Written Answers Nos. 124-140
124. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Education and Skills the actions taken to support greater participation of young women and other under-represented groups in apprenticeship programmes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11693/20]
View answer125. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on the further national expansion of the existing pilot access to apprenticeship scheme run by TU Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11694/20]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 124 and 125 together.
SOLAS, in partnership with the HEA and with the support of the Apprenticeship Council, intends to continue developing access pathways with all providers, including TU Dublin, during 2020 and into the 2020-2021 academic year. Following a call for proposals to provide 500 pre-apprenticeship places as part of PLC provision, 31 PLC Pathways to Apprenticeship programmes have been approved to commence in 2020. The expected number of places provided across the 31 locations is estimated at 589.
Work in the area of access to apprenticeships for under-represented groups is ongoing and, in addition to pre-apprenticeship programmes, initiatives underway to boost apprenticeship across tertiary education include:-
- the roll out of the 2020 Generation Apprenticeship competition at second level with 156 second level schools, Youthreach Centres and Community Training Centres (see www.gacomp.ie);
- Launch of an ‘Apprenticeship Jobs’ platform in April 2019 to enhance the accessibility of apprenticeship job vacancies;
- a new online facility for approving new apprenticeship employers went live in October 2019 to streamline the application process for employers wishing to take on apprentices.
126. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will consider reducing the pupil-teacher ratio to ensure smaller class sizes are possible in the context of the need for social distancing in schools due to Covid-19. [11701/20]
View answerBudget 2020 has provided for a budget of more than €11 billion for the Department of Education and Skills in 2020. This is the highest ever allocation to the sector and an increase of nearly €2 billion since 2016.
Teacher numbers at primary level have increased by almost 3,500 when comparing the 2015/16 school year with the current school year and this has led to a steady improvement in the pupil teacher ratio and average class size statistics during this period.
The latest figures in relation to pupil teacher ratio show an improved ratio of teachers to students from 16:1 to 15.2:1 at primary level when comparing the 2015/16 school year to the 2018/19 school year. Average class sizes at primary level improved from 24.9 to 24.3 in the same period.
The annual staffing schedule determines the allocation of teachers to schools. For the current school year, it operates on a general average of 26 pupils to every 1 teacher (26:1) which is historically the lowest ever allocation ratio at primary level.
The National Return to Work Safely Protocol will inform discussions with all education partners so that appropriate guidance for schools is developed and arrangements put in place in time for the new school year.
127. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will consider reducing the pupil-teacher ratio to ensure smaller class sizes in DEIS band 1 schools in the context of the loss of teaching time, the impact on children from deprived backgrounds and the particular need for smaller class sizes in DEIS band one schools. [11702/20]
View answerThe DEIS programme allows for a reduced class size in Urban Band 1 primary schools with the application of a preferential staffing schedule to these schools of 20:1 at junior classes and 24:1 at senior classes to support those students at the highest risk of educational disadvantage.
As the Deputy may be aware, DEIS Plan acknowledges the allocation of teaching resources to DEIS primary schools with the highest concentrations of children at risk of educational disadvantage has served to improve learning outcomes. It also commits to the evaluation of the level of teaching resources for schools participating in DEIS to be undertaken to inform future policy in this area.
In order to facilitate this a Class Size Working Group was established comprising representatives from the Education Partners, the Educational Research Centre and the relevant Business Units in my Department. This group has met on a number of occasions to consider class size in the context of improved learning outcomes of those most at risk of educational disadvantage.
A report on the work of this group is currently being finalised, and will take into consideration the feedback and observations of the working group members. It is intended that the findings of this report will inform future policy direction in this area.
In relation to class sizes for the return to school following measures taken to reduce the impact of Covid-19, the National Return to Work Safely Protocol will inform discussions with all education partners so that appropriate guidance for schools is developed and arrangements put in place in time for the new school year.
128. Deputy James Lawless asked the Minister for Education and Skills if full-cost extensions of research projects that had to be stopped during the recent Covid-19 emergency will be funded (details supplied); his plans to extend and expand job security for early career researchers; the number of researchers that lost their jobs due to universities closing during the Covid-19 pandemic; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11716/20]
View answerAt the outset the Deputy may wish to note that lead policy responsibility for national research, development and innovation policy on a whole-of-government basis resides with my colleague for Business, Enterprise and Innovation.
