Written Answers Nos. 279-295
279. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Education when a decision will be made on an additional accommodation application for a school (details supplied) in County Mayo in view of the space shortage in this school and the urgent need for same as outlined in the application; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24243/23]
View answerI am pleased to inform the Deputy that funding was approved under the Additional Accommodation Scheme 2022 to enable the school in question to build 2 Mainstream Classrooms, 1 Graphics Room, 1 Art Room, 1 Textiles Room, 1 Science Lab, 1 Science Prep Area, 1 Engineering Room, 1 Engineering Prep Room, 2 Class SEN Base, 1 X Assisted User WC & Conversion of 2 existing classrooms to 2 SET Rooms.
The project has been devolved for delivery to the School Authority and an Approval Letter will be issuing to the school shortly in this regard.
The next step will be for the school to procure a consultant. This consultant will lead the project through the various stages of architectural planning and onwards through the statutory planning process and construction.
280. Deputy John Paul Phelan asked the Minister for Education if her Department requires primary schools to have an anti-discrimination policy; if so, the reason a school (details supplied) does not appear to either have such a policy or to implement it; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24249/23]
View answerUnder the Education (Welfare) Act, 2000 all schools are required to have in place a code of behaviour that accords with Developing a Code of Behaviour: Guidelines for Schools as published by the National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB), now referred to as the Educational Welfare Service (EWS). Each school is required to have an anti-bullying policy within its overall code of behaviour. The anti-bullying procedures are underpinned by this legal framework and all schools are required to comply with them.
Under the procedures, all school boards of management are required to adopt and implement an anti-bullying policy which fully complies with the requirements of these procedures. A template anti-bullying policy which must be used by all schools for this purpose is included in the procedures.
All schools are required to confirm in their anti-bullying policy that the school will, in accordance with its obligations under equality legislation, take all such steps that are reasonably practicable to prevent the harassment of pupils or staff on any of the nine grounds i.e. gender including transgender, civil status, family status, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, race and membership of the Traveller community.
In accordance with the Anti-Bullying Procedures, where a parent is not satisfied that a school has dealt with a bullying case in accordance with the procedures the parents must be referred, as appropriate to the schools complaints procedures. Where there is cause for complaint from a parent matters would normally be addressed to the individual teacher or school Principal as appropriate. If matters cannot be resolved at that level then a complaint can be addressed to the school’s Board of Management.
Anti-bullying procedures for all primary and post primary schools are available on the gov.ie website: www.gov.ie/en/publication/cb6966-anti-bullying-procedures-for-primary-and-post-primary-schools/.
The Department of Education’s Inspectorate conducts a programme of school evaluations in primary and post-primary schools. Inspectors evaluate aspects of the school’s work, including policies and procedures to support pupils’ well-being. Inspectors conduct checks to ensure that schools have implemented an anti-bullying policy and adhere to the requirements outlined in the anti-bullying procedures. All notified inspections conducted in schools contain anti-bullying checks.
281. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Education if her Department and public bodies and agencies that operate under her remit have policies in place to install artificial structures that provide shelter and habitat space for wild species, such as, but not limited to, insect hotels, bat boxes, nesting towers, and beehives; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24258/23]
View answerWhile the Department does not have a policy in place to install such artificial structures, my Department is committed to implementing green public procurement (GPP) policies in all appropriate tenders including landscaping tenders.
The information in respect of state bodies, within the scope of the Deputy’s question, is not held by my Department. Contact details for these bodies are set out in the attached document should the Deputy wish to contact them directly with this query.
Contact E-Mail Addresses for State Bodies under the Remit of the Department of Education as at 03 February 2023
|
Name of Body |
Dedicated Email address for the Members of the Oireachtas |
Designated Official Responsible for assisting Oireachtas Members |
|
An Chomhairle um Oideachais Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta |
oireachtas@cogg.ie |
jacquelinenifhearghusa@cogg.ie |
|
Educational Research Centre |
oireachtas.queries@erc.ie |
aidan.clerkin@erc.ie |
|
National Council for Curriculum and Assessment |
oireactasqueries@ncca.ie |
Aine.ArmstrongFarrell@ncca.ie |
|
State Examinations Commission |
Oireachtas@examinations.ie |
Paddy.Quinn@examinations.ie |
|
The Teaching Council |
pqrep@teachingcouncil.ie |
lramsey@teachingcouncil.ie |
|
National Council for Special Education |
oireachtasqueries@ncse.ie |
patrick.martin@ncse.ie and cindyjane.oconnell@ncse.ie |
|
Residential Institutions Statutory Fund – Caranua |
Michael.Fitzpatrick@caranua.ie |
Michael.Fitzpatrick@caranua.ie |
282. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Education the full year cost of running the Covid Learning and Support Scheme, CLASS, 2021-2022; and the total number of beneficiaries. [24284/23]
View answerThe programme called Covid Learning and Support Scheme (CLASS) was put in place to help schools mitigate the adverse impacts of Covid-19 on pupil/student learning loss and wellbeing arising from the periods of school closures in 2020 and 2021.
