Tuesday, 7 Oct 2014

Written Answers Nos. 469-487

School Curriculum

Questions (469)

Clare Daly

Question:

469. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Education and Skills her plans to incorporate Irish sign language into the school curriculum at any level. [37888/14]

Written answers

Minister for Education and Skills

Sign language is already an option in the Leaving Certificate Applied. There is also an opportunity for students to learn sign language in the course of Transition Year. In addition, the Post-Primary Languages Initiative is developing a short course in sign language in the context of the new Junior Cycle.

Furthermore, there are specific supports in place for students learning through Irish Sign Language (ISL). There are a number of initiatives in place which seek to promote, develop and implement ISL in order that it will achieve greater recognition and use in the education system. These include:

- the special schools for the deaf/hearing impaired have been encouraged in relation to the use of sign language in class;

- funding for an ISL weekly home tuition service whereby deaf tutors visit the homes of deaf pre-school children and deaf school-going pupils to provide training in ISL for the deaf children, pupils, their siblings and parents;

- funding is also made available through the Special Education Support Service (SESS) to enable individual teachers and whole school staff to undertake courses in Irish Sign Language which are available throughout the country through a variety of providers;

- my Department, through the Higher Education Authority (HEA), has established and funds a Centre for Deaf Studies in Trinity College, Dublin which provides diploma courses for ISL/English interpreters, deaf tutors and in deaf studies.

Student Grant Scheme Applications

Questions (470)

Charlie McConalogue

Question:

470. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide an update on a student grant application in respect of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37890/14]

Written answers

Minister for Education and Skills

Officials in my Department have confirmed with Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) that the application of the student referred to by the Deputy is currently being assessed and the student will be notified directly by SUSI of the outcome in the coming days.

If an individual applicant considers that she/he has been unjustly refused a student grant, or that the rate of grant awarded is not the correct one, she/he may appeal, in the first instance, to SUSI.

Where an individual applicant has had an appeal turned down in writing by SUSI and remains of the view that the scheme has not been interpreted correctly in his/her case, an appeal form outlining the position may be submitted by the applicant to the independent Student Grants Appeals Board. The relevant appeal form is available to download from http://www.studentfinance.ie/downloads/1375344221/2013_SGAB_appeal_form.pdf

Education Schemes

Questions (471, 472, 473, 474, 475)

Thomas P. Broughan

Question:

471. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 223 of 30 April 2013, in view of the exception entered into years earlier by her Department with just one private commercial organisation that provided funding based on six children, one teacher and three tutors, the reason her Department wrote in 2013 to other parents of children with autism regarding the home tuition scheme and advised them that the grant was not under any circumstances to be used where a child is receiving tuition in a group setting or in any setting that is not strictly 1:1 tuition. [37902/14]

Thomas P. Broughan

Question:

472. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 223 of 30 April 2013, in view of the statement by an official in her Department on 18 June 2007 that the arrangement was for a year pending the roll out of ASD pre-school services, the reason the arrangement with the one private commercial organisation was annually renewed thereafter and further extended to the point where the organisation now has 16 classes across nine different locations across the country. [37903/14]

Thomas P. Broughan

Question:

473. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 223 of 30 April 2013, the reason for the apparent inconsistency in her Department's policy whereby her Department has an arrangement in place for a number of years with just one private commercial organisation providing educational support in its services to groups of six children with autism in a classroom for every one teacher and three tutors, whereas the standard staff ratio in State-funded ASD units within schools is for one teacher and two special needs assistants for every six children. [37904/14]

Thomas P. Broughan

Question:

474. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 223 of 30 April 2013, the reason her Department did not seek tenders for the provision of services with the one private commercial organisation mentioned in the reply especially in view of the amount of money being spent, which in 2010 alone reportedly totalled €1,634,365 and increased further in subsequent years. [37906/14]

Thomas P. Broughan

Question:

475. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 223 of 30 April 2013, the reason the exception referred to in that reply was made by her Department for just one private commercial organisation involving the education of children with autism. [37907/14]

Written answers

Minister for Education and Skills

I propose to take Questions Nos. 471 to 475, inclusive, together.

The purpose of the Home Tuition Scheme is to provide a compensatory educational service for children who, for a number of reasons such as chronic illness, are unable to attend school and therefore it is generally the case that the tuition is provided at the child's place of residence. In the majority of home tuition cases there will be one child in receipt of an individualised educational programme on a 1:1 basis.