Research and innovation focused on the development and strengthening of Ireland's knowledge economy and, in particular, on enhancing the productivity of the indigenous sector of the Irish economy and driving industrial transformation - consistent with the objectives of Future Jobs Ireland - are clearly essential to the future success of the economy, and our ability to address the challenges facing our country in the aftermath of Covid19. Ireland's capacity to compete globally including by remaining competitive for foreign direct investment is also directly linked to Ireland's ability to innovate and to attract the talent and investment essential for a growing knowledge economy.
On 13 March last, the Irish Research Council, in partnership with the Health Research Board and Science Foundation Ireland, issued a joint funders statement to address issues being faced by grant awardees during the COVID-19 crisis. This was followed up by establishing a group comprising the main competitive research funders and performers, as well as the HEA, which provides a strong forum for dialogue on a range of issues, including monitoring closely the many and valued industry and enterprise partnerships on myriad research projects around the country.
My Department understands that flexibility is being offered by the research funding bodies to researchers, such as considering proposals to reallocate costs within project awards, the provision of extensions for those directly impacted in terms of access to labs at this time, the possibility to review work packages within individual awards etc. All parties want to work through the current situation in a way that safeguards our Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) system to the maximum extent possible, and address the specific concerns regarding researchers on contracts that are linked to research funding awards. It is considered that the approach of dealing with issues on a case-by-case basis is the most appropriate way of dealing with the situation at this time and ensuring that the specific circumstances that arise in particular cases can be addressed effectively. In relation to costed extensions, my Department understands that a number of research funders are working proactively with their grant holders in this regard.
As the research funders and research performing institutions work through the current situation, the evidence will become more available on its current impacts, as well as into 2021 and beyond. As with students, the HEIs are now actively looking at researcher return to campus. Health and safety is the paramount driver and the return is being managed appropriately at a local level (given the very specific needs of different types of research, closeness to completion of some projects, e.g. for doctoral students, and industry contracts), with oversight of the Heads of Research to ensure consistency and fairness in approaches being taken.
My Department works closely with the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation in supporting the delivery of national RDI policy, and will continue to work interdepartmentally to ensure the long term sustainability of the national RDI system is safeguarded. The provision of additional financial support to Tertiary Education to ensure that it can contribute to economic recovery, and to meeting priority skill needs will be examined in the context of overall expenditure management and budgetary policy.
Under Innovation 2020, a Researcher Career Development and Employment Framework is being finalised, and which will ensure continued opportunities for researcher career development. While I do not have details of numbers of researchers who have lost jobs due to Covid 19, I understand that individual HEIs are making every effort to protect the employment of researchers, including those on contract and that the national research funding agencies are being supportive in this regard.
129. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Education and Skills if the carrying out of emergency works in schools will be prioritised in view of the extended period of closure due to Covid-19. [11725/20]
View answerI can assure the Deputy that applications for funding under my Department's Emergency Works Scheme have been and continue to be processed with the appropriately high level of urgency necessary given the nature of the scheme.
130. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Education and Skills the details of his recent announcement of a summer programme for children with additional needs; the way in which the programme will operate in schools or areas if teachers or SNAs cannot make themselves available in that particular area; the contingency plans in such cases; if the school in question is not available due to remediation works, the commencement date and the duration of the programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11729/20]
View answerMy Department has published details of a summer programme for children with special educational needs enrolled in special schools, special classes and mainstream classes. The programme incorporates some aspects of the July Provision of previous years.
Summer Provision 2020 – Reconnecting with Education, is a significantly expanded programme for children with complex special educational needs which aims to re-establish the child’s relationships and connection with school and their peers as a basis for learning and participation and to help the child to re-engage in learning and social activities and help them adapt to new routines and changes. The programme aims to ensure, in so far as possible, that the child can reintegrate/transition into their planned education setting for the next school year with their peers. In-school or home-based supports by teachers and SNAs will help to prevent regression among children with special needs.
