The following are recent Department of Education school inspection reports. The reports can be read on the department’s website – click on month published and then on the ‘PDF’ link for the school report you wish to view.

These are the schools in Dublin which were evaluated, and what subjects were looked at. WSE = whole-school evaluations. Sorted by date published and type of school:

National Primary Schools

Gaelscoil Uí Earcáin, Fionnghlas, Baile Átha Cliath 11 – WSE
St Joseph’s BNS, Terenure, Dublin 16 – WSE
John Scottus NS, Northumberland Road, Dublin 4 – WSE

Post-Primary Schools and Centres for Education

Loreto Abbey Secondary School, Dalkey – PE
Assumption Secondary School, Walkinstown, Dublin 12 – History
St Laurence College, Loughlinstown – TY
Synge Street CBS, Dublin 8 – Science & Biology

Published December 2010

National Primary Schools

Scoil San Treasa, Mount Merrion – WSE
Scoil Treasa, Firhouse, Dublin 24 – WSE
St Joseph’s School for Deaf Boys, Navan Rd, Dublin 7 – WSE
St.Mary’s School for Deaf Girls, Navan Rd, Dublin 7 – WSE

Post-Primary Schools and Centres for Education

Fingal Community College, Swords – MTWCS
Ardscoil La Salle, Raheny, Dublin 5 – Religious Education
Balbriggan Community College, Balbriggan – Music
St Declan’s College, Nephin Road, Dublin 7 – Art
Manor House School, Raheny, Dublin 5 – Music
Dominican College, Griffith Avenue, Dublin 9 – English
Loreto Secondary School, Balbriggan – Science & Biology
Riversdale Community College, Blanchardstown Road North, Dublin 15 – Science & Biology
Plunket College, Swords Road, Whitehall, Dublin 9 – Science & Biology
Belvedere College S.J., Great Denmark Street, Dublin 1 – Art
St Fintan’s High School, Sutton, Dublin 13 – SPHE
Maryfield College, Drumcondra, Dublin 9 – Gaeilge, Irish(t)
St Aidan’s Christian Brothers’ School, Whitehall, Dublin 9 – Geography
St Finian’s Community College, Swords – Music
Mercy Secondary School, Inchicore – History
Christian Brothers College, Monkstown – English
Gonzaga College, Dublin 6 – PE
Sancta Maria College, Rathfarnham, Dublin 16 – Business Studies
Saint Benildus College, Stillorgan – History
Newpark Comprehensive School, Blackrock - WSE, French, Gaeilge, Irish(t), Mathematics, Metalwork & Engineering
Presentation College Terenure, Dublin 6W – LCVP
Holy Child Community School, Sallynoggin – French
Rockbrook Park School, Rathfarnham, Dublin 16 – French
Loreto College, St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2 – History
Deansrath Community College, Clondalkin, Dublin 22 – History

Published November 2010

National Primary Schools

Our Lady of Mercy Convent School, Booterstown – WSE
St Pius X Boys’ National School, Terenure, Dublin 6W – WSE
Kilternan Church of Ireland National School, Kilternan – WSE
Saint Catherine’s Infant School, Cabra, Dublin 7 – WSE
St Brendan’s Boys’ National School, Artane, Dublin 5 – WSE
Drumcondra National School, Drumcondra, Dublin 9 – WSE
St Catherine’s Senior National School, Ratoath Road, Cabra, Dublin 7 – WSE
St Kevin’s Junior National School, Donaghmede, Dublin 13 – WSE
St Mary’s National School, Windsor Avenue, Fairview, Dublin 3 – WSE

