Education - Primary
Not set out on their website.
Increase the Operations Grant by 10% Increase the ORRS funding to cover 2% of the school population as was originally intended Complete the Staffing Review Group recommendations and then begin a programme of reducing pupil to teacher ratios in years 1-8 Encourage partnerships between high and low-decile schools for their mutual benefit Incorporate environmental education into the core curriculum at all levels and ensure that teacher education and training programmes allocate significant time for environmental education
Employ around 1,300 extra primary teachers in Year 1 classes over the next three years to ensure that by 2008 there are no more than 15 students in a class Carry out further research on the effect of class size on learning outcomes in other junior school years Encourage more assessment in the early years on problem solving and teamwork, in addition to assessment of literacy and numeracy Create stringent entry and exit criteria for teacher trainees, ensuring that only those with the attributes necessary for teaching can get in to training courses Develop a strategy to stop bullying in schools to be implemented in all schools with particular emphasis on primary schools
Set clear national standards in reading, writing, and maths. The standards will describe all the things children should be able to do by a particular age or year at school. Require primary schools to use assessment programmes that compare the progress of their students with other students across the country. Give parents the right to see all assessment information, and get regular reports about their child’s progress.
Reformulate the decile funding component to lift the amounts available to those in decile 3-10 schools Promote a programme of 'values' education in schools Create a co-ordinated system of school support building on the Learning Support Centres Increase resources and funding to revitalise and run the National Anti Bullying Campaign in school Promote a programme of 'values' education in schools
Endorse intentions to drop the teacher/pupil ration for Year 1 Students to 1:15, and recommend that Years 2 & 3 be progressively dropped to 1:22 and Years 4-8 progressively dropped to 1:25 Pilot programmes aimed at increasing parent involvement in the schools literacy programme. Support the regular use of diagnostic pre-testing for literacy and numeracy as the basis for teaching. Encourage more men to join the teaching profession at all levels through scholarships, incentives and bonuses. Expand the provision of training and resources for all teachers working