Written Answers Nos. 370-392
370. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason a school (details supplied) is still waiting to fill positions for special needs assistants despite the board of management attempting to do so; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13804/17]
View answerThe National Council for Special Education (NCSE) allocates SNA support to schools, in accordance with the criteria set out in my Department's Circular 0030/2014, in order that students who have special educational needs and additional care needs can access SNA support as and when it is needed.
The purpose of the SNA scheme is to provide schools with additional adult support staff who can assist children with special educational needs who also have additional and significant care needs.
The scheme provides for the allocation of a quantum of SNA support to schools, taking into account the assessed care needs of individual children with disabilities, or severe medical needs. The scheme is not limited only to children who have been assessed as having specified categories of disability.
Schools who wish to make applications for SNA support should apply to the NCSE.
At my request, the NCSE have commenced a comprehensive review of the SNA scheme in consultation with other relevant Departments and State Agencies, including the National Disability Authority (NDA) and in that context to:
- Identify and recommend how, in the future, the additional care needs of students, over and above those needs that could be reasonably expected to be managed by teaching staff, should be met and
- Recommend the most appropriate form of support options to provide better outcomes for students with Special Educational Needs who have additional care needs, having regard to the significant amount of State investment in this area.
The NCSE will report to me on the progress of this review in May 2017.
Officials in my Department are in contact with the school referred to by the Deputy and a decision in respect of the appropriate levels of SNA supports for the school will be taken following a review by the NCSE of existing allocations and of students needs in the school.
371. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason for the lengthy delay in coming to an agreement with a club and school (details supplied) on a land swap that will benefit the club, the school and the wider community. [13871/17]
View answerThere 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 the proposal and the matter is being progressed.
372. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will clarify the position of the DEIS programme in view of recent errors being discovered in the DEIS list. [13897/17]
View answer373. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills when the recently-discovered error with the DEIS list was first discovered. [13898/17]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 372 and 373 together.
I take it that the Deputy is referring to the recent re-categorisation of 4 DEIS primary schools as between Urban and Rural.
At the outset, it is important to note that the categorisation of a school as between urban or rural is related to its geographical position and is not related to the assessed level of concentrated disadvantage of its pupil cohort.
The categorisation of schools included in the list announced on 13th February as between urban and rural was based on CSO Electoral Division Strata. However, in some cases these Electoral Divisions are very large and, in a small number of cases, make borderline decisions on a school's designation more difficult. While the schools involved were correctly designated in terms of the ED boundaries, closer consideration of their designation suggested certain anomalies in terms of their urban/rural categorisation and a requirement for further examination.
Following further examination and external technical advice, my Department has decided to use an alternative boundary classification known as “settlements” which better take into account growth in population and the expansion of urban areas over time. Settlements with a population of 1,500 or more are classified as urban, while those with a population of less than 1,500 are classified as rural. My Department is satisfied that this UN-recognised designation is the most appropriate method of categorising schools as between urban and rural.
As with all aspects of the new DEIS identification process, this aspect of school categorisation will be kept under review and updated as and when improved data becomes available.
I wish to assure the Deputy that all new schools included in the DEIS Programme on February 13th last have been examined in the context of this new classification criteria and the four schools affected have been contacted by my Department of the change required.
374. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills to outline his plans to make further revisions to the DEIS list. [13899/17]
View answerDEIS is my Department's main policy initiative to tackle educational disadvantage. The DEIS Plan for 2017 sets out our vision for future intervention in the critical area of social inclusion in education policy.
In its initial application, the new identification model has identified that there are schools in disadvantaged areas, not previously included in DEIS, whose level of disadvantage is significantly higher than many schools already in the programme. Accordingly, we are moving as a first step to include these schools in the DEIS School Support Programme.
Schools included in the list published by my Department on 13th February are those whose level of concentrated disadvantage has been identified as being at the same level as the current DEIS category for schools serving the highest concentrations of disadvantage. This includes 15 new Urban Band 1 schools, 30 Urban Band 2 schools raised to Urban Band 1 status, 51 new Rural DEIS schools and 13 new Post Primary DEIS schools.
It is important to note that the school details published on 13th February represent a first step in the application of the assessment process to support pupils in schools with the highest concentrations of disadvantage. I am fully aware that there are further schools whose concentrated level of disadvantage may not be at the highest level, but may nevertheless be at a level which warrants additional supports for pupils under DEIS.
However, as noted in the DEIS Plan, the implementation of a new objective central data-based model of identifying levels of disadvantage within school populations will be followed by a further programme of work to create a more dynamic model where levels of resource more accurately follow the levels of need identified by that model.