All primary, post primary and special schools received additional allocations of CLASS hours, based on the criteria set out in Department of Education Circular 0045/2021
Schools were advised that they could provide additional teaching support to pupils/students who, in their view, arising from Covid-19 disruption, were at most increased risk of learning loss and/or at risk of early school leaving.
Guidance was provided for schools in relation to how the additional teaching hours should be best used and as to how schools should identify and prioritise pupils for support.
CLASS hours were therefore available for all pupils, and it was a matter for each school to allocate the hours within their school in a manner which best supported the pupils who were in most need.
The total estimated expenditure on CLASS for 2021-2022 was €44.7 million.
283. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Education the engagement that has taken place between her Department, Bus Éireann and a school (details supplied) in respect of a number of concerns in relation to a bus route, and a request to reroute same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24293/23]
View answerThe School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the current school year, over 147,900 children, including over 18,000 children with special educational needs, are transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country.
In addition, school transport scheme services are being provided in the current school year for over 3,800 children who have arrived to Ireland from Ukraine.
The total cost of the scheme in 2022 was €338.9m.
Children are eligible for transport at primary level where they reside not less than 3.2 kilometres from and are attending their nearest national school, and at post primary level where they reside not less than 4.8 kilometres from and are attending their nearest post primary school/education centre as determined by the department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language.
Children who are eligible for school transport and who have completed the application process on time will be accommodated on school transport services where such services are in operation.
Children who are not eligible for school transport, but who completed the application process on time, will be considered for spare seats that may exist after eligible children have been facilitated; such seats are referred to as concessionary seats.
Because of the nature of concessionary transport for non-eligible children and the priority of providing places for eligible children, there may be an excess of demand over supply for concessionary places, in these cases Bus Éireann will allocate tickets for spare seats using an agreed selection process.
Bus Éireann has advised that pupils who avail of the bus route referred to by the Deputy are primarily mainstream concessionary pupils.
Bus Éireann have also advised that the pupils who avail of the referred bus route reside between 400 meters to 1.2 km away from their pick up point. There is currently 1 eligible and 6 concessionary pupils who use this Pick up Point.
The Bus Eireann Service Inspector has reviewed the referred pick up point and confirmed there are no issues. However, the Service Inspector has advised there is an alternative pick up point available which is approximately 2.0 km away from home, depending on where the pupil resides.
If families wish to avail of the alternate pick up point or have any queries, they can contact Bus Eireann directly. The contact details for each local area are available at: buseireann.ie/schooltransport.
284. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Education when the opportunity will arise again for schools to be considered for DEIS status; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24297/23]
View answerMy Department provides a wide range of supports to all schools, DEIS and non-DEIS, to support the inclusion of all students and address barriers to students achieving their potential.
Supplementing the universal supports available to all schools, the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) Programme is a key policy initiative of my Department to address concentrated educational disadvantage at school level in a targeted and equitable way across the primary and post-primary sector.
In March last year, I announced the single largest expansion of the DEIS programme. This benefited 361 schools. The programme now includes over 1,200 schools and supports approximately 240,000 students. This means 1 in 4 of all students are now supported in the programme.
This recent expansion will add an additional €32million to my Department’s expenditure on the DEIS programme from 2023, bringing the overall Department of Education allocation for the programme to €180million.
I am very conscious of the benefits of the DEIS programme. Analysis has shown that since the programme began in 2006, it has helped to close the gap in achievement between schools serving the highest levels of educational disadvantage and those serving populations with little or no disadvantage. It has provided children who come to education at a disadvantage with an equitable opportunity to achieve their potential in education.
