Motions passed at 2007 AGM

Motion 1: Business Plan
This AGM approves Educate Together’s Three Year Business Plan and commits the sector to working together to achieve its aims. Proposed by the Board of Directors; motion passed.

Motion 2: Business Plan.
That the Educate Together Business Plan is amended to allow school communities to develop Educate Together Secondary Schools in areas where there is no choice at the present moment. Proposed by Navan ETNS. Motion passed.

Motion 3:Second level schools.
The AGM calls on Educate Together to further explore the extension of the unique Educate Together ethos to Second Level Education. Proposed by Donabate Portrane ETNS. Motion passed.

Motion 4:Capitation and funding.
We call on Educate Together to campaign for the capitation grant to be increased to come in line with the second level grant. Proposed by Kilkenny School Project. Motion passed.

Motion 5:Capitation and funding.
Educate Together demands that the capitation grant in Primary schools should be at least on a par with that provided to the second level sector. Proposed by Kilkenny School Project. Motion passed.

Motion 6: Capitation and funding.
ET demands that the Government should provide adequate funding for the employment of ancillary staff (secretarial/caretaking/cleaning) to fully cover the requirements of each individual school, as the present grant is seriously inadequate. Proposed by Kilkenny School Project. Motion passed.

Motion 7: Class size.
We call on ET to campaign for class size to be reduced to a ratio of 24-1 for Sept 2007. Proposed by Mullingar ETNS. The word “ratio” was put to the meeting separately and defeated. The amended motion (without the word “ratio”) was carried.

Motion 8: Class size.
That Educate Together strongly requests that the Department of Education & Science honour its commitment to reducing the maximum class size in primary schools and work actively towards the continued reduction of same. Proposed by Kilkenny School Project. Motion passed.

Motion 9- 11.School size.
It was proposed to vote on Motion 11 first and that motions 9 and 10 would be withdrawn if motion 11 was passed.

Motion 11: The AGM calls on Educate Together to:
As a matter of priority, initiate and bring to conclusion a process, the purpose of which will be to define our unique Ethos as an educational network. Employ this definition as a benchmark in mapping our way forward, including our position on school size. Proposed by Swords ETNS. Motion passed.

Motion 10: School Size
We propose that, to remain in keeping with both the democratic and child centred dimensions of the Educate Together ethos, no Educate Together primary school be larger that double stream. Proposed by Kilkenny School Project. Motion deferred.

Motion 9: The AGM calls on Educate Together to:
Limit the maximum size of all schools, under its patronage, to sixteen-mainstream classroom schools, until such time as the impact of school size on Ethos delivery is determined. Proposed by Swords ETNS. A proposal to defer the motion was defeated as was a proposal to allow further discussion. Only schools under ET patronage were allowed vote on this motion. The motion was passed.

Motion 12: The AGM proposes
That ET invite the Students Councils from ET schools to all Educate Together AGM’s and Forums as observers. That SU representatives from all ET schools attend a meeting while the adult representatives are at their meeting. The SU representatives could discuss matters affecting pupils. Both bodies would come together to listen to each other’s ideas at a later session. Proposed by Griffeen Valley ETNS. The motion was proposed deferred. The deferral was passed.

Motion 13: We call on Educate Together to seek from the Department of Education an increase in language support currently offered to children whose first language is not English from two years to the duration of their time in school. Proposed by Mullingar ETNS. Motion passed.

Motion 14: We call on Educate Together to campaign to increase the number on our boards of management from eight to ten people. Proposed by Mullingar ETNS. The motion was rejected.

Motion 15: We call on Educate Together to campaign that once a school satisfies the enrolment figure for permanent recognition that this recognition is automatically granted. The Department of Education should immediately purchase a site and undertake to build a permanent building within a two-year time frame from the granting of the permanent recognition. Proposed by Mullingar ETNS. Motion passed.