Support for Gaelscoileanna on English

THE policy of some Gaelscoileanna and Gaeltacht schools to not teach English to pupils until they reach senior infants has been supported in official advice to Education Minister Mary Hanafin.

Such policies of total immersion in Irish have been the subject of significant debate in the past two years, because of a dispute between parents and management at a Kerry Gaelscoil where English was not taught to junior infants.

But despite Ms Hanafin’s indications that she favours the teaching of basic English literacy from a child’s first days in school, a number of models of provision have been proposed by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) in its advice to her.