Some six years after the idea of junior cycle reform was floated, there has finally been an agreement, writes Education Correspondent Niall Murray

Schools with higher numbers of disadvantaged students should be prioritised if guidance counselling provision is restored, says the Royal Irish Academy.

Extra hours, preparing classes, and student corrections are among the heaviest duties for second-level teachers, who have almost all seen their workload increase significantly in five years, a survey suggests.

School-based assessments of junior cycle students will be valued by teachers and parents more than exams over time, the country’s top schools inspector predicts.

In the face of serious concerns about the future of primary schools in south Kerry — where half the schools are set to lose a teacher — a public meeting on the issue has been attended by around 500 people in Caherciveen.

Teaching graduates are more likely than most others to have work soon after finishing their studies, but fewer than one in 12 secure permanent contracts in the first nine months after college.

Teachers and students are facing a ‘curricular limbo’ due to the standoff between teaching unions and the Department of Education over Junior Cycle reforms, a group representing school principals has warned.

The third-level grants body Student Universal Support Ireland (Susi) has made the first payments to 43,000 applicants, 4,000 more than this time last year.

The Department of Education could spend €1m in the next year on designing training that teachers are refusing to attend, in an industrial dispute over junior cycle reform.

An organisation representing pre-school has backed Children’s Ombudsman Emily Logan’s call for proper supports for nearly 4,000 children with disabilities, saying they otherwise risk not achieving their potential.