More than 20 primary schools will be asked to consider amalgamation or closure as part of a new procedure being finalised on the future of one-teacher schools.

School boards are a law unto themselves with nowhere for parents to have complaints against management properly dealt with, a Fine Gael TD and former primary principal has claimed.

A small number of Catholic schools may transfer to new patrons later this year but the Department of Education expects others to follow suit in greater numbers over the next few years.

An umbrella organisation representing the country’s primary school boards of management has claimed cuts proposed under Croke Park II will have a “high and long-lasting cost” on children’s education.

SCHOOLS are being urged by Education Minister Mary Coughlan to give substitution work to unemployed teachers, after it emerged one-in-10 primary teachers paid for substitute work in September were already retired.

EXPENSIVE specialised uniforms can defeat the aim of dress codes designed to put all pupils on the same level at school, a parents’ leader claims.

THE next move towards handing over patronage of some primary schools has been left up to Catholic bishops after the identification of 43 areas where there is potential to give up control.

MOVES to begin the firsthandover of some Catholic primary schools to other patrons is to begin shortly but Education Minister Batt O’Keeffe has been urged to ensure parents and other interested parties are fully consulted.

Education Minister Batt O’Keeffe was tonight accused of a humiliating u-turn after ordering a nationwide school closure only to reverse it on the first day of the shutdown.

The Green Party tonight backed Government cuts in the education sector but said it wanted future changes in how schools are funded.

Ten organisations involved in the country’s primary schools today joined forces to demand education cuts in the Budget be withdrawn.

SCHOOL boards should receive more training to help them deal with complaints from pupils and their parents, according to the Children’s Ombudsman Emily Logan.

A TREBLING of public funding for the organisation helping the fastest-growing sector of primary education has been given a cautious welcome.

PAID supervision of pupils should be extended before and after school to mind children being dropped off early, according to school managers.

PROCEDURES for dealing with badly performing teachers must be updated urgently, primary school managers have warned.

THE adoption of law governing the right of part-time workers to secure jobs could disrupt plans to ensure all children are being taught by qualified teachers.

A BAN on working with unqualified staff by a teachers’ union could cause great difficulty in rural primary schools next autumn, a management body has warned.

A GROWING number of primary schools no longer have Church involvement in their day-to-day running, according to a management body.

PRIMARY school managers have called on the Government to restore funding to help board members carry out their duties.