Concern over mixed-ability secondary classes
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THE Department of Education has questioned how primary patron Educate Together's policy of not segregating pupils of different abilities would be applied in second-level schools.
Educate Together is the fastest-growing school patron in the country. It runs 56 primary schools, and has been pressing for recognition to open post-primary schools as well.
Senior department officials are currently considering whether to approve the multi-denominational body as a post-primary patron. But they are concerned about the impact non-segregation might have on the quality of education.
While 'streaming' pupils into classes of different ability levels is frowned upon in education circles, the 'banding' of pupils into distinct ability groups, for instance to study higher level maths, is common practice.
Educate Together believes that students of mixed abilities should learn together -- using appropriate teacher strategies.
But Department of Education assistant general secretary Frank Wyse told a meeting of the Oireachtas Committee on Education that running a large post-primary school was on a different level of complexity to a primary school.
Frank Murray, executive chairman of the Commission on School Accommodation, said children had different gifts and demands that needed to be fulfilled.
- Katherine Donnelly
Irish Independent
