In this episode, I wonder about the quantum of SET agendas and why the IPPN has decided to go against its members. I discuss why the media have reduced a completely changed curriculum down to sex. Finally I deny that I've been looking through your bins. Links to articles discussed can be found on anseo.net
MacBook Pro Microphone & FaceTime HD Camera-3:
Hello?
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:Hello.
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:You're very welcome to if I were
the minister for education, a
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:regular podcast, where I look into
the world of primary education
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:and let you know what I would do.
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:If I were the minister for education.
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:MacBook Pro Microphone & FaceTime HD Camera-5:
This is Simon Lewis on this week's show.
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:I'll be continuing to explore
the fiasco that isn't going away,
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:which has set allocations as the
IPPN turn on its own members.
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:MacBook Pro Microphone & FaceTime HD Camera-7:
And speaking of things that won't go
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:away, I'll be exploring the new primary
curriculum where it has reentered the
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:new stories for, I don't know how many
times and I'll be talking about how
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:teachers will now be expected to teach
languages they don't speak themselves.
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:If you're interested in subscribing
to this podcast, or if you're
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:watching it on YouTube, you can
subscribe by going to your favorite
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:podcasting platform to subscribe.
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:Or you can go into YouTube and you can
clip and lightened, subscribe, whatever.
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:People do, is it smash that like button?
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:I don't know what young people say.
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:I say that every week, anyway,
let's get on with things.
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:And as you'll see on the screen, if you're
watching on on YouTube it you'll see the
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:title and screenshot is an attempt to
explain special education in Ireland.
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:And if I can achieve that.
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:It will be doing very well because if
you've been following the set allocation
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:model story over the last number of
weeks, You'll probably understand how
26
:difficult it is to understand and it
was only when I spoke to a journalist
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:at that, I realized that there's a lot
that we take for granted in schools.
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:I said, I, in my first sentence, in
this article, I wrote on my medium
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:blog that Simon M lewis.medium.com.
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:You can.
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:I started off by saying if you're a
primary school teacher, These acronyms
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:probably make complete sense to you.
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:S C N O S C T S P S E S C S P H G.
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:And so on all of these
acronyms, beginning with S.
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:And they probably make a lot of
sense, but they probably don't make
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:a lot of sense to anyone outside
of the primary education system.
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:And when I was speaking to a
journalist about the initial as S.
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:Initially talking to them
about special education.
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:It was amazing how.
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:I confusing things.
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:God, because he didn't really understand
what the difference between a special
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:class teacher is a special education
teacher is and what a special needs
43
:assistant is and why there are no
teaching assistants in our, and even
44
:though he's heard about teaching
assistants, which funnily enough,
45
:there's a college course in Ireland.
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:If you wanted to look it up hoping to
train you as a teaching assistant, despite
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:there not being a teaching assistant job
in Ireland in primary schools, at least.
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:And it got me thinking about this whole
debacle about the sat allocations model.
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:And there's been so many news stories
over the last couple of weeks around
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:set allegations, basically, just in
case you are living under a rock, if
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:you're a primary school teacher, or if
you just haven't heard about the story.
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:About a month ago.
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:At the department of education
released their allocations to schools
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:for special education teachers.
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:And There was opera
because they essentially.
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:I suppose in a nutshell, they have
basically decided that all teachers are
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:going to be decided special education
teacher is going to be decided on
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:three criteria, three criteria.
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:Only one of them is okay, it's on whether
this goes in a disadvantaged area or
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:not, but the other two, and the major
criteria that 94% of the criteria is
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:going on your enrollment, which makes a
bit of sense, but also based on literacy
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:and numeracy scores that children would
have received over the last three years.
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:Now for anyone who's involved in
education, you will know that standard
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:standardized tests in literacy and
numeracy are not something that we
65
:take very seriously as a profession.
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:We have to do them, but we
understand their limitations.
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:In fact, we understand them so
much that we take very little
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:heat of the results that we get
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:often don't correlate with how
well the children are doing.
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:They are a snapshot
essentially on one day.
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:But the big talking point really
was one of the criteria that was
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:removed from sat allocations.
