Intouch March 2019
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IssueNo185 March2019 ISSN1393-4813(Print) ISSN2009-6887(Online) School Tour Special Pay equality in the European Court Brexit concerns brought to Brussels Keeping InTouch 3 Interactive dialogue with members, and key news items 4 #NoMorePlasticPaddy Welcome to the March edition of InTouch Magazine and on enhancing social and communication skills of students our annual ‘School Tour Special’ featuring lots of terrific on the autistic spectrum. ideas for your forthcoming school tours. Brexit is on the front pages of all national newspapers Stories are incredibly powerful. With World Book Day most days at the moment. Our own members, some of on the horizon (7 March), we are proud to include a series whom cross the border to work each day have been in touch of age appropriate LGBT+ friendly books which introduce to raise their concerns on mutual recognition, pensions, diverse characters and family types. health insurance and so on. Our President, Joe Killeen and is St Patricks Day (17 March) INTO will be doing Northern Ireland Chair, Paddy McAllister, led a delegation something very special. Our Global Solidarity Campaign to Brussels last month to raise these concerns with key is asking all primary schools in Ireland to ditch single decision makers there. You can read more about the use plastics, a key component of the UN sustainable delegation in the magazine. development goals. Read more about our In just about six weeks’ time we will be gathering in #NoMorePlasticPaddy campaign inside. Galway for our Annual Congress. Delegates representing In a few days our Special Education Conference will take branches all over the country will be in attendance to decide place on 9 March. is timely gathering will focus on INTO policy on a range of topics. inclusion – the continuum of support. is month’s magazine features an outstanding article by autism experts InTouchGeneralEditor: Sheila Nunan Correspondenceto: The Editor, InTouch , InTouch is published by the Irish National those of the individual authors and are not Except where the Irish National Teachers’ Editor: David Geary INTO Head Office, Vere Foster House, Teachers’ Organisation and distributed to necessarily endorsed by the INTO. Organisation has formally negotiated AssistantEditor: Síne Friel 35 Parnell Square, Dublin 1 members and educational institutions. While every care has been taken to ensure agreements as part of its services to members , EditorialAssistants: Karen Francis, Yvonne Tel: 01 804 7700 / LoCall: 1850 708 708 InTouch is the most widely circulated that the information contained in this inclusion of an advertisement does not imply Kenny, Aida González Email: [email protected] education magazine in Ireland. Articles publication is up to date and correct, no any form of recommendation. While every Advertising: Mary Bird Smyth, Karen Francis Website: www.into.ie/m.into.ie published in InTouch are also available on our responsibility will be taken by the Irish effort is made to ensure the reliability of Design: David Cooke If you no longer wish to receive InTouch website www.into.ie National Teachers’ Organisation for any error advertisers, the INTO cannot accept liability Photography: Moya Nolan, Shutterstock please contact [email protected]. The views expressed in this journal are which might occur. for the quality of goods and services offered. INTOUCH 3 MarCH 2019 CONTENTS 25 Retirements Retirement functions around the branches 26 InFocus InTouch profiles the Conditions of Employment team 27 Teachers’ Musical Society TMS stage Evita 29 Incredible Edibles An Post/INTO Scéal Eile competition 30 Forbairt leadership programme Mellon Educate Mellon Educate are looking for volunteers to join their Teaching Blitz 41 Cumann na mBunscol 31 sChool Tour sPECial 37 Staying safe on farms 31 Alma Jordan shares advice for your school trip to the farm. KEEPing inTouCh Primary pupils hold 38 School tour tips demonstration for climate action 3 Editorial Top tips to make the most of your school tour #NoMorePlasticPaddy 7 Connect with INTO nEwsdEsK 10 Things you should know 21 Child protection and lifE safeguarding inspections 43 Travel Re-vetting of teachers inTo nEws Ciara McNally shares the must-see Vere Foster medal winners attractions of Abu Dhabi ) 9 Brexit concerns raised in 45 Recipes Brussels 23 School libraries survey School milk jingle winners Pancakes with a difference Consultation on School and traditional Irish scones Completion Programme Dolly Parton shares books in 23 Tallaght 10 European Court of Justice case Payment of substitute teachers 13 Vere Foster collection A collection of Vere Foster memorabilia has gone on display in INTO Head Office Long-serving officers in District 6 honoured 14 Reproductive health survey INTO summer learning programme 15 Special education conference Minister visits District 3 17 INTO 150 events 19 Benefits Discover benefits available to members with their Membership Plus card 20 Global citizenship schools #NoMorePlasticPaddy