Anseo.net - If I were the Minister for Education

I've never worked in a Special School so what right have I to say what they need. Luckily I had some help! In this episode I interview Anne Hartnett, principal of St. Paul's Special School in Cork. S…

Based on a super interview by Kieran Cuddihy on Newstalk today, Minister Norma Foley tried to explain why her department removed Banked Hours from children with additional needs. In this episode, I a…

This might not sounds like the most interesting episode in the world but if you ever wondered why it takes so long for your school to fix a leaking roof or to buy your child a laptop, listen in as I …

School caretakers are paid from the ancillary grant, which is given to all schools by the Department of Education each year based on the number of pupils enrolled in the school the previous year. Thi…

For the last couple of years, I’ve been telling you what I would do if I were the Minister for Education but today I am joined by Gary Keogh, who, after many years working in the UK has some advice f…

I haven't done an episode about COVID19 in a long time because I'd just be repeating myself. However, big decisions need to be made and I outline what I think those decisions might be.

Principals are only paid by the DES to manage teachers, not SNAs, not caretakers, not secretaries nor bus escorts or anyone else. In this episode, I’m going to argue that if I were the Minister for E…

Incredibly, it is possible for a teacher to be fired if it can be proved that their religious views undermine the ethos of a school. In this episode I'll be going through why we really need to abolis…

While one could never put the word "honest" in the same sentence as "politician", the concept of spin has never been more rampant. Even the word spin is spin for the word lying! Whether it's adjustme…

How in the name of whatever god you like, does school insurance manage to get wrapped up with the Catholic Church? In this episode, I try to make an episode about school insurance somewhat interestin…

On July 9th 2021, I was subjected to some racist abuse on social media from members of the National Party. In part 2 of this special episode, I continue to talk about the experience and how it paled …

On July 9th 2021, I was subjected to some racist abuse on social media from members of the National Party. In this special 2 part episode, I talk about my experience. Many people asked me what they c…

The final part of this series where I explore  life after COVID19 in schools where I whip through PODs and Bubbles, fridges in staff rooms, principal release days, hand washing, principals being on c…

In this part of this episode, I explore what school will be like after COVID19 and ponder on whether we need schoolbags anymore, how school tours will work in the future and whether we should finally…

In this part of the episode, I'll explore whether we should keep direct email communication with families, virtual assemblies, soft openings and the reasons why we should finally stop sacraments bein…

Fianna Fáil are like that class you can't leave for one minute. The second your back is turned they're off causing mischief. In less than 2 days since recording the first part of this podcast, they w…

In this special look back at 2020-21, I'll examine some of the things we might keep once COVID19 restrictions end. This is part 1 and I'll be offering my thoughts on unexpected visitors, Christmas Co…

In this episode, I explore a number of ways developing schools are screwed over by the Department of Education in terms of money and resources. Funnily enough, the NCSE get a bashing for doing the sa…

The Departmental Strategy Statement (2021-23) was released this week with all sorts of goals for education. Listen to me grumble my way through this document and explode with rage at various points. …

Did you know that up until from 1997 to 2012, there were never more than around 40 circulars produced by the Department of Education in a year? Since 201 5, it's never been less than 80. In this epis…