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:And for 2024 was the complex needs
variable, which counted for about 50%
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:of allocations given up until last
year And the removal of that meant
75
:that children with complex needs.
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:Are not necessarily going
to be allocated resources.
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:And it's a huge bone of contention
so much so that inclusion
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:Ireland down syndrome Ireland.
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:And as I am got to gather to.
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:Make a joint.
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:Statement or a joint campaign.
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:After them to be returned.
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:And, principals around the countries,
teachers around the country were going
84
:absolutely not about this as well, because
effectively what happens is that children
85
:with complex needs may not necessarily
gash low standardized test scores.
86
:It actually, in some ways it's quite
insulting to children with complex needs.
87
:They're basically saying we couldn't
get the data on complex needs.
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:So we just use your literacy numeracy
scores because you're probably going
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:to get low test results anyway,
because you have complex needs.
90
:It's frankly, baffling, really?
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:That this would be the case.
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:And obviously the advocacy groups
are saying that it is baffling
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:as well, that they would do this.
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:And we were waiting for, education
groups to come along and say,
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:yeah, this is ridiculous.
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:It's bad.
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:It's not working.
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:And they didn't.
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:So the national principal's forum, if you
I'm involved with, as a questionnaire or
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:a survey to principals and sure enough.
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:Principals were aggrieved by
this and I'm not happy about it.
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:So we decided to to do a petition joining
the other campaigners that were out there.
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:And.
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:700, roughly 700 principals or school.
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:Basically signs petition and it
was sent to anyone and everyone.
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:And it's been bizarre the outcome of this.
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:Because not only not only the
department of education dispute the
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:accuracy of the principles, they
actually went through every single
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:line, every single school and.
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:It's so desperate and patchy.
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:And pathetic.
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:That they went through every
single line rather than actually
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:sorting out the problem.
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:They decided to try and
undermine this petition.
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:I wonder, I always wonder because
the other three advocacy groups
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:had exactly the same thing.
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:They had 1300 signatories, and I
wonder if they would go through all
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:those 1300 signatories and basically
say, oh it's, up two of those,
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:two or three of those signatures
came from the same house and all.
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:Yeah.
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:And these, I buy five of them, came from
a different school from the same school.
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:So clear, like the way the
department of education.
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:Are measuring these set allocations is
they have this odd thing where they think
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:the only reason a school would be annoyed
about the sat allocations was because
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:they themselves would be losing hours.
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:Not because the system
is based on junk data.
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:And I think this is what the problem is.
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:The basically sat allocations when
they were introduced in:
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:based on five different criteria and
the five Griffin criteria, where were.
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:Basically set what your what they,
what your allocations would be.
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:And since then, they've been.
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:Manipulator, changed slightly
depending on who you are and
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:developing skills were badly treated.
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:And we have to data on that.
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:But schools that we're losing
in Romans, In order to avoid
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:a political kind of fallout.
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:They kept ours.
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:And essentially what we
ended up with just junk data.
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:And by 2024, what we have
is we're using junk data.
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:And then adding further junk data
and ultimately the allocations are
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:meaningless and they don't actually meet.
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:They don't actually provide
schools with what they need.
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:And we thought.
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:Oh, fair enough.
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:The department of education.
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:Are going to try and put this, run this
under the carpet or whatever people
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:do, but then in a weird, in the most
baffling I've never seen this before.
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:The principals.
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:I feel APPM, which is
the principals network.
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:Have actually turned on their
own members in a statement, they
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:made a joint statement to joint
communication with the NAPD.
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:And I've no idea why they're involved.
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:They're a secondary school
organization and this has nothing
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:to do with secondaries and the NPC
they've turned on their parents.
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:They're the national parents council.
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:They basically.
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:I have called the calls from advocacy
groups and a national trend forum.
158
:That it's misinformation
or miscommunication or
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:misconceptions or the kind of blue.
160
:Bluff words that are
used by organizations.
161
:It's astonishing.
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:And you wouldn't mind.
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:If they're joint communication or
they're basically essentially saying
164
:that you're all wrong was based on any
communication with their own members.
