Written Answers Nos. 64 - 70
64. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide an update on the operation of the learner database and the information it holds; and the cost of running same. [20691/14]
View answerThe Primary Online Database (POD) will replace the current annual census of primary schools, and will involve schools maintaining and returning data on pupils to the Department at individual pupil level on a live web-based system which is currently being developed by a project team in the Department. The database will allow the Department to more closely monitor and evaluate progress and outcomes of pupils at primary level, to validate school enrolment returns for grant payment and teacher allocation purposes and to follow up on pupils who do not make the transfer from primary to post primary level. The system is currently in development. A pilot is currently in operation, involving a small number of volunteer schools. The main population of the database with existing pupil data will take place during the 2014/2015 academic year and the database is scheduled to come fully into operation in the 2015/2016 academic year. Schools will access the database via the Esinet portal.
The database will hold individualised pupil level data on all primary school pupils including their PPSN, First Name, Surname, Name as per Birth Certificate, Mother's Maiden Name, Address, Date of Birth, Gender, Nationality, whether one of the pupil's mother tongues is English or Irish, whether the pupil is in receipt of an Exemption from Irish and if so the reason for same, whether the pupil is in receipt of Learning Support and if so the type of learning support, whether the pupil is in a Mainstream or Special Class. If the pupil is in a Special Class the database will also record the type of Special Need associated with the class and with the pupil. The database will also record the class grouping and standard the pupil is enrolled in. The database will also contain, on an optional basis, information on the pupil's religion and on their ethnic or cultural background. Note that parental/guardian consent will be required for these optional data items. The database will also hold information on DES centrally held school level data such as School Name, Address and Telephone Number. The cost accrued so far is €141,000 (€63,000 in 2013 and €78,000 to date in 2014).
65. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of schools that currently have student councils; the number of schools that do not have student councils; the cost of running the student council support service; and the funding and staff allocated to it during each of the past five years. [20692/14]
View answerI have asked my officials to forward the information to the Deputy as soon as possible.
66. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding an application from a school, (details supplied), in County Laois for funding to provide alternative permanent accommodation to meet its long-term needs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20699/14]
View answerThe school to which the Deputy refers submitted a proposal to relocate the school in question to alternative permanent accommodation to meet its long term requirements. The Department has contacted the school Patron seeking further details in respect of the proposal. Once a response is received, the matter can be given further consideration. In the meantime, my Department approved funding for classroom accommodation to meet the school's immediate needs. In addition, my Department has also allocated funding to the school in question for furniture and equipment on an ongoing basis in response to requirements.
67. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on correspondence, (details supplied), regarding the teacher-pupil ratio; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20711/14]
View answerThe criteria used for the allocation of teachers to primary schools is published annually on the website of the Department of Education and Skills. The staffing arrangements for the 2014/15 school year (Circular 0007/2014) were published on 24 January, 2014. The key factor for determining the level of staffing resources provided at individual school level is the staffing schedule for the relevant school year and pupil enrolments on the previous 30 September. The staffing schedule currently operates on the basis of a general average of 1 classroom teacher for every 28 pupils with lower thresholds for DEIS Band 1 schools. The Department publishes annual statistics on class size data for each school. The most recent statistics are for the 2012/13 school year. The national average class size is 24.7 pupils. However, with over 20,800 classes in over 3,100 primary schools throughout the country there will always be variations in class sizes at individual school level. The Department's guidance to local school management is that such variations should be kept to the minimum. The staffing arrangements include an appeals mechanism for schools to submit an appeal under certain criteria to an independent Appeals Board. Details of the criteria for appeal are contained in Circular 0007/2014. The Primary Staffing Appeals Board operates independently of the Department and its decision is final.
68. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will appoint a teacher specifically for the ASD class of a school, (details supplied), in County Donegal; and if he will overturn his Department's decision to reduce the number of GAM hours from 25 to 20; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20712/14]
View answerThe National Council for Special Education (NCSE) approves special classes for schools. Such a special class was approved for the school referred to by the Deputy in 2011. My Department has arrangements in place whereby a substitute teacher is employed by a school if a teacher, including special class teachers, is absent on certified sick leave as is the position in this case. The criteria for the appointment of an administrative principal to a school, which are enrolment related, are set out in Appendix B of Circular, 0007/2014 Staffing Arrangements in Primary Schools for the 2014/15 school year and is available on the website. Since September 2012 the combined resources available for learning support (General Allocation Model at Primary) and language support have been merged into a single simplified allocation process. The GAM/EAL arrangements for the 2014/15 school year are set out in Circular 0007/2014 and are based on a school's mainstream classroom posts for the 2013/14 school year and will not be overturned. Appendix C of that circular lists the allocation for all schools. Where schools do not have sufficient GAM/EAL hours to create a full-time post, a process is in place for such schools to enter into cluster arrangements with neighbouring schools. St. Peter's NS will be a base school for a shared GAM/EAL post for the 2014/15 school year.
69. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding an increase in third level fees, (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20728/14]
View answerIt is presumed that the Deputy is referring to the Student Contribution which currently stands at €2,500 for the current academic year and is payable by students who qualify under my Department's free fees schemes. I have already signalled my intention to increase the Student Contribution by €250 each year hereafter until the 2015/16 academic year when the contribution will stand at €3,000. The Contribution is paid by the Exchequer in respect of students who qualify under my Department's Student Grant Scheme (some 40%). Work is ongoing between my Department and the Higher Education Authority (HEA) on future funding policy for higher education. This builds upon the substantial amount of work already undertaken by the HEA. The objective is to identify a range of approaches that, combined, will achieve a sustainable funding base to address the continual expansion of the sector while protecting the quality of education.
70. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide an update on any proposed merger between the four Dublin institutes of technology. [20750/14]
View answerIn May 2013, I asked the Higher Education Authority to implement the agreed future system configuration noted by Government. This included allowing the three applicant groups of institutes of technology who had submitted a formal expression of interest to merge and to apply to become a technological university to proceed to the second stage of the four stage process, published in February 2012. The three groups of applicant institutes included a group comprising the Dublin Institute of Technology, the Institute of Technology Tallaght and the Institute of Technology Blanchardstown. The three institutes are now developing a detailed plan towards merger and it is expected that this will be submitted to the Higher Education Authority shortly. The plan must address how the institutes propose to meet the criteria for a technological university and the process requirements and related timelines. The establishment of a technological university requires the consolidation of two or more institutions. Accordingly, the plan must be based on a legally binding memorandum of understanding between a consortium of existing institutions describing their consolidation into a new single institution, which has been approved by the Governing Body of each institution. Following receipt of the submitted plan, the Authority will appoint a panel of experts to assess the plan. The Expert Panel will have regard to:
- the capacity of the proposed consortium to achieve the objectives of consolidation in terms of academic rationale, scale, the degree of integration through alliances and membership of clusters and the extent to which workplace practices have been developed to bring them into line with those of a modern university, and
- the existing position of the proposed consortium in relation to each of the technological university criteria and its capacity, based on its developmental trajectory, to meet these criteria within a reasonable timeframe. A decision will be provided by the HEA to the applicant within six months of receipt of the plan. If, in the opinion of this Expert Panel, the proposal is likely to meet the criteria for designation as a technological university within the proposed timeframe the applicant institutes can proceed towards full legal consolidation followed by a formal application to become a technological university.
