Written Answers Nos. 143-147
143. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Education and Skills to outline her plans to review the residency condition which must be satisfied by applicants for Student Universal Support Ireland grants with respect to Irish nationals returning home to Ireland after an extended period abroad; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36682/15]
View answerTo be eligible for a grant, a "student", as defined in Section 14 of the Student Support Act 2011, must demonstrate that he/she has been resident in the State for at least 3 years out of the 5 year period ending on the day before the start of their approved course of study.
This requirement takes cognisance of students who wish to take time out to travel or work abroad. Such students can still meet the residency requirement if they have not been outside the State for more than two of the previous five years.
It is also possible for a student, who did not meet the residency requirement at the commencement of their studies, to have their eligibility reviewed if they meet the residency requirement during the course of their studies.
I have no plans to change the current arrangements.
144. Deputy Dessie Ellis asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she is aware of the problems being experienced in west Wicklow relating to the lack of provision for 12 to 16 year olds who have been expelled from school, including no visits from an educational officer or social worker in over a year, no intra-agency collaboration across administrative boundaries; and her plans to improve this situation. [36694/15]
View answerThe Educational Welfare Service (EWS) of Túsla, the Child and Family Agency, is the statutory agency which can assist parents who are experiencing difficulty in securing a school place for their child. The EWS may be able to offer assistance and advice on securing a school placement within the pupil's area. The contact details for the EWS are Educational Welfare Service of the Child and Family Agency, Floors 2-5 Brunel Building, Heuston South quarter, Dublin 8 phone 01 7718500.
As the Deputy may be aware, responsibility for school attendance and educational welfare falls within the remit of my colleague the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. My Department is not aware of the issues referred to by the Deputy.
In respect of the issue of expulsion from school, 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 Education and 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.
145. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Skills if a school transport grant will be awarded for a child (details supplied) in County Meath for the 2014-15 school year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36704/15]
View answerUnder the terms of my Department's Primary School Transport Scheme, a child who is eligible for school transport but for whom no transport service is available may, following an application for transport within the prescribed time limits, receive a Remote Area Grant towards the cost of private transport arrangements. Bus Éireann, which operates the school transport scheme on behalf of the Department, has advised that the family in question was late in applying for school transport for the 2014/15 school year. The closing date for receipt of applications for the 2014/15 school year was 25 April 2014.
However, if there is no change in their circumstances the family will be eligible for the Remote Area Grant from the commencement of the 2015/16 school year.
More detailed information on the Remote Area Grant is available on the Department's website at www.education.ie.
146. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Education and Skills to outline the specific details of the extra release days for school principals as referred to in the budget; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36720/15]
View answerUnder the release time arrangements my Department pays for a substitute teacher to be employed by a school to facilitate administrative functions to be undertaken by the teaching principal.
Under the current arrangements the number of days that teaching principals may take as release time in each school year ranges between 14 and 22 days depending on the size of the school. Budget 2016 will increase those days to range between 15 and 25 days depending on the size of the school effective from the start of the 2016/17 school year.
Revised table for release time 2016/17 school year
|
Size of School * |
Number of Days Release Time |
|
Principal + 5/6 |
25 |
|
Principal + 3/4 |
20 |
|
Principal + 0/1/2 |
15 |
* Size of school refers to Principal and mainstream class teachers only and excludes ex-quota posts e.g. learning/language support, resource, etc.
147. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will intervene in the case of a pupil (details supplied) in County Kildare who previously had the support of a special needs assistant, but which has since been withdrawn; if she will investigate the exact reasoning such support was withdrawn when the need for it remained; if she will provide reassurances on the timescale it will take to investigate this case and restore the necessary support; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36724/15]
View answerI wish to advise the Deputy that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs) for allocating resource teachers and Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) to schools to support children with special educational needs.
The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support. The criteria by which SNA support is allocated to pupils is set out in my Department's Circular 0030/2014.
It is important to note that each school's allocation of SNA support can change from year to year and may be increased or decreased as students who qualify for SNA support enrol or leave a school. New students with care needs may, or may not, enrol to replace students who have left, for example, or SNA allocations may be decreased where a child's care needs have diminished over time.
The deployment of SNAs within schools is then a matter for the individual Principal/Board of Management. SNAs should be deployed by the school in a manner which best meets the care support requirements of the children enrolled in the school for whom SNA support has been allocated. It is a matter for schools to allocate support as required, and on the basis of individual need, which allows schools flexibility in how the SNA support is utilised.
Parents who have concerns regarding the manner in which the resources or facilities which have been provided to support their child's education are being applied in school should, in the first instance, raise this matter directly with their school Principal or the Board of Management of the school.
All schools were asked to apply for SNA support for the 2015/16 school year by 18th March 2015.
The NCSE also continued to accept applications after this date in recognition that enrolments may not have been completed or where assessments were not completed. The NCSE has now published details of SNA allocations for schools for September 2015 on its website.
Details of the manner in which a school or parent may appeal the level of SNA or resource teaching allocation which has been made to support a child in school, to the NCSE, is set out at www.ncse.ie.
All schools have the contact details of their local SENO, while 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.