Once this work has been completed, consideration will be given to extending DEIS supports to a further group of schools as resources permit.
In delivering on the DEIS Plan 2017 we must be conscious that there are ongoing changes in demographics which may be more marked in some areas than others. Populations in some areas have changed considerably since schools were originally evaluated for inclusion in DEIS in 2006. The new model may reveal that some schools currently included in DEIS have a level of disadvantage within their school population much lower than that in some schools not included within DEIS. If this turns out to be the case, then we must consider whether it is fair that those schools continue receiving these additional resources, using resources that may be more fairly allocated to the schools with greater levels of disadvantage.
375. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills to outline the revised methodology he is using to assess schools to enter the DEIS scheme; and the way it differs from the original methodology. [13900/17]
View answerDEIS is my Department's main policy initiative to tackle educational disadvantage. The DEIS Plan for 2017 sets out our vision for future intervention in the critical area of social inclusion in education policy.
A key element of DEIS Plan 2017 is the availability of a new identification process for the assessment of schools for inclusion in DEIS using centrally held CSO and DES data.
Two separate approaches were adopted in the 2005 process for the assessment of schools across the Primary and Post Primary sectors. At Primary level a survey of school Principals was used while at Post-Primary, a combination of data from the DES Post-Primary Pupils Database, including school-level retention rates, together with exam achievement data and exam fee waiver data, which indicated that students had a medical card, from the State Examinations Commission (SEC) was used. The objective of both methods was to capture the socio-economic variables that collectively best predict the risk of educational disadvantage.
The revised identification process for DEIS 2017 is significantly more robust. The key data sources are the DES Primary Online Database (POD) and Post-Primary Online (PPOD) Databases, and CSO data from the National Census of Population as represented in the Pobal HP Index for Small Areas which is a method of measuring the relative affluence or disadvantage of a particular geographical area. Variables used in the compilation of the HP Index include those related to demographic growth, dependency ratios, education levels, single parent rate, overcrowding, social class, occupation and unemployment rates. This data is combined with pupil data, anonymised and aggregated to small area, to provide information on the relative level of concentrated disadvantage present in the pupil cohort of individual schools. This data is applied uniformly across all schools in the country. Through the use of centrally held data, schools were not required to submit an application for inclusion in the programme.
376. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will clarify the response to Parliamentary Question No. 19 of 1 March 2017 and indicate whether the research document referred to in that question was considered by his Department in producing the criteria upon which applications for DEIS would be evaluated (details supplied). [13905/17]
View answerThe Deputy will be aware from my reply of the 1st March of the key data sources considered and used in the new identification process. This is based on objective data sourced from the CSO and from the Department's POD and PPOD database, and not on research provided by schools or other bodies. Unlike previous rounds of DEIS allocation, this allocation on this occasion did not depend on applications from schools or information gathered by other bodies, but purely on objective data. As such, the research document referred to was not an input into the decision-making process. However, the Department is aware of the document and its findings.
Further information on the development of the new identification model is contained in the report of the DEIS Review Process which can be found on my Department's website at http://www.education.ie/en/Schools-Colleges/Services/DEIS-Delivering-Equality-of-Opportunity-in-Schools-/DEIS-Review-Report.pdf.
377. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Education and Skills to set out the number of schools serving the 51 areas designated under the RAPID programme not designated as DEIS schools; and the name of those schools. [13906/17]
View answerDEIS is my Department's main policy initiative to tackle educational disadvantage. The DEIS Plan for 2017 sets out our vision for future intervention in the critical area of social inclusion in education policy.
A key element of DEIS Plan 2017 is the availability of a new identification process for the assessment of schools for inclusion in DEIS using centrally held CSO and DES data.
The key data sources are the DES Primary Online Database (POD) and Post-Primary Online (PPOD) Databases, and CSO data from the National Census of Population as represented in the Pobal HP Index for Small Areas which is a method of measuring the relative affluence or disadvantage of a particular geographical area. Variables used in the compilation of the HP Index include those related to demographic growth, dependency ratios, education levels, single parent rate, overcrowding, social class, occupation and unemployment rates. This data is combined with pupil data, anonymised and aggregated to small area, to provide information on the relative level of concentrated disadvantage present in the pupil cohort of individual schools. This data is applied uniformly across all schools in the country. Through the use of centrally held data, schools were not required to submit an application for inclusion in the programme.
It is important to note that a school's rate of disadvantage is based on the student cohort attending the school, and not where the school itself is located. Accordingly, the RAPID designation was not considered to be an appropriate variable for the identification of schools for participation in DEIS.
