Department of Education inspectors are being sent into a Co Kerry Gaelscoil following complaints from parents that very young children were being denied lessons in English, writes Seán Flynn, Education Editor
Gaelscoil Mhic Easmuinn in Tralee is at the centre of the inquiry which will examine complaints from some parents that no lessons in English were being given to children in junior and senior infants.
Last night the department said the outcome of the inquiry "will be considered alongside the complaints received by the department about the school".
Yesterday school principal Máire Mhic Giolla Rua declined to comment pending the outcome of a board of management meeting and a parents' council meeting, due to be held shortly.
The department's decision to send in an inspection team was criticised last night by INTO general secretary John Carr. He said it would have been better to await a review of language policy in the Gaelscoileanna before making this move.
In a statement to The Irish Times, the Department of Education said: "There has been protracted correspondence between the department and the board of management of Gaelscoil Mhic Easmuinn in an effort to establish precisely the school's policies in relation to the teaching of English and Irish and the implementation of these policies at various levels in the school. While the board has provided clarifications to the department's queries, further information is required."
It added: "Accordingly, a team of inspectors will conduct an inspection in the school in the very near future and will establish on a first-hand basis the full extent of the language policies being implemented. The outcome of this inspection will be considered alongside the complaints received by the department about the school."
It is unclear whether Gaelscoileanna are entitled to opt out of providing tuition in English. Under the revised primary school curriculum, schools are obliged to provide English-language tuition. However, some Gaelscoileanna take the view that they are also entitled to provide total immersion in Irish.
The National Council of Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA), which advises Minister for Education Mary Hanafin, is preparing a report on language immersion and literacy in Irish schools. At issue is whether children should learn to read in their first or second language.
Mr Carr said sending inspectors into the school was unacceptable. The department should await the NCCA report "because this is a national issue, not a single-school issue. Pending the NCCA report, schools should be allowed to continue with current policies regarding language teaching," he said.