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:But they didn't consult with
any of their members DM.
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:Advocacy groups.
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:I consulted with their members.
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:They got.
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:It's 1300 signatures to a petition to
asking people, asking for this set of
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:locations to be paused under national
principal's forum asked all schools
171
:about their opinions and got all the data
and then asked for a petition, the IPP.
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:And didn't ask anyone.
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:And to be honest with you, We don't know.
174
:Where this is coming from,
this is a very odd situation.
175
:And it really.
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:I think has baffled.
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:And many people involved in education and.
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:I think.
179
:Everybody suspects.
180
:The IBP and our January.
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:A good organization there.
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:They're lovely people in there.
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:I know them.
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:Some of them are my friends.
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:And then they come out with
this and nobody knows why.
186
:And it's interesting.
187
:They came out with it, but
didn't refer to it again.
188
:They didn't they didn't tweet it.
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:They usually will tweet
their joint communications.
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:They didn't tweezers.
191
:They also didn't add it to their weekly
newsletter to the center to newspapers.
192
:I it's just a very odd and baffling
kind of communication and that
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:nobody quite understands why
the suspicion really is dash.
194
:They were, they are reliant on funding
from the department of education.
195
:So maybe they were told that they
needed to refuse and the calls look
196
:who knows it's a really odd situation.
197
:And one I'm sure we'll be returning to
at some point, because I don't think this
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:story is going to go away and I'm really
not quite sure what is going on there.
199
:But I just wanted to talk to you a
little bit more about an article I
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:wrote on us because it's basically,
trying to defend the sat allocations.
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:Could we all be wrong?
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:That's what it's called.
203
:And it goes through.
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:Essentially what's been going
on with the IPN and the NAPD.
205
:And why do I think.
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:They why do I think
they did what they did?
207
:And why are they trying to bury the
story about the department of education's
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:decision to provide, use junk data?
209
:Remove complex needs.
210
:As a variable.
211
:In order to give sat allocations and why
they would defend and advise schools.
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:Th the other thing I
suppose I should mention is.
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:Lots and lots of people have
written to the IPN to protest there.
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:Or to complain about the way they've
David they've handled the situation
215
:and they have a template email,
which they're sending out to people
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:which advises them to go through.
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:The appeals mechanism.
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:At despite, and the fact that the
appeals mechanism is horrendous as well.
219
:And it just surprises me.
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:That an organization I've had.
221
:I have a lot of time for, and I've
had a lot of time for in fact, I
222
:was on their board for a short time.
223
:Has reduced themselves.
224
:To effectively being spokespeople
for the department of education.
225
:I don't know.
226
:I did.
227
:I suppose I did a little graph
of how many people at basically.
228
:Contacted.
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:Gave their feedback to the national
principal's forum versus those
230
:who gave feedback to the IPN.
231
:And you will see the graph there.
232
:Which is, maybe just a bit of a
joke, but I'm quite serious too.
233
:Yeah, I link in this article that she
should find again on the medium blog.
234
:I've linked to full statement there,
which you might have a look at.
235
:But they have said an outrageous
sort of statement to me and they
236
:said it's important to be clear that
children with complex needs have not
237
:been excluded from the allocation
of hours that schools are received.
238
:They have, and I put this
fallacy to bed from:
239
:The sat allocations were calculated
under five criteria and I list those
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:and then three criteria now, which is.
241
:And the two criteria that have
are missing from those five.
242
:Our gender and complex needs data.
243
:The department education even admitted
themselves that they dropped complex
244
:needs as a criteria because they
couldn't get the data from anywhere.
245
:And they decided they would increase the
weighting of literacy and numeracy scores.
246
:Now.
247
:I'm spending a bit of time here
because I can't understand.
248
:W.
249
:Y the IPN have done what they've done.
250
:Is it that they're really out of
touch that they don't understand
251
:children with complex needs can and
often do score highly interested in
252
:numeracy tests because I could get it.
253
:I can get if they are.
254
:Out of touch the classroom has
changed so much in the last decade.
255
:And most of the principals in the
offices or at most of the people in
256
:the office working for IPP and are
retired Principles or haven't been in
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:the, in a school for quite some time.
