ISSU Annual Assembly 2017

Represent your student council at the Irish Second-Level Students' Union Annual Assembly 2017!

The largest statutory meeting in the ISSU calendar will include national elections to our Student Executive Board, union policy, constitutional amendments, and annual reports.There'll also be a forum for debate and discussion around student councils in and student rights in Ireland, as well as student representation and political influence.

Register here: https://form.jotform.com/70442876018963

 

Meet Our Officers: Cárthach Ó Faoláin, Deputy President

 My name is Cárthach Ó Faoláin and I currently hold the position ofDeputy President in the Union. I come from the Rinn Ó gCuanachGaeltacht village in Co. Waterford where I attended both primary andsecondary schools; Scoil Náisiúnta na Rinne and Meánscoil San Nioclás.I recently moved to Cork City to study Law & Irish in UniversityCollege Cork.Previous to being elected last Spring, I had been active and remain tobe active in the Youth Empowerment/Youth Work scene locally andnationally. From the beginning of my secondary education I was amember of 'Waterford County (later a joint Waterford group) Comhairlena nÓg' where I sat on the National Executive (alongside our PresidentJane as it happens, who represented Cork County). Following my termending in Comhairle na nÓg I was invited to join the working group,the National Implementation team for Structured Dialogue in Ireland-'Young Voices' by a former Nat. Exec. facilitator. Here we work onimplementing EU youth policy in Ireland.Young Voices provided me with many opportunities to gain experienceand represent young people, such as speaking at many events aroundIreland, and most excitingly, I was selected to be one of three IrishYouth Delegates at the 2016 EU Youth Conference in Amsterdam,Netherlands last April, and will represent Irish young people again inKosice in Slovakia in October.Educational interests include Culture, Language, Education Reform andHealthy lifestyle and I hope to work on these themes during my term asDeputy President.

Meet Our Officers: Rob O'Donnell, Honorary President

 Hi my name is Rob O'Donnell.I'm a second year Engineering with Management Student in Trinity College Dublin. I was also a student of the Abbey School, Tipperary. I'm from County Limerick originally. I was elected in 6th year and is on his second year of his term. I also previously held the roles of International Officer and Secretary, and now sit as the Honorary President with the Irish Second-Level Students' Union.

Meet Our Officers: Jane Hayes Nally, President

 My name is Jane M Hayes-Nally, and I am a fifth year student from Loughaderra in County Cork. I was elected president of the Irish Second-Level Student Union last April, after my term as Education Officer during 2015/16. My love and motivation towards the Union has grown with every day I serve on the National Student Executive. I believe that with every student who discovers the work and aims of the union, the closer we become to realising our voices as students and advocating the changes that Irish students want.As president, you are given much responsibility and therefore much is expected from you. I try to motivate the people who I work with and the students I meet, in the hope that they will share my determination and passion for our cause. There are many things I look forward to working on this term, from student events to our Board of Management project, and I am delighted to be working alongside the most fantastic people. I hope by the end of the year, I will be proud of the work we have achieved. 

Check out Jane's speech from the #EducationIs demo.

A cháirde,My name is Jane Hayes Nally.I am a 17 Year old student in St Mary's High School. I am in 5th year at the minute and I am also the president of the Irish Second-Level Students’ Union. We represent the second-level students in Ireland and we believe in an education system without barriers. I want to study science when I finish school. I want to go to college and I want to make my contribution to the social, cultural and economic growth of the Irish society. I want a future. I want the chance to stay in Ireland and to study in Ireland. I, and many of my fellow students are marching on this day because we need to be heard. We are telling this country that we need publicly funded education in order for us to have this opportunity. We need publicly funded education so that we get a chance to study, to better ourselves and to become qualified. But we are not alone however and we are not just students marching here today. We are among our parents, our teachers and our future lecturers. We are with members of national unions, organisations and charities. We are among people that believe in the same right to education as we do. Education Is: A human right and education is my right.Education Is: My opportunity to create, to succeed, to achieve.Education is the essential exchange of information from teacher to classroom, lecturer to laboratory, author to readership, and speaker to the world.Education Is the remembrance of history to prevent its disasters repeating itself. It's is the comprehension of science in order to react with our environment peacefully, and to further discover our universe.Education Is the art of the world’s languages, the successful communication between two people, and the appreciation of the way words can change the world.Education Is the promotion of mathematics and logic, the engine behind advancements in technology and computers, and the reason why we are edging closer to a world where 6.8 billion people could all be connected online.Education Is debate, discussion, dispute. It is an opportunity to open one’s mind, to consider ideas you could not have imagined.There is no justification for a scheme which will limit the access of Irish people to education. There is no justification for burdening our students with debts when we are in a position to fund these opportunities, just like the Cassells report deemed viable. Let us not make education exclusive to the students who can afford to fund it privately, and forcing those who must take out loans to pay more for education, | as will happen when loan payments and interest are combined. Let us not deplete the number of mature and part-time students who study in our colleges, as has been experienced in Australia and the UK. Let us open education up to all, make it equal, inclusive, and accessible.And Today we're saying: Listen US!And listen loud and clear, because we’re saying No to student debt.No to an unsustainable loan scheme.We are saying No to an unequal education system.We are saying No to limiting access to education.We are saying NO to denying me MY future! To depriving me of the opportunity to enter third level education. ME and many of my fellow students.It comes down to a choice.We have a choice in what kind of Ireland will exist in the future.By improving Irish education today, we can improve the Ireland of tomorrow.End.

