Written Answers Nos. 192 - 201
192. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Education and Skills if consideration has been given by his Department to using the land immediately adjacent to a school (details supplied) for a recreation area for pupils accommodated in the school pending the completion of phase two, which is potentially more than two years overdue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4780/17]
View answerDublin and Dún Laoghaire ETB is the school authority with regard to the school to which the Deputy refers. My Department has contacted the ETB in this respect and I can confirm that my Department has not received any request regarding the use of land adjacent to the school.
193. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on a matter (details supplied) regarding Brexit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4786/17]
View answerThe National Skills Strategy 2025 identifies Ireland’s current skills profile, provides a strategic vision and specific objectives for Ireland’s future skills requirements, and sets out a road map for how the vision and objectives can be achieved across the education and training sector.
With over 140 Actions, the Strategy sets out the Government's commitment to improving and using skills for sustainable economic growth and outlines how we can develop a well-skilled, adaptable workforce.
The Action Plan for Education was launched in September 2016 and the vision of the Plan is that Irish Education and Training across primary, secondary and third level should become the best in Europe over the next decade. The plan contains hundreds of actions to be implemented, with particular focus on skills and continuous improvement within the education system.
Amongst the actions are:
- Implementing the new Framework for Junior Cycle with its new short courses, group projects and Junior Cycle Profile of Achievement.
- Putting a new plan in place for DEIS schools to help achieve higher skills, better progression and clear pathways.
- Extending coding and ICT options in school.
- Expand Apprenticeships and Traineeships.
- Develop Regional Skills Plans to respond to local needs.
- Reforming the funding model for Higher Education to support Ireland’s growth ambitions and the system’s capacity to meet specific targets on skills gaps, access for disadvantage groups and have a stronger impact on innovation.
- Increases the availability of quality entrepreneurship programmes and modules in schools, Higher and Further Education.
- Establish a new competitive fund to build Ireland’s research base.
In some cases additional investment will be required while at the same time measures are designed to enhance the performance of the sector, over the three-year period of the Plan. The central and increasingly important role the growth of talent is playing in economic development and job creation support the need for such investments and improvements. It is envisaged that the document will be a renewable document with yearly updates.
A plan to expand Apprenticeship and Traineeship in Ireland over the period 2016-2020 was published recently. The Plan sets out how we will manage the pipeline of new apprenticeships and also set out the timing and nature of a new call for proposals. The plan sets out specific annual targets as well as bringing forward a range of specific actions to enable and support the development of new apprenticeships and traineeships. The plan also sets out annual targets, and associated actions, to extend the traineeship model over the period to 2020. A new Career Traineeship initiative, instigated by SOLAS in collaboration with ETBs and enterprise was initiated, to develop a more effective model of work-based learning, primarily at NFQ levels 4 and 5, incorporating best national and international research and practice.
Recognising that the ‘war for talent’ is now one of the most important factors for job-creation, the Action Plan for Education which I launched last September sets out ambitious plans that will be developed and implemented including a total of 100 apprenticeship schemes and 50 traineeship schemes delivering 50,000 registrations between now and 2020; a 25% increase access to work experience at higher level; 25% increase in flexible learning; and an entrepreneurship education plan. An integral part of the Action Plan is a comprehensive building programme – aimed at delivering over 60,000 additional permanent school places, over 300 extensions to existing schools and build 14 new schools by 2021.
194. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason a person (details supplied) was refused a SUSI grant. [4811/17]
View answerThe student to which the Deputy refers, recently appealed the decision of the Appeals Officer of the awarding authority to the independent Student Grants Appeals Board (SGAB).
The appeal will be heard within the 60 day timeframe set out in the Student Support Act 2011. The decision of the SGAB will be communicated directly to the student in due course.
195. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Education and Skills the outcome of the school transport review; the measures he proposes to implement to deal with difficulties which arose for many families prior to the commencement of the 2016-2017 school year with particular reference to the availability of concessionary tickets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4812/17]
View answerSchool transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department.
Currently in the region of 114,000 children, including some 10,000 children with special educational needs, are being transported in over 4,000 vehicles on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country covering over 100 million kilometres annually.
The Programme for Government committed to a review of the concessionary charges and rules element of the School Transport Scheme. This review was commenced in June 2016 and published in December of that year. As part of the review process I also established an Oireachtas Cross Party Working Group to feed into the review and that group met to discuss school transport issues. The review published in December made recommendations on both the charges and the rules element of concessionary school transport.
As outlined in the review there have been a number of reports on the school transport scheme over the years and the current scheme is based on a detailed Value for Money Review published in 2011. Therefore this review did not deal with the range of issues dealt with in that report.
With regard to the charges for concessionary school the recommended course of action was to continue with the current position whereby charges remain in place for those in receipt of concessionary places. I agree with this recommendation on the basis that those applying for concessionary transport are making a conscious decision to do so and understand the implications of this choice at the time of application.
The report also recommended that the number of concessionary places should be reduced in line with the rules introduced in 2012 on a phased basis. Previous plans to advance this option were put on hold, pending the completion of the review. However upon consideration of the review and discussions at the Cross Party Working Group I decided that there should be no planned programme of downsizing in the coming years except in line with normal operational decisions within the current scheme.
196. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Education and Skills if a school (details supplied) in County Kerry will be provided with an additional teaching post based on projected pupil numbers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4816/17]
View answerThe criteria used for the allocation of teachers to primary schools is published annually on the website of the Department of Education and Skills. The key factor for determining the level of staffing resources provided at individual school level is the staffing schedule for the relevant school year and pupil enrolments on the previous 30 September.
Staffing arrangements for the 2017/18 school year have not yet been finalised and so it is not possible, at this stage, to confirm a school’s staffing for the next school year. The arrangements will be published in the coming weeks and at that stage, schools will be able to establish their staffing for the coming school year.
200. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Education and Skills the status of his Department's dealings with a club (details supplied); if his attention has been drawn to the need to bring these matters to a successful conclusion; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4832/17]
View answerAs previously outlined, there are a number of legal and technical matters to be resolved pertaining to the proposal by the club referred to by the Deputy.
I can confirm that officials from my Department have consulted with the school authorities in relation to this matter and are currently awaiting an update regarding the outcome of a recent meeting between the school authorities and the club in relation to the club's proposal.
201. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Education and Skills the supports available to a person (details supplied) with special needs who will complete a three-year placement in a school in June 2017; if a SENO will be assigned to this person; and if assistance will be provided in securing an appropriate primary school place for September 2017. [4834/17]
View answerThe policy of my Department is that children with special educational needs should be included where possible and appropriate in mainstream placements with additional supports provided. In circumstances where children with special educational needs require more specialised interventions, special school or special class places are also available.
The National Council for Special Education (NCSE), which is an independent statutory agency, is responsible, through its network of Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), for processing applications from schools for special educational needs supports. Responsibility for deciding on the quantum of educational supports and resources to be allocated to schools to support individual pupils rests with the NCSE.
The enrolment of a child to a school is a matter, in the first instance, for the parents of the child and the Board of Management of a school. My Department has no role in relation to processing applications for enrolment to schools.
However, parents/guardians of children with special educational needs, who may need advice or are experiencing difficulties in locating a school placement should contact their local Special Educational Needs Organiser (SENO) who can assist in identifying an appropriate educational placement for their child. Contact details are available on the NCSE website at www.ncse.ie.
The SENO can also advise parents in relation to supports which may be available to support children with special educational needs, including special transport arrangements which may be made available.
The NCSE have also published a Guide for Parents and Guardians of Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs on Choosing a School. This guide is also available at www.ncse.ie.
