Written Answers Nos. 172 - 178
172. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason a person (details supplied) who is applying for third level aid for the academic year 2014-2015 for their second year of study is being assessed on their means and independent living status in October 2012; the reason behind this decision; her views that this is the most suitable way of assessment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47522/14]
View answerAs part of a comprehensive customer service and communications strategy provided by Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI), to ensure that all necessary avenues are open to applicants to receive the information they need, a dedicated email and phone line service is provided by SUSI for Oireachtas members. This was established to meet an identified need for applicants who choose to engage the assistance of their public representatives in making enquiries about their grant applications.
This service complements the established channels provided by SUSI which include online application tracking, a dedicated website, a telephone helpdesk, email and social media, including Facebook and Twitter.
Enquiries may be emailed direct to SUSI at oireachtas@susi.ie. SUSI are responding to email queries within a matter of days.
I wish to advise the Deputy that in order to be assessed as an independent mature student the applicant must provide sufficient evidence to show that he/she was living independently of his/her parents from October of the year before the first point of entry to higher education. In regard to the case referred to by the Deputy I note the student is in year two of his course in 2014/15 and, I understand, commenced his studies in 2013/14. Therefore, the student is required to demonstrate he was living independently from October 2012.
173. Deputy Patrick O'Donovan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide details in tabular form by county of the numbers of teachers, special needs assistants and support staff who have not been Garda vetted; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47576/14]
View answerThe Garda vetting arrangements for the schools sector operate on a non-statutory basis and have been in place for new employees since 2006. The vetting arrangements were updated in 2010 and are set out in Department Circular 0063/2010 which clarifies the requirements for Garda vetting as part of recruitment procedures for all teaching and non-teaching positions. It is the responsibility of each relevant school authority to have in place the necessary policy and procedures to ensure compliance with this circular. Given that such matters are dealt with at individual school level, the detailed breakdown that is sought by the Deputy is not available centrally within my Department.
The level of vetting carried out for teachers can be gauged from data from the Teaching Council which shows that the number of teachers vetted under the non-statutory arrangements continues to steadily increase. There are 90,121 teachers on the Teaching Council register and 53,753 of them have been vetted. This represents about 60% of the teachers on the register.
The remaining balance of 36,368 that are not vetted are typically permanent teachers who have been in the same school since prior to 2006. Over the years the lack of capacity in the Garda Central Vetting Unit has been an impediment to getting all these existing teachers vetted.
The Garda Central Vetting Unit indicated to the Department, at a meeting in July 2014, that it now has capacity to vet these remaining teachers that were never vetted. However, if this is done now under the current non-statutory vetting arrangements it would be confined to a check for criminal offences.
The forthcoming statutory vetting arrangements will set out the requirements for vetting of new employees and for the retrospective vetting of existing employees. The statutory vetting arrangements include a check for relevant "soft information" which is an important new aspect of the vetting arrangements. "Soft information" is referred to as "specified information" in the National Vetting Bureau Act 2012 and is information other than criminal convictions held by the Garda Síochána where such information leads to a bona-fide belief that a person poses a threat to children or vulnerable persons.
Given that the forthcoming statutory vetting arrangements will include a check for both criminal offences and also any relevant "soft information" the Department considers that at this stage it is better from a child protection perspective to wait for the vetting of these teachers to be done under the forthcoming statutory vetting arrangements. This will also dovetail with the amendments that are being made to the Teaching Council Act which include:
(a) Linking compliance with the vetting arrangements with renewal of registration
(b) Strengthening the Fitness to Teach provisions so as to provide an appropriate mechanism for assessing a teacher's fitness to remain on the register if a vetting disclosure received in respect of a teacher indicates any potential risk of harm to a child. Removal of a teacher from the Teaching Council register is the best way of achieving child protection across all schools.
It is intended that all registered teachers will be vetted under the statutory vetting arrangements as soon as possible after the legislation is commenced.
174. Deputy Seán Kenny asked the Minister for Education and Skills if extra resource teaching hours will be provided in respect of a child (details supplied) in Dublin 13. [47616/14]
View answerAll schools have been allocated additional teaching resources to provide for children with special educational or learning support needs through general allocation processes.
Additionally, the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) allocates additional resource teaching hours to schools for children who have been assessed within the low incidence, or more complex, category of special need, as defined by my Department's Circular Sp Ed 02/05. The NCSE operates within my Department's established criteria for the allocation of Special Education supports and the staffing resources available to my Department.
Schools were asked to apply to the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) for resource teaching support for the 2014/15 school year by 26 March 2014. In order to meet any late demand for resource teaching support arising between the time that the initial allocation was made and the start of the school year, the NCSE requested all schools to submit outstanding applications to the NCSE by 22nd September, 2014.
Following this second round of resource teaching allocations, the allocation process for the 2014/15 school year has effectively concluded, other than in relation to a small number of emergency cases, or where schools do not have any resource teaching allocation. In such cases, schools who wish to make an application for additional low incidence resource teaching hours may make such an application to the NCSE. In other instances schools should provide support for pupils with newly diagnosed conditions from within their overall resource teaching and learning support allocations, pending notification to schools regarding the 2015/16 allocation process.
It is a matter for schools to monitor and utilise their allocation of additional teaching support to best support the needs of identified pupils, in accordance with my Department's guidance.
All schools have the names and contact details of their local SENO. Parents may also contact their local SENO directly to discuss their child's special educational needs, using the contact details available on www.ncse.ie.