The location of the 51 areas designated under the RAPID Programme can be found on the Pobal website at the following link: https://www.pobal.ie/FAQ/Pages/RAPID.aspx.
The list of all Post Primary schools in Ireland is available on my Department's website at the following link:
http://www.education.ie/en/Publications/Statistics/Data-on-Individual-Schools/Education-UT-primaryEducation-IE-DepartmentofEducationAndSkills-PrimarySchoolsLocations2016-2017-010317.csv.
The list of all Primary Schools in Ireland is available on my Department's website at the following link:
http://www.education.ie/en/Publications/Statistics/Data-on-Individual-Schools/Education-UT-primaryEducation-IE-DepartmentofEducationAndSkills-PrimarySchoolsLocations2016-2017-0103171.csv.
The list of DEIS schools for the 2016/2017 school year can be found on my Department's website at the following link:
http://www.education.ie/en/Schools-Colleges/Services/DEIS-Delivering-Equality-of-Opportunity-in-Schools-/deis_school_list.xls.
Details of the new DEIS schools included in the list published on 13th February 2017 can also be found on my Department's website at the following link:
http://www.education.ie/en/Schools-Colleges/Services/DEIS-Delivering-Equality-of-Opportunity-in-Schools-/DEIS-Plan-2017-New-DEIS-Schools-List.pdf.
378. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education and Skills whether a person (details supplied) can continue to remain in position; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13907/17]
View answer381. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Education and Skills if a person (details supplied) will be permitted to remain teaching past her 65th birthday; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13958/17]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 378 and 381 together.
The individual to whom the Deputy refers is a primary school teacher in a recognised primary school and is a member of the Primary School Teachers Pension Scheme 2009.
In accordance with the terms of that superannuation scheme it is not possible to remain in pensionable service beyond the end of the school year in which she reaches age 65. The person to whom the Deputy refers, would at that point, immediately qualify for pension and lump-sum based on the service she has accrued.
With reference to how the vacant post should be subsequently be filled, it is a matter for the individual school authority, subject to procedures agreed under Section 24(3) of the Education Act 1998 (as amended by the Education (Amendment) Act 2012). My Department has set out in a number of circulars the detail as to how the sequence of recruitment for qualified teachers should be applied by schools. It is possible, subject to giving preference to unemployed teachers, that schools can recruit retired teachers to cover short term absences. In those circumstances where a teacher who is retired and is in receipt of a pension returns to teaching she will start on the first point of incremental salary scale as appropriate and her pension will be abated.
In addition the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform published in August 2016 a report from the Interdepartmental Group on Fuller Working Lives. That Department, together with Public Service employers, is now reviewing the statutory and operational barriers to extended participation in the public service workforce.
379. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 217 of 29 November 2016, when a response will issue from the NCSE (details supplied). [13913/17]
View answerAs the Deputy is aware, 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, including SNA support. As the question previously raised by the Deputy related to an application for SNA support for an individual child, I arranged for the question to be forwarded to the NCSE for direct reply to the Deputy.
The NCSE has informed my Department that there is insufficient evidence in the professional report submitted with the application of significant care needs. The NCSE has confirmed that they will reply directly to the Deputy with regards to the application.
380. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Education and Skills if there will not be a reduction in the number of teachers allocated to a school (details supplied). [13954/17]
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 are set out in circular 0017/2017 which is available on my Departments website.
The staffing arrangements include an appeals mechanism for schools to submit an appeal under certain criteria to an independent Appeals Board.
The school referred to by the Deputy had an enrolment of 501 on 30th September 2016. This allows for a mainstream staffing of 18 classroom teachers for the 2017/18 school year.
382. Deputy Michael Collins asked the Minister for Education and Skills to outline the reasons teachers employed on a full-time basis for two years or more under a fixed-term contract fulfilling a job share post are not eligible to apply for a contract of indefinite duration; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13963/17]
View answerMy Department issued Circulars 23/2015 and 24/2015 on the 27th March 2015, on foot of the report presented by Peter Ward SC. These Circulars set out the detailed arrangements and procedures for the implementation of the recommendations of the Expert Group on Fixed-Term and Part-Time Employment in Primary and Second Level Education in Ireland which was chaired by Mr. Ward.
In line with the recommendations of the Ward Report those Circulars outlined that teachers covering for job share posts were not covering for an approved leave of absence and therefore do not qualify to be considered for the award of a Contract of Indefinite Duration.
383. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if a school (details supplied) can be provided with an additional four special needs assistants to make up the allocated numbers to alleviate the workload of the 14 SNAs currently in place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13980/17]
View answerThe National Council for Special Education (NCSE) allocates SNA support to schools, in accordance with the criteria set out in my Department's Circular 0030/2014, in order that students who have special educational needs and additional care needs can access SNA support as and when it is needed.
The purpose of the SNA scheme is to provide schools with additional adult support staff who can assist children with special educational needs who also have additional and significant care needs.
The scheme provides for the allocation of a quantum of SNA support to schools, taking into account the assessed care needs of individual children with disabilities, or severe medical needs. The scheme is not limited only to children who have been assessed as having specified categories of disability.
Schools who wish to make applications for SNA support should apply to the NCSE.
At my request, the NCSE have commenced a comprehensive review of the SNA scheme in consultation with other relevant Departments and State Agencies, including the National Disability Authority (NDA) and in that context to:
- Identify and recommend how, in the future, the additional care needs of students, over and above those needs that could be reasonably expected to be managed by teaching staff, should be met and
- Recommend the most appropriate form of support options to provide better outcomes for students with Special Educational Needs who have additional care needs, having regard to the significant amount of State investment in this area.
The NCSE will report to me on the progress of this review in May 2017.
Officials in my Department are in contact with the school referred to by the Deputy and a decision in respect of the appropriate levels of SNA supports for the school will be taken following a review by the NCSE of existing allocations and of students needs in the school.
384. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Education and Skills to set out the precise criteria used by his Department to evaluate the DEIS supports to be made available to a school (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13982/17]
View answerDEIS is my Department's main policy initiative to tackle educational disadvantage. The DEIS Plan for 2017 sets out our vision for future intervention in the critical area of social inclusion in education policy.
A key element of DEIS Plan 2017 is the availability of a new identification process for the assessment of schools for inclusion in DEIS using centrally held CSO and DES data.
The key data sources are the DES Primary Online Database (POD) and Post-Primary Online (PPOD) Databases, and CSO data from the National Census of Population as represented in the Pobal HP Index for Small Areas which is a method of measuring the relative affluence or disadvantage of a particular geographical area. Variables used in the compilation of the HP Index include those related to demographic growth, dependency ratios, education levels, single parent rate, overcrowding, social class, occupation and unemployment rates. This data is combined with pupil data, anonymised and aggregated to small area, to provide information on the relative level of concentrated disadvantage present in the pupil cohort of individual schools. This data is applied uniformly across all schools in the country. Schools were not required to submit an application for inclusion in the programme as the centrally held data required was already held by my Department.
Further information on the development of the identification process is available in the DEIS Review report which can be found on my Department's website at http://www.education.ie/en/Schools-Colleges/Services/DEIS-Delivering-Equality-of-Opportunity-in-Schools-/.
385. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Skills if all autism spectrum disorder units at primary level will employ a special education teacher to ensure that the appropriate skills are available in these units; the number of special education teachers that are currently employed by his Department at primary level; the policy on the employment of special education teachers at primary level; his views on whether the need to have special education teachers available in all primary schools is a vital element in the education of all students with special needs attending mainstream school; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14047/17]
View answerIt has been the policy of my Department for some time that only qualified and registered teachers should be employed by schools. This is set out in Circular Letters 31/2011 and 0025/2013.
Current recruitment procedures require schools to ensure that teachers proposed for appointment to publicly paid posts must be registered with the Teaching Council and have qualifications appropriate to the sector and suitable to the post, including posts in ASD Units, for which they are proposed.
It is a matter for school authorities to employ teachers in accordance with the Department's policy in this regard and the deployment of teaching staff in the school is, in the first instance, a matter for the school management authorities.
Teachers can access additional continuous professional development through a number of means, including the Professional Development Service for Teachers (PDST), which offers professional learning opportunities to teachers and school leaders in a range of pedagogical, curricular and educational areas.
In addition, the Special Educational Support Service (SESS), aims to enhance the quality of learning and teaching in relation to special educational provision. The service co-ordinates, develops and delivers a range of professional development initiatives and support structures for school personnel working with students with special educational needs in mainstream primary and post-primary schools, special schools and special classes.
Funding for special education provision in 2017 will amount to some €1.68 billion, which is equivalent to 19% of the gross overall current allocation for education and training. The funding includes:
- Over 12,500 Learning Support and Resource Teacher posts in mainstream primary and post primary schools for the 2016/2017 school year, providing additional teaching support to pupils with special educational needs.
- Over 1,100 teachers in 125 special schools.
