Written Answers Nos. 128 - 141
128. D'fhiafraigh Deputy Gerry Adams den Aire Oideachais agus Scileanna an bhfuil sé i gceist aige deireadh a chur leis an scrúdú cainte roghnach don Teastas Sóisearach; an dtuigeann sé go bhfuil imní ar dhaltaí go ndéanfadh beartas mar seo dochar fadtréimhseach don teanga ó thaobh shealbhú na teanga de; agus an ndéanfaidh sé ráiteas ina thaobh. [18370/17]
View answerLe feidhm ó Mheán Fómhair 2017, beidh dhá shonraíocht (siollabais) nua i gceist le soláthar na sraithe sóisearaí don Ghaeilge i scoileanna agus suíomhanna iar-bhunscoile. Tá an tsonraíocht T1 dírithe ar scoláirí i scoileanna a fheidhmíonn trí mheán na Gaeilge agus ar scoláirí i scoileanna a fheidhmíonn trí mheán an Bhéarla a fhoghlaimíonn ábhar amháin nó níos mó (seachas an Ghaeilge) trí mheán na Gaeilge. Tá an tsonraíocht T2 dírithe ar scoláirí eile i scoileanna a fheidhmíonn trí mheán an Bhéarla.
Leagann sonraíochtaí nua na Sraithe Sóisearaí don Ghaeilge (T1 agus T2 araon) béim láidir ar theanga labhartha. Aibhsítear í seo go háirithe i bpríomhshnáithe na sonraíochtaí – Cumas Cumarsáide. Leagann an tsnáithe seo béim mhéadaithe ar an nGaeilge mar theanga na foghlama agus na cumarsáide i seomraí ranga chomh maith le béim ar na scileanna atá de dhíth chun cumarsáid a dhéanamh go héifeachtach le húsáideoirí eile na teanga. Tá an chumarsáid, deiseanna úsáide agus idirghníomhaíocht ríthábhachtach do thascanna sa seomra ranga.
Bainfear úsáid as cineál éagsúil de mhodheolaíocht measúnaithe do scileanna teanga labhartha (agus scileanna eile) i sonraíocht Ghaeilge nua na Sraithe Sóisearaí. Go dtí seo, bhí triail teanga labhartha roghnach ann, a rinne mionlach scoláirí, agus a bhí á meas i gcoitinne ag a múinteoirí mar chuid de shean-scrúdú an Teastais Shóisearaigh. Anois, mar chuid de shonraíochtaí Gaeilge na Sraithe Sóisearaí, déanfar measúnú foirmiúil ar scileanna teanga labhartha na scoláirí go léir. Déanfar é seo trí bhíthin dhá Mheasúnú Rangbhunaithe (MRBanna) a dtabharfar tuairisc ina leith chuig tuismitheoirí ag deireadh na tríú bliana i bPróifíl Ghnóthachtála na Sraithe Sóisearaí (PGSS).
Faoin bPolasaí don Oideachas Gaeltachta 2017-2022, tabharfar cuireadh do scoileanna sa Ghaeltacht in Earrach na bliana 2017 aitheantas a lorg mar scoil Ghaeltachta i gcomhréir le critéir theanga-bhunaithe. Chun aitheantas mar scoil Ghaeltachta a bhaint amach, beidh an deis ag scoileanna obair i dtreo soláthair oideachais a dhéantar go hiomlán trí mheán na Gaeilge (seachas Béarla agus curaclaim teanga eile) thar amlíne an Pholasaí cúig bliana seo. I gceann amháin de na critéir teanga do scoileanna dara leibhéal áirítear riachtanas leis na sonraíochtaí Gaeilge T1 a chur i bhfeidhm sa tsraith shóisearach agus na scoláirí, cainteoirí dúchais na Gaeilge go háirithe, a spreagadh le tabhairt fúthu. Tosóidh cur i bhfeidhm an Pholasaí don Oideachas Gaeltachta i scoileanna ar bhonn céimnithe ó Mheán Fómhair 2017.
129. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on the points raised in a letter (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18386/17]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware I ran a public consultation process from 24 January to 20 March 2017 on the role of denominational religion in the school admission process and possible approaches for making changes.
I believe that it is unfair that preference is given by publicly-funded religious schools to children of their own religion who might live some distance away, ahead of children of a different religion or of no religion who live close to the school.
I also believe that it is unfair that parents, who might otherwise not do so, feel pressure to baptise their children in order to gain admission to the local school and I intend to reform the school admissions system in relation to the role that religion can play in that process.
In the Consultation paper I set out four possible approaches for dealing with the issue, in primary schools in the first instance, including:
- A catchment area approach, prohibiting religious schools from giving preference to children of their own religion who live outside the catchment area ahead of non-religious children who live inside the catchment;
- A ‘nearest school rule’, allowing religious schools to give preference to a religious child only where it is that child’s nearest school of that particular religion;
- A quota system, which would allow a religious school give preference to children of its own religion in respect of only a certain proportion of places, meaning that the remaining places would be allocated based on other admissions criteria – proximity to the school, lottery etc.;
- An outright prohibition on religious schools using religion as a factor in admissions, meaning that all places would be allocated based on other factors. Within this approach, there is capacity to allow religious schools to require parents or students to indicate some support or respect for the ethos of the school.
I am mindful of the need to avoid possible pitfalls and unintended consequences with each of these approaches, including possible impacts on minority religions and on the wishes of Protestant, Jewish, Islamic and other communities to be able to run schools in accordance with their ethos and admit children from their communities to attend those schools.
Other possible consequences to be avoided include possible breaches of the constitution, technical and administrative difficulties impacting on the capacity to effectively run the system of over 4000 schools and the possibility of creating ‘postcode lotteries’, such as other countries have experienced, resulting in pronounced divergence in the quality of schools in more advantaged compared to less advantaged areas.
The 8 week phase of receiving written submissions is part of the broader 12 week consultation process which will include additional steps, including any follow-up consultation that is required, collation of responses and development of next steps.
My Department has begun the process of examining the submissions, which includes a submission from the board of management of the school in question, and formulating next steps. Clearly I will not make any decisions around next steps until such time as all of the submissions have been examined and considered.
130. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason a school (details supplied) did not receive DEIS status; his plans to award DEIS status to this school; if he has put an appeals process in place for schools such as this to appeal the recent decision not to provide them DEIS status; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18389/17]
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 education policy.
The key data sources used in the identification process 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.
I am satisfied that the Identification Model, to assess the level of disadvantage among the pupil cohort of a school has been applied fairly using centrally held data adopting an objective and scientific approach which has been uniformly applied for all schools in the country.
Full details of the process involved in the assessment of schools is available on my Department's website at http://www.education.ie/en/Schools-Colleges/Services/DEIS-Delivering-Equality-of-Opportunity-in-Schools-/.
The following programme of work will be carried out, in consultation with stakeholders:
- The model will be further refined and, for both financial and logistical reasons, the following incremental phased approach to the deployment of resources will be implemented;
- In early 2017 all schools across the primary and post primary sectors will be assessed in terms of their socio-economic demographic using the new Assessment Framework;
- From September 2017, supports under the School Support Programme will be extended on a phased basis to those schools not already in receipt of these supports and who are identified as having the highest concentrations of pupils at greatest risk of educational disadvantage;
- Further analysis will be conducted to examine other variables known to be strong predictors of educational disadvantage in the context of resource allocation.
Work will be carried out to consider designing a more tailored system of resource allocation, within which there are more grades of disadvantage identified and resources are allocated accordingly in response to the needs of individual schools;
A Monitoring and Evaluation Framework will be implemented, to improve transparency and to determine which interventions are having the greatest impact in terms of delivering better outcomes for learners;
A review will be carried out at the end of the 2017/2018 academic year to examine how the new model of allocating resources has operated;
The aim will be that, following this work, in 2018 the new model of resource allocation will be finalised, the objective of which will be to more closely match resources with identified needs in individual schools.