The extension of the DEIS programme to new schools is just one component of work in my vision for an inclusive education system which supports all learners to achieve their potential. While the DEIS programme supports those schools with the highest levels of concentrated educational disadvantage, I also recognise that there are students at risk of educational disadvantage in all schools. Since June 2020, and over the past three budgets, I have secured funding to provide measures to support children in this regard. As part of Budget 2023, I announced over €50 million to provide free books to primary school pupils within the free education scheme from next September. I have also further improved the staffing schedule for all primary schools to 23:1, the lowest it has ever been.
Following the National Census held in April 2022, it is envisaged that an updated HP Deprivation Index will be generated by Pobal and will be available in Q3 of 2023. My Department will engage with Pobal in relation to this process. The updated HP Deprivation Index, when available, will be considered by my Department to help inform future resource allocation to tackle educational disadvantage.
The next phase of work will consider all schools, within and outside the DEIS programme and explore the overall allocation of resources to schools to tackle educational disadvantage. Part of this programme of work will involve consultation with relevant stakeholders over the coming months.
285. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Education the plans that are in place to replace a bus service (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24307/23]
View answerThe School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the current school year, over 149,000 children, including over 18,000 children with special educational needs, are transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. There has been an increase of 21% tickets issued to eligible students and 38% tickets issued on a concessionary basis in the current 2022/23 school year compared to the 2021/22 school year.
In addition, school transport scheme services are being provided in the current school year for over 5,200 children who have arrived to Ireland from Ukraine.
The total cost of the scheme in 2022 was €338.9m.
Children are eligible for transport at post primary level where they reside not less than 4.8 kilometres from and are attending their nearest Post Primary school/Education Centre as determined by the Department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language.
Children who are eligible for school transport and who have completed the application process on time are accommodated on school transport services where such services are in operation.
Children who are not eligible for school transport, but who completed the application process on time, are considered for spare seats that may exist on services, after eligible children have been facilitated; such seats are referred to as concessionary seats.
Parents of a child wishing to avail of school transport services are required to apply on-line on Bus Éireann website at www.buseireann.ie
The closing date for new applications for the 2023/2024 school year was Friday 28th April. The closing date for payment/entering medical details for tickets for the 2023/2024 school year in Friday 9th June. It is only after this time that Bus Éireann can determine the eligibility of applicants, at that point, services will be planned for the upcoming school year.
Bus Éireann manages the operation of the school transport scheme which includes the procurement tender process to include services provided by contractors under the scheme. This is a competitive procurement process conducted in accordance with the negotiated procedure under national and EU procurement legislation. Details relating to how to apply to provide services can be found on www.buseireann.ie/schooltransport
The scheme is operated using a mix of Bus Éireann owned vehicles and privately owned contractor vehicles under contract to Bus Éireann.
Bus Éireann has confirmed that pupils residing in the area to which the Deputy refers are not eligible for transport to their school of attendance under the terms of the School Transport Scheme.
Bus Éireann has also advised that the service to which the Deputy refers, is a private school transport service and as such does not fall under the remit of the Department of Education School Transport Scheme.
In relation to any service that has been set up to cater for pupils residing in accommodation centres, requests for mainstream pupils to avail of this type of service are considered where there is capacity. It is important to note that these services are kept under review and should the level of service required for Ukrainian pupils diminish, this service would cease.
286. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Education to provide additional supports, specifically extra time, for students with dyslexia undertaking the junior and leaving certificate examinations (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24313/23]
View answerThe State Examinations Commission has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the state examinations.
In view of this I have forwarded your query to the State Examinations Commission for direct reply to you.
287. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Education when funding will be provided in respect of a school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24316/23]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware from previous correspondence, officials in my Department have been in correspondence with the school in respect of this issue and this correspondence is ongoing. My Department will continue to liaise with the school authorities and will keep them appraised of the situation as appropriate.
288. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Education if her attention has been brought to a number of schools and principals who are advocating for increased services in DEIS schools; if she will consider expanding the North East Inner City Multidisciplinary Teams Model and the Support Teacher Service to include all of the schools in this cluster; if she will consider the establishment of fully resourced and staffed nurture rooms in all of these schools; if her Department will engage with these principals on this proposal; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24318/23]
View answerMy Department provides a wide range of supports to all schools, DEIS and non-DEIS, to support the inclusion of all students and address barriers to students achieving their potential. Supplementing these universal supports, the DEIS programme provides a targeted and equitable way to address concentrated educational disadvantage that promotes equity and has benefits for students.
