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Today, Minister for Education Norma Foley TD welcomed the publication of two guides aimed at supporting Gaeltacht schools in reinforcing links between primary schools and early-learning and care settings (naíonraí), and in strengthening partnerships between schools and Gaeltacht communities to promote the use of Irish.
The Guide for Gaeltacht Schools: Partnership with the community to promote the use of Irish is the result of work undertaken by the Department of Education in collaboration with the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, and Údarás na Gaeltachta, with input from An Chomairle Um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta (COGG) and various Irish-language organisations on the Advisory Committee for the Policy on Gaeltacht Education.
Minister Foley said:
“We recognise the importance of local schools within the language-planning process in preserving and promoting the Irish language and culture in the Gaeltacht. This Guide provides practical advice to the leaders of Gaeltacht schools when designing plans to strengthen the partnership between the school and its community to promote the extended use of Irish.
“The guide gives clarity on the roles of the board of management and Gaeltacht language-planning officers in promoting the use of Irish. I am very pleased that practical advice and examples are provided to show how such partnerships can be fostered with the community to promote the use of Irish. Information is also provided on the resources and supports available to Gaeltacht schools in language-planning areas.”
As set out in the Gaeltacht Act 2012, the school's involvement in the language-planning process is very important to influence the increased use of Irish in the local community. The actions of the Policy on Gaeltacht Education to strengthen the quality of education through Irish in Gaeltacht schools, are based on the principle of partnership and co-operation with schools' local communities.
The Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin TD said:
“I am very pleased with this co-operation between the various State departments in advancing these important aspects of the 20 Year Strategy for the Irish Language. This partnership contributes greatly to the achievement of the shared goals of strengthening the use of Irish in the community and throughout the education system.”
The Minister for Children Disability, Equality and Integration, Roderic O’Gorman TD said:
“I welcome this Guide, which will strengthen the links between naíonraí and Gaeltacht primary schools. This development will greatly help the children’s learning progression and their families in the transition process.”
The Government Chief Whip and Minister of State for Gaeltacht Affairs and Sport, Jack Chambers TD said:
"These efforts demonstrate a particular commitment to the Irish language and a shared understanding of the need to strengthen the use of Irish in language-planning areas in the Gaeltacht."
The Guide for Gaeltacht Schools: Partnership with the community to promote the use of Irish can be accessed here: https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/233a7-a-guide-for-gaeltacht-schools-partnership-with-the-community-in-promoting-the-use-of-irish/
The second guide, Strengthening Links between primary schools and early-learning and care settings (naíonraí), is informed by research, commissioned by An Comhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta (COGG) on behalf of the Department of Education. This is an evidence-based guide encompassing the perspectives of principals, teachers, practitioners, parents/guardians and other Gaeltacht support services.
Minister Foley continued:
“This guide also advocates a collaborative approach to promoting the use of Irish with the aim of establishing and strengthening links between Gaeltacht naíonraí and Gaeltacht primary schools.This evidence-based guide provides practical advice to ensure that transition from the naíonra to the primary school is a positive experience for children in the Gaeltacht. It also recognises the crucial role of parents and guardians as primary educators and highlights the need for an integrated and co-operative approach to foster children’s use of Irish inside and outside the classroom”.
The Gaeltacht School Recognition Scheme, as an integral part of the Policy on Gaeltacht Education, was introduced in order to support schools in fulfilling the language-based criteria for immersion education. One of the criteria for schools in the scheme is that useful and mutually-beneficial language and cultural links would be established with their local naíonraí.
The Minister emphasised that naíonraí and primary schools play a central role in promoting and fostering the use of Irish in the local Gaeltacht community and that the links fostered are vitally important to support the language-planning process in their local area.
The Guide for Gaeltacht Primary Schools: Strengthening links between primary schools and early-learning and care settings can be accessed here: https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/15288-guide-for-gaeltacht-primary-schools-strengthening-links-between-primary-schools-and-early-learning-and-care-elc-settings/
ENDS
• The overarching goal of the Policy for Gaeltacht Education 2017-2022 is to ensure that a high quality and relevant educational experience through Irish is available to all young people living in the Gaeltacht areas and, in this way, to support the use of Irish as the main language of Gaeltacht families and communities. This objective is the same as the purpose of the Gaeltacht language-planning process, which has a statutory basis under the Gaeltacht Act 2012.
• Gaeltacht schools’ participation in the language-planning process is particularly important to promote the increased use of the Irish language in the local community, as set out in the Gaeltacht Act 2012.
• Schools located in the Gaeltacht language-planning areas were invited to participte in the Department of Education 's Gaeltacht Schools Recognition Scheme (the Scheme) from 2017. The main goal of the Scheme is to support the immersion education experience in order to strengthen pupils’ Irish-language acquisition and enrichment. Additional resources have been allocated to schools participating in the Scheme to strengthen educational provision through Irish.
• Currently, 80% of Gaeltacht primary schools participate in the Gaeltacht Schools Recognition Scheme. This equates to 105 primary schools serving about 7,418 students.
• 29 Gaeltacht post-primary school, or 100% or post-primary schools in the Gaeltacht are participating in the Gaeltacht Schools Recognition Scheme, and these school are attended by approximately 6,686 students.
• Under the Education Act 1998, the management board of a school is responsible for the preparation, review, implementation and regular updating of a school plan to provide high-quality education for all pupils/students in the school.
• Within the language-planning process, as set out in the Gaeltacht Act 2012, there are twenty-six Language-Planning Areas (LPAs) in the Gaeltacht. Údarás na Gaeltachta is responsible for co-ordinating this process throughout the Gaeltacht under the auspices of the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media (DTCAGSM).
• The language-planning officers, who are employed by the local lead language-planning organisations, funded by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and the Media (DTCAGSM), play a key role in the implementation of the language plan for local Gaeltacht areas.