Written Answers Nos. 419-437
419. Deputy Matt Shanahan asked the Minister for Education if her attention has been drawn to the weight being borne in school bags by primary and secondary pupils (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24825/20]
View answerMy Department’s circulars to all primary and post-primary schools have highlighted the potential health hazard of overweight schoolbags and outline a range of local measures that could be put in place to help alleviate the problem.
The report of the Working Group on the Weight of School Bags, commissioned in 1997, recognised that many of the solutions to this issue belong at local school level and made various recommendations in this regard, such as optimum use of storage facilities, developing pupil organisation skills and timetabling.
My Department is aware that positive action has been taken by many schools on these issues. Actions consist of a range of measures, including the provision of lockers and in the case of second level school the arrangement of the timetable into double class periods, active liaison with parents and the co-ordination of homework by subject teachers.
Ultimately it is a matter for each individual school to determine which particular measures are most suited to its individual circumstances and to how the school concerned organises teaching and learning.
The use of digital resources by teachers and students in schools is increasing. While conventional textbooks are still widely used, a number of schools have introduced or are considering introducing e-books and other digital resources to enhance students' work in school and at home. Schools can use the book grant scheme to purchase a range of digital resources relevant to the curriculum.
The decision to use tablet devices, and as a consequence eBooks, is a matter for the Board of Management of each school. Where the introduction of new technology is planned, there should be consultation with members of the school community including parents. The cost and other implications must be fully considered by the Boards of Managements before a decision is made. It is a matter for each individual school to determine which particular measures are most suited to its individual circumstances and to how the school concerned organises teaching and learning.
420. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Education if the school transport scheme family portal was closed by Bus Éireann as a result of a direct instruction from her or her Department; if Bus Éireann has been instructed by her Department not to respond to school transport scheme queries by telephone or by email; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24835/20]
View answerSchool Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of my Department. In the 2019/2020 school year over 120,000 children, including over 14,200 children with special educational needs, were 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 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.
The closing date for payment for the 2020/2021 school year was Tuesday 4th August 2020. All children who are eligible for school transport and who applied and paid by the deadline have been accommodated on school transport services where such services are in operation.
In agreement with Bus Éireann, the School Transport Scheme Family Portal was temporarily closed for applications and payments on the 20th August 2020. This temporary closure was necessary to complete the work required to issue tickets to families who at that time remained due to be allocated a ticket for school transport services for the 2020/2021 school year.
The School Transport Scheme Family Portal re-opened on the 7th of September. However, parents/guardians making an application/payment at this time for the 2020/2021 school year are reminded that the closing date for payments for the 2020/21 school year was Tuesday 4th August 2020. While it is possible to submit a payment, payments made at this time are now late. Late applicants and/or families who pay late are not guaranteed a seat and will only be allocated a seat if capacity is available once seats are allocated to those families who applied and paid on time for transport services for the 2020/2021 school year.
In addition, payments for Post-Primary seats completed or made after 4th August 2020 will be only considered when 50% capacity, required by new Covid19 public health guidelines, is achieved on each route. The timeframe for this will vary from route to route and may take a number of weeks to complete. In the event of not securing a ticket where no capacity exists, or on cancellation, a full refund will be issued.
At no stage did my Department instruct Bus Éireann not to answer queries by telephone or email.
421. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Education the number of primary and post-primary pupils that have applied for but have not been provided with school transport by county in tabular form; the number of pupils continuing in education that are not new applicants to the school transport scheme; her plans to find a quick resolution to the lack of transport being currently provided; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24836/20]
View answerSchool Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the 2019/20 school year over 120,000 children, including over 14,200 children with special educational needs, were 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 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.
Under the terms of the School Transport Scheme Primary children are eligible for transport where they reside not less than 3.2 kms from and are attending their nearest national school as determined by the Department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language. Post Primary children are eligible for transport where they reside not less than 4.8 kms from and are attending their nearest education centre as determined by the Department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language.
All children who are eligible for school transport and who completed the application and payment process on time have been accommodated on school transport services for the 2020/21 school year where such services are in operation.
Children who are not eligible for school transport, but who completed the application process on time, are considered for spare seats that may exist after eligible children have been facilitated; such seats are referred to as concessionary seats.
Concessionary transport may vary from year to year and cannot be guaranteed for the duration of a child’s post primary school education cycle. Where the number of applications for transport on a concessionary basis exceeds the number of seats available, Bus Éireann determines the allocation of the tickets and refunds payments made on behalf of those concessionary applicants for whom no seats remain.
