Written Answers Nos. 82-90
82. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Education and Skills the proposals he is reviewing in conjunction with the Department of Children and Youth Affairs to carry out the programme for Government commitment to have schools available for child care services outside school hours; if he will permit community groups and private providers to tender for access to these facilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18722/16]
View answerIn accordance with key commitments in the Programme for a Partnership Government (May 2016) in relation to encouraging the use of school buildings outside school hours which the Government has committed to delivering progress on within the first 100 days, my Department is working closely with the Department of Children and Youth Affairs in considering how to facilitate schools who wish to make their facilities available as part of the range of options available to parents where there is demand. In general, school authorities have a considerable degree of autonomy in relation to how their premises are managed and utilised at local level. The use of school facilities must be approved by the school authority. In 2005, my Department issued a circular to Trustees, Boards of Management and Principals of Primary and Voluntary Secondary Schools (Circular Letter Prim 16/05) to encourage Trustees and Boards of Management to make their facilities available where possible for community, education and recreation purposes. This circular recognises that the decision ultimately lies with the relevant Board or Trustees and that the first priority at all times should be the interest of the school, its teachers and pupils. In facilitating such extra provision there are a number of complex issues that need to be considered in respect of such arrangements. These issues - including property, governance, insurance and liability - are being considered as part of a review within my Department of the requirements to be established around the use of school premises/property for pre-school and after school services and the preparation of guidelines in relation to same. In that regard, a cross-departmental group is also meeting regularly to assess the following:
- Capacity and demand for services
- Children's views on afterschool care
- An appropriate quality and standards framework
- The development of criteria for the capital scheme to be funded by DCYA under Budget 2016
- Estimated existing use of school buildings
- Collaborative models with existing community/private service providers
- Potential funding incentives for provision of services.
83. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on the suggestions by the Irish National Teachers' Organisation that related capital investment will be necessary if the programme for Government commitment on having schools available for child care services is to be successfully implemented; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18723/16]
View answerAn interdepartmental working group has been established with officials from my Department and the Department of Children and Youth Affairs to progress the key commitments in the Programme for a Partnership Government (May 2016), in order to improve the range and quality of options for Parents for afterschool care for school-age children. My department has undertaken to consider how to facilitate the use of school buildings for this purpose. The Government has committed to delivering progress on this commitment in the first 100 days. As part of this work, the Group will consider and assess the following;
- Development of quality standards framework for after school provision
- Existing provision of after school care of school-age children
- Existing use of school buildings
- Capacity and demand for services
- Children's views on afterschool care
- An appropriate quality and standards framework
- The development of criteria for the capital scheme to be funded by DCYA under Budget 2016
- Collaborative models with existing community/private service providers
- Potential funding incentives for provision of services.
85. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Education and Skills the status of his review of the school support programme through the delivering equality of opportunity in schools action plan, including when he will complete and publish it; if he envisages changes to the funding or delivery model under the action plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18725/16]
View answer87. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Education and Skills when he will publish the new national action plan for educational inclusion; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18727/16]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 85 and 87 together.
As the Deputy is aware, the review of the DEIS programme is currently underway and it is my intention that a New Action Plan Educational Inclusion will be published by the end of this year. The current DEIS Action Plan, was published in 2005 and currently provides support to 836 schools serving a total of 169,500 pupils. The DEIS programme has been implemented in partnership with schools and other Government Departments and agencies such as Tusla who manage the Home School Community Liaison and School Completion Programmes, and the Department of Social Protection, which is responsible for the School Meals Programme. The review is looking at all aspects of DEIS, including the identification process for the inclusion of schools in the programme, the range and impact of different elements of the School Support Programme, and the scope for increased integration of services provided by other Departments and agencies, in order to improve effectiveness. As part of the review, targeted measures in a number of key areas will be considered. They include:
- Supporting school leadership
- Networks and clusters for DEIS teachers and schools
- Teaching methodologies
- Exploring ways in which the work of schools could be better integrated with other state supports within the community, and
- In consultation with Minister Zappone, making greater use of Home School Community Liaison.
I intend that innovative measures such as these, which are shown to work well in improving results for disadvantaged children and students, can form pilot schemes under a new schools support programme. The number of additional schools to be included in the new programme will be determined by a new identification process for this purpose, which is currently in development and all schools will be assessed. Therefore, there will not be a requirement for an application process. Subject to Government approval, it is intended to begin to implement actions arising from an updated plan in the 2017/18 school year. In the meantime, I do not propose to make any changes to the current programme, including the addition of further schools until the completion of the Review and agreement on a new Action Plan.
86. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to provide new courses in the leaving certificate, such as coding, physical education and politics; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18726/16]
View answerThe Programme for a Partnership Government recognises the need to focus on the future needs, abilities and capacity of students. The Government is committed to enhancing the availability of technology in schools through the introduction of ICT/Computer Science as a Leaving Certificate subject and the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) has been asked to consider options in this regard. Physical Education is being developed by the NCCA as a full subject that can be assessed as a Leaving Certificate subject in a manner similar to other subjects. Also, a Senior Cycle Physical Education framework is being designed to provide schools with a framework within which they can design a P.E. programme for those students who may not choose to take P.E. as part of their Leaving Certificate examination. A new subject specification for Politics and Society will be introduced in September 2016 to a selected cohort of over 40 schools, following an open invitation to introduce this as an optional Leaving Certificate subject. Politics and Society aims to develop the student's ability to be a reflective and active citizen, in a way that is informed by the insights and skills of social and political science. The introduction of the specification is part of the Department of Education and Skills' commemoration of 1916 and its commitment to education for sustainable development. The new subject has four main strands of study:
- Power and decision-making
- Active citizenship
- Human rights and responsibilities
- Globalisation and localisation.
