Latest: The Minister for Education, Richard Bruton, has "broadly welcomed" the move by the ETBI to no longer hold communion preparation classes during the school day at Community National Schools.

Education Minister Richard Bruton’s plans to speed up the divestment of religious primary schools to new patrons face strong challenge as a multi-denominational schools group claims they prioritise the Catholic Church’s wishes over those of parents.

Plans to prevent the possible closure of secondary schools by teachers’ industrial action are being finalised by Education Minister Richard Bruton’s officials and school managers.

Community national schools should be managed by local boards — so says the head of the education and training boards which run them.

The number of apprenticeship options available is set to almost double with the creation of 25 new training programmes in careers from catering to truck-driving.

The board of the former Cork County VEC received nearly six times more in payments and expenses than its city counterparts in the five years prior to the amalgamation of the two organisations, correspondence to the Public Account Committee has revealed.

The teachers’ strike, which will cause disruption to hundreds of thousands of students and parents today, looks set to spill into next year with the Government and unions entrenched.

Claims that disputed junior cycle reforms are a money-saving exercise have been rejected by Education Minister Jan O’Sullivan.

Second-level teacher union leaders meet this morning under mounting pressure to discuss revised junior cycle reform plans instead of considering school strikes.

All three groups representing second-level schools say they support delays to some assessment by teachers of their junior cycle students — to help resolve an ongoing dispute.

The growing mountain of paperwork involved in running schools that have no proper management structures is putting student-focused reforms at risk, Education Minister Ruairi Quinn has been warned.