258
:I, I get that I haven't been, I
haven't been teaching directly
259
:for the for about 10 years now.
260
:And I know that when I go into
classrooms to take lessons, The costume
261
:is definitely a different, it's a
different place than it used to be.
262
:Even in the short space
of time that I was there.
263
:I often say like that when I was
teaching last time I taught, I
264
:probably made two phone calls a year to
parents about issues in the classroom.
265
:I know the parent or the teachers are
making two phone calls a day, in terms
266
:of things that go on in classrooms.
267
:So maybe there.
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:To be there.
269
:There's so long outside of the classroom.
270
:That they aren't, they actually don't
understand what's going on in classrooms.
271
:I don't know.
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:But I suppose what really, I.
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:Generally, generally the people,
I think young people get in
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:there with triggering language.
275
:But if you want to trigger me.
276
:There's plenty of ways you can do so
you can tell your, you can call your
277
:school inclusive or very inclusive,
or you can, when you talk about
278
:special education needs, you can
say pupils with the greatest levels
279
:of need should now have access to
the greatest level of support in.
280
:This really annoys me and it annoys.
281
:Actually a noise, anyone working in
a school because you'll hear that.
282
:Statements used by people in the
NCSC, people in naps, people,
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:in the department of education.
284
:And now our own representative body
are using this really awful line.
285
:The pupils have the greatest level
of need should have access to
286
:the greatest avenues of support.
287
:If you want to translate that sentence
into English out, if you want to
288
:translate it away from spin into
English, into normal English language.
289
:That sentence means that children
with needs, what you're saying here
290
:is that schools will choose what
children do not get access to support.
291
:So all your children with.
292
:That have support needs will not receive.
293
:Support only the ones with
the greatest level of needs.
294
:So in other words, children, with
the least level of needs will get.
295
:Despite having needs will
not have any support.
296
:That's all it's saying, essentially when
people say that to me, I always ask them.
297
:So you're asking me to choose
which children who have needs
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:don't get support and they laugh.
299
:Because they don't care.
300
:And isn't it awful to see
your representative body
301
:using that sort of language?
302
:It's awful.
303
:It's really awful.
304
:And.
305
:They go on to explain.
306
:To us.
307
:Why we're wrong?
308
:And using baffling language.
309
:And there's a little word in here.
310
:I love.
311
:And I have to tell you about it.
312
:I read it given that the revised
allocation model is now underpinned by
313
:more accurate data provided by schools.
314
:It is hoped that a quantum of hours
allocation to schools will better
315
:enable children with additional
and complex need to achieve and
316
:thrive in their mainstream settings.
317
:Quantum of what.
318
:Quantum, it's such a baffling word.
319
:Why would they what person.
320
:What person uses the word
quantum in everyday language.
321
:Nobody has the answer to that question,
but they've used three times in their.
322
:A sentence.
323
:So I decided I'd check out
what's what does quantum mean?
324
:So I looked up.
325
:A few dictionaries and I find my favorite
one, which is a it's the smallest amount.
326
:It's basically, it's a science
word it's used in physics really,
327
:and chemistry and stuff like that.
328
:It's these insights not used in allocating
resources to children in schools, but
329
:it's actually the smallest amount.
330
:Or units of something, especially in GI.
331
:I like to condense that to
the smallest amount of energy.
332
:And that could equally define
the level of representation.
333
:That the IPN are giving to
their members in this case.
334
:But I just want to back up a little bit,
because I thought that where quantum is
335
:very distracting and maybe deliberately.
336
:What I wanted to look at here was this
thing about the revised allocation is
337
:being underpinned by more accurate data.
338
:So what is this accurate data?
339
:And they both use this, the IPN
and the department of education
340
:aping, the same language.
341
:Accurate data, the accurate data.
342
:And I'll tell you what they are.
343
:It's enrollment figures
and standardized scores.
344
:That's it.
345
:There is no other data being used.
346
:And those two pieces of data do not
provide accurate needs for a school.
347
:And.
348
:They just.
349
:It's just annoying, really to hear
your representative body behaving.
