Written Answers Nos. 1-20
14. Deputy Peter Fitzpatrick asked the Minister for Education and Skills why persons who participate in level 5 Quality and Qualifications Ireland courses through the National Learning Network cannot avail of the grant from Student Universal Support Ireland but persons who complete the post-leaving certificate system can; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18146/16]
View answerThe Student Grant Scheme supported approximately 81,500 students in the academic year 2015/16 at a cost of circa €380 million.
Under the student grant scheme, eligible candidates may receive funding, provided they are attending an approved course at an approved institution and meet the prescribed conditions of funding, including those which relate to nationality, residency, previous academic attainment and means.
To avail of funding an applicant must be entering an approved full-time course in an approved institution as defined in Sections 7 and 8 the Student Support Act 2011 and Regulations 3 and 4 of the Student Support Regulations 2016. The centres providing Level 5 courses under the remit of the National Learning Network are not listed as approved institutions for student grant purposes.
My Department, through SOLAS and the Education and Training Boards, funds the Specialist Training Provider (STP) programme. The National Learning Network delivers the majority of STP courses. In general, participants on STP courses are in receipt of income support in the form of a disability payment from the Department of Social Protection or a training allowance equivalent to their jobseeker payment entitlement. These payments are generally at a level significantly above that available through the student grant scheme. The principle of student grants not being awarded to students who are receipt of separate income support from public funds is well established. A similar restriction applies to BTEA recipients who no longer qualify for SUSI maintenance grants.
The current system of student supports is underpinned by the Student Support Act, 2011. It is my intention to initiate a review of this legislation later this year.
15. Deputy Jim Daly asked the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the programme of replacing prefabricated classrooms in primary schools with permanent structures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18218/16]
View answerAs the Deputy is aware, it is my intention in accordance with the Programme for Government to replace school prefabs with permanent accommodation over the lifetime of my Department's capital programme 2016-2021.
To enable this development, my Department will be carrying out an assessment of the number of prefabs being used in schools to deliver the curriculum and to determine whether or not individual prefabs need to be replaced in the context of the long-term accommodation needs of each school involved. When completed, this assessment will quantify the number of prefabs to be replaced. It is intended that this assessment when finalised will enable the replacement of such prefabs to commence in 2019.
16. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Education and Skills his response to the advice by constitutional law experts commissioned by an organisation (details supplied) which found that no constitutional impediment exists to changing the Equal Status Act as a way to ensure that children have equal access to State-funded schools regardless of their religion; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18263/16]
View answerI have received the legal opinion that the Deputy has referred to and I can assure the Deputy that I will give it careful consideration.
It is acknowledged that any change to the Equal Status Act would be extremely difficult as this is a hugely complex area legally, constitutionally, and in other ways.
I note that the previous Oireachtas Joint Committee on Education and Social Protection, when conducting pre-legislative scrutiny of the previously published Admissions Bill, acknowledged the potential tension between Articles 42 (Education) and 44 (Religion) of Bunreacht na hÉireann and concluded that the provisions of the constitution "poses a particular difficulty when legislating in this policy area."
As the Deputy may be aware, a Private Members Bill proposing an amendment to section 7(3)(c) of the Equal Status Act has been initiated and is due to be discussed later today. As previously indicated, my preference is to discuss this complex issue with the Oireachtas Committee at the earliest opportunity and I am open to hearing views on the best way to proceed within our existing constitutional framework.
The Programme for Government contains a commitment to publish new School Admissions legislation taking account of current draft proposals and addressing issues including publication of school enrolment policies, an end to waiting lists, introduction of annual enrolment structures, and transparency and fairness in admissions for pupils and their parents.
I have commenced a process of consultation with opposition parties to discuss my proposals to introduce a new Admissions Bill. Following these consultations, it is my intention to publish a new Admissions Bill during the current Dáil session. The new Admissions Bill will bring tangible benefits to all parents. The Bill will oblige all schools to admit pupils where there are available places. It is important to note that 80% of schools are not oversubscribed.
