Donal Carey
Question:60 Mr. D. Carey asked the Minister for Education and Science the resources he is providing for education of children of refugees. [7280/00]
Vol. 516 No. 2
60 Mr. D. Carey asked the Minister for Education and Science the resources he is providing for education of children of refugees. [7280/00]
I am pleased to inform the Deputy that new measures were introduced recently to ensure that there is appropriate educational provision in place for non-English speaking pupils at primary school level.
Primary schools which have 15 or more non-national pupils with significant English language deficits will be automatically entitled to an additional temporary teacher for a period of up to two years. Schools with 35 or more such pupils will be entitled to two temporary teachers. Where two schools operate on one campus and have 15 or more such pupils they will be entitled to an additional temporary teacher on a shared basis. Schools eligible for an additional teacher or teachers will also receive a once off grant of £200.
Primary schools in which between four and 14 non-English speaking non-national pupils are enrolled will receive grant assistance. Schools with between four and nine such pupils will receive grant assistance in the amount of £5,000 while schools with between ten and 14 will receive grant assistance in the amount of £7,500. This grant aid is intended to enable schools to take appropriate measures to improve the standard of English of non-national pupils with significant English language deficits. Schools with three or fewer such pupils are expected to provide for the educational provisions of those pupils from their existing resources. Managerial authorities of schools with non-national primary pupils enrolled who have significant English language deficits should submit an application for assistance to the primary branch of my Department.