Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 26 May 2010
256 Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills if, in view of the success of the junior certificate school programme demonstration library project in addressing literacy at second level, she will give a commitment to fully support the project in the existing schools by ensuring the current staffing levels are maintained; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22146/10]
View answerUnder the terms of the DEIS Action Plan, a commitment was made to extend the Junior Certificate School Programme (JCSP) Demonstration Library Project to the 50 School Support Programme (SSP) schools with the highest concentrations of disadvantage over the five years to 2010, with extension to further SSP schools to be considered subsequently. To date, the Project has been extended to 20 of the targeted 50 additional SSP schools, bringing the current number of schools with a Demonstration Library to 30.
The project establishes high quality, fully stocked and equipped modern school libraries and provides each with a professional librarian. A number of studies have noted that the project is effective in addressing the literacy needs of students in schools with the highest concentration of disadvantage. In particular it has been noted that reading standards, student concentration and behaviour had improved. Library staff, like other public servants in the Education sector, other than teachers and SNAs, are subject to the public sector moratorium and consequently the matter raised by the deputy falls to be considered in the context of the current public financial and numbers policy environment.
257 Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills her targets in respect of literacy at primary and second level; and her plans for reaching these. [22147/10]
View answerThe achievement of high literacy and numeracy skills standards is one of the primary goals of education. High levels of literacy are essential to ensuring that everyone can participate educationally, economically and socially in our society. In general, schools have relatively low proportions of children with significant literacy difficulties as evidenced by Ireland's comparatively high overall achievement levels in successive international surveys of reading of 15-year-olds under PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment). The PISA 2006 study assessed performance of 15 year olds across 57 countries in maths, reading and science. Ireland performed very well in English reading, ranking 5th out of 29 OECD countries. Only one EU country, Finland, achieved a higher mean score than Ireland in reading.
The most significant levels of literacy difficulties tend to be concentrated in those schools which serve disadvantaged communities. The Educational Research Centre in their 2004 report on Reading Literacy in Disadvantaged Primary Schools found that the proportion of pupils with serious literacy difficulties in schools serving disadvantaged communities was about three times the national average. That report recommended a new ten year target to reduce to between 14%-15% the proportion of pupils with serious literacy difficulties in schools serving disadvantaged communities.
The Programmes for Government, the social partnership agreements Sustaining Progress and Towards 2016 and the National Anti-Poverty Strategy (NAPS) all provide a common language of objectives, priorities, targets to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged children. In particular the National Action Plan on Social Exclusion sets a target to reduce the proportion of pupils with serious literacy difficulties in primary schools serving disadvantaged communities to less than 15% by 2016. To achieve this goal significant resources to address literacy and numeracy difficulties in schools have been provided through DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools), the action plan for educational inclusion. The action plan provides for a tailored planning process for schools which supports schools in developing their own plans and targets for literacy and numeracy.
Other measures under DEIS designed to improve literacy levels include a maximum class size of 20:1 in junior classes and 24:1 in senior classes in the 200 urban/town primary schools serving the most disadvantaged communities and increased access to literacy and numeracy support services and programmes for all urban/town primary schools. Additional literacy and numeracy tutors are available to provide in-school support and guidance to teachers in these schools.
Training in "Reading Recovery", "First Steps" and "Maths Recovery" has been made available to all urban/town primary schools. The Junior Certificate School Programme's Demonstration Library Project has been extended in phases to second-level schools with the highest concentrations of disadvantage. DEIS also includes measures promoting the development of Family Literacy projects. For the year 2009/10, funding of €196,000 was approved in November 2009 for 13 projects following an applications process. Funding of €200,000 has been provided for the next round of the DEIS Family Literacy Project 2010/2011. The Department recently issued an invitation for applications for the new round of funding to VECs. The closing date for the submission of applications is the 11th June 2010.