I am very conscious of the benefits of the DEIS programme. Analysis has shown that since the programme began in 2006, it has helped to close the gap in achievement between schools serving the highest levels of educational disadvantage and those serving populations with little or no disadvantage. It has provided children who come to education at a disadvantage with an equitable opportunity to achieve their potential in education.
Last year I was glad to announce the extension of the DEIS programme to benefit 361 schools. This included 79 new and existing DEIS primary schools who were included in DEIS Urban Band 1 for the first time and this year have received an increased allocation of support. This means that the highest levels of support under the DEIS programme are now provided to 306 primary schools.
This year my Department will spend approximately €180million providing additional supports to schools in the DEIS programme. This includes an additional €32m allocated to extend the programme from last September meaning the programme now includes over 1,200 schools and supports approximately 240,000 students. This means 1 in 4 of all students are now supported in the programme.
The DEIS programme targets the highest levels of resources at those primary schools with the highest levels of concentrated educational disadvantage through according DEIS Urban Band 1 status. Schools in this band receive a more beneficial staffing schedule. I have reduced the class sizes in DEIS Urban Band 1 schools in recent Budgets. This means that this year the staffing schedule for DEIS Urban Band 1 vertical schools is 20:1, DEIS Urban Band 1 junior schools is 18:1 and DEIS Urban Band 1 senior schools is 22:1.
As with all urban schools, schools in this band receive home school community liaison support as well as access to the school completion and school meals programmes. The DEIS Grant allocated to all schools in the DEIS programme is reflective of the level of disadvantage in schools. Therefore, schools in Urban Band 1 receive a higher amount per child.
DEIS Band 1 schools also receive priority access to the support of the National Educational Psychologists Service (NEPS). My Department’s Wellbeing Policy and Framework for practice has given recognition to the importance of promoting wellbeing in education. The approach set out in the Wellbeing Policy is a whole school and preventative approach which has multiple components that include providing children and young people with opportunities to build core social and emotional skills and competencies, experience supportive relationships within the school setting and be part of a school environment and culture that feels both physically and psychologically safe. Aligned with this policy, a number of supports are currently being offered to schools to support wellbeing and mental health.
Schools are encouraged to use a reflective, school self-evaluation approach to identify and prioritise the needs of its own school community in relation to the promotion of wellbeing and mental health, and to respond to meeting those needs. To support schools in this work the Professional Development Service for Teachers (PDST) is currently providing training to schools to ensure that the promotion of wellbeing will be at the core of the ethos of every school. Schools will be navigated through an introduction to the Wellbeing Framework and how to use the School Self Evaluation (SSE) process in guiding wellbeing promotion in their schools. These seminars will be supported by two webinars and in-school visits.
The National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) has developed training for school staff on the promotion of wellbeing and resilience in schools which include upskilling school staff on the use and implementation of therapeutically-informed approaches in schools. These include trauma-informed approaches, approaches based on the principles of cognitive behaviour therapy, and attachment-aware approaches. The approaches outlined in the training are based on research findings, on the experience of experts in their fields and on the experience of practicing psychologists working in schools. The training will build the capability of school staff in both primary and post-primary settings, including for school leaders, teachers and SNAs.
Training for school staff on the Friends for Life programme and the Incredible Years Classroom Management System has been resumed by NEPS. NEPS has launched an eLearning course - Responding to Critical Incidents in Schools. This course is aimed specifically at the school’s Critical Incident Management Team, but open to all interested staff.
I recently announced a pilot programme of counselling supports for primary school pupils. The model of counselling provision is currently being developed and more information on how this will be rolled out on a pilot basis will be available in the coming weeks.