The eligibility criteria has been widened to include the following categories of children:
1. Pupils with a diagnosis of Autism
2. Pupils with severe and profound learning difficulties
3. Any child in a special class or special school
4. Children transitioning into a special class or special school from early year’s settings
5. Pupils in primary school mainstream classes who present with the following disabilities:
- Children with Down syndrome
- Children who are Deaf or most severe hard of hearing
- Children who are blind or have a most severe visual impairment
- Children who have a moderate general learning disability
- Children with severe emotional behavioural difficulties
All special schools and primary schools with special classes are invited to provide the school based summer provision for their students. This programme will run for a minimum of two weeks and can extend up to four weeks where the schools, teachers and Special Needs Assistants are willing to participate. Home-based provision will be available where a child’s local school is not in a position to provide a programme or does not have the capacity to accommodate a child in a planned programme this year. In this situation my Department will provide grant funding towards the engagement by Parents of a registered teacher / SNA to provide home based support for 10 hours a week for 4 weeks. The home based support can be provided over any of the four weeks commencing no earlier than Monday 29th of June 2020 and finishing no later than Friday 21st August 2020.
The programme will be reliant on schools, teachers and Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) choosing to participate on a voluntary basis.
A dedicated online registration system for families of children with special needs to access Summer Provision is now available on Gov.ie/summerprovision.
Parents are asked to register their participation online, providing some outline information of the extent of their participation in the programme e.g. number of weeks.
Once registered, the parent is then free to plan and organise the programme for their child by consulting with the child’s school and securing the services of a teacher or SNA.
I also announced a programme for DEIS schools for this Summer.
Full information on summer provision and its various strands, including guidance information for parents, is available at Gov.ie/summerprovision
131. Deputy Jack Chambers asked the Minister for Education and Skills the status of plans for the delivery of the July provision in 2020; if the case of persons (details supplied) will be examined; the advice for them in relation to their application for same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11731/20]
View answer134. Deputy Jack Chambers asked the Minister for Education and Skills the status of plans for the delivery of July provision in 2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11738/20]
View answer217. Deputy Jack Chambers asked the Minister for Education and Skills if post-primary schoolchildren with moderate learning difficulties can apply for the July provision; the position regarding the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12260/20]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 131, 134 and 217 together.
My Department has published details of a summer programme for children with special educational needs enrolled in special schools, special classes and mainstream classes. The programme incorporates some aspects of the July Provision of previous years.
Summer Provision 2020 – Reconnecting with Education, is a significantly expanded programme for children with complex special educational needs which aims to re-establish the child’s relationships and connection with school and their peers as a basis for learning and participation and to help the child to re-engage in learning and social activities and help them adapt to new routines and changes. The programme aims to ensure, in so far as possible, that the child can reintegrate/transition into their planned education setting for the next school year with their peers. In-school or home-based supports by teachers and SNAs will help to prevent regression among children with special needs.
The eligibility criteria has been widened to include the following categories of children:
1. Pupils with a diagnosis of Autism
2. Pupils with severe and profound learning difficulties
3. Any child in a special class or special school
4. Children transitioning into a special class or special school from early year’s settings
5. Pupils in primary school mainstream classes who present with the following disabilities:
- Children with Down syndrome
- Children who are Deaf or most severe hard of hearing
- Children who are blind or have a most severe visual impairment
- Children who have a moderate general learning disability
- Children with severe emotional behavioural difficulties
It is a matter for the school principal to determine a student's eligibility for the scheme having regard to the published criteria.
All special schools and primary schools with special classes are invited to provide the school based summer provision for their students. This programme will run for a minimum of two weeks and can extend up to four weeks where the schools, teachers and Special Needs Assistants are willing to participate. Home-based provision will be available where a child’s local school is not providing a programme or does not have the capacity to accommodate a child in a planned programme this year. In this situation my Department will provide grant funding towards the engagement by Parents of a registered teacher / SNA to provide home based support for 10 hours a week for 4 weeks.
The programme will be reliant on schools, teachers and Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) choosing to participate on a voluntary basis.
A dedicated online registration system for families of children with special needs to access Summer Provision is now available on Gov.ie/summerprovision
Parents are asked to register their participation online, providing some outline information of the extent of their participation in the programme e.g. number of weeks.
