Anseo.net - If I were the Minister for Education – Details, episodes & analysis

If you were to walk into any primary school and compared it to the classroom you might have sat in only a generation ago, apart from a big screen instead of a blackboard, the biggest difference you would see is the diversity of students in that room. One in four children in primary school have an additional need* and according to recent research over 45% of children with support needs are being failed in accessing their right to education. I have spent the last 15 years witnessing the slow collapse of services for children with additional needs in school. Join me over the coming weeks for 'Access Undone: The Collapse of Special Education,' where I explore what I believe is the 21st century’s educational scandal."

Sources: https://www.sensationalkids.ie/our-impact/facts-figures/ and https://inclusionireland.ie/news-events/department-of-education-removes-vital-resource-while-45-of-children-with-support-needs-are-being-failed-in-accessing-their-right-to-edu/

You will not be surprised to hear that my first podcast of the 2024-2025 school year is about religion in schools. It's a topic I'm always coming back to and it never ceases to amaze me of how many different angles you can find from it. But what I want to explore in this episode is what do most schools mean when they talk about religion. Maybe a better title would have been, "What we talk about when we talk about religion in schools."

In this episode, I reflect on the implications of Josepha Madigan's departure as the Minister for Special Education and whether the position will ever exist again. I also ponder on the INTO's survey on physical aggression. Finally, we move to Estonia and explore why they are now kings and queens of Europe and why Ireland won't be the best education system in Europe by 2026.

In Part 2 of this episode, I explain why Catholic Schools' Week is like having a Men Only Golf Club then celebrating Men's Week during the year. By the end of the episode I have a depressing realisation.

It's Catholic Schools' Week in Ireland. In the first part of this 2-part episode, I examine why there's no need for this annual celebration. It is close to the bone but nothing should be free from scrutiny.

Donagh O'Malley is often referred to as the greatest Minister of all time for introducing free second level education. Well, move over O'Malley, there's a new sheriff in the Ministirial chair!

We are also always being told that schools are supposed to be centres of communities, especially in rural areas. If that’s the case, then it follows that services such as broadband would be centred around these places. So in this episode, if I were the MfE, I would be making broadband hubs around schools.

It's Monday, 3rd January 2022. Schools are due to open in 3 days. There are over 20,000 cases of COVID19 per day going around. Shops are closing due to lack of staff. How are we going to reopen schools and keep them open?

On New Year's Eve, Stephen Donnelly was interviewed on RTE Radio 1 about COVID19. The last 2 minutes of the interview focused on schools where he managed to say at least 6 things that simply weren't true. In this episode I dismantle the nonsense.

As we come to the end of 2021, I continue my Advent Calendar of my favourite moments of 2021 in education. And no singing from me this time, I promise!