It is my view that an effective way of providing diversity and choice for parents is by providing additional multidenominational schools for parents, and in this regard, I have committed to increasing the number of non-denominational and multi-denominational schools with a view to reaching 400 by 2030 as set out in the Programme for Government. One of the aims to offer wider choice is so that parents can get access to a school that offers their choice of ethos.
17. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he is aware that the consequences of the policy of the patron of a school (details supplied) in refusing to enrol new children is having a detrimental effect on class sizes in adjacent schools; his plans to open a community national school in an area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18290/16]
View answerI wish to advise the Deputy that the enrolment policy in individual schools is the responsibility of the managerial authority of the school, subject to the approval of the Patron. It is the responsibility of the managerial authorities of all schools to implement an enrolment policy in accordance with the Education Act, 1998.
The Patron has advised the Department that there has been no change in the enrolment policy of the school referred to and that no pupil has been refused a place.
As the Deputy will also be aware, since 2011 new schools are generally only established in areas of demographic growth. My Department uses a Geographical Information System to identify the areas under increased demographic pressure nationwide. The system uses data from the Central Statistics Office, Ordnance Survey Ireland, the Department of Social Protection and information from my own Department's databases. With this information, nationwide demographic exercises are carried out to determine where additional school accommodation is needed at primary and post-primary levels. My Department will continue to analyse demographic trends and monitor enrolments, to determine where new schools will be required. My Department has no plans currently to open a new school in this area.
18. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans for the promotion of apprenticeships as a further education option; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17914/16]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, the route to an apprenticeship is through gaining employment with an approved employer. A campaign to promote apprenticeship is currently being developed by SOLAS in consultation with key partners including the Apprenticeship Council. The campaign will raise awareness and promote the value of apprenticeship for individual apprentices and for employers and it will cover both existing apprenticeships and the new apprenticeships now coming on stream.
This Government has committed to doubling the number of apprenticeship places. In addition to rising numbers entering apprenticeships in the existing trades, the Apprenticeship Council is overseeing the expansion of the apprenticeship system into a range of new areas, following a call for proposals from employers and education and training providers. 25 proposals have been prioritised by the Council for development, with employers on a number of these new apprenticeships planning to recruit in 2016. The Council is working with partners to ensure that information on these new opportunities across a range of sectors and at a range of levels of the National Framework of Qualifications is made available as widely as possible.
19. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to reform the literacy and numeracy strategy; his views on the gap that exists in literacy and in numeracy between advantaged and disadvantaged schools; his plans for new standardised testing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18282/16]
View answerMy Department will complete an Interim Review of the Literacy and Numeracy Strategy by September 2016. The review was scheduled to begin in 2016 but was brought forward to 2015 as many of the targets set in the Strategy have already been achieved. For example:
- The 2020 target to reduce by at least 5% the cohort of primary children performing at the lowest levels of English Reading has already been achieved. In second class primary the percentage of pupils performing at the lowest reading level fell by 13%, while In sixth class the reduction was 10%;
- Similar improvements were recorded in percentage increases for pupils performing at the highest reading levels;
- Similar results were also recorded for primary pupils' performance in mathematics:
- At post-primary level one target was to increase by at least 5% the cohort of 15-year olds performing at the highest levels in international reading, literacy and numeracy tests by 2020. This target has been achieved for mathematics and exceeded for overall reading literacy. Progress has also been made towards the 2020 targets for pupils performing at the lowest levels.
The interim review will contain actions to embed the success of the first five years and prioritise our efforts in key areas. It will involve a partnership approach between schools, parents, national and local agencies, from early years through to further education and training. Supports for students in DEIS schools will require particular consideration, while improving supports for adults, to increase their awareness and involvement in their children's learning, will be important.
One of the challenges remaining, however, is reducing the gap in literacy and numeracy outcomes for disadvantaged (DEIS) schools, compared to non-DEIS schools.
