern about possible over-reliance on technology to support learning in schools. She points to a recent UNESCO report which has advised caution about the use of laptops and tablets in the classroom. They suggest that the assumed advan...

Should our Children Read More and Look at Screens Less?

Posted in: Cassidy's Comments on 30/05/2023 BBC Northern Ireland Education Correspondent Robbie Meredith has recently highlighted a report into children’s reading habits by the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) which was administered by the NFER in 2021 for the Department of Education. This international study used dat...

The Andrew Tate Effect. Who is Shaping the Values for School Boys?

Posted in: Cassidy's Comments on 02/05/2023 According to the Guardian newspaper in February 2023, Andrew Tate the social influencer has become very popular among British teenage boys. They apparently copy his phrases and philosophy. Parents and schoolteachers have expressed concern that he is influencing boys to exhibit misogynistic and aggr...

Cost of Living Crisis -Teaching Pupils about Money

Posted in: Cassidy's Comments on 21/04/2023 The cost-of-living crisis has profoundly shaken our confidence in our ability to manage our finances well. As adults we are all on a steep learning curve educating ourselves about the best ways to cope with mortgage rates, credit card bills and even simple daily shopping. Logically therefore we nee...

The Human Cost of School Leadership

Posted in: Cassidy's Comments on 30/03/2023 No one can fail to have been shocked at the story of Reading headteacher Ruth Perry, who sadly took her own life while waiting for the release of an Ofsted inspection report which was about to downgrade her school from “outstanding” to “inadequate”. The BBC reported on reaction to this terrible new...

Equality of Educational Opportunity for Children with Complex Medical Needs

Posted in: Cassidy's Comments on 06/03/2023 BBC NI Education Correspondent Robbie Meredith has reported on a recent judicial review which found that The Education Authority (EA) breached the human rights of two pupils with complex medical needs, where in one case the pupil was prevented from attending school for long periods and in the other...

Teacher Strikes: A Plea for Fairness!

Posted in: Cassidy's Comments on 09/02/2023 Teachers in Northern Ireland are to hold a half-day strike on Tuesday 21st of February. This will be the first strike in over five years. The largest teaching unions, NAS/UWT, UTU and INTO will strike from midnight until midday which will mean many schools will be closed for the morning. The NEU ar...

Have we Forgotten the Importance of Emotional Intelligence?

Posted in: Cassidy's Comments on 27/01/2023 With Prime Minister Rishi Sunak advising us that all pupils should study mathematics to prepare themselves better for success in our modern world, is there a danger that we will come to understand intelligence and ability in terms of exam grades only? In preparing our young people for an increasing...