I also wish to inform the Deputy that a communication to all schools will issue shortly to provide information on the identification model including details of how the datasets are used to determine a school's level of disadvantage, the importance of data quality to the process and the need for detailed and up to date information from schools.
In terms of the process to date, the position in relation to the new model is that, in its initial application, it has identified that there are schools not previously included in DEIS, whose level of concentrated disadvantage is significantly higher than many schools already in the programme.
It is important to note that this is a first step in a process and the fact that a school has not been included now does not preclude its inclusion at a later date should the assessment indicate a level of disadvantage that warrants additional supports. As I have also previously stated 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.
The implementation of the 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. The completion of this work will inform ongoing provision and consideration will be given to extending DEIS supports to a further group of schools as resources permit.
As provided for in the DEIS Action Plan the Department has begun a process of verifying the data used to identify the levels of concentrated disadvantage for each school. I can confirm that the school referred to by the Deputy has requested such verification. When this process has been concluded all schools that have requested such verification will be notified directly by my Department of the outcome of this process.
131. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills if a school (details supplied) will be granted funding under the summer works scheme; his plans to announce the beneficiaries of the summer works scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18395/17]
View answerI wish to advise the Deputy that my Department is in receipt of a Category 6 application, Roof Project, under the Summer Works Scheme (2016-2017) from the school to which he refers.
Nearly 50% of schools have applied for inclusion under the scheme which reflects a very high demand. Details of successful school applicants in respect of Categories 1 and 2 were announced in April last and are published on my Department's website www.education.ie.
Assessment of valid projects in further categories is now being undertaken by my Department, subject to the overall availability of funding, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the scheme as outlined in Circular Letter (0055/2015), which may be accessed on my Department's website. The application from the school in question is available to be considered in this context. I expect to be in a position to announce a further round of the SWS in due course.
132. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will ensure a new school (details supplied) in County Cavan is prioritised by his Department; the reason it is not being treated as urgent; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18426/17]
View answerThe building project to which the Deputy refers is at an advanced stage of architectural planning, Stage 2(b) detailed design stage, which includes the application for statutory approvals and the preparation of tender documents. All statutory approvals have been secured.
The Design Team are currently completing the Stage 2(b) submission which the Board of Management will submit to my Department for review. When the Stage 2(b) has been reviewed my Department will revert to the school at that time with a timeframe for the further progression of the project to tender stage.
133. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Education and Skills the cost of a proposal to allow small schools (details supplied) a 12-month stay to recover numbers before the loss of a teacher; if the proposal will be considered in the context of budget 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18431/17]
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.
Budget 2012 increased the appointment and retention ratios for small schools (i.e., schools with up to four classroom teachers). Improvements to the staffing of these schools were announced for the 2015/16 school year. These improvements are improved retention thresholds for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th classroom teacher and also the improved appointment and retention thresholds for one-teacher schools situated 8km or more from the nearest school of the same type of patronage and/or language of instruction.
In addition, Budget 2016 announced a 1 point improvement to the primary staffing schedule. The improved staffing schedule which is available on the Department website will be implemented for the 2016/17 school year.
Following a review of the staffing allocation for Small Primary Schools, Budget 2017 announced two adjustments in relation to one teacher schools. Where the school is the sole primary school on an island the school will be able to appoint a second teacher. In relation to single teacher schools generally with an enrolment of 15 or more pupils the school can apply to the staffing appeal board for a second post where the single teacher has children across 6 or more class groups. The detailed arrangements will be set out in the staffing schedule circular for the 2017/18 school year.
The cost of restoring the 2011/12 staffing schedule for small schools would be approximately €7.5m.
Proposals for Budget 2018 will be considered near Autumn of this year.