350
:Like this, and I don't really
understand, and it's not just me.
351
:It's not just the national principals
or it's not just the advocacy groups.
352
:It's not just us.
353
:There's plenty of people and
I'm just going to go through.
354
:I just pasted three tweets
or tweet Twitter threads or X
355
:threads from other principals
or people involved in education.
356
:And it's.
357
:It just goes to show, these,
this is just people who are
358
:online and unable to comment.
359
:I've spoken to several principals
who who just are shocked.
360
:People are just baffled.
361
:And nobody can quite understand this.
362
:Essentially.
363
:What can we do?
364
:I just don't know what we can do about it.
365
:And I suppose the irony and I conclude,
and I will conclude with this taught,
366
:is that on the same on the day after.
367
:Dash DIPP and released
the statement basically.
368
:Throwing their members under the bus.
369
:They also shared this a really good
article from their vice CEO their.
370
:Their deputy CEO.
371
:Which has been published in the
education yearbook, a fantastic
372
:journal titled the health and
wellbeing of Irish school leaders.
373
:And this article essentially shows the
burnout, stress, sleeping, troubles,
374
:depressive symptoms, somatic stress,
and cognitive stress have all increased
375
:in principles since 2015, all the way
up to:
376
:state that it's getting worse and worse.
377
:And in fact, we know that
principals of primary schools.
378
:As our suffering.
379
:Are suffering.
380
:Certain forms of stress and burnish.
381
:Twice the normal rate of most other jobs.
382
:And isn't it ironic that when 700 or
more of their members make a public cry
383
:for help, the response was to tell them.
384
:That we were wrong.
385
:Let's move on.
386
:It's the new primary, correct?
387
:Lamont.
388
:Geno wash when you've got a new
primary curriculum, which teaches
389
:all the new subjects of all
let's reduce to a headline sax.
390
:Yeah.
391
:It's all about sex education to
be taught at an earlier age now.
392
:Under new primary curriculum that's
from the Irish times and today, a
393
:fam also headlined with sex, sex
sells on sex education in Ireland.
394
:And.
395
:And of the maddening thing I suppose,
is that really that's the headline.
396
:And it's quite frustrating because sex.
397
:The actual truth of that story
is the puberty will be taught
398
:in third and fourth class rather
than in fifth and sixth class.
399
:And do you know why?
400
:Because children in third and fourth cost
experience puberty, probably good idea
401
:for them to know what's going on there.
402
:That's the only change.
403
:And that's the headline.
404
:There is much, much
bigger and bigger stories.
405
:Really, and they were
actually well-developed.
406
:And well-spoken about by Carla
Brian the next day when he discussed
407
:what was actually changing.
408
:And it's a really good article.
409
:I'd recommend you look at it.
410
:It'll be in the show notes.
411
:And we'll be talking about
learning a new foreign languages.
412
:Stem will be a subject in the curriculum.
413
:And also a lot more on wellbeing.
414
:It's a lot to squeeze he
says under absolutely.
415
:That's true.
416
:So he decides that it's funny, so
much more to squeeze, so we will
417
:be reducing religious instruction.
418
:It's about a half an hour, a week, so
we can fit in all this extra stuff.
419
:And I'm not going to go on about religion
and the role of religion in schools.
420
:If there's actually a really
good Latter from David Graham.
421
:And the Irish times, which I,
which is in our, in my Fiddy link.
422
:Where he talks about at what
the impact of that will be.
423
:I eat none.
424
:And in fact, I would argue that
it's cements the road of faith
425
:formation and religious segregation.
426
:In skills for another generation.
427
:But as I said, I don't really
want to go on too much about us.
428
:As I said there.
429
:Carla Brian talks about
the different flashpoints.
430
:He talks about sex education thing.
431
:And in fairness to him, he
does clarify that it really.
432
:Is just puberty.
433
:The folks in foreign languages.
434
:It a weird one.
435
:This one, I think foreign
languages are going to be taught.
436
:By class teachers, whether or not
they speak a foreign language,
437
:which is an interesting one.
438
:I'm going to be brushing up on my stuff.
