Parents who are asked to accept a shorter school day for their children with special needs should refuse to do so, the lead author of a new report has suggested.

A school principal demoted after having been found to have emotionally abused a pupil by requiring her to kneel on the floor on two occasions has lost her High Court challenge to the disciplinary process.

Irish primary pupils are the best in Europe at reading and boys here have improved their skills more than girls in the last five years.

The Irish National Teachers' Organisation and the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation have rejected the possible extension to the Croke Park agreement.

The country's largest teachers union has decided not to advise its members which way to vote on the revised Croke Park Agreement.

It is hoped 300 new teaching posts may become available in primary schools in the new year, thanks to additional funding being made available to support children with special needs.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has today insisted the Government will keep supports in place for disadvantaged schools, despite budget cutbacks.

There are calls today for a national debate on public services and how they are funded.

The executives of the country's teachers' unions are meeting today to decide whether or not to take industrial action in the new year.

More than 5,000 teachers angered by possible budget cuts staged a protest outside the Department of Education during today's national strike.

The issue of class sizes is once again putting the government under fire with the Irish National Teachers' Organisation saying new official figures show nearly 100,000 children are in classes of 30 pupils or more.

Primary school teachers are backing a European plan which could see PE lessons being made compulsory for all children.

The North's Children's Commissioner today called on all sides involved in the classroom assistants' strike to put children first and quickly resolve the dispute.

Primary school teachers have warned that literacy and mathematical standards are at risk because of a lack of resources.

THE Government faces major pressure ahead of next year’s election as primary teachers plan to gather signatures from up to half a million parents in support of their class size campaign.

AN extra 90 schools are to benefit from a Government plan to boost spending on tackling disadvantage schools by €40 million a year, Education Minister Mary Hanafin announced yesterday.

THE number of primary schools with direct access to psychologists has fallen in the last year, with at least half of the schools in 17 counties without a service.

LITERACY levels have remained at the same low levels in poorer schools for the past six years, despite smaller class sizes and major investment in computers, a new study has found.

A CAMPAIGN to boost the numbers of men working as primary teachers gets underway this week with a series of newspaper and radio ads funded by the Department of Education.

PARENTS are being forced to pay an education tax because of shortfalls of up to one-third in primary school funding from the Government, the Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO) has claimed.

A LACK of indoor facilities means half of all primary schools can't teach physical education in bad weather, a survey has found.

AN EXTRA 400 primary teaching posts will be created over the next two years to help reduce class sizes, Education Minister Mary Hanafin promised yesterday.

REPORTS on school inspections will be published in future to give more information to parents, Education Minister Mary Hanafin said yesterday.

MOST primary schools will have enough staff to cater for pupils with special needs as a result of an extra 660 extra resource teachers announced by Education Minister Mary Hanafin.

THE deportation of students and searches of schools for failed asylum seekers is terrorising young people and harming international views of Ireland, a teachers’ leader warned last night.

The average size of Irish primary school classes is the second highest in Europe, according to figures compiled by the Irish National Teachers' Organisation.

Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO) president John Carr has demanded a meeting with the Department of Education to discuss the issue of class size.

The Irish National Teachers' Organisation has reacted angrily to the Minister for Education's admission that the Government will not be fully honouring its commitment to reducing class sizes.

GAELTACHT Minister Eamon Ó Cuiv has written to Justice Minister Michael McDowell about his plans to drop the Irish language requirement for immigrant recruits to An Garda Síochána.

Primary school classes in Ireland are now among the largest in Europe, according to the Irish National Teachers' Organisation.

OFFICIALLY, the nationwide consultative process initiated by Education Minister Noel Dempsey is aimed at shaping the education system. Unofficially, many teachers feel it’s a waste of time.

UP to 12,000 school children are awaiting assessment by an educational psychologist, according to a Fine Gael survey of primary and secondary schools.

PRIMARY schools are being crippled by spiralling insurance costs which are running at up to six times higher than the figure Education Minister Noel Dempsey gave the Dáil.

The Irish National Teachers' Organisation has called on the Government to honour its commitment to reduce class sizes.

ALL schools were promised modernisation in the Programme for Government but hundreds are still awaiting the go-ahead for upgrades a year later.

MORE than 250,000 students face definite disruption for a third consecutive year as Education Minister Noel Dempsey refused to meet the secondary teachers' union for pay talks yesterday.

The union representing most of Ireland's primary school teachers has warned the Government that more funding must be provided for many school buildings.