If the parents of the child referred to by the Deputy have specific concerns about his educational progress or are dissatisfied with the manner in which the resources or facilities which have been provided to support their child's education are being applied in school, they should raise this matter directly with their school Principal or the Board of Management of the school.
175. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if more non-denominational schools will be provided in an area (details supplied) in Dublin 9; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47632/14]
View answerMy Department is currently analysing the latest demographic data on a nationwide basis to determine where additional school accommodation might be needed in the coming years.
This process includes an examination of the Dublin 9 area. If it is determined that a new school is needed for this area, an open and objective patronage determination process will follow and existing and prospective patrons may apply to run the school. This includes patrons proposing a non-denominational ethos.
It may be useful for the Deputy to know that a survey of parents in the Whitehall area of Dublin (which included part of the Catholic parish of Beaumont) was undertaken by my Department in 2012 under the patronage divesting process. The outcome of the parental survey was that a sufficient number of parents said they would avail of a multi-denominational school if that choice of patronage was available to them. Discussions are continuing with the main Catholic Patron in this area to progress this matter.
176. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the extent to which her Department has received proposals from the authorities at a school (details supplied) in County Kildare regarding extra facilities required there; the degree to which such submissions have been examined to date; if a timeframe has been prepared for provision in the near future; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47637/14]
View answerI can confirm that the school in question applied to my Department for major capital funding for the replacement of prefabricated accommodation with a permanent structure and for the provision of a General Purpose Room.
My Department provided a total of €479,000 to the school to replace the prefabs under the 2012 Prefab Replacement Scheme and these works are now complete. In view of the constraints imposed by the need to prioritise available funding for the provision of essential classroom accommodation, my Department is not in a position to provide funding for a General Purpose Room at this time.
177. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will indicate, notwithstanding the school enrolment policy, if a school place may be obtained in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47638/14]
View answerIt is the responsibility of the managerial authorities of all schools to implement an enrolment policy in accordance with the Education Act, 1998. In this regard a Board of Management may find it necessary to restrict enrolment to children from a particular area or a particular age group or on the basis of some other criterion. The criteria to be applied by schools in such circumstances are a matter for the schools themselves.
This selection process and the enrolment policy on which it is based must be non-discriminatory and must be applied fairly in respect of all applicants. Under section 15 (2) (d) of the Education Act 1998, each school is legally obliged to publish its enrolment policy.
Section 29 of the Education Act, 1998 provides for an appeal by a parent or guardian to the Secretary General of my Department, or in the case of an Educational Training Board (ETB) school to the ETB in the first instance, where a Board of Management of a school, or a person acting on behalf of the Board, refuses to enrol a student in a school, expels a student or suspends a student for 20 or more days in any school year.
My Department has no authority to compel a school to admit a pupil, except in the case of an appeal under section 29 of the Education Act, 1998 being upheld. Application forms for taking a section 29 appeal are available on my Department's website or by contacting Section 29 Administration Unit at 0761 108584.
The Educational Welfare Service of the Child and Family Agency (EWS) is the statutory agency which can assist parents who are experiencing difficulty in securing a school place for their child. The EWS can be contacted at 01-8738700.
The Deputy may be aware that Government gave approval in March of this year for drafting the Education (Admission to Schools) Bill 2014 and drafting is currently underway.
The objective of the Admission to Schools Bill is to provide an over-arching framework to ensure that how schools decide on who is enrolled and who is refused a place in schools is more structured, fair and transparent.
A key objective in designing the framework is to create greater confidence for parents that the admission criteria laid down by schools are legitimate, reasonable and fair.
178. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if, notwithstanding the school’s enrolment policy, a child (details supplied) in County Kildare may be reconsidered for admission to a school in view of the particular family health circumstances that apply and the need to ensure that the child continues their education in the company of friends and associates; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47659/14]
View answerIt is the responsibility of the managerial authorities of all schools to implement an enrolment policy in accordance with the Education Act, 1998. In this regard a Board of Management may find it necessary to restrict enrolment to children from a particular area or a particular age group or on the basis of some other criterion. The criteria to be applied by schools in such circumstances are a matter for the schools themselves.
This selection process and the enrolment policy on which it is based must be non-discriminatory and must be applied fairly in respect of all applicants. Under section 15 (2) (d) of the Education Act 1998, each school is legally obliged to publish its enrolment policy.
Section 29 of the Education Act, 1998 provides for an appeal by a parent or guardian to the Secretary General of my Department, or in the case of an Educational Training Board (ETB) school to the ETB in the first instance, where a Board of Management of a school, or a person acting on behalf of the Board, refuses to enrol a student in a school, expels a student or suspends a student for 20 or more days in any school year.
My Department has no authority to compel a school to admit a pupil, except in the case of an appeal under section 29 of the Education Act, 1998 being upheld. Application forms for taking a section 29 appeal are available on my Department's website or by contacting Section 29 Administration Unit at 0761 108584.
The Educational Welfare Service of the Child and Family Agency (EWS) is the statutory agency which can assist parents who are experiencing difficulty in securing a school place for their child. The EWS can be contacted at 01-8738700.
The Deputy may be aware that Government gave approval in March of this year for drafting the Education (Admission to Schools) Bill 2014 and drafting is currently underway.
The objective of the Admission to Schools Bill is to provide an over-arching framework to ensure that how schools decide on who is enrolled and who is refused a place in schools is more structured, fair and transparent.
A key objective in designing the framework is to create greater confidence for parents that the admission criteria laid down by schools are legitimate, reasonable and fair.