Once registered, the parent is then free to plan and organise the programme for their child by consulting with the child’s school and securing the services of a teacher or SNA.
I also announced a programme for DEIS schools for this Summer.
Full information on summer provision and its various strands, including guidance information for parents, is available at Gov.ie/summerprovision
132. Deputy Frankie Feighan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if the information technology grant allocation for a school (details supplied) will be investigated and reassessed to take into consideration the fact that there are more pupils in the school than accounted for by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11732/20]
View answerAs part of the implementation of the Digital Strategy for Schools 2015-2020 Enhancing Teaching Learning and Assessment, funding of €210m for ICT Infrastructure will be distributed to schools over the five years of the Strategy. €110m has issued over the lifetime of the strategy to date with €40m recently issuing in the form of a grant payment to all eligible schools and a further €10m top-up funding issued to all schools to enable schools to support any of their students experiencing difficulty in engaging with remote learning.
In the context of the current public health crisis the funding can be focussed on assisting schools to address ICT needs including devices, software and other ICT solutions to support the provision of remote learning. This can include the purchase of ICT devices that can be shared with students who do not have access to devices, essential learning platforms and other ICT infrastructure to support the provision of remote learning.
The Digital Strategy for school’s ICT grant is calculated based on the school’s enrolment at the end of September from the previous school year. Under the terms of this funding, as outlined in circular 0031/2020, all students following primary and post-primary programmes reckon for per capita purposes in recognised primary, special and post-primary schools.
The ICT Grant does not include PLC programmes, as these are funded as part of further education. The funding issued in respect of the 2019-2020 school year is subject to this criteria.
Full details regarding the funding are set out in Circulars 0031/2020 (€40m funding) and 0032/2020 (€10m funding) which are available on the Department’s website at https://www.education.ie/en/Circulars-and-Forms/Circulars-and-Forms/.
As the Deputy may be aware, the Post Leaving Certificate (PLC) programme is the largest of the full time Further Education and Training (FET) programmes with over 30,000 PLC places available annually. PLC provision is planned at a national level by SOLAS.
133. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Education and Skills the status of works for a school (details supplied); and if works will include the additional accommodation request made by the school and approved by the special education needs organiser. [11735/20]
View answerI am pleased to inform the Deputy that funding was approved under my Department's Additional Accommodation Scheme to enable the school in question to build a 1 class SEN base.
The project has been devolved for delivery to the School Authority. The next step will be for the school to procure a consultant. This consultant will lead the project through the various stages of architectural planning and onwards through the statutory planning process and construction phase.
135. Deputy James Browne asked the Minister for Education and Skills if detailed guidance will be provided to principals on the way in which they should provide calculated grades for external leaving certificate applicants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11742/20]
View answerWhere a student is studying one or more subjects outside of a recognised school, the Guide for Schools on Providing Estimated Percentage Marks and Class Rank Orderings, published by my Department, states that every effort should be made by the school to provide an estimated mark where the principal is confident that there is sufficient evidence of the student’s achievement to make an objective judgement. My Department will be flexible in accepting estimated marks and rankings from other schools or colleges, and will look at this issue on a case-by-case basis. All reasonable efforts should be made to obtain a satisfactory evidence base. This includes situations where students are studying subjects outside of school, such as non-curricular languages.
Every effort will be made to provide calculated grades to as many students as possible, provided that there is credible, satisfactory evidence on which an estimated mark can be based from an appropriate source.
136. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills the status of a school building (details supplied) in County Donegal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11745/20]
View answerThe Deputy will be aware from previous responses to similar questions in this respect that a Stage 1 meeting was held with this school on 28th November 2019. Following this meeting, the school was required to submit a revised Stage 1 report.
This report has been received and is currently being reviewed by officials in my Department. This review, which has required consideration of a number of issues with the design and costs associated with same, is expected to be completed in the coming days. A decision will be conveyed to the school authority directly in that respect.
137. Deputy Marc MacSharry asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he is considering providing financial supports to private transport providers contracted to provide school transport services. [11762/20]
View answerSchool Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education and Skills.
The purpose of my Department's School Transport Scheme is, having regard to available resources, to support the transport to and from school of children who reside remote from their nearest school.
