Courtney Love has accused The Muppets of "raping" the memory of Kurt Cobain.

PRIMARY teachers voted against possible strike action over the loss of more than 600 jobs on support programmes for Traveller pupils and disadvantaged children in rural areas after warnings that the move would breach the Croke Park agreement.

SCHOOLS could be allowed fill some management vacancies by Easter to reduce what they call the crippling effect of a Government promotion ban, according to Education Minister Batt O’Keeffe.

THE Health Service Executive is carrying out a comprehensive review of all child protection records and files throughout Cork city and county to check for notifications of clerical sex abuse.

EDUCATION Minister Batt O’Keeffe has called on Bishop John Magee to reflect on the serious issues raised in last week’s report about his handling of clerical sex abuse in the diocese where he is patron to schools catering for 17,000 pupils.

A PRIMARY school caretaker waged a letter bombing campaign that targeted organisations across Britain in protest at a “surveillance-obsessed society”, a court heard yesterday.

CONCERNS have been expressed about the safety of wireless broadband networks in hundreds of schools following an investigation by BBC’s Panorama team.

The National Parents Council (Primary) has expressed concern that parents who are members of school boards might find themselves personally liable in legal actions taken against the boards.

The British government today announced the expansion of integrated education in the North and the closure of two traditional primary schools.

It is completely unacceptable that a year after being announced by the Government, garda background checks are still not being carried out on workers in schools, community groups or the childcare sector.

GARDA background checks are still not being carried out on workers in schools, community groups or the childcare sector, almost a year after the Government announced an expanded vetting service.

Paul O’Brien

Parents of primary school children have condemned clothing retailers in Ireland for selling t-shirts bearing the slogan 'Porn Star' to young people.

IT was a day of solidarity. A day when pupils across the country stood as one, united by grief.

A PRIMARY school in Moyross, a disadvantaged part of Limerick, is way ahead of Tony Blair and celebrity chef Jamie Oliver in tackling the junk food epidemic in the classroom.

AS pest control experts hunted down rats in a Limerick primary school yesterday, parents in Kilfinane said this was the last straw.

PSYCHIATRISTS have warned the Tánaiste that accountability and quality of care in the mental health services will be compromised under the new Health Service Executive (HSE).

THE Government has backtracked on another key general election promise — by admitting the commitment to reduce infant classes below 20 pupils by 2007 would not be reached.

The National Parents Council (Primary) has reportedly warned that a shortage of sports facilities in primary schools is contributing to a fitness crisis amongst young people.

SAFETY has been urged on the roads as thousands of children return to school this week.

A SHORTAGE of sports facilities in thousands of primary schools is contributing to a fitness crisis among children, parents warned last night.

THINK of the children and vote No in the citizenship referendum, the Children’s Rights Alliance urged yesterday.

PARENTS have welcomed a court decision allowing public access to school inspectors’ reports despite fears among teachers of unfair comparisons being drawn from them.

PARENTS forced to send their children to schools that conflict with their religious and moral preferences may go to court to seek State funding for alternative teaching arrangements, warns Educate Together.

THE Government is to provide €1 million for councils to build playgrounds over the next five years as part of a play policy announced yesterday.

EDUCATION Minister Noel Dempsey has been criticised by teachers' unions for starting another consultation process on the education system instead of acting on past reviews.

PARENTS who take their children out of school during term could be fined, the national agency that monitors pupil attendance has warned.

EXTRA staff to tackle school absenteeism will not be appointed next year because Education Minister Noel Dempsey believes their work is being done by existing services.

A PARENTS’ group has blamed the Department of Education for the shortage of primary school places that has resulted in one boy having to stay at home.

EDUCATION Minister Noel Dempsey has urged school leavers to consider courses in science and technology when they get their Leaving Certificate results this week.

PARENTS should begin preparing children now for their first days in school which are only three weeks away, experts have advised.

PROPOSED legislation to improve education rights for the disabled is worthless without proper funding, lobby groups warned last night.

THE Galway Special Needs Parents Support Group, initiated through the National Parents Council (Primary), regularly holds meetings with the aim of getting the best possible care and educational support for children with special needs, both in and out of the school system.

THE Catholic Church should give up control of schools because many of them are enrolling their own members before children of other faiths, a parents leader said at the weekend.

TEACHERS have told parents they are not responsible for pupils in the time before school doors open in the morning.

INFANT class sizes should be reduced to identify and help children with learning difficulties as early as possible, according to the National Parents Council.

THOUSANDS of disadvantaged children are going to school hungry and without proper uniforms, a damning report by the Society of St Vincent de Paul has found.

PRIMARY school parents have criticised the Government for a lack of long-term planning on run-down and dilapidated school buildings.