The programmes and initiatives set out above are in addition to the educational psychological support that NEPS provide to all primary and post-primary schools. NEPS’ goal is to support the wellbeing, and the academic, social and emotional development of all students in primary and post-primary schools. NEPS provides both an Indirect and Direct Case work service to schools. The NEPS indirect casework service involves the psychologist working collaboratively with teachers and parents, to facilitate a common understanding of the issues and agreement on a plan to support the student. The direct case work service involves the psychologist working directly with a student for assessment/intervention in conjunction with consultation with teachers and school staff. This system is in line with international best practice and allows psychologists to give early attention to urgent cases and also to help many more children indirectly than could be seen individually. At the beginning of each year psychologists meet with the school principal and/or the Special Education Teaching Team (SET Team) to review and plan based on the school's priority needs. Further planning meetings may happen again during the course of the school year based on the size and needs of the school. This process allows the schools to be responsive and to prioritise those pupils identified by them as having the highest level of need.
In line with the programme for Government, the Government is continuing to examine how the model of intervention in the north-east inner city could be extended to other comparative areas experiencing disadvantage. The North East Inner City Multi-Disciplinary Team (NEIC MDT) comprises of Educational Psychologists from the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) of the Department of Education (DE), and Health Service Executive (HSE) Speech and Language Therapists, Occupational Therapists and Psychologists. This project is an interagency collaboration between the HSE and DE which provides a multidisciplinary team to ten NEIC primary schools. Ongoing research, evaluation and monitoring of the Multidisciplinary Team intervention will inform further policy developments in this area, including modelling of potential expansion costs.
My Department is continuing to undertake work towards achieving its vision for an inclusive education system which supports all learners to achieve their potential. My Department recognises the need to target resources to those schools who need them most. The next phase of work will explore the allocation of resources to schools to tackle educational disadvantage. Part of this programme of work will involve consultation with all relevant stakeholders and will consider information provided by schools in correspondence to my Department.
289. Deputy Joe Flaherty asked the Minister for Education if she will provide a breakdown by county of the number of pupils travelling to secondary school on private buses and not covered by the school transport scheme. [24321/23]
View answerThe School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the current school year, over 149,000 children, including over 18,000 children with special educational needs, are transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. There has been an increase of 21% tickets issued to eligible students and 38% tickets issued on a concessionary basis in the current 2022/23 school year compared to the 2021/22 school year.
In addition, school transport scheme services are being provided in the current school year for over 5,200 children who have arrived to Ireland from Ukraine.
The total cost of the scheme in 2022 was €338.9m.
The School Transport Scheme is an important service for families and children. The purpose of the Department's School Transport Scheme is, having regard to available resources, to support the transport to and from school of children who reside remote from their nearest school.
Children are eligible for transport at post primary level where they reside not less than 4.8 kilometres from and are attending their nearest Post Primary school/Education Centre as determined by the Department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language.
Children who are eligible for school transport and who have completed the application process on time are accommodated on school transport services where such services are in operation.
Children who are not eligible for school transport, but who completed the application process on time, are considered for spare seats that may exist on services, after eligible children have been facilitated; such seats are referred to as concessionary seats.
Parents of a child wishing to avail of school transport services are required to apply on-line on Bus Éireann website at www.buseireann.ie
The closing date for new applications for the 2023/2024 school year was Friday 28th April. The closing date for payment/entering medical details for tickets for the 2023/2024 school year in Friday 9th June.
Commercial contractors who provide transport for schools on a private hire or commercial basis but who are not contracted by Bus Éireann to operate on the Department’s School Transport Scheme do not fall under the remit of the Department of Education. The Department does not collect information regarding private transport arrangements.
290. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Education the number of children waiting for a placement in an autism spectrum disorder, ASD, class in County Tipperary for September 2023; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24333/23]
View answerI would like to thank the Deputy for the question and would like to advise the following:
Enabling children with special educational needs (SEN) to receive an education appropriate to their needs is a priority for this Government.
It is also a key priority for me as Minister for Special Education & Inclusion, for my Department and for the National Council for Special Education (NCSE). The vast majority of children with special educational needs are supported to attend mainstream classes with their peers. Where children with more complex needs require additional supports, special classes and special school places are provided.
For 2023, the spend by my department on special education will be substantially increased by over 10% on last year, meaning that for 2023 my department will spend over €2.6 billion providing supports to children and young people with special educational needs and their schools.
This level of educational funding and support is unprecedented and represents in excess of 27% of the department’s total allocation for 2023.
This includes funding to support children with SEN in mainstream classes; funding for new special classes and new special school places; additional special educational teachers and special needs assistants.
The NCSE has responsibility for coordinating and advising on the education provision for children with SEN nationwide.