A focus of my Department in the implementation of the scheme has been to ensure that the services which the Department pays for are delivered in line with the sanction provided. My Department has no preference, from an educational perspective, in the delivery of the scheme for 1:1 provision. 1: 1 provision is not an educational feature of the scheme but is an effective consequence for these children, other than in the case of siblings, who are tutored in their homes.

My Department has a responsibility to ensure that the funding for the scheme is managed and monitored appropriately. To ensure that the funding is used fully for its intended purpose the Department specified in 2013, and subsequently, to parents of children, for whom the tuition is being provided in the home, that tuition must be 1: 1, again with the exception of siblings. This is to avoid the possibility that group arrangements would be arranged without the knowledge and authorisation of the Department.

This is not a requirement of parents which have been approved for the group arrangements.

Where parents of children who are eligible for home tuition have sought alternative arrangements to be put in place for the tuition my Department has responded and facilitated by putting arrangements in place with private commercial organisations which provide group tuition to children in a class type setting. Payment in these cases is made directly to the service provider and is calculated on a group rate basis. My Department has no contract with these providers and therefore the question of procurement or tendering does not arise.

The arrangements facilitate the transfer of home tuition payments, normally paid directly to the parents, to the provider and a reduction of the rates paid in recognition of the fact that the service is less expensive than normal, as the children are tutored together. The agreed group rate is not directly comparable to the cost of school based provision which includes teacher and SNA salaries, capitation and the various other supports provided by my Department, many of which, including capitation, are not available to the private providers referred to by the Deputy.

As the Deputy is aware home tuition is not an alternative to school and is provided in very limited and specific circumstances. For children with a special educational need seeking an educational placement, tuition will be approved as an interim measure, until a school placement has been identified. The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) will assist parents experiencing difficulties in this regard. The arrangements in place with private providers are clear that where school placements are found for participating children the providers will support the child's integration into the school setting. It is for this reason that the arrangement with the initial private provider was intended to be for one year only pending the roll out by the NCSE of school based provision. However the arrangement has continued due to further requests from subsequent parents of children on home tuition to use such facilities.

The Deputy has queried further to Parliamentary Question No. 223 of 30 April 2013, the reason the exception referred to in that reply was made by my Department for just one private commercial organisation involving the education of children with autism. At that time the organisation concerned was the only one with whom my officials had concluded an agreement. Also at that point in time my officials were aware of other groups of parents of children on home tuition seeking similar arrangements. Therefore there are now similar arrangements in place with other private commercial organisations which provide group tuition to children in a class type setting.

Question No. 476 answered with Question No. 466.

Higher Education Institutions

Questions (477)

Jonathan O'Brien

Question:

477. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills if her attention has been drawn to the fact that many students with disabilities access university and third level colleges via FETAC courses; if her further attention has been drawn to the fact that they must achieve a high standard in their FETAC course in order to do this; if her further attention has been drawn to the fact that they may not access university using DARE having secured FETAC qualifications; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37942/14]

Written answers

Minister for Education and Skills

As higher education institutions, including universities and institutes of technology, are autonomous bodies under the relevant legislation, the management of their academic affairs, including admissions criteria, are matters for the individual institutions concerned. However, I understand third-level institutions can set aside a specific number of places in courses for individuals who wish to use their FETAC qualifications to access those courses.

Where this is the case, and as with the CAO, the results required to receive a place on the course would then be dependent on the number of applicants, and where there is a large number of applicants, a high standard would be required.

The Disability Access Route to Education (DARE) is a third-level admissions scheme for students with a disability. The scheme is operated by a number of higher education institutions and not by my Department. Admissions to the institutions are regulated by the institutions themselves.

The Deputy may wish to contact the Irish Universities Association in this instance. Further details in relation to the DARE scheme including the eligibility criteria are available at www.accesscollege.ie.

Schools Building Projects Status

Questions (478)

Michelle Mulherin

Question:

478. Deputy Michelle Mulherin asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding an application in respect of a school (details supplied) in County Mayo for new build accommodation that has been approved in principle by her Department; the other accommodation approval that has been granted; when the work will commence on approved and approved-in-principle projects; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37970/14]

Written answers

Minister for Education and Skills

I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department has been in on-going contact with the school authority, in question, in relation to the school's accommodation issues.

