18.10.2023
Developments in Education Highlighted at Dublin and Glendalough Synod
The challenges facing the education sector at both primary and post primary levels were highlighted by the Diocesan Board of Education at Diocesan Synod in Taney earlier this month. The report of the Board of Education was proposed by John Aiken (The King’s Hospital) who outlined the work of the board in the promotion, support and encouragement of education in Dublin and Glendalough along with support for principals and boards of management of primary schools, the allocation of grants and management of board funds and properties.
2023 saw schooling return to a much more recognisable state than reported at previous synods, he said. However, he said the real impact of post–Covid lingered in both primary and secondary sectors. Mr Aiken said that the challenge facing schools was the management of coping mechanisms for both students and staff. He thanked the Minister and the Department of Education and Skills for acting positively by requiring schools to respond with new life skills programmes at secondary level. He was thankful also for the Minister’s decision that class teachers would not be required to mark any components of their students’ Leaving Certificate exams.
Another “seemingly endless challenge” facing department and school officials was the extreme shortage of full time, relief and substitute teachers, he reported. This was a particular problem in the cities were availability and affordability of accommodation was at crisis point. “This Government and future Governments are dealing with a housing crisis, specifically for this discussion, of course, which may be impacting detrimentally on the provision of teachers in our schools in these United Dioceses,” he stated.
Mr Aiken informed Synod of the election of two new members of the Board: Canon Paul Arbuthnot and Dr Jacqui Wilkinson. He commended them both.
He also highlighted the RE studentship in which the Board provides financial support for those at third level taking the Professional Masters in Education who are intending to teach RE in secondary schools within the United Dioceses. Applicants must already hold a degree level qualification with RE, Theology or Religious Studies up to third year or higher. He also reported that funds were made available through the Ralph Macklin Endowment (with Love’s Charity and Gardiner’s Charity) towards the cost of second level fees to a number of families last year.
He noted that the Primary and Junior Schools Service returned last year to Christ Church Cathedral and there were plans to develop the National Evensong for Secondary Schools that was previously held in St Patrick’s Cathedral. He welcomed the new principals at Rathmichael, St Matthew’s, Sandford and Kill O’ the Grange national schools. The Patron’s Day for Primary Schools also made its return last year and he said it was a valuable forum for participants.
Contributing to the debate on the report, Inez Cooper (Leixlip) commended the Archbishop on his Presidential Address.
Dr Ken Fennelly (Councils and Secretary to the General Synod Board of Education RI) thanked members of boards of management who had given of their services in Dublin and Glendalough for the last four years. Their term comes to an end in November. He thanked Ruth Burleigh in the Archbishop’s office for the work she does behind the scenes to keep patronage going in the dioceses.
Scott Peoples (Leixlip) spoke about enrolment policies in non fee paying schools which he said had become more rigid and geographically precise. He said that arrangements in schools in which a core number of Church of Ireland people were accommodated in the past had broken down. He asked if these changes in legislation had been challenged and said an ETB school in west Dublin was needed, like East Glendalough or Temple Carrig in Glendalough, for young people who were not in a position to pay fees.
David Wynne (Sandford and St Philip’s) invited clergy to bear in mind the charities which can help some young people meet school fees, such as POS Children’s Education which can support a child who has lost one or both parents. He urged clergy to direct parishioners in need to them.
Dr Hutchinson Edgar (Tallaght) is a special education teacher in Taney and reported that there was an increasing number of children with complex educational needs who can be accommodated in primary schools but who do not have the same facilities in secondary schools under Church of Ireland management. He hoped facilities could be found in secondary schools for children who had been educated alongside their brothers and sisters in primary school.
In response, Mr Aiken thanked Dr Fennelly for his expertise and support. He noted Mr Peoples’s comments on enrolment policies and thanked Mr Wynne for his contribution. He agreed with Mr Hutchinson Edgar that special educational needs facilities at second level needed to be followed up and joined with Mrs Cooper regarding the Archbishop’s address.