Based on the public health advice published in early July, my Department has been planning for School Transport Scheme services for the 2020/2021 school year to fully operate, but with additional measures and hygiene requirements in place. The Department has been engaging intensively with Bus Éireann in regard to the logistics for the safe operation of School Transport Scheme services for the 2020/2021 school year.
Updated health advice was received from NPHET on the 18th August, which impacts on the operation of post-primary school transport services. This advice stated that for secondary school students on school transport, strict distancing should be ensured in line with that on public transport along with the wearing of face coverings.
My Department is engaging with Bus Éireann in respect of these plans, to implement measures so that any services that can operate from the start of the school year at 50% capacity will do so and over the coming period all other post-primary transport services will be re-organised and additional services will be provided as required to allow for physical distancing.
Bus Éireann is conducting a full assessment to see where re-organisation or re-scheduling of services is possible. In addition, Bus Éireann has recently invited applications from operators who wish to be considered for the provision of additional post-primary services that may be required.
The number of primary and post-primary pupils that have applied for but have not been provided with school transport by county in tabular form and the number of pupils continuing in education that are not new applicants to the school transport schemes requested by the Deputy is not readily available and and will be forwarded to the Deputy as soon as it is available.
422. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Education if the case of children (details supplied) will be reviewed; the status of bus tickets for same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24838/20]
View answerSchool Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the 2019/20 school year over 120,000 children, including over 14,200 children with special educational needs, were 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 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.
The closing date for payment for the 2020/2021 school year was Tuesday 4th August 2020. All children who are eligible for school transport and who applied and paid by the deadline have been accommodated on school transport services where such services are in operation.
The School Transport Scheme Family Portal was temporarily closed for applications and payments on the 20th August 2020. This temporary closure was necessary to complete the work required to issue tickets to families who at that time remained due to be allocated a ticket for school transport services for the 2020/2021 school year.
The School Transport Scheme Family Portal re-opened on the 7th September. However, parents/guardians making an application/payment at this time for the 2020/2021 school year are reminded that the closing date for payments for the 2020/21 school year was Tuesday 4th August 2020.
Bus Éireann has confirmed that two of the applications for the children referred to are for transport on the Post-Primary Scheme while the third is for transport on the Primary Scheme. Bus Eireann has further confirmed that medical card details for the children referred to by the Deputy were received on the 9th September, 2020 for the 2020/2021 school year and, as such, were late.
Late applicants and/or families who pay late are not guaranteed a seat and will only be allocated a seat if capacity is available once seats are allocated to those families who applied and paid on time for transport services for the 2020/2021 school year. Bus Éireann has confirmed that a ticket has issued for child on the primary service as there was capacity on this service.
Payments/medical card details for Post-Primary seats completed or made after 4th August 2020 will be only considered when 50% capacity, required by new Covid19 public health guidelines, is achieved on each route.
423. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Education the number of teacher predicted leaving certificate grades which were downgraded in the standardisation process by more than 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 percentage points, respectively; if an analysis has been carried out regarding the number of students that received downgrades across several subjects; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24841/20]
View answerThe decision to adopt a model of Calculated Grades by my Department was a direct result of COVID-19, which prevented the state from running the conventional Leaving Certificate Examinations. The purpose of this process is to allow as many students as possible to progress to employment, further education and training, or higher education in a way that is fair and equitable to all Leaving Certificate students.
Schools provided an estimated percentage mark and a rank order (the student's place in the class group) for each student’s subjects. We know from research that teachers are very good at making judgements about their students in the local context of the school.
The process of national standardisation was applied to the school information in order to ensure comparability between the standards applied by individual schools and the national standard. It is important to note that, unlike in other jurisdictions, the starting point for the standardisation process was the estimated percentage marks provided by the school.
The adjustments that occurred through standardisation resulted in the school estimates staying the same or being revised upwards or downwards. While the estimated marks have been subject to a process of adjustment to ensure fairness and comparability across schools, the national standardisation process operated on the premise that the school estimates should only be adjusted through the standardisation process where there was credible statistical evidence to justify changing them.
Following the standardisation process, the estimated percentage mark was converted to a calculated mark and subsequently, a calculated grade which was provided to students on 7 September. It is only at this point that students were awarded a grade therefore, it is not accurate to state that student(s) were downgraded, or upgraded, through the standardisation process. Rather the grade that was awarded following the standardisation process is the grade for the 2020 Leaving Certificate Calculated Grades. The degree to which mark changes occurred related to the degree of over or underestimation in the school estimates for each subject and each level. This means that some students experienced mark changes from the school estimates but no changes to the grades based on the school estimates; while others will have experienced changes to the marks leading to a change in the grade that would have been awarded based on the school estimates in one or more of their subjects.