Post-Primary Schools and Centres for Education

Jobstown Community College, Tallaght, Dublin 24 - History
Mount Sackville Secondary School, Chapelizod, Dublin 20 - Science & Biology
St Kevin’s Community School, Clondalkin, Dublin 22 – History
Moyle Park College, Clondalkin, Dublin 22 – Mathematics
Coláiste na hÍde, Tallaght, Dublin 24 - Stair, History (t)
Tallaght Community School, Tallaght, Dublin 24 – Mathematics
St Michael’s College, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 – Spanish
St Columba’s College, Whitechurch, Dublin 16 – Science & Biology
Clonkeen College, Blackrock – TY
Ringsend Technical Institute, Dublin 4 – Metalwork & Engineering
Jesus and Mary College, Goatstown Road, Dublin 14 – WSE, TY, History, Mathematics
St Joseph Of Cluny, Killiney, Co Dublin - Music
St Andrew’s College, Blackrock, Co Dublin – PE
Mount Anville Secondary School, Dundrum, Dublin 16 – Classical Studies
Ballinteer Community School, Dublin 16 - English
Caritas College, Ballyfermot, Dublin 10 - French
St Laurences’ College, Loughlinstown, Dublin 18 - French
Meánscoil Iognáid Rís, Drimnagh, Dublin 12 – Technical, Graphics & Design & Communication, Graphics
St Conleth’s College, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 – CSPE
St Colmcille’s Community School, Knocklyon, Dublin 16 – Business Studies
Ballinteer Community School, Dublin 16 - Science & Physics
Pearse College, Crumlin, Dublin 12 – English
St.Tiernan’s Community School, Dublin 16 – Science & Biology
John Scottus Secondary School, Donnybrook, Dublin 4 – Science & Biology
CBS Westland Row, Dublin 2 – Science & Biology
Mount Anville Secondary School, Dundrum, Dublin 16 – Science & Physics
Terenure College, Terenure, Dublin 6W – PE
Rockford Manor Secondary School, Blackrock – English
Mount Temple Comprehensive School, Malahide Road, Dublin 3 – WSE, English, Guidance, Music, Science/Biology
Patrician College, Finglas, Dublin 11 – Gaeilge, Irish (t)
St David’s C.B.S., Artane, Dublin 5 – SEN
St Joseph’s C.B.S., Fairview, Dublin 3 - SEN
St Aidan’s C.B.S., Collins Avenue, Whitehall, Dublin 9 – MTWCS
Pobalscoil Neasáin, Baldoyle, Dublin 13 – TGDCG
Loreto College, Swords – RE in Junior Cycle
St Paul’s C.B.S., North Brunswick Street, Dublin 7 – RE in Junior Cycle
Portmarnock Community School, Portmarnock – English
St Paul’s College, Raheny, Dublin 5 – RE in Junior Cycle
Mater Christi Secondary School, Cappagh, Finglas, Dublin 11 – Science & Biology

The no 7 bus route is included in a new list of changes.

Dublin Bus has listed a route it cut without public consultation or notice as an improvement.

The number 4 and 4a bus routes were merged with an overall frequency cut of 30% on weekdays and 66% on Sundays. Capacity on buses was also reduced as the route’s long ‘bendy’ buses were replaced with lower capacity double-deckers.

Dublin Bus did not respond to a request for comment to explain why this route was included under the header ‘improvements’ on dublinbus.ie, or why a route already changed is included in a new phase of the cost cutting .

The bus company is continuing with its cost cutting and bus rerouting programme, and it has recently uploaded its latest planned changes on to its website.

Dublinbus.ie says “Dublin Bus is pleased to announce proposals for services in Sandymount and on the Merrion Road QBC as part of Network Direct. These service changes cover the following existing routes” and lists the following: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 7a, 7b, 7d, 8, 45, 45a, 59, and 111.

It also says that changes to buses serving the Howth Road / Portmarnock includes the routes 29a, 31, 31b, 32, 32a, 32b, and 32x.

Although, because the company is unwilling to comment, it is unclear why its website says routes already changed are includes in a new phase of changes.