439
:And my Lithuanian.
440
:And probably is going to try and
learn some Portuguese as well.
441
:I don't know.
442
:Look I'm really unsure about
how this is going to work.
443
:I've been asking people
online about this in Scotland.
444
:Apparently this is.
445
:Fine apparel.
446
:I spoke to a teacher in Scotland.
447
:Who's been teaching Italian for the last
few years, despite not speaking Italian.
448
:And you said to works out.
449
:So look, I'm going to.
450
:Despite being a bit cynical about it.
451
:I am going to obviously find out a
little bit more because I don't actually
452
:know how to teach a foreign language if
you don't speak that foreign language.
453
:I guess if it's happening in
Scotland, it must be possible.
454
:I, and it may be happening
in other countries as well.
455
:I don't know.
456
:So look, that's one change.
457
:The other changes that are happening
to the curriculum, which aren't being
458
:widely reported particularly in this
article or others is technology is
459
:a new subject in the curriculum.
460
:And I have argued for years that I would
not like to see technology as a subject.
461
:I like it as a methodology, but it is
going to be part of the stem as a subject.
462
:Not a lot known about it yet.
463
:So maybe that's why and there will be
consultations on us where we don't know
464
:whether we are going to be teaching
children, computational thinking, which
465
:might be better than teaching them coding.
466
:They're not the same thing.
467
:But I do know that the, the little,
a small news story that happened.
468
:Was it as good as they're all going
to be giving coding kits by something
469
:called tech tips or is it ICD tips?
470
:Sorry.
471
:A project in Trinity college.
472
:So I don't know.
473
:If it's anything to give us a heads
up about, if we're going to be
474
:teaching coding to children, That's
yet another foreign language I'd
475
:suggest that will be expected to teach,
having no knowledge of the subject.
476
:Or have the language ourselves.
477
:Other things coming
into the new curriculum.
478
:I suppose we, it says we've only seven
subjects, but in reality, we're adding
479
:lots of new subjects into the curriculum.
480
:As I said, the wellbeing
thing, which has been.
481
:Which has been reduced down to sex
education, there's a lot more going on in
482
:the wellbeing thing and it's actually a
good, I'm, people would probably accuse
483
:me of being negative all the time.
484
:But actually I think the I don't
like the word wellbeing and.
485
:But for the purposes of the of calling.
486
:Subject something I'll take wellbeing.
487
:I can't think of a better word.
488
:So I suppose I'll dive into that,
but there's some really good stuff.
489
:We're allowing, I suppose what
wellbeing had basically is S P H G,
490
:and that was given half an hour a
week and we were expected to cover.
491
:Everything from internet
safety to sex education.
492
:To substance and abuse prevention.
493
:To staying safe to, anything and
everything that was to do with to
494
:do basically stuff that parents
used to do with their children.
495
:We are now covering in schools.
496
:That's probably a cynical thing
to say because I'm not fair.
497
:I'm sorry for saying that.
498
:I think a lot of the stuff that,
probably could be covered in many
499
:That has been covered in many houses,
maybe not being covered in houses.
500
:I think we do have to do in schools.
501
:So having a lot more time to do that.
502
:Is a good thing.
503
:There's talk of PE being increased the
time for physical education and increased.
504
:I do, I think it's a missed
opportunity, this new curriculum.
505
:I've called it a tweak
rather than a revolution.
506
:And I don't know if people agree with
me on that, but I think there could have
507
:been much there could have been much
braver ways of doing this curriculum.
508
:I said, I promise I wouldn't
talk about the religion.
509
:That was one example where that could
have been very brave, but it isn't.
510
:And it's disappointing.
511
:To see.
512
:That they're just merely allowing
another generation carry on with faith
513
:formation, albeit for half an hour, less
per week or six minutes per day less.
514
:It's disappointment, but look, I
suppose the primary curriculum will
515
:be discussed for the next few years.
516
:As consultations are
ongoing it's curious to me.
517
:Despite all the consultations over
the last number of years, dosh.
518
:Very little has changed
since they've announced it.
519
:It's a shame.