In terms of the grades awarded, 83% (almost 340,000) of all Leaving Certificate subject grades are either the same or higher than the school estimates while 17% (under 70,000) grades are lower. More detailed statistics are available on my department’s website at: https://www.education.ie/en/Press-Events/Press-Releases/2020-press-releases/PR20-09-07.html
In particular the degree of mark changes between the school estimated marks and the calculated marks are documented in Section 8.2 of the Report of the National Standardisation Group, which is available on www.gov.ie/leavingcert.
It can be seen from the data that only 0.5% all Higher Level and 0.1% of Ordinary Level school estimates (fewer than 2000 results out of a total of 408,000) were reduced by more than 10 marks through the standardisation process.
The degree to which mark changes occurred related to the degree of over or underestimation in the school estimates for each subject and each level. This means that some students experienced mark changes from the school estimates but no changes to the grades based on the school estimates; while others will have experienced changes to the marks leading to a change in the grade that would have been awarded based on the school estimates in one or more of their subjects.
Of the students due to take examinations in the Leaving Certificate (including the Leaving Certificate Vocational) programme, the data requested on the number of students whose grades were different to those that would have been awarded based on the school estimates are set out in the following tables. It should be noted that some students had grades which were higher than the school estimates in some subjects and lower in others.
Number of grades which were lower than the school estimates by student
|
No of grades |
No of students |
Percent |
|
0 |
19,596 |
34.0 |
|
1 |
18,584 |
32.3 |
|
2 |
11,663 |
20.2 |
|
3 |
5,288 |
9.2 |
|
4 |
1,885 |
3.3 |
|
5 |
488 |
0.8 |
|
6 |
83 |
0.1 |
|
7+ |
11 |
0.0 |
|
Total |
57598 |
100.0 |
Number of grades which were higher than the school estimates by student
|
No of grades |
No of Students |
Percent |
|
0 |
44572 |
77.4 |
|
1 |
10842 |
18.8 |
|
2 |
1843 |
3.2 |
|
3 |
297 |
0.5 |
|
4 |
38 |
0.1 |
|
5 |
6 |
0.0 |
|
Total |
57598 |
100.0 |
424. Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Education if she will revise the avenues of appeal for the school calculated grades available to leaving certificate students; and if she will include a way to appeal the difference between the marks given by a school and the grade ultimately awarded by her Department. [24847/20]
View answerThe decision to adopt a model of Calculated Grades by my Department was a direct result of COVID-19, which prevented the state from running the conventional Leaving Certificate Examinations. The purpose of this process is to allow as many students as possible to progress to employment, further education and training, or higher education in a way that is fair and equitable to all Leaving Certificate students.
Schools provided an estimated percentage mark and a rank order for each student’s subjects. The process of national standardisation was applied to the school information in order to ensure comparability between the standards applied by individual schools and the national standard. We know from research that teachers are very good at making judgements about their students in the local context of the school. It was inherent to the system of calculated grades that school estimates would be subject to adjustment through this standardisations process. The adjustments that occurred through standardisation resulted in the school estimates staying the same or being revised upwards or downwards. The standardisation process operated on the premise that the school estimates should only be adjusted through the standardisation process where there was credible statistical evidence to justify changing them.
Following standardisation, the estimated percentage mark was converted to a calculated mark and subsequently, a calculated grade which was provided to students on 7 September. It is only at this point that students were awarded a grade.
Therefore, it is not accurate to state that student(s) were downgraded, or upgraded, through the standardisation process. Rather the grade that was awarded following the standardisation process is the grade for the 2020 Leaving Certificate (Calculated Grades).
Some students experienced mark changes from the school estimates but no changes to the grades based on the school estimates; while others will have experienced changes to the marks leading to a change in the grade that would have been awarded based on the school estimates in one or more of their subjects.
In terms of the grades awarded, 83% (almost 340,000) of all Leaving Certificate subject grades are either the same or higher than the school estimates while 17% (under 70,000) grades are lower.
Every effort has been made to make the system as fair as possible for as many students as possible. The statistical model used was blind to demographic characteristics, either at the level of the student or the school and the standardisation process has been applied uniformly across all schools. This means anyone using the certificate to make a judgement between two people who hold this certificate, either now or in the future, can place equal value on the same grade in the same subject, without regard to where they went to school.
We appreciate that some students will be disappointed at the results they have achieved. This is the case every year when the Leaving Certificate results are published.