MORE: Merrion Road QBC changes on dublinbus.ie
MORE: Howth Road / Portmarnock changes on dublinbus.ie

Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council had relayed a coastal flood risk warning from Dublin City Council on Thursday evening, but it changed the threat warning at 5pm this evening.

Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown council now says the “current highest predicted tide level does not pose a threat in the Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown coastal region.”

Meanwhile, Dublin City Council still has its warning in place, unchanged since this morning.

Councillor Barry Ward, who sits on Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, said he was concerned over conflicting flood warning and the confusion this could lead to.

“Given that the long-promised flood prevention measures in Blackrock and Stillorgan still haven’t started, these warnings understandably alarmed hundreds of residents in Blackrock and Stillorgan living next to the Carysfort-Maretimo Stream. It now seems that the Council need not have frightened them,” said Ward.

He added: “I have now received assurances from the council that there is not a flood risk in these areas, but until the Carysfort-Maretimo flood prevention project is completed, local residents who have been flooded on numerous occasions and can no longer insure their homes, will worry every time they hear a local flood warning.”

Ward accused Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council sitting on its hands on flood prevention, saying: “This scheme has been promised for years: the plans are complete, the departmental funding has been identified; everyone knows what has to happen.”

He said tenders were submitted for the project in January, funding was applied for on the September 8 and, since November 1, he says, the Department of the Environment is now recommending revising the tender.

“The affected residents cannot wait any longer. DLR must act now to ensure that these people do not have to endure another winter wondering when they will be flooded. Councillors have been kept out of the loop to the extent that we have to hound officials for basic information or progress updates,” stated Ward.

A contra-flow cycle lane on Newtown Avenue, Blackrock, is being proposed by Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council.

The council said: “If a contra flow cycle track is provided along Newtown Avenue it will provide a link that will allow cyclists to travel from the Booterstown area all the way to Seapoint Avenue (and on to Dún Laoghaire) without having to negotiate heavily trafficked streets such as Frascati Road and the Rock Road. This will help to encourage less confident cyclists to choose cycling as a transport mode.”

The council says the project to provide a 2 meter wide cycle lane needs the removal of 18 parking spaces. It says this will have little impact on parking in the area. It adds that there are currently low levels of parking and around 126 spaces on the affected section of road.

The plans are available online and at up until November 12 at the County Hall in Dun Laoghaire and at the Blackrock Library. Closing date for submissions is Friday November 26, 2010.
View Proposed contra-flow cycle lane, Newtown Avenue, Blackrock in a larger map

Dublin Bus has slashed services on what was seen as one of its top routes.

Route 4 has 36% fewer buses per week compared to the old 4 and 4a bus routes which were merged two weeks ago.

Updated bus stop timetables were also only put in place after the cuts were implemented leaving passengers at stops with incorrect or no information. Notice of the changes was posted on Dublinbus.ie a week before the change.

On weekdays there are now 58 fewer bus journeys per day, a 30% drop. On Saturdays, 66 bus journeys were cut leaving 62 buses per day. The reductions was most severe on the Sunday timetable where a cut of 66% was made leaving just 17 services southbound and 16 northbound for the day.

Dublin Bus said the changes are an “overall minor frequency adjustment,” but a spokeswoman did not respond to questions on the exact changes.

Route 4 serves areas from the Northside of the city to the Southside, including: Ballymun, Glasnevin, Phibsboro, the City Centre, Ballsbridge, Sandymount, Blackrock, and Monkstown.

The changes are part of the Dublin Bus Network Direct project to streamline bus services. Public consultation for the no 4 bus route only covered extending the route – the merger and frequency reductions again were not revealed.

The semi-State company claimed that the changes were advertised in national newspaper advertisements. However, while other route mergers were mentioned, the advertisements did not make any reference to merging the 4 and 4/a routes or the timetable cuts.

Adding to confusion of users, timetables were first only changed online. Timetables at some bus stops were left unchanged or blank for up to a week after the cuts leaving commuters waiting at stops for buses that were not due to arrive.