This week the government launched the Action Plan for Education aimed at making the Irish education and training service the best in Europe by 2026.

The Irish Second-Level Students’ Union has reviewed the strategy and welcome actions that will have a positive impact for our members. In particular the aims to strengthen the role of the student, enhance the TY Programme, the introduction of the Wellbeing Programme for Junior Cycle and Wellbeing Guidelines for schools, reduction of hidden costs, increasing the school-leaving age, introduction of new Leaving Certificate subjects, fairness in admission policies and the enhancement of guidance counsellors.Click here to read the full document.Strengthening the Role of the StudentThe ISSU welcomes the actions that will strengthen the role of students as partners in their education. Student voice can play a hugely important role in the school community and young people are fully capable of articulating their views and providing knowledgeable insights into the world of education from a student’s perspective. The ISSU also welcome aims to develop an education ombudsman and introduce a stronger complaints procedure and charter for parents and learners. We would welcome the opportunity for further consultation with the DES and with our colleagues in the National Parents’ Council post-primary to develop this charter.

“Strengthen the role of parents and students and provide greater school choice Parents and students are key stakeholders in the teaching and learning process. We will develop a Parents and Learners Charter to give parents and students a stronger voice at school level.”“Strengthen the role of parents and students, and deliver progress in providing greater school choice.”“Introduce a stronger complaints procedure and charter for parents and learners; Bring the heads of bill to provide for a parents and learners charter to the Oireachtas Committee on Education. The proposed legislation will take account of developments in relation to an education ombudsman”.

  Enhancement of the TY ProgrammeIn our submission to the strategy, the ISSU stated that we support the enhancement of the Transition Year programme and the proposed increase of programs in industry and in colleges for Transition Year students.

“We will evaluate transition supports available to young people at all levels of the education, with a view to promoting initiatives which support young people at critical points in their lives. Transition Year, in particular, will be used to prepare young people with key skills before they make the transition to higher education or work. We will work with industry and colleges to open up new opportunities and programmes in transition year.”

 Wellbeing Programme for Junior Cycle and Wellbeing Guidelines for SchoolsThe ISSU welcomes the introduction of the Wellbeing Programme to the Junior Cycle and the aims outlined in the strategy to improve services and resources to promote wellbeing in our schools. We hope that measures are taken to ensure that the wellbeing guidelines are implemented in all schools and that schools are provided with the resources to do so, as committed in the strategy.  

“Improve services and resources to promote wellbeing in our school communities to support success in school and life.Schools will be assisted in embedding wellbeing guidelines. A mandatory area of learning entitled Wellbeing will be introduced in Junior Cycle in 2017. The National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) will be expanded.”“Commence and roll out, as resources permit, a national programme to support the implementation of wellbeing guidelines to all primary and post-primary schools. The guidelines will provide a clear and rational structure to support the promotion of positive mental health and wellbeing in all schools.Wellbeing programmes will be available to all students.”

 Reduce Hidden CostsIn the ISSU’s submission to the strategy, we expressed concern with the hidden costs of second-level education, such as the extravagant and disproportionate costs of school books and uniforms. We welcome the new circular regarding school uniform policy and other costs, stating the need to reduce the cost and increase financial support for book rental schemes.