Students, at an individual level, had access to an appeals process the closing date for which has now passed. The appeals system is, by design, restricted to looking for technical errors in the data provided on behalf of students and in the processing of that data. The nature of this appeal process has been part of the system of Calculated Grades from the outset. The appeal process will involve a technical appeal focused on looking for errors in the transmission of the data through the process. An example of this would be whether any mistake has been made in entering the information to any of the systems used in the process.
It was fundamental to the adoption of a system of Calculated Grades that the professional judgement of the school (teachers and principals) would be outside the scope of the appeals process.
The integrity, validity and reliability of the process of national standardisation was overseen by the National Standardisation Group whose role was to oversee the application of the statistical model to the school data. Any appeals process that would allow an individual student level appeal to reopen the application of the statistical process to the school sourced data would fundamentally undermine fairness and equity in the system of calculated grades.
Students dissatisfied with the outcome of the appeals process can invoke a separate process to have their appeal reviewed by independent Appeals Scrutineers. These Scrutineers are independent of the Department.
Students who consider that their appeal has not been processed correctly can make a complaint to the Ombudsman or, in the case of students under 18 years of age, the Ombudsman for Children.
Students dissatisfied with their results will have the opportunity to sit written Leaving Certificate examinations in November (subject to public health advice). Those who sit the examinations will be credited with the higher subject grade achieved between the Calculated Grade and the written exam.
425. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Education if secondary school students are obliged to wear face masks in school in cases in which a student has a condition such as ASD which precludes them from wearing a mask; the instructions to schools in relation to same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24869/20]
View answer426. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Education if specific medical reports are needed by schools to exempt secondary school students from wearing a mask; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24870/20]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 425 and 426 together.
My Department received advice from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) on the use of face coverings in educational settings on the 6th August 2020.It is a requirement for face coverings to be worn by teachers, staff in schools and students attending post primary school.
However Public health advice also provides that cloth face coverings should not be worn by any of the following groups:
- any person with difficulty breathing
- any person who is unable to remove the face-covering without assistance
- any person who has special needs and who may feel upset or very uncomfortable wearing the face covering, for example persons with intellectual or developmental disabilities, mental health conditions, sensory concerns or tactile sensitivity.
A medical certificate must be provided to the school where an exemptions is sought on the above grounds. There is no capacity for schools to deviate from either the requirement to wear face coverings or the exemptions that apply. Students in these categories can continue to attend school as normal while observing arrangements in place to protect themselves though regular hand hygiene, maintaining physical distancing and the application of respiratory hygiene and cough etiquette.
Further information for parents and students/pupils on the wearing of face coverings including the proper use, removal and washing of cloth face coverings is available via the link: https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/a04fc-advice-for-students-and-their-families/. Information is also set out in the Covid-19 response plans for primary, special and post-primary schools available at www.gov.ie/backtoschool.
427. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Education if special supports are available for parents and students in cases in which a student is required to stay at home for health reasons; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24871/20]
View answerMy Department has published guidance to support schools in making adapted education provision for pupils/students with an underlying medical condition who cannot return to school because they are medically certified as being at very high risk to COVID-19.
The guidance for primary schools on supporting such pupils is available via the following link: https://assets.gov.ie/85746/9ff54b35-352e-4cdb-b93b-68a25ac7c619.pdf
The guidance for post-primary schools on supporting such students is available via the following link https://assets.gov.ie/86732/17f3cc49-72ad-4986-98fc-51037d93369e.pdf
Overall responsibility for ensuring that pupils/students who are at very high risk to COVID-19 receive appropriate support to engage adequately with learning remains with the school in which they are enrolled. A number of options for facilitating this support are outlined in the above mentioned guidance documents.
Additional supports will be provided for these pupils/students through designated teachers from within the staffing resources of the school. Schools have discretion to manage and redistribute their teaching support resources in order to best meet the learning needs of their pupils/students, including pupils/students at ‘very high risk’ to COVID-19. Facilitating engagement with and among pupils is essential to their learning experience and maintaining their social and emotional development. Teachers can facilitate this through online interaction, providing feedback on work completed, organising project work that pupils can complete as part of a group and providing learning experiences based on pair work and group work. Early and ongoing two-way communication between the pupil’s school, class teacher, designated teacher where relevant, and the home will be essential to supporting the pupils’ engagement with their learning and their continuous connection with their classmates and school community.
While this guidance applies from the start of the first term of the new school year, it is intended that it will be reviewed by mid-October and updated to reflect any necessary changes.
428. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Education if the arrangements for the sitting of the leaving certificate 2020 in November will be clarified; the changes being made to examination content and length; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24881/20]
View answerThe State Examinations Commission has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the certificate examinations.