Last week, over a week after the changes were made, Dublin Bus defended the lack of information at bus stops.

The company said: “This is a process obviously, that can take a number of days but since last week all of our on-street information on the Northside of the city relating to Route 4 has been updated, the city centre information is updated and almost all of the on-street information on the Southside of the city is complete.”

The National Transport Authority, which approved the changes, said Dublin Bus is only required to provide correct and up-to-date timetables on at least 95% of bus stop. But beyond what is strictly required, the authority said it has raised the issue of lack of up-to-date timetables at stops with Dublin Bus.

CUTS BY NUMBERS

Dun Laoghaire

Prices are to rise at Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council’s off-street car parks from next month.

The council says in order to meet the European Commission’s requirement that 21% Vat be charged on council services it will increase the charges for off-street car parks, while on-street parking will be kept at the current price.

Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council says it expects to make the increases during September.

Where the current charge is €3 per day, 60 cent is to be added, or with a current charge of €5, €1 will be added. Per hour parking will be increased from €1 to €1.20 per hour. A full list of changes can be found at dlrcoco.ie.

Projects which were granted funding include a Shankill Village Christmas Festival, Christmas lights and festival in Dunlaoghaire, a street festival in Blackrock, and the creation of a garden area for outdoor community activities in Dundrum.

Marketing pushes which are to receive funding include: marketing Dun Laoghaire Harbour and the town to cruise operators, and a campaign aimed at changing the image of Sandyford Industrial Estate to a business district.

Last night’s Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council meeting revealed the successful applications as: Shankill Tidy Towns Traders Group/Shankill Traders, Blackrock Business Network and IADT Media, Dundrum Town Centre Tenants Committee, Dalkey Business Group, Dun Laoghaire Cruise Stakeholders Group, Dún Laoghaire Business Association, and Sandyford Business Estates Association.

The grants were established as part of the 2010 budget for the council to cover up to 50% of proposed expenditure to promote and market local business areas. The council says it will advertise a second round of funding in early August. The fund totals €300,000 with each of the six Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown electoral areas eligible for up to €50,000.

“The Council’s new Business Support Grants will encourage firms to work collectively to promote and sustain business activity in their area. The standard of applications was excellent and demonstrated the capacity of local business groups to develop creative initiatives that will attract trade to their areas,” said Wessel Badenhorst, economic development officer at the council.

List of approved grants:

The Shankill Tidy Towns Traders Group/Shankill Traders Association

Project Description: Creation of a “starting point” for Shankill Village at the bus stop opposite St Anne’s Church through a range of area improvement measures.

The Shankill Tidy Towns Traders Group/Shankill Traders Association

Project Description: Shankill Village Christmas Festival and Shankill “End of Summer” street entertainment.

Blackrock Business Network in collaboration with IADT Media Cube

Project Description: On-line and off-line marketing of an animation film competition to be showcased in Blackrock.

Blackrock Business Network

Project Description: “Blackrock Rocks” Family Day including street performances, jazz and classical performances, food stalls, fashion show and puppet show.

Dundrum Town Centre Tenants Committee

Project Description: Creation of a garden area for outdoor community activities.

Dalkey Business Group

Project Description: Renovation of public space to facilitate local markets, displays and street performances and enhance attractiveness of the village.

Dun Laoghaire Cruise Stakeholders Group

Project Description: Marketing of DL Harbour and Town to Cruise operators.

Dun Laoghaire Business Association

Project Description: Christmas Lights display and festival.

Sandyford Business Estates Association

Project Description: Development of the SBEA website to include B2B capabilities and an interactive and creative platform for the business community in the Sandyford Business District.

Sandyford Business Estates Association

Project Description: ‘Destination Sandyford’ Marketing Initiative by home ware and furnishing retailers in the Sandyford Business District.

Sandyford Business Estates Association

Project Description: Sandyford Business District Communication and PR Campaign aimed at repositioning Sandyford from an Industrial Estate to a Business District.