134. Deputy Jan O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to introduce a school bus service from Dooradoyle to Mungret for persons attending a school (details supplied) which is being relocated from its current location in Dooradoyle to Mungret; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18442/17]
View answerSchool transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department.
Currently almost 116,000 children, including some 12,000 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.
Under the terms of the Primary School Transport Scheme children are eligible for transport where they reside not less than 3.2 kilometres from and are attending their nearest national school as determined by the Department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language.
Applications for children wishing to avail of school transport to the new school in Mungret should be made online at www.buseireann.ie before the last Friday in April 2017.
The terms of the Primary School Transport Scheme are applied equitably on a national basis.
135. Deputy Kevin O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will liaise with the Cork Education and Training Board, ETB, with a view to ensuring the specific courses are being held at a college (details supplied) for 2017 to 2018; if his attention has been drawn to the withdrawal of the commitment by Cork ETB that many students who are in receipt of social welfare benefits or allowances will have to travel to Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18448/17]
View answerThis is an operational matter for Cork Education and Training Board (CETB). I have made arrangements for CETB to reply directly to the Deputy.
136. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated cost of restoring the cuts to the SOLAS training allowance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18459/17]
View answerThe training allowance, funded by my Department through SOLAS, paid to participants on Further Education and Training (FET) courses, is based on Department of Social Protection payment rates. In the case of participants on FET courses aged under 26 their Social Protection rate was maxed up to €160 per week.
The increase to €193 per week for jobseekers aged under 26, announced in Budget 2017, will be paid from September 2017 to all eligible participants on Further Education and Training courses in line with the Department of Social Protection Back to Education Allowance (BTEA) payment.
Participants' means are taken into account in deciding the level of payment to those in receipt of BTEA and this will also apply to participants on FET courses.
The estimated cost of implementing this increase in the allowance to FET participants will be just over €4 million.
137. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Education and Skills if the teacher numbers can be reviewed to take into account changes in numbers of pupils attending a school (details supplied) since the commencement of the 2016 to 2017 school year; if these numbers are maintained, the number of teachers the school will have for the 2017 to 2018 school year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18462/17]
View answerThe criteria used for the allocation of teaching posts for the 2017/2018 school year is set out in the Staffing Schedule (Circular 0017/2017) which is available on the Department website. 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. The staffing schedule operates in a clear and transparent manner and treats all similar types of schools equally irrespective of location.
The school referred to by the Deputy had an enrolment of 51 on 30 September 2016. This allows for a mainstream staffing of 2 teachers – Principal and 1 classroom teacher - for the 2017/18 school year.
The staffing schedule also includes an appeals mechanism for schools to submit an appeal under certain criteria to an independent Appeals Board.
An application for consideration by the Appeals Board for an additional classroom teaching post under Criterion E – Small Schools appeals has been received for submission to the April meeting of the Primary Staffing Appeals Board.
The Primary Staffing Appeals Board operates independently of the Department and its decision is final.
138. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Education and Skills the consultation process on the role of denominational religion in the school admissions system; the possible approaches for making changes; the number of submissions received; if he will provide a list of those that made submissions; the future plans for the consultation process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18484/17]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware I ran a public consultation process from 24 January to 20 March 2017 on the role of denominational religion in the school admission process and possible approaches for making changes.
Approximately one thousand written submissions were received. As this is a public consultation, submissions may be published in due course on my Department’s website subject to the requirements of the Freedom of Information Acts.
My Department has begun the process of examining the submissions and formulating next steps. Clearly I will not make any decisions around next steps until such time as all of the submissions have been examined and considered.
139. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will consider changes to the consultation process on the role of denominational religion in school admissions following the census 2016 figures announced on 6 April 2017 (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18485/17]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware I ran a public consultation process from 24 January to 20 March 2017 on the role of denominational religion in the school admission process and possible approaches for making changes.
I believe that it is unfair that preference is given by publicly-funded religious schools to children of their own religion who might live some distance away, ahead of children of a different religion or of no religion who live close to the school.