In view of this I have forwarded your query to the State Examinations Commission for direct reply to you.
429. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Education her plans to establish an appeals process for grades assigned to students under the calculated grades system as opposed to the current process of appealing the way in which the data was transmitted; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24896/20]
View answerThe decision to adopt a model of Calculated Grades by my Department was a direct result of COVID-19, which prevented the state from running the conventional Leaving Certificate Examinations. The purpose of this process is to allow as many students as possible to progress to employment, further education and training, or higher education in a way that is fair and equitable to all Leaving Certificate students.
Schools provided an estimated percentage mark and a rank order for each student’s subjects. The process of national standardisation was applied to the school information in order to ensure comparability between the standards applied by individual schools and the national standard. We know from research that teachers are very good at making judgements about their students in the local context of the school. It was inherent to the system of calculated grades that school estimates would be subject to adjustment through this standardisations process. The adjustments that occurred through standardisation resulted in the school estimates staying the same or being revised upwards or downwards. The standardisation process operated on the premise that the school estimates should only be adjusted through the standardisation process where there was credible statistical evidence to justify changing them.
Following standardisation, the estimated percentage mark was converted to a calculated mark and subsequently, a calculated grade which was provided to students on 7 September. It is only at this point that students were awarded a grade.
Therefore, it is not accurate to state that student(s) were downgraded, or upgraded, through the standardisation process. Rather the grade that was awarded following the standardisation process is the grade for the 2020 Leaving Certificate (Calculated Grades).
Some students experienced mark changes from the school estimates but no changes to the grades based on the school estimates; while others will have experienced changes to the marks leading to a change in the grade that would have been awarded based on the school estimates in one or more of their subjects.
In terms of the grades awarded, 83% (almost 340,000) of all Leaving Certificate subject grades are either the same or higher than the school estimates while 17% (under 70,000) grades are lower.
Every effort has been made to make the system as fair as possible for as many students as possible. The statistical model used was blind to demographic characteristics, either at the level of the student or the school and the standardisation process has been applied uniformly across all schools. This means anyone using the certificate to make a judgement between two people who hold this certificate, either now or in the future, can place equal value on the same grade in the same subject, without regard to where they went to school.
We appreciate that some students will be disappointed at the results they have achieved. This is the case every year when the Leaving Certificate results are published.
Students, at an individual level, had access to an appeals process the closing date for which has now passed. The appeals system is, by design, restricted to looking for technical errors in the data provided on behalf of students and in the processing of that data. The nature of this appeal process has been part of the system of Calculated Grades from the outset. The appeal process will involve a technical appeal focused on looking for errors in the transmission of the data through the process. An example of this would be whether any mistake has been made in entering the information to any of the systems used in the process.
It was fundamental to the adoption of a system of Calculated Grades that the professional judgement of the school (teachers and principals) would be outside the scope of the appeals process.
The integrity, validity and reliability of the process of national standardisation was overseen by the National Standardisation Group whose role was to oversee the application of the statistical model to the school data. Any appeals process that would allow an individual student level appeal to reopen the application of the statistical process to the school sourced data would fundamentally undermine fairness and equity in the system of calculated grades.
Students dissatisfied with the outcome of the appeals process can invoke a separate process to have their appeal reviewed by independent Appeals Scrutineers. These Scrutineers are independent of the Department.
Students who consider that their appeal has not been processed correctly can make a complaint to the Ombudsman or, in the case of students under 18 years of age, the Ombudsman for Children.
Students dissatisfied with their results will have the opportunity to sit written Leaving Certificate examinations in November (subject to public health advice). Those who sit the examinations will be credited with the higher subject grade achieved between the Calculated Grade and the written exam.
430. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Education the number of appeals made as of close of business 16 September 2020 regarding persons appealing their calculated grade; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24897/20]
View answerThe results of the Leaving Certificate 2020 Calculated Grades were made available to all students who opted to receive them at 9.00 am on 7 September via the Calculated Grades Student Portal. I would like to congratulate all students for their achievements in what has been a very trying time for them due to the impact of COVID-19 on their education.
The Calculated Grades Student Portal reopened on 14 September at 9.00 am to allow students to view their estimated percentage mark and calculated mark. Students may have wished to have access to and consider this data if they are were considering an appeal of their Calculated Grade.
Students who are disappointed with the Calculated Grades they have received in one or more subjects had the opportunity to submit an appeal. The appeals process is a process review focussed on looking for errors in the transmission and processing of student data through the process. It is not possible to appeal the information provided by the school. Due to the nature of the Calculated Grades system the professional judgement of the school is outside of the appeals process. The design of the statistical model and the application of the national standardisation process is also outside of the scope of the appeals process.