The release includes 12 whole-school evaluations (WSE) of Dublin primary schools, one whole-school evaluation at post-primary level and 13 stand-alone subject inspections at post-primary level.

The department says whole-school evaluation reports look at the school’s management, planning and management of resources; the effectiveness of teaching and learning; its arrangements for student assessment, supports for students, provision for minority groups and home-school links.

Responses from a school’s board of management – if available — can be found at the end of reports.

Reports can be viewed here, a list of all the schools included are below:

Primary Schools

• St. Joseph’s National School, Tivoli Road, Dunlaoghaire
• St. Patrick’s BNS, Ringsend, Dublin 4
• St. Catherine’s NS, Donore Avenue, Dublin 8
• Zion Parish Primary School, Rathgar, Dublin 6
• Whitechurch NS, Rathfarnham, Dublin 16
• St Kevin’s Girls’ NS, Kilnamanagh, Dublin 24
• Scoil Íosa, Tymon North, Tallaght, Dublin 24
• St. Damian’s NS, Walkinstown, Dublin 12
• St. Audoen’s NS, Cook Street, Dublin 8
• Scoil Chaitríona na mBráithre, Baggott Street, Dublin 2
• Scoil Mhuire Senior National School, Blakestown, Mulhuddart, Dublin 15
• Scoil an Chroí Ró Naofa, Ballygall, Dublin 11

Post-Primary Schools and Centres for Education

• Holy Family Community School, Rathcoole
• Newark Comprehensive School, Blackrock
• Meánscoil Chroimghlinne, Crumlin, Dublin 12
• Stratford College, Rathgar, Dublin 6
• Templeogue College, Templeogue, Dublin 6W
• Terenure College, Terenure, Dublin
• Coláiste Dhúlaigh, Coolock, Dublin 17
• Coláiste Choilm, Swords
• Portmarnock Community School, Portmarnock
• St.Aidan’s Christian Brothers’ School, Whitehall, Dublin 9
• St.Mark’s Community School, Tallaght, Dublin 24
• Collinstown Park Community College, Clondalkin, Dublin 22
• Moyle Park College, Clondalkin, Dublin 22
• Tallaght Community School, Tallaght, Dublin 24

Irish technology company Weedle said today it plans to create 50 jobs in Blackrock, Dublin.

Although, it is unclear exactly how secure the the creation of the 50 jobs will be, or if these jobs will be created at all. Weedle, however, says the figure of 50 is a conservative estimate of what the company needs to grow.

The company said on Twitter: “We plan to grow the platform over the next 3 years to tens of millions of users globally… the 50 [jobs] is a conservative estimate of the level of resources required to support that volume of growth.”

Weedle is a skills networking site, a modern mix of CV and portfolio. It allows people to find others with the skills they need.

The company says thousands of people from over 50 countries currently use the site, including artists, accountants, architects, beauticians, carpenters, copywriters, doctors, designers, electricians, photographers, vets and others.

The jobs at Weedle are planned to be created over the next three years, these will be centred on the development of web applications. The company is supported by Enterprise Ireland.

“Weedle typifies the strong capacity of indigenous Irish firms to innovate in niche markets with high-potential online platforms that can spur the next generation of global internet brand-leaders,” said Batt O’Keeffe, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation, in a statement today.

Weedle’s co-founder and chief executive officer, Iain MacDonald added: “In Ireland, the US and globally, there is a wealth of highly skilled people with great expertise. But despite there being significant demand from people who need these skills and expertise, there is no free large-scale simple way to match people with skills to those who need them. At Weedle, we are using the power of the internet and the trusted communities aspect of social media to make searching and connecting easier and to generate increased demand for skills and expertise worldwide.”

UPDATED 10pm, June 22, 2010: The second and third paragraphs were inserted and other minor edits were made when it became clear the the jobs announced were not fully secured.

IMAGE: Weedle