In the current school year over 120,000 children, including over 14,200 children with special educational needs, are transported in over 5,000 vehicles on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country covering over 100 million kilometres at a cost of over €219m in 2019.
Following the initial announcement that schools would be closed from the 13th to the 29th March to support efforts to contain the spread of Covid-19, and in light of the exceptional circumstances, it was agreed that school transport contractors operating on the School Transport Scheme would be paid at the normal rate for the period up to 29th March 2020. It was further decided that a payment of 50% would be afforded for the week commencing Monday 30th March until Friday 3rd April 2020. Thereafter, the normal arrangements applied for the period of scheduled school closures associated with the Easter Holidays (6th April – 17th April inclusive). It was subsequently agreed that contractors should be paid for a further 5 days at 50% to cover the period Monday 20th April to Friday 24th.
In light of the most recent announcement that schools will remain closed until the end of current school year it has been decided that contractors will continue to be paid at 50% while schools are closed in the current school year.
My Department is not in a position to provide funding for private bus contractors not contracted to operate on the Department’s School Transport Scheme.
138. Deputy Jack Chambers asked the Minister for Education and Skills if a roadmap for the reopening of the education system will be provided in order to provide clarity for pupils, families, teachers and school communities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11778/20]
View answerOn 12 June, my Department published the report to Government “Planning for reopening schools in line with the Roadmap for reopening society and business” https://www.education.ie/en/The-Department/Announcements/framework-for-reopening-and-operating-schools.html.
The report sets out the clear ambition to develop a sustainable plan to fully reopen schools at the start of the next school year in late August/September in line with normal timeframes.
The report also sets out in brief the contingencies that must be considered during the coming period in the context of Covid-19. These contingencies will be worked through in detail in the coming weeks with education partners and stakeholders to ensure that the return to school is safe for children and staff.
139. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding an application for funding for a school hall by a school (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11782/20]
View answerI can confirm that my Department recently received an application, for capital funding, under the Additional School Accommodation scheme, from the school authority referred to by the Deputy. Once the application has been assessed, the school authority will be contacted directly with a decision.
140. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will address a matter (details supplied) regarding school transport; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11788/20]
View answerSchool Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education and Skills.
The purpose of my Department's School Transport Scheme is, having regard to available resources, to support the transport to and from school of children who reside remote from their nearest school.
In the current school year over 120,000 children, including over 14,200 children with special educational needs, are transported in over 5,000 vehicles on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country covering over 100 million kilometres at a cost of over €219m in 2019.
The type of vehicle required for use on School Transport Scheme services is determined by the specific capacity requirements for each route and the roadways that the vehicle will be expected to travel on. It is also determined by the individual requirements of the child involved, as is the case in relation to the provision of transport for children with Special Educational Needs.
Bus Éireann has confirmed that in relation to vehicle testing standards, all large public service vehicles operating in the state, must meet the minimum statutory requirements of the Road Safety Authority’s Commercial Vehicle Roadworthiness test and are subject to roadside inspection by the Authority to ensure that they have a current roadworthiness certificate at the time of roadside inspection. Each vehicle must also have a valid Public Service Vehicle (PSV) licence issued by a PSV Officer of An Garda Síochána following inspection. This inspection is particularly relevant in the case of any proposed modifications to vehicles.
Both of these legal requirements are verified by Bus Éireann before any vehicle is permitted to be added to the nominated fleet of any contractor seeking to provide services under the School Transport Scheme. In addition to the statutory requirements, Bus Éireann arranges for additional examinations of vehicles operating under the School Transport Scheme - which are both targeted and random. These additional quality assurance checks are carried out by an independent agency on behalf of Bus Éireann.
All operators successfully awarded contracts to operate School Transport Scheme services by Bus Éireann must meet their contractual obligations set out in respect of vehicle safety, safety inspections and maintenance systems.
With regard to the re-opening of schools for the 2020/21 academic year, my Department is currently engaging intensively with Bus Éireann, the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport and the National Transport Authority on the logistical considerations that arise from public health advice in planning for the reopening of schools. The operation of school transport services in September 2020 will be informed by the outcome of this planning for re-opening schools.