In that regard, I can confirm that the greenfield site assessment has been finalised and the overall accommodation brief for a replacement school was also recently completed and forwarded to the school. The school have made some observations in respect of the overall accommodation brief and a response will issue to the school in the coming days in this regard.

Once the overall accommodation brief has been finalised, my Department anticipates that the project will then be progressed into the architectural planning process.

Student Assistance Fund

Questions (479)

Michael Creed

Question:

479. Deputy Michael Creed asked the Minister for Education and Skills the importance of the student assistance fund, and in view of the increasing financial pressure on third level students and their parents and the rising rate of drop outs at third level, her views on funding for this fund in the forthcoming budget for her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37972/14]

Written answers

Minister for Education and Skills

The Student Assistance Fund is a component of the Third Level Access Measure which is managed on behalf of my Department by the Higher Education Authority and comprises two sub-priorities: the Student Assistance Fund and the Fund for Students with Disabilities. The overall value of the measure for the 2013/14 academic year was €16.2m. The management of the Third Level Access Measure Fund rests with the Higher Education Authority and the allocation of funding for the sub-priorities in a particular year is a matter for the authority.

The Student Assistance Fund is administered on a local basis by participating higher education institutions and targets those students most in need. The Fund provides financial assistance to students to contribute to the costs of participating in higher education and it is an important element of the student support framework in place. Typically, funding is provided for rent, child care, travel and general living expenses.

The HEA approved in July of this year an allocation for the Student Assistance Fund for the 2014/15 academic year of €6.6m. Each participating institution was advised of its individual allocation in advance of the academic year in order to facilitate timely planning and disbursement to students, and each institution has at this stage received 50% of their allocation in line with procedures for the Fund.

As the Deputy will be aware, the reality of our economic situation presents significant challenges that have to be reconciled with limitations on public resources. This is a very stark reality, which, unfortunately, means that changes to any public service, including Third Level Access Measures, cannot be ruled out.

For this reason it is the responsibility of Government to take into consideration all areas of public services when formulating Budget 2015. Ultimately, our budgetary decisions now will play a major part in creating a sustainable economy and in regaining our economic independence. As the Deputy will be aware all proposals made in relation to education expenditure including changes to student grants will be considered in the context of the Budget 2015.

The Deputy will be aware that affordability is just one of the factors that impact on students continued participation in higher education.

School Patronage

Questions (480)

Maureen O'Sullivan

Question:

480. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Education and Skills her plans to support further second level Educate Together schools in the greater Dublin area. [37981/14]

Written answers

Minister for Education and Skills

One new post-primary school opened this year under the sole patronage of Educate Together in Dublin 15. A second new post-primary school opened in Lucan under a partnership model of patronage between Educate Together and the Dublin and Dun Laoghaire Education and Training Board.

Two further post-primary schools for Balbriggan and Ballinteer respectively are due to commence operation in 2016 under the sole patronage of Educate Together.

My Department is currently analysing the latest demographic data on a nationwide basis to determine where further school accommodation might be needed at post-primary level from 2017 onwards. Where further new schools are being established, it will be open to all patron bodies, including Educate Together, to make an application for patronage in line with published criteria.

School Curriculum

Questions (481)

Maureen O'Sullivan

Question:

481. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Education and Skills her views that the transition year in second level schools could include further specific tutorials on managing and starting up small and medium-sized businesses as it has been noted in a report that Ireland has a low level of entrepreneurial enterprise in comparison to other OECD countries; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37985/14]

Written answers

Minister for Education and Skills

In Transition Year at present as well as the opportunity for work placement, students can take part in enterprise units and in student enterprise competitions such as the Student Enterprise award and the mini company "Get up and Go" competition. The latter is designed specifically for transition year students with an emphasis on team work. The mini-company involves students in research, planning, establishing a business, perhaps experiencing some risks and some failures, marketing, making or providing a service/product, drafting accounts, writing a report and finally winding down the company. I recently held a forum with enterprise to explore further how schools and enterprise can work together to promote entrepreneurship in schools and I expect to continue this engagement with a view to developing additional ways to promote entrepreneurship in schools.