Over the last two to three years, my Department and the NCSE have introduced a number of strategic initiatives to plan for and provide sufficient special class and special school places.
These initiatives are bearing fruit with over 600 new special classes sanctioned at primary level, almost 300 new special classes sanctioned at post-primary level and five new special schools established over the last three years.
My Department is engaging intensely with the NCSE in relation to the forward planning of new special classes and additional special school places for the next school year 2023/2024. This work involves a detailed review of statistical data in relation to forecasting demand for special class and special school places, consideration of improved data sharing arrangements, consideration of school accommodation capacity and a particular focus on the provision of special classes at post-primary level.
As a result of this forward planning, on the 12th of April, Minister Foley and I announced the establishment of 2 new special schools for the 2023/2024 school year, with further capacity being expanded in 11 other special schools.
Along with the two new special schools, 328 new special classes – 217 at primary and 111 at post-primary level – have been sanctioned by the NCSE for opening in the 2023/24 school year, with more to be confirmed in the coming weeks.
Of these new classes, 12 are in Co. Tipperary, with 4 at primary and 8 at post-primary level. These new classes will bring the total number of special classes in Co. Tipperary to 118, 106 at primary and 12 at post-primary.
The NCSE continues to work with stakeholders in Tipperary to meet the identified need for special class placements.
My Department and the NCSE are committed to ensuring that sufficient special education placements will be available for children for the coming school year 2023/2024.
Parents seeking special class placements for their children are advised to contact the NCSE locally so that their needs can be taken into account for planning purposes. The local special educational needs organisers (SENOs) remain available to assist and advise parents of children with special educational needs. Parents may contact SENOs directly using the contact details available at: ncse.ie/regional-services-contact-list .
Information on the list of schools with special classes, the types and locations of these classes is published on the NCSE website and is available at www.ncse.ie
I want to reassure you also that my Department will continue to support the NCSE and schools through the provision of the necessary funding and capital investment to ensure all children are successful in accessing an education.
291. Deputy Michael Lowry asked the Minister for Education if she will provide an update on the status of a two-classroom autism spectrum disorder, ASD, unit build at a school (details supplied), given that this school's tender report has been with her Department since 21 December 2022, and the successful builders currently have an opening in their schedule and are ready to begin construction as soon as the go-ahead is given; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24334/23]
View answerI am pleased to inform the Deputy that the school to which he refers has recently been approved to proceed to Construction Stage for a two classroom SEN Base under my Department's Additional School Accommodation (ASA) Scheme.
The project is expected to proceed to site shortly.
292. Deputy Pat Buckley asked the Minister for Education if she will provide an update on the opening of a new school (details supplied) planned for this September; if she will reaffirm her commitment to seeing the school opened and fully operational in time for the next school year; if she will confirm this personally with the school committee providing it with a clear opening date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24370/23]
View answerThe Letter of Acceptance (LOA) for the school referred to by the Deputy issued to the preferred tenderer on the 31st May 2022 commencing the school building contract.
Works are progressing well on site and the school building is due for completion in Q4 2023.
My Department has been liaising with the patron body of the school referred to by the Deputy in relation to interim accommodation requirements pending completion of the permanent accommodation for the school.
293. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Education to consider a review of the pilot voluntary redeployment scheme in consultation with teachers that takes into consideration the current educational, financial and environmental climate; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24378/23]
View answerThe recruitment and appointment of teachers to fill teaching posts is a matter for each individual school authority as the employer. The deployment of teaching staff in the school, the range of subjects offered and ultimately the quality of teaching and learning are in the first instance a matter for the school management authorities.
Post primary schools employ teachers with the appropriate subject mix to provide for a range of subjects that can be offered to students. It is an important aspect of the annual timetabling process that schools work towards achieving this outcome where possible. Matching the subject mix on offer with the qualifications of individual teachers who typically have more than one subject, can be a challenging task for schools. It is important that schools as employers retain the flexibility to employ teachers with the capacity to teach varied subjects to maintain a wide range of subjects on offer to students.
The core function of the redeployment arrangements is to facilitate the redeployment of surplus permanent teachers to other schools where vacancies exist. Ensuring efficiency in the annual redeployment processes is significant in terms of managing the overall teacher numbers.