campaign INTOUCH 4 MarCH 2019 March 2019 27 62 Comhar Linn lComhar Linn Crossword l December Prize winners 63 Scoilnet Panel finishing TouChEs 61 Noticeboard Upcoming events 55 43 TEaChing MaTTErs 47 Maps in the Classroom 58 Irish resources Using Ordnance Survey Ireland maps to COGG share lesson ideas for two Michael enhance the geography curriculum Morpurgo books available as Gaeilge 48 Enhancing social and 59 Reviews communication skills of pupils on the autism spectrum Research-based guidance 51 Art and mindfulness Sample lessons from online course 53 53 Under the Howthorn Tree Helen Hallissey shares drama ideas based on the best-selling book 54 LGBT+ inclusive books for World Book Day The INTO LGBT+ Teachers Group share their top books for different age groups. 57 Celebrating Lady Nelson Michelle O’Connor looks the first female owner of a Grand National winner. 51 INTOUCH 5 MarCH 2019 Keepingintouch Stay informed Social media E-Newsletter Follow the INTO on Facebook and INTO’s weekly e-newsletter with Twitter for all the latest news and important union news and education updates. updates for members. Subscribe to l Facebook: facebook.com/intonews the INTO enewsletter at l Twitter: @intonews into.newsweaver.ie Subsearch INTO SubSearch is designed to help Subsearch mobile is teachers find substitute work and to help now available principals find substitutes. for your Schools and substitutes register on smartphone. subsearch.into.ie – substitutes can register their availability on the site while principals can search for registered substitutes in their area by date or location. Video tutorials and FAQs on how to use SubSearch are available on the website. things you should know Brexit concerns raised in School tour ideas. INTO Learning summer 1Brussels. Page 9 5From page 31 8programme. Page 14 Latest on substitute Teachers’ Musical Social and 2pay issues. Page 10 6 Society are staging 9communication skills #NoMorePlasticPaddy Evita. Page 27 for pupils with ASDs. 3campaign. Page 20 LGBT+ inclusive books Page 48 INTO at European 7for World Book Day. INTO/AnPost Scéal 4Court on pay equality. Page 54 10 Eile competition. Page 10 Page 29 INTOUCH 7 MarCH 2019 INTO News 1 e Irish National Teachers’ Organisation … who’s who, what’s new, and what’s happening 2 Members raise Brexit concerns On 20 February 2019, the INTO President, depart the EU without a deal. for staffing these positions, it’s imperative Joe Killeen and the INTO Northern Ireland that additional barriers not be created Chair, Paddy McAllister, met with senior Crossing the border which will only affect schools’ ability to parliamentarians and stakeholders in INTO is aware of teachers who cross the provide quality teachers day in, day out. Brussels to raise members’ concerns on a border every day to take up teaching roles no-deal Brexit. Among the concerns they in both the Republic or Ireland and INTO’s response raised were: Northern Ireland. In a recent freedom of INTO President, Joe Killeen said, “With the information request to the General increasingly haphazard approach being Mutual recognition of professional Teaching Council for Northern Ireland taken to Brexit by the UK Government, qualifications (GTCNI), the INTO discovered that their and the very real possibility that the UK Currently, a teacher who has obtained current list contains members who list their might depart the EU without a deal, our qualified teacher status in an European address as being in the Republic of Ireland. members deserve guarantees that their Union (EU) member state in compliance jobs will be protected. Whether training in with EU Directives is eligible to be Supply crisis one jurisdiction and working in another, registered in another member state Schools in both the Republic of Ireland and or commuting across the border daily, we subject to certain conditions. It remains to Northern Ireland continue to notify the are concerned that teachers are being be seen how this mutual recognition will INTO of their ongoing struggle to secure overlooked. Today in Brussels, we have be facilitated should the United Kingdom substitute teachers. At such a critical time taken our concerns to senior decision makers and MEPs.” DavidGeary,INTOHead The INTOs Northern Ireland Chair, ofCommunications; Paddy McAllister said, “As a trade union EmerDeane,BrexitLead that operates across the island of Ireland, StafferatthePermanent we are concerned that a no-deal Brexit Representationof would leave some of our members IrelandtotheEU,Paddy without protection. Those members McAllister,INTO crossing the border each day to teach in NorthernIrelandChair, schools in both jurisdictions, play a critical JoeKilleen,INTO role in our society and deserve clarity on President their roles. In meetings with senior voices in Brussels today we have demanded that teachers receive this clarity from both the UK and Dublin governments.” school Completion Programme TheINTOrecentlymetwithprincipals andschoolrepresentativestoexplore theexperiencesofschoolsinrelation totheSchoolCompletionProgramme.