Departmental Agencies

Questions (482)

Pearse Doherty

Question:

482. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Education and Skills the scheduled reductions in spending in her Department, or in agencies under her aegis, in 2015 and the areas of spending in which these reductions are scheduled to take place to show the amount of reductions by theme. [38026/14]

Written answers

Minister for Education and Skills

The expenditure allocation for my Department for 2015, including any adjustments in relation to the various expenditure subheads, will be determined in the context of the Estimates process which is ongoing. Expenditure information will be published when the Budget is announced on 14 October, and this information will inform the preparation of my Department's detailed Revised Estimates Volume which will be published in December.

Languages Programme

Questions (483, 484)

Willie O'Dea

Question:

483. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Education and Skills if her attention has been drawn to the fact that many schools use their allocated learning support teacher to support both learning support pupils and English as an additional language; if her further attention has been drawn to the fact that no matter how many EAL pupils are in a school, there are no extra resources for language support; her plans to enable more schools to qualify for a language support teacher; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38049/14]

Willie O'Dea

Question:

484. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Education and Skills her plans to relax the requirements set out in circular 15/2009 to enable more schools to qualify for a language support teacher; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38050/14]

Written answers

Minister for Education and Skills

I propose to take Questions Nos. 483 and 484 together.

Teacher allocations are approved annually in accordance with established rules based on recognised pupil enrolment. The criteria for the allocation of posts are communicated to school managements annually and are available on the Department website.

Reforms introduced in the 2012/13 school year created a single simplified allocation process to cover both learning and language support. At primary level, GAM/EAL (learning/language support) hours are allocated on the basis of mainstream classroom teaching posts in the school. At post-primary level, learning/language support is allocated on the basis of pupil numbers. Schools have autonomy to deploy this resource between language support and learning support depending on the specific needs of the school.

The new arrangements also provided for additional permanent teaching posts to be given to schools with high concentration of pupils that require language support. Further additional temporary EAL support is also provided, as necessary, to schools that have high concentrations of pupils (at least 20% of total enrolment) that require language support. These allocations are made on the basis of appeals by any of these schools to the Staffing Appeals Board. The appeal criteria are set out in the published staffing arrangements.

Special Educational Needs Service Provision

Questions (485)

Willie O'Dea

Question:

485. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason her Department is putting the onus on teachers to gather information regarding the economic circumstances of parents for the educational resource centre questionnaire which forms part of the basis for the allocation of special educational needs teachers next year; the reason this information is not ascertained from the relevant Government bodies; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38051/14]

Written answers

Minister for Education and Skills

I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department is currently considering potential revisions to the system of allocating Resource Teaching and Learning Support to schools. This is on foot of recommendations set out in the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) Policy Advice on "Supporting Students with Special Educational Needs in Schools (May 2013) and the recommendations of the NCSE Working Group Report "A Proposed New Model for Allocating Teaching Resources for Students with Special Educational Needs".

Following the publication of these reports, my Department advised that it would commence the process of gathering information which would be required to develop the proposed new model, to allow its impact to be assessed, and to assess if, and from when, the model could be implemented.

Part of this process involves the collection of information in relation to the social context of schools.

The working group report recommended that a school's social context should be used because it can contribute strongly to the level of learning needs that students have. The report considered that, on the basis of available research evidence, the use of a school's social context is valid in developing an educational profile, as socioeconomic disadvantage is associated with the incidence of certain types of special educational needs, including low achievement in academic learning and emotional or behavioural disorders.

The report also noted that a school within a disadvantaged social context may have a higher share of students presenting with emotional or behavioural disorders. While some of these needs are likely to be reflected in low test scores, others may not, as students with relatively high levels of educational achievement can have emotional and behavioural disorders.

Accordingly, it was recommended that consideration of a schools social context should form part of any proposed new resource allocation model.In considering how a social context profile might be developed for schools, the working group noted that the Department currently holds information which underpinned the development of the Developing Equality in Schools (DEIS) schools programme. However, this information dates from 2005, and was not considered by the Working Group to be current enough to provide a social context component for any new SEN Resource Teacher/Learning support allocation model.

The group therefore recommended that a new social context schools survey should be conducted. Pending the availability of a more objective source of information, the working group stated that it was confident that survey reporting by school principals could produce robust up to date data on school context in a similar manner to DEIS and earlier initiatives.