520
:I think if people really listened to
the consultations that were going on,
521
:we'd have a very different curriculum
coming on than the one that was
522
:announced at three or four years ago.
523
:It seems very similar, but
look, I'll be, I'm sure I'll
524
:be returning to that very soon.
525
:You're probably wondering
why I sat at the start.
526
:I wasn't looking through bins.
527
:If you are on the podcast, you're
not going to have the benefit
528
:this but if you're looking on the,
on YouTube, please come along to
529
:YouTube to have a look at this.
530
:I'm going to show you a picture.
531
:Of a principal.
532
:Should I try and look like them.
533
:He's like a younger version of me.
534
:With much cooler glasses actually.
535
:This is a principle in Doncaster.
536
:In England.
537
:He's actually a secondary school as well.
538
:So it definitely is me.
539
:I'm a primary school to our principal,
but a secondary school is monitoring
540
:families, bins, cars on post to crack
down on authorized people's absences.
541
:This is an amazing story from the UK.
542
:Austria academy, Woodfield and
Doncaster in south Yorkshire.
543
:Don Costa is a town outside.
544
:Sheffield's my beloved Sheffield.
545
:And it's checking driveways, boiler flus.
546
:To see if families are actually
home or away on holiday and
547
:the principal David scales.
548
:Is saying they're being conducted at a
safe to concerns for apps and children.
549
:I'm just finding this amazing
what an amazing story.
550
:And I hope we're not going down
this Rouge over here and aren't in
551
:fact, Probably doing the opposite.
552
:We're not taking much care at all.
553
:I think we're on the other
side of the spectrum.
554
:The UK are obsessed with
student absenteeism.
555
:And it's up to the point of finding
parents if they don't send their children
556
:to school in Ireland, whereas where.
557
:I think if you might remember from the
last episode I was told I was on a.
558
:Was it DriveTime?
559
:I think it was on DriveTime
where Sarah McInerney.
560
:I and Cormack.
561
:Oh, I can't remember his surname.
562
:Sorry, Cormack.
563
:We're having a gentle
kind of teasing of me.
564
:Could I parents taking their
children out in the holidays
565
:and should go on it's all right.
566
:Isn't it.
567
:Yeah, we're very much the
opposite end of the spectrum.
568
:I hope we never end up in a situation.
569
:We are searching through the bins
and looking at gas at boilers to make
570
:sure children are coming to school.
571
:On a serious note though, with.
572
:While we don't want to go down to stick.
573
:Of the UK, when it comes to
absenteeism, we do have a chronic
574
:problem with children's absenteeism.
575
:And the reason for that, is that we have
such a shortage of educational welfare
576
:officers, and we really need to get that
back in action so that if children are
577
:missing school for unnecessary reasons,
we do need to be talking not because
578
:the impact of not coming to school.
579
:Obviously is a, is very, is great.
580
:And we do not want to go through a laissez
Faire approach to knock coming to school.
581
:We are not a babysitting service.
582
:I feel a lot of the time I'm asked
to go on the radio is when there's
583
:education stories about babysitting
rather than about education.
584
:And I do think we need to take
education a little bit more seriously.
585
:Now there's my lecture for you.
586
:Anyway, that is really all I
have to talk about this week.
587
:We've hit the 30 minute mark and I've
loved the notes of other stories that have
588
:I hit the news out on my feely channel.
589
:You can have a look at that, but go over
to onshore dot Nash where you'll see
590
:this and lots more articles and mainly
around sat allocations at this time round.
591
:But there's also a few bits on technology.
592
:I've I have a little Siri,
a little article there on
593
:how to make a comic strip.
594
:Using Canva really great tool.
595
:And I've also a few other app.
596
:Our skulls.
597
:That might be of use to you.
598
:So that's it for me from this week.
599
:Thanks so much for watching or listening
at depending where I at what you're doing.
600
:And as I said, please feel free to
subscribe if you enjoy this and please.
601
:Share at this podcast with with
your friends and colleagues as.
602
:And encourage them to subscribe
by going to onshore.net/subscribe.
603
:And I know for me, thanks so
much for listening or watching
604
:all the very best bye-bye.