- Over 1,150 special classes (1,150 teacher posts) in place with 150 new Special Classes opening for the 2016/17 school year. This compares to 548 special classes in 2011.
A new model for allocating Special Education Teaching Resources to mainstream primary and post primary schools has been introduced and will commence in schools from September 2017.
An additional 900 teaching posts have been provided to support the introduction of this new allocation model. This substantial additional provision will ensure that:
- Up to 1,000 schools will receive additional allocations, where the new model indicates additional need.
- No school will receive an allocation of resources less than the allocation they received in the 2016/17 school year.
The provision of an additional 900 teaching posts is a very significant investment in the provision of additional teaching support for pupils with special educational needs in schools.
The revised allocations, based on the profiled special education needs of schools issued to schools on 7th March 2017.
A new Circular for Schools issued recently in conjunction with notifications to schools of their allocation for 2017/18, which was issued by NCSE.
386. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Education and Skills to set down in tabular form the number of employees across his Department and each agency or organisation under the aegis of his Department who are suspended from work without prejudice and on full pay pending an investigation; and if he will provide, in the case of there being one or more employee in this situation, details with regards to the suspensions (details supplied). [14064/17]
View answerThere are no employees from my Department or from bodies under the aegis of my Department currently suspended from work without prejudice and on full pay pending investigation.
387. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Education and Skills to set down the total amount spent externally by his Department on legal advice for each year since 2015; the solicitors firms involved; the barristers, junior and senior, who provided services to his Department for each such year; the amounts paid to each firm or person; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14130/17]
View answerThe amounts spent by my department on legal advice for each year since 2015 are as follows:
2015
Conor Feeney, Barrister at Law Junior Counsel €13,591.50
2016
Conor Feeney, Barrister at Law Junior Counsel €16,236
McCann Fitzgerald, Solicitors €1,476
2017
Aoife Carroll, Barrister at Law Junior Counsel €1,230.
Question No. 388 answered with Question No. 241.
389. Deputy Imelda Munster asked the Minister for Education and Skills to outline his views on policies on the appropriate usage, utilisation and measure of forced absence sanctions or punishments, suspensions and expulsions at second level school. [14200/17]
View answer390. Deputy Imelda Munster asked the Minister for Education and Skills to set out the relevant departmental sections and State agencies charged with overseeing and managing the employment and implementation of forced absence punishments or sanctions, suspensions and expulsions at second level as well as those charged with examining and correcting any evident overuse at individual school level. [14201/17]
View answer391. Deputy Imelda Munster asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will examine summary information concerning forced absence sanction or punishments at a school (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14202/17]
View answer392. Deputy Imelda Munster asked the Minister for Education and Skills to indicate the inquiries and investigations he will initiate further to summary information concerning forced absence sanction and punishments at a school (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14206/17]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 389 to 392, inclusive, together.
The Education Welfare Act 2000 requires all schools to have in a place a Code of Behaviour. The Act requires that a school Code of Behaviour shall, inter alia, specify the standards of behaviour that shall be observed by each student attending the school, the measures that may be taken when a student fails or refuses to observe those standards, the procedures to be followed before a student may be suspended or expelled from the school concerned and the grounds for removing a suspension imposed in relation to a student.
The Act also requires that the Code must be prepared in accordance with guidelines issued by the Educational Welfare Service (formerly the National Educational Welfare Board). The EWS publication “Developing a Code of Behaviour: Guidelines for Schools” was issued to schools in 2008 and includes guidance on the legal and procedural requirements governing suspension and expulsions as well as the features of good educational practice in the use of these sanctions.
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 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 expels a student or suspends a student for 20 or more days in any school year.
Application forms for taking a section 29 appeal are available on my Department’s website or by contacting the Section 29 Administration Unit at 0761 108584 or by emailing section29@education.gov.ie.
Schools are not required to report the number of suspensions or expulsions made to my Department.
As the Deputy may be aware, TUSLA, the Child and Family Agency is the statutory body with responsibility for the administration of educational welfare functions contained in the Education Welfare Act, 2000. These include assisting parents who are experiencing difficulty in securing a school place for their child, and ensuring school attendance, participation and retention for all pupils. TUSLA operates under the remit of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs.
TUSLA collect data from schools directly on school attendance. Schools are also obliged to notify the Educational Welfare Service of TUSLA of absences of more than 20 days and suspensions of more than 6 days. Schools must also notify the EWS when they intend to expel a student from a school. My Department understands that where the EWS note excessive numbers of expulsions or suspensions the EWS can write to the Schools Board of Management to offer support to them to look at approaches that could enable them to reduce these numbers.