The Department therefore, in conjunction with the NCSE, asked the Educational Research Centre (ERC) to conduct a survey of schools to assist the development of an educational profile.

It was considered that the issuing of a new survey was a preferable option to using existing data from 2005, or data from limited sources that may not capture the full current complexity of a schools school's make up.

Though recognising that all schools would not be able to have specific detail regarding all of the questions asked in relation to their pupil populations, schools were asked to provide their best possible estimates in relation to the questions being asked in the survey, in order to ensure that as accurate as possible a social context allocation component of any revised allocation model could be developed for each school.

At all stages of the development of the advice and in particular in the work of the working group there was comprehensive consultation with education partners and stakeholders and through this consultation there was awareness and broad support for the proposed approach including the deployment of a survey.

The data which schools were requested to return as part of the survey was non-personal, anonymised data. Schools were not asked to return data in relation to the social circumstances of individual pupils.

Schools were also advised that the ERC had put in place a dedicated phone help line in order to provide assistance and support to schools in completing the questionnaire. I understand that many schools used this help line to gain assistance in completing the questionnaire.

Whereas I understand that the return of this survey has caused extra work and some difficulties for some schools, I am confident that having up to date social context data will be highly beneficial to the Department and the NCSE in developing proposals for a new profiled allocation model for schools.

Student Data

Questions (486)

Seán Crowe

Question:

486. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide a breakdown of the number of surveys or questionnaires that require personal and sensitive information on pupils and their families that schools are currently required to carry out; the purpose of gathering such sensitive material; the person that will have access to the material; and if a school declines to carry out these surveys or questionnaires the impact it will have on the school. [38064/14]

Written answers

Minister for Education and Skills

I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department, in conjunction with the Educational Research Centre, recently requested schools to complete a social context survey, to assist the development of an educational profile for schools which might support a proposed new model for allocating resource teachers to schools.

Though recognising that all schools would not be able to have specific detail regarding all of the questions asked in relation to their pupil populations, schools were asked to provide their best possible estimates in relation to the questions being asked in the survey, in order to ensure that as accurate as possible a social context allocation component of any revised allocation model could be developed for each school.

The data which schools were requested to return as part of the survey was non-personal, anonymised data.

Schools were not asked to return personal or sensitive data in relation to the social circumstances of individual pupils or their families.

Schools were also advised that the ERC had put in place a dedicated phone help line in order to provide assistance and support to schools in completing the questionnaire. I understand that many schools used this help line to gain assistance in completing the questionnaire.

The impact of a school not participating in a survey designed to assist in establishing a school profile is that it may be more difficult to establish an accurate school profile for that school, in the absence of data submitted by the school.

I can advise that the Primary Online Database (POD) collects two personal sensitive data items on pupils from schools.

These are collected on an optional basis only both of which require parental/guardian consent. They are 1) pupil's religion, the purpose of collecting same is purely statistical, and; 2) pupil's ethnic and cultural background. The purpose of collecting ethnic or cultural background is that this will help the Department to build up a more comprehensive statistical profile of the diversity of our primary school population.

Data on the number of pupil who are members of the traveller community in mainstream schools is also required to pay the enhanced capitation for travellers to schools.

Only the Departments statistics and IT sections will have access to this data. There is no impact on the schools if the information on religion is not returned. There is no impact on schools at present if the information on Ethnic or Cultural Background is not returned, however, as POD has been developed to replace a number of data collections including the National School Annual Census, for the 2016/2017 academic year onwards, if pupils who are Members of the Traveller Community are not identified in POD the school will not be able to receive the enhanced capitation for travellers.

Finally, I can advise that my Department also collects details of post-primary students enrolled as at 30th September each year. The number of students enrolled is used in the allocation of staff and funding to schools. The data on exam entrants for Junior and Leaving are passed to State Examinations Commission. Full details in relation to the details collected and the usage and purpose of these returns is set out in DES Circular 47/2010.

Schools Site Acquisitions

Questions (487)

Seán Crowe

Question:

487. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide an updated report regarding the development and identification-selection of a proposed new site for a school (details supplied) in Dublin 24. [38065/14]

Written answers

Minister for Education and Skills

I wish to advise that a site has been identified for the school building project referred to by the Deputy. The progression of the school project within architectural planning is currently underway.

Planning permission for the school building project is currently the subject of a third party appeal to an Bord Pleanála.