At the time of closing the appeal application process on Wednesday 16 September, some 12,300 students had appealed almost 33,700 grades. Every effort will be made to process appeals as quickly as possible but it is not possible at this time to commit to a date for the issue of the appeal results. All appeals will be processed, and results released, simultaneously to ensure fairness and equity to all.
431. Deputy Michael McNamara asked the Minister for Education the reason a child with special needs has not been facilitated (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24898/20]
View answerThe NCSE has responsibility for planning and coordinating school supports for children with special educational needs including the allocation of SNAs and reviews. My Department does not have a role in making individual school determinations. Accordingly, the question has been referred to the NCSE for direct reply.
The Special Needs Assistant (SNA) scheme is designed to provide schools with additional adult support staff who can assist children with special educational needs who also have additional and significant care needs. Such support is provided in order to facilitate the attendance of those pupils at school and also to minimise disruption to class or teaching time for the pupils concerned, or for their peers, and with a view to developing their independent living skills.
SNAs are not allocated to individual children but to schools as a school based resource. The deployment of SNAs within schools is a matter for the individual Principal/Board of Management of the school. SNAs should be deployed by the school in a manner which best meets the care support requirements of the children enrolled in the school for whom SNA support has been allocated.
It is a matter for schools to allocate support as required, and on the basis of individual need, which allows schools flexibility in how the SNA support is utilised.
Schools were notified of the arrangements for the allocation of SNA support in respect of students in mainstream classes for the current school year. The arrangements include the following provisions:
- 2019/20 mainstream class SNA allocations were frozen, from the date of issue of Circular 0030/2020, and have automatically rolled over into the current school year. This means that no school will receive an allocation less than that which they have on the date of issue of this Circular and existing SNAs currently in standard SNA posts were allowed to continue in these posts for the current school year in the normal way.
- A diagnosis of a disability, or a psychological or other professional report, is not be necessary for this process.
- The role of the SNA to support the care needs of students in mainstream classes, as set out in Circular 0030/2014, remains unchanged.
It is expected that schools will review and reprioritise the deployment of SNAs within mainstream settings and allocate resources to ensure those with the greatest level of need receive the greatest level of support. Providing access to SNA support continues to be based on primary care needs as outlined in DES Circular 0030/2014.
Schools may apply to the NCSE for additionality where they can demonstrate that the current allocation does not meet additional care needs within the mainstream classes in the school. Applications for additionality arising from significant new or emerging additional care needs, which cannot be catered within existing allocations, are dealt with by way of the exceptional review process.
The exceptional review process for mainstream allocations is available to schools throughout the current school year.
Detailed information on the NCSE exceptional review process is published on the NCSE website www.ncse.ie.
A school can appeal the outcome of an exceptional review and details of how to do this are here https://ncse.ie/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/GuidanceSchoolAppealing-Exceptional-Review-outcome.docx
432. Deputy Steven Matthews asked the Minister for Education if a permanent site for a school (details supplied) has been selected; and the status of the project. [24905/20]
View answerI can confirm that Officials from my Department have identified a number of potential site options in Wicklow Town for the permanent location for Wicklow Educate Together Secondary School and negotiation are ongoing with the landowners.
Officials are working towards acquiring the most suitable site for this school while ensuring value for money for the exchequer is achieved. Officials from Wicklow County Council are assisting my Department in this regard.
The school building project will be progressed into Architectural Planning once a suitable site has been acquired.
While a site acquisition process is underway, given the commercial sensitivities associated with land acquisitions generally I am not in a position to comment further at this time.
433. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Education the reason a child (details supplied) was not sanctioned for a school transport grant in view of the fact that they have complex needs; if the decision will be reviewed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24935/20]
View answerSchool Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. In the 2019/2020 school year over 120,000 children, including over 14,200 children with special educational needs, were 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 purpose of the Department's School Transport Scheme for Children with Special Educational Needs is, having regard to available resources, to support the transport to and from school of children with special educational needs arising from a diagnosed disability.
In general, children with special educational needs are eligible for school transport if they are attending the nearest school that is resourced to meet their special educational needs. Eligibility is determined following consultation with the National Council for Special Education through its network of Special Education Needs Organisers (SENO).
The child referred to by the Deputy is eligible for school transport under the terms of my Department's School Transport Scheme for Children with Special Educational Needs.
In April 2019 a service was sanctioned for the child referred to by the Deputy. Bus Éireann has advised that the service in question was declined. A special transport grant has been offered to the family referred to by the Deputy.
434. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Education the date on which refunds will issue to persons who paid for school transport for the 2020/2021 school year that now do not wish to avail of the services. [24957/20]
View answerSchool Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the 2019/20 school year over 120,000 children, including over 14,200 children with special educational needs, were 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 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.
The closing date for payment for the 2020/2021 school year was Tuesday 4th August 2020. All children who are eligible for school transport and who applied and paid by the deadline have been accommodated on school transport services where such services are in operation.
Children who are not eligible for school transport may apply for transport on a concessionary basis and are facilitated where spare seats exits after eligible children have been accommodated. Where the number of ineligible children exceeds the number of spare seats available Bus Éireann allocates tickets using an agreed selection process. Bus Éireann has already issued refunds to a number of ineligible children who were unsuccessful in acquiring a ticket on services that are operating to capacity at present.
The School Transport Scheme Family Portal was temporarily closed for applications and payments on the 20th August 2020. This temporary closure was necessary to complete the work required to issue tickets to families who at that time remained due to be allocated a ticket for school transport services for the 2020/2021 school year.
The School Transport Scheme Family Portal re-opened on the 7th of September. However, parents/guardians making an application/payment at this time for the 2020/2021 school year are reminded that the closing date for payments for the 20/21 school year was Tuesday 4th August 2020. While it is possible to submit a payment, payments made at this time are now late. Late applicants and/or families who pay late are not guaranteed a seat and will only be allocated a seat if capacity is available once seats are allocated to those families who applied and paid on time for transport services for the 2020/2021 school year.
In addition, payments for Post-Primary seats completed or made after 4th August 2020 can only be considered when 50% capacity, required by new Covid19 public health guidelines, is achieved on each route.
In the event of not securing a ticket where no capacity exists, or on cancellation, a full refund will be issued
435. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Education the overall provision she has made in respect of the grant to support persons that will avail of private transport arrangements regarding school transport for the 2020/2021 school year. [24958/20]
View answerSchool Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the 2019/20 school year over 120,000 children, including over 14,200 children with special educational needs, were 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 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.
All children who are eligible for school transport and who completed the application and payment process on time have been accommodated on school transport services for the 2020/2021 school year where such services are in operation.
Based on the public health advice published in early July, my Department had been planning for School Transport Scheme services for the 2020/2021 school year to fully operate, but with additional measures and hygiene requirements in place. The Department had been engaging intensively with Bus Éireann in regard to the logistics for the safe operation of School Transport Scheme services for the 2020/2021 school year. Updated health advice was received from NPHET on the 18th August, which impacts on the operation of post-primary school transport services. This advice stated that for secondary school students on school transport, strict distancing should be ensured in line with that on public transport along with the wearing of face coverings.
The Department has been engaging with Bus Éireann in respect of these plans, in order to implement measures so that any services that can operate from the start of the school year at 50% capacity will do so and over the coming period all other post-primary transport services will be re-organised and additional services will be provided as required to allow for physical distancing.
Every effort continues to provide a safe transport service for when schools re-open. However, if parents decide not to avail of transport services they may request a refund on the cost of their ticket for the 2020/2021 school year.
For those children who are eligible for transport under the terms of the post-primary school transport scheme and whose parents decide not to use post-primary transport for the 2020/2021 school year, in light of the impact of most recent health advice, the Department will provide a grant to support them with the cost of private transport arrangements. Parents were asked to inform the Department by Friday the 4th of September if they wished to avail of this option.
Grants will be paid at the end of the school year following receipt of relevant documentation confirming the number of days the child/ren has attended school in the 2020/2021 school year. The grant is based on the distance a family resides from their school of eligibility, with a minimum daily rate of €2.60 and a maximum daily rate of €5.10. Grants are not available to children who are not eligible under the terms of the transport scheme.
436. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Education the cost of providing extra services on the school transport scheme in order to utilise more buses in order to comply with physical distancing on services for the 2020/2021 school year. [24959/20]
View answerSchool Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the 2019/20 school year over 120,000 children, including over 14,200 children with special educational needs, were 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.
Based on the public health advice published in early July, and the updated advice received from the HPSC on 7th August and from NPHET on the 18th August, the Department has been planning for School Transport Scheme services for the 2020/2021 school year to fully operate, but with additional measures and hygiene requirements in place and with the rolling implementation of measures on post-primary services as required to provide physical distancing, in line with those required on public transport, which is using 50 per cent of passenger capacity. The planning to date is in accordance with the Government decision of 18th August, which set out that arrangements for school transport would proceed as planned for re-opening but the Minster for Education and Skills and the Minister for Health and other relevant Ministers will review measures, including any additional resources, to ensure the safe operation of school transport for secondary school children.