At Post-Primary level, following discussions between the relevant stakeholders, a voluntary redeployment scheme has operated on a pilot basis in specific regions in recent years. Permanent teachers employed in these regions are given an opportunity to volunteer for a transfer to other areas of the country only if such a transfer would free up a vacancy that would facilitate the redeployment of a surplus permanent teacher in the region.
The key purpose of the pilot voluntary redeployment scheme is to assist the Department to achieve its objective of redeploying all surplus permanent teachers. To date the pilot voluntary redeployment scheme has operated in 24 counties.
The teacher redeployment arrangements are reviewed annually by my Department involving the education stakeholders, including teacher unions and management bodies. As part of the review, the Education Stakeholders can raise issues or concerns with the Department in relation to the operation of the redeployment process generally. It is open to members of the school community to liaise with their representative bodies on any matters of concern they may have.
The review in respect of the 2023/24 redeployment process took place last December. The pilot voluntary redeployment scheme operated in counties Laois, Offaly, Longford and Westmeath in the current school year. The criteria for the allocation of teachers to schools including the redeployment arrangements for the 2023/24 school year is available on the Department's website.
Teachers who apply under the pilot voluntary scheme and are not facilitated with a transfer continue to have the option of applying for posts in their preferred location that are advertised in the normal manner.
My Department has received a report proposing the introduction of a Teacher Relocation Scheme from a working group established by one of the teacher unions. The Department will give this careful consideration and arrangements are being made for Department officials to meet with the teacher union in the coming weeks to discuss this report.
294. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Education the number of schools that have been built between 2011 and 2022, in tabular form, by year, per county; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24382/23]
View answerThrough Project Ireland 2040, we are investing €4.4 billion over the period 2021 to 2025, to add capacity and develop and upgrade school facilities across the country for the almost one million students and over 100,000 staff that learn and work in our schools every day.
My Department has a proven track record of delivery. During the period 2018 to 2022, nearly 900 school building projects were completed.
The key drivers of capital investment in the schools sector are as follows:
- demographic change, including keeping pace with delivery of SEN and accommodation for Ukrainian pupils particularly at Post Primary
- alignment with housing provision and national planning at school planning area level,
- construction costs,
- climate action objectives including deep energy retrofit.
My Department completed over 180 projects last year within a challenging construction sector environment of high inflation, labour shortages and supply chain issues. This year alone, in excess of 300 school building projects are currently under construction, including 40 new school buildings and 260 projects at existing schools.
Key priorities for my Department are supporting the operation of the school system and adding necessary capacity to cater for special education needs provision, mainstream demographics and catering for students from Ukraine and other countries under the International Protection system.
The current status of all projects and completions from 2010 to date is listed on a county by county basis at www.gov.ie and is updated on a regular basis to reflect their progress through the various stages of capital appraisal, site acquisition, design, tender and construction.
295. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Education if she will agree to the establishment of a DEIS+ band within the DEIS programme. [24396/23]
View answerMy Department provides a wide range of supports to all schools, DEIS and non-DEIS, to support the inclusion of all students and address barriers to students achieving their potential. Supplementing these universal supports, the DEIS programme provides a targeted and equitable way to address concentrated educational disadvantage that promotes equity and has benefits for students.
I am very conscious of the benefits of the DEIS programme. Analysis has shown that since the programme began in 2006, it has helped to close the gap in achievement between schools serving the highest levels of educational disadvantage and those serving populations with little or no disadvantage. It has provided children who come to education at a disadvantage with an equitable opportunity to achieve their potential in education.
Last year I was glad to announce the extension of the DEIS programme to benefit 361 schools. This included 79 new and existing DEIS primary schools who were included in DEIS Urban Band 1 for the first time and this year have received an increased allocation of support. This means that the highest levels of support under the DEIS programme are now provided to 306 primary schools.
This year my Department will spend approximately €180 million providing additional supports to schools in the DEIS programme. This includes an additional €32 million allocated to extend the programme from last September meaning the programme now includes over 1,200 schools and supports approximately 240,000 students. This means 1 in 4 of all students are now supported in the programme.
The DEIS programme targets the highest levels of resources at those primary schools with the highest levels of concentrated educational disadvantage through according DEIS Urban Band 1 status. Schools in this band receive a more beneficial staffing schedule. I have reduced the class sizes in DEIS Urban Band 1 schools in recent Budgets. This means that this year the staffing schedule for DEIS Urban Band 1 vertical schools is 20:1, DEIS Urban Band 1 junior schools is 18:1 and DEIS Urban Band 1 senior schools is 22:1.
