Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 December 2004
408 Mr. F. McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Science her proposals and plans to assist the 30% of pupils in disadvantaged schools with serious literacy difficulties; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32428/04]
View answerThe latest partnership agreement, Sustaining Progress, contains a special initiative in chapter 2.8 entitled: Tackling Educational Disadvantage — Literacy, Numeracy and Early School Leavers. This special initiative recognises the importance of literacy and numeracy skills as prerequisites for learning, and for social well-being and economic participation. As part of the initiative, the Government is committed to paying critical attention to literacy and numeracy both in school and for adults of all ages.
My Department has taken a range of measures to prevent and ameliorate literacy difficulties at primary and second level. Learning support teaching is provided in all primary schools by more than 1,500 teachers who give intensive support to children with literacy difficulties. At second-level, more than 530 learning support teachers are employed. In addition, the junior certificate school programme literacy strategy promotes a whole-school approach to literacy development at junior cycle in second-level.
Continuing assistance is being given to disadvantaged primary schools in implementing my Department's learning support guidelines, including adoption of a whole-school approach to supporting children with literacy difficulties, and development and implementation of a literacy plan by each school. My Department provides additional supports for schools serving disadvantaged communities. These supports include the reading recovery programme in primary schools, reduced class sizes, home-school liaison schemes and additional grants, all of which assist in improving literacy levels.
The reading recovery programme first piloted in the Louth, Monaghan and Cavan area has been extended to a number of schools in the Dublin area. Some 66 primary schools, 41 in Monaghan and 25 in Dublin, participate in the programme. My Department has recently recruited three teachers to train as reading recovery tutors, increasing the total number of tutors to five. Following completion of training, these new tutors will train teachers and facilitate the extension of the reading recovery programme, for the first time, to disadvantaged schools in Cork and Limerick.
The first steps programme offers primary teachers an accurate means of assessing and monitoring children's competencies and progress in reading, writing, spelling and oral language. Training of teachers in selected disadvantaged schools in first steps is ongoing. In addition, baseline data on literacy attainment levels is being strengthened through work by the Educational Research Centre and the OECD programme for international student assessment, PISA.
I also recently announced that funding of €500,000 would be provided before Christmas for the purchase of books for schools in key disadvantaged areas. Early interventions, such as those that I have outlined, are crucial in addressing literacy problems among children and have a lasting impact on tackling educational disadvantage and social exclusion.