I also believe that it is unfair that parents, who might otherwise not do so, feel pressure to baptise their children in order to gain admission to the local school and I intend to reform the school admissions system in relation to the role that religion can play in that process.
When launching this consultation I stated that one of the most complex and challenging elements of this is how we deal with school ethos and religious and moral education, an area where beliefs are strongly held and changing rapidly. In this regard, I note that the Census 2016 figures indicate that those with no religion account for 9.8% of the population.
In the Consultation paper I set out four possible approaches for dealing with the issue, in primary schools in the first instance, including:
A catchment area approach, prohibiting religious schools from giving preference to children of their own religion who live outside the catchment area ahead of non-religious children who live inside the catchment;
A ‘nearest school rule’, allowing religious schools to give preference to a religious child only where it is that child’s nearest school of that particular religion;
A quota system, which would allow a religious school give preference to children of its own religion in respect of only a certain proportion of places, meaning that the remaining places would be allocated based on other admissions criteria – proximity to the school, lottery etc.;
An outright prohibition on religious schools using religion as a factor in admissions, meaning that all places would be allocated based on other factors. Within this approach, there is capacity to allow religious schools to require parents or students to indicate some support or respect for the ethos of the school.
I am mindful of the need to avoid possible pitfalls and unintended consequences with each of these approaches, including possible impacts on minority religions and on the wishes of Protestant, Jewish, Islamic and other communities to be able to run schools in accordance with their ethos and admit children from their communities to attend those schools.
Other possible consequences to be avoided include possible breaches of the constitution, technical and administrative difficulties impacting on the capacity to effectively run the system of over 4000 schools and the possibility of creating ‘postcode lotteries’, such as other countries have experienced, resulting in pronounced divergence in the quality of schools in more advantaged compared to less advantaged areas.
The 8 week phase of receiving written submissions has now closed and this is part of the broader 12 week consultation process which will include additional steps, including any follow-up consultation that is required, collation of responses and development of next steps.
My Department has begun the process of examining the submissions and formulating next steps. Clearly I will not make any decisions around next steps until such time as all of the submissions have been examined and considered.
140. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the details of the review of the Youthreach programme; the terms of reference and timescale for the review; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18494/17]
View answerAs part of the detailed implementation plan in relation to the Further Education and Training Strategy 2014-2019, SOLAS has committed to organising a schedule of independent evaluations of programmes of FET provision over the lifetime of the FET Strategy to ensure that these programmes are effective in delivering for learners.
I understand from SOLAS that a tender specification and call for proposals has been prepared in respect of an independent evaluation of the Youthreach Programme. The specification will issue this month. SOLAS expect the report and response to its findings to be completed in the first quarter of 2018.
I am informed that a Youthreach Evaluation Advisory Committee with membership from a range of stakeholders has been established by SOLAS. The specification for the evaluation has been discussed with the Advisory Committee. The evaluation will cover a range of issues, including:
- the profile of Youthreach participants
- the geographical spread of provision
- the effectiveness of course provision, including certification outcomes and completion/drop-out rates
- progression patterns in education and employment of those that leave and complete the Youthreach programme
- work based learning in Youthreach
- the structure of Youthreach to include governance, oversight and funding arrangements
- the overall level of capacity vs demand
- the appropriateness of the existing sets of operating guidelines
- the perceptions of learners, staff and management
- barriers to participation
141. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the average cost of establishing a special class or an autism unit in an existing school; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18514/17]
View answerI wish to confirm to the Deputy that under my Department’s Additional Accommodation Scheme, it is open to schools to submit applications for devolved funding in respect of NCSE approved special classes in cases where an accommodation requirement has been identified and where the school cannot accommodate the class within its existing building.
The average cost of establishing special needs accommodation in an existing school will vary depending on the need, if any, to undertake work within the school building, the nature of such works, any site specific costs and any associated planning conditions.