As with all urban schools, schools in this band receive home school community liaison support as well as access to the school completion and school meals programmes. The DEIS Grant allocated to all schools in the DEIS programme is reflective of the level of disadvantage in schools. Therefore, schools in Urban Band 1 receive a higher amount per child.
DEIS Band 1 schools also receive priority access to the support of the National Educational Psychologists Service (NEPS). My Department’s Well-being Policy and Framework for practice has given recognition to the importance of promoting well-being in education. The approach set out in the Well-being Policy is a whole school and preventative approach which has multiple components that include providing children and young people with opportunities to build core social and emotional skills and competencies, experience supportive relationships within the school setting and be part of a school environment and culture that feels both physically and psychologically safe. Aligned with this policy, a number of supports are currently being offered to schools to support well-being and mental health.
Schools are encouraged to use a reflective, school self-evaluation approach to identify and prioritise the needs of its own school community in relation to the promotion of well-being and mental health, and to respond to meeting those needs. To support schools in this work the Professional Development Service for Teachers (PDST) is currently providing training to schools to ensure that the promotion of well-being will be at the core of the ethos of every school. Schools will be navigated through an introduction to the Well-being Framework and how to use the School Self Evaluation (SSE) process in guiding well-being promotion in their schools. These seminars will be supported by two webinars and in-school visits.
The National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) has developed training for school staff on the promotion of well-being and resilience in schools which include upskilling school staff on the use and implementation of therapeutically-informed approaches in schools. These include trauma-informed approaches, approaches based on the principles of cognitive behaviour therapy, and attachment-aware approaches. The approaches outlined in the training are based on research findings, on the experience of experts in their fields and on the experience of practising psychologists working in schools. The training will build the capability of school staff in both primary and post-primary settings, including for school leaders, teachers and SNAs.
Training for school staff on the Friends for Life programme and the Incredible Years Classroom Management System has been resumed by NEPS. NEPS has launched an eLearning course - Responding to Critical Incidents in Schools. This course is aimed specifically at the school’s Critical Incident Management Team, but open to all interested staff.
I recently announced a pilot programme of counselling supports for primary school pupils. The model of counselling provision is currently being developed and more information on how this will be rolled out on a pilot basis will be available in the coming weeks.
The programmes and initiatives set out above are in addition to the educational psychological support that NEPS provide to all primary and post-primary schools. NEPS’ goal is to support the well-being, and the academic, social and emotional development of all students in primary and post-primary schools. NEPS provides both an Indirect and Direct Case work service to schools. The NEPS indirect casework service involves the psychologist working collaboratively with teachers and parents, to facilitate a common understanding of the issues and agreement on a plan to support the student. The direct case work service involves the psychologist working directly with a student for assessment/intervention in conjunction with consultation with teachers and school staff. This system is in line with international best practice and allows psychologists to give early attention to urgent cases and also to help many more children indirectly than could be seen individually. At the beginning of each year psychologists meet with the school principal and/or the Special Education Teaching Team (SET Team) to review and plan based on the school's priority needs. Further planning meetings may happen again during the course of the school year based on the size and needs of the school. This process allows the schools to be responsive and to prioritise those pupils identified by them as having the highest level of need.
In line with the programme for Government, the Government is continuing to examine how the model of intervention in the north-east inner city could be extended to other comparative areas experiencing disadvantage. The North East Inner City Multi-Disciplinary Team (NEIC MDT) comprises of Educational Psychologists from the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) of the Department of Education (DE), and Health Service Executive (HSE) Speech and Language Therapists, Occupational Therapists and Psychologists. This project is an interagency collaboration between the HSE and DE which provides a multidisciplinary team to ten NEIC primary schools. Ongoing research, evaluation and monitoring of the Multidisciplinary Team intervention will inform further policy developments in this area, including modelling of potential expansion costs.
My Department is continuing to undertake work towards achieving its vision for an inclusive education system which supports all learners to achieve their potential. My Department recognises the need to target resources to those schools who need them most. The next phase of work will explore the allocation of resources to schools to tackle educational disadvantage. Part of this programme of work will involve consultation with all relevant stakeholders and will consider information provided by schools in correspondence to my Department.