International research argues that schools with high concentrations of disadvantaged students do not perform at the same level academically as schools with a more advantaged intake. Social gaps in achievement reflect the broader societal processes influencing educational inequality. One of the objectives of the New Action Plan for Educational Inclusion, which I have committed to publish by the end of this year, is to reduce this gap, in the context of reducing inequalities by individual background. The plan will also be key in tackling literary and numeracy problems experienced by pupils in disadvantaged communities. I recently announced my initial proposals for the new plan, which I expect will include a series of pilot schemes to introduce measures which have been shown to work well in improving results for disadvantaged children. I also expect it to include measures in the areas of school leadership, literacy teaching methodologies, and ways in which supports to schools can be better integrated. The Programme for a Partnership Government commits to establishing a new Schools Excellence Fund under which applications to tackle educational disadvantage will be prioritised.
Standardised tests were included as part of the Literacy and Numeracy Strategy so that schools could track and report the progress of pupils to parents and plan the next steps in children's learning. They are also used by schools to improve their practice in school self-evaluation and aggregated data is reported to my Department for monitoring purposes. I envisage that schools will continue to use and report data from the tests in these ways. Primary schools have implemented the use of standardised tests in reading and mathematics consistently, and have reported this information to parents and, in aggregate form, to the Department. They have also used it improve their teaching and learning practices through school self-evaluation. One issue emerging from the Review is the need for schools to have available to them new sets of tests that are consistent with the revised primary languages curriculum and that take account of the improvements in standards that have been achieved. There is also evidence from other sources, that teachers require greater support in interpreting the data to best effect. These will be priorities for my Department.
20. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will facilitate the establishment of a gaelcholáiste with a multi-denominational and inclusive ethos and with a catchment area covering west County Dublin and east County Meath, and if he will meet with the Coiste Bunaithe of a school (details supplied) to discuss the matter. [18285/16]
View answerThe decision on when a new school is warranted in a School Planning area is based on objective demographic analysis and where a school is warranted, the selection of a patron is an independent process which places a particular emphasis on parental preferences.
My Department is focused on ensuring that all schools in an area can between them cater for all students seeking a school place. To this end, my Department uses a Geographical Information System to identify the areas under increased demographic pressure nationwide. The system uses a range of data sources in carrying out nationwide demographic exercises to determine where additional school accommodation is needed at primary and post-primary level.
On foot of the latest demographic exercises, four new primary schools and nine new post-primary schools were announced to open in 2017 and 2018 to cater for increased demographic needs. This includes a new post-primary school which will open in 2017 to serve the Carpenterstown/Castleknock, Dublin 15 area, which will provide an additional 1,000 pupil places, supplementing provision in the wider area. Prospective school patrons were invited to apply for the patronage of each of the nine new post-primary schools, including the school to serve the Carpenterstown/Castleknock, Dublin 15 area, with a closing date of 8th June last.
The criteria used in relation to patronage of new schools places particular emphasis on parental demand for plurality and diversity, with parental preferences at the centre of the process. Prospective patrons must submit with their application a parental preference template in which parents have been requested to declare their preference for their child(ren) to be educated through that patron's school model and also their preference with regard to education through the medium of English or Irish.
My Department is currently in the process of assessing the applications received as part of the patronage process for the nine new post-primary schools. Following completion of this analysis, my Department will prepare detailed assessment reports in relation to each of these new schools based on the applications received, for the consideration of the New Schools Establishment Group (NSEG), which will then submit a report with recommendations to me for consideration and final decision.
The group referred to by the Deputy has had a number of meetings with my Department concerning different proposals for the provision of Irish-medium education at second level to serve the Dublin West/East Meath area. My Department has indicated that the issues raised by the group will be examined in the context of the assessment of parental demand for Irish-medium education emerging from the current patronage process, together with analysis of potential demand in the broader area. Detailed information on the post-primary patronage process is available on my Department's website.