Question No. 87 answered with Question No. 85.
88. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Education and Skills when he will lift the moratorium on filling certain promoted posts in schools, given that it was introduced as an emergency measure in 2009; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18728/16]
View answerWhen the moratorium on the filling of posts of responsibility was introduced in 2009, the Government exempted Principal and Deputy Principal posts in all primary and post-primary schools. These posts continue to be replaced in the normal manner. The impact of the moratorium was therefore limited to the Assistant Principal and Special Duties posts of responsibility. There are limited alleviation arrangements in place for schools that are acutely affected by the impact of the moratorium at Assistant Principal level. These arrangements are mainly focused at post-primary level. However, it is fair to say that before the moratorium, notwithstanding the fact that one out of every two teachers held a management allowance the workload issue and the pressures on Principals and Deputy Principals existed. It is widely accepted that the quality of school leadership is a key determinant of school effectiveness and the achievement of good learning outcomes. Indeed international research indicates that school leadership is second only to classroom teaching as an influence on pupil learning. Therefore my Department, in consultation with the representative school management bodies has commenced an exploration of the opportunities to support school leaders and how their needs might be addressed. The recently established Centre for School Leadership (CSL) is a collaboration between my Department and the representative professional bodies for school principals. It has been created to offer professional and practical support to schools leaders. This support structure for leadership teams in schools will attempt to ensure that school leaders have opportunities to access, share and create knowledge and experience within their leadership roles. The work of the Centre draws on best international practice and research in the professional development of school leaders. Priorities for the Centre include a new post graduate qualification for aspiring school leaders, a mentoring programme for newly appointed school principals, coaching support for serving principals who are facing new challenges in the role, a review and alignment of leadership programmes with Department standards and the development of a quality assurance framework for leadership provision. In addition my Department will shortly publish Looking at Our School 2016, a quality framework for schools which is designed to support the efforts of teachers and school leaders, as well as the school system more generally, to strive for excellence in our schools. In Budget 2016 and as part of the 2,260 additional teaching posts announced in that budget, 250 posts were provided to second level schools to enable Deputy Principals to be freed from teaching time and be more fully available for leadership in schools. Thus with effect from 01 September 2016, second level schools with over 400 students will receive an allocation that will bring those schools in line with the schools that have over 500 pupils where the Deputy Principal is fully freed up for leadership in the school. A pro rata allocation of additional hours to support school leadership will also be provided to the schools with 400 or fewer students enrolled. At primary level Budget 2016 provided for additional release days for teaching principals to range between 15 and 25 days depending on the size of the school.
89. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Education and Skills the ways, including investment, in which he supports continuous professional development for teachers at primary and at secondary level; the investment as a percentage of overall education spending; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18729/16]
View answerMy Department will spend approximately €46m on teacher continuing professional development (CPD) in 2016 across the primary and post primary sectors. The teacher CPD budget represents 0.74% of my Departments overall budget for first and second level - almost 7% if salary and pension costs are excluded from the Department's budget. The spend of €46m includes a) salary costs for support service personnel and b) substitution costs to facilitate teacher attendance at various CPD events and programmes. The professional development needs of serving teachers in recent years have been addressed through the provision of an induction programme for newly qualified teachers, national in-service for new or revised curriculum areas and ongoing support for the curriculum generally with a particular focus on priority areas - literacy and numeracy, well-being, support for school leaders and for teachers to meet the needs of children with special educational needs. The recently established Centre for School Leadership, a partnership between my Department, IPPN and NAPD, is intended to become a centre of excellence for school leaders. Its responsibilities cover the range of leadership development from pre-appointment training and induction of newly appointed principals, to CPD throughout leaders careers. Other areas of expenditure include training for child protection, Board of Management training, a Teacher Fee Refund Scheme, Teacher Professional Networks and a number of postgraduate programmes to meet particular identified needs such as the teaching of mathematics and special educational needs. CPD is provided in a variety of ways, for example, though Department funded support services, who use a variety of formats including seminars, workshops, on-line and in-school support. Under the Teaching Council Acts 2001-2015, evidence of teacher learning (continuing professional development) may be a requirement for renewal of registration. The Teaching Council, the professional body and regulator for teachers has published its policy, Cosán, on teacher learning and will continue to engage with stakeholders including teachers in preparation for commencement of section 39 of the Teaching Council Acts 2001-2015 which will enable the Teaching Council to review and accredit programmes of continuing professional development.
90. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Education and Skills if and when he will implement the fitness-to-teach provisions of the Teaching Council Acts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18730/16]
View answerUnder the Teaching Council Act 2001, the Teaching Council is, since 2006, the body with statutory authority and responsibility for the regulation of the teaching profession. The Teaching Council Act has been commenced on a phased basis and the next step in the commencement schedule is Part 5 (Fitness to Teach), the provisions of which were amended by the Teaching Council (Amendment) Act 2015. Part 5 provides for, inter alia, the grounds for complaint to the Council concerning a registered teacher, how the Council will deal with such complaints, a range of potential sanctions and the appeal of decisions. Officials of my Department are liaising closely with the Teaching Council in relation to the arrangements for Part 5, and I intend to commence that part shortly, along with other sections of the amended Act.