School Transport Scheme services commenced operation on the 26th August 2020. All children who are eligible for school transport and who completed the application and payment process on time have been accommodated on transport services for the 2020/2021 school year where such services are in operation.
My Department has been engaging intensively with Bus Éireann in regard to the logistics for the safe operation of School Transport Scheme services for the 2020/2021 school year. My Department has also been engaging with Bus Éireann on the logistics involved with the rolling implementation of measures on post-primary services as required to provide physical distancing, in line with those required on public transport, which is using 50 per cent of passenger capacity.
An assessment of the resources required to implement physical distancing on all post-primary services has been undertaken and, in line with the Government decision, my Department is reviewing this information in consultation with other relevant Departments with a view to implementing the measures required to ensure the operation of school transport for post-primary children that is aligned to updated health advice received from NPHET on the 18th of August.
437. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Education if appeals to the calculated grades for leaving certificate students will be facilitated in instances in which the predicted grades of their teachers were significantly higher that the grades awarded through the calculated grades system. [24972/20]
View answerThe decision to adopt a model of Calculated Grades by my Department was a direct result of COVID-19, which prevented the state from running the conventional Leaving Certificate Examinations. The purpose of this process is to allow as many students as possible to progress to employment, further education and training, or higher education in a way that is fair and equitable to all Leaving Certificate students.
Schools provided an estimated percentage mark and a rank order for each student’s subjects. The process of national standardisation was applied to the school information in order to ensure comparability between the standards applied by individual schools and the national standard. We know from research that teachers are very good at making judgements about their students in the local context of the school. It was inherent to the system of calculated grades that school estimates would be subject to adjustment through this standardisations process. The adjustments that occurred through standardisation resulted in the school estimates staying the same or being revised upwards or downwards. The standardisation process operated on the premise that the school estimates should only be adjusted through the standardisation process where there was credible statistical evidence to justify changing them.
Following standardisation, the estimated percentage mark was converted to a calculated mark and subsequently, a calculated grade which was provided to students on 7 September. It is only at this point that students were awarded a grade.
Therefore, it is not accurate to state that student(s) were downgraded, or upgraded, through the standardisation process. Rather the grade that was awarded following the standardisation process is the grade for the 2020 Leaving Certificate (Calculated Grades).
Some students experienced mark changes from the school estimates but no changes to the grades based on the school estimates; while others will have experienced changes to the marks leading to a change in the grade that would have been awarded based on the school estimates in one or more of their subjects.
In terms of the grades awarded, 83% (almost 340,000) of all Leaving Certificate subject grades are either the same or higher than the school estimates while 17% (under 70,000) grades are lower.
Every effort has been made to make the system as fair as possible for as many students as possible. The statistical model used was blind to demographic characteristics, either at the level of the student or the school and the standardisation process has been applied uniformly across all schools. This means anyone using the certificate to make a judgement between two people who hold this certificate, either now or in the future, can place equal value on the same grade in the same subject, without regard to where they went to school.
We appreciate that some students will be disappointed at the results they have achieved. This is the case every year when the Leaving Certificate results are published.
Students, at an individual level, had access to an appeals process the closing date for which has now passed. The appeals system is, by design, restricted to looking for technical errors in the data provided on behalf of students and in the processing of that data. The nature of this appeal process has been part of the system of Calculated Grades from the outset. The appeal process will involve a technical appeal focused on looking for errors in the transmission of the data through the process. An example of this would be whether any mistake has been made in entering the information to any of the systems used in the process.
It was fundamental to the adoption of a system of Calculated Grades that the professional judgement of the school (teachers and principals) would be outside the scope of the appeals process.
The integrity, validity and reliability of the process of national standardisation was overseen by the National Standardisation Group whose role was to oversee the application of the statistical model to the school data. Any appeals process that would allow an individual student level appeal to reopen the application of the statistical process to the school sourced data would fundamentally undermine fairness and equity in the system of calculated grades.
Students dissatisfied with the outcome of the appeals process can invoke a separate process to have their appeal reviewed by independent Appeals Scrutineers. These Scrutineers are independent of the Department.
Students who consider that their appeal has not been processed correctly can make a complaint to the Ombudsman or, in the case of students under 18 years of age, the Ombudsman for Children.
Students dissatisfied with their results will have the opportunity to sit written Leaving Certificate examinations in November (subject to public health advice). Those who sit the examinations will be credited with the higher subject grade achieved between the Calculated Grade and the written exam.