“We will issue a new circular to school authorities and ETBs regarding school uniform policy and other costs and the need to put a greater emphasis on reducing the cost of school uniforms and other costs. The views of the National Parent Councils and other education partners will be considered and will feed into the development of the circular.”“Increasing the financial support for book rental schemes, as resources permit, in order to reduce/eliminate school book costs for parents.”  

 School Leaving AgeThe ISSU welcomes the increasing of the mandatory school-leaving age to 17 as well as the proposals for extra educational programs aimed at improving school completion rates in disadvantaged areas. The ISSU believes that equality of opportunity in the education system must be realised for all second-level students and so additional supports such as those outlined in the strategy must be delivered in order to achieve this equality.

“14.1.8 The new Government will seek to increase mandatory schooling to age 17 and examine how we can further improve school completion rates, particularly in disadvantaged areas.”

 Increasing Leaving Cert ChoiceThe Leaving Certificate is increasingly becoming a more unjust assessment method for disadvantaged students who, in contrast to wealthier, more supported students, do not have access to “grinds schools” who charge high fees in exchange for completely exam driven lessons with high quality teachers, and also to ‘grinds’ themselves, lessons outside of school to aid a student’s understanding and knowledge of a subject. Irrespective of how hard disadvantaged students work, the student who can afford these resources is more likely to achieve higher results.To quote the students who attended an event held by the ISSU in the past few months, it is “completely unjust that one student could score higher than the other purely because one had money to fund private lessons”. The Leaving Certificate is a system which is neither fair nor equal, and we see it becoming more of a business and more as an opportunity for capital each year, which puts vulnerable students at even more of a disadvantage.

“A new grading system and common points scheme will be implemented from 2017 as part of improvements to the transition from second level to higher education.”“Increasing subject choice for students is important for student motivation and engagement and for ensuring curriculum development continues to respond to the changing needs of learners, society and the economy”

 New Leaving Certificate SubjectsThe Irish Second-level Students’ Union believes that the introduction of subjects such as the arts, Politics and Society, entrepreneurial education, mental health and the new Leaving Certificate subject of P.E. are very positive changes and we support these subjects. We are concerned however that they may be poorly implemented in certain schools and that implementation will be dependent on school resourcing, the support of the school management and the interest and motivation of teachers. This may mean that students in certain schools miss out, as their students may be under resourced or their parents may not be able to fund additional costs associated with certain modules and subjects.

“The introduction of a new Leaving Certificate P.E. syllabus, as a full optional subject.”“It is both significant and appropriate that a new Leaving Certificate Politics and Society syllabus will commence roll-out this Autumn in the centenary year of the Easter Rising”

 Fairness in Admission PoliciesThe Irish Second-level Students’ Union welcomes the transfer of some Catholic Schools to new patrons and the School Admissions and Excellence Legislation which will should ensure that there is fairness in admission policies for second-level schools. However, we believe that the legislation should be amended to completely prevent schools from discriminating against certain students on the basis of religion. The ISSU believes that admission to school should be based on proximity and there should be no discrimination in admission policies.

“The principles laid out in the equal status (admission to schools) bill 2016, but believe there are issues that require scrutiny, as laid out in the motion proposed by the government and passed by the Dáil. these include possible impacts on minority religions, the issue of mandatory catchment areas, impact on school transport, and issues of competing rights and the constitution. We will consider proposals on this issue following consideration by the Oireachtas committee.“

 Enhancement of Guidance CounsellorsWe would request that the Department put in place a structured plan and a detailed strategy on how the level of guidance counsellors will be increased and how guidance counsellors should be further trained to equip them with the skills to adequately provide mental health, emotional and wellbeing supports to students. All guidance counsellors should have suitable training and / or qualifications to fulfil their role and guidance must be included in Whole School Evaluations. We believe career guidance counselling is an imperative part of second-level education, due to restrictive subject choices and third level admission policies and believe that it is increasingly clear that adequate mental health and emotional supports are required for all young people and that these should be provided in schools through increased access to quality guidance counselling. The ISSU believes that this should be a priority in the Strategy for Education.

“We will enhance guidance counselling at second level, as resources allow.” “Increasing the take up of Mental Health Programmes, strengthening guidance counselling and strengthening NEPS with a new focus on whole-school policies.”

  End.