Written Answers Nos. 49-64
49. Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin asked the Minister for Education her plans for the expansion of the free book scheme beyond the 102 schools selected; the progress of the scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30274/20]
View answerMy Department provides a book grant to all recognised primary and post primary schools within the Free Education Scheme in order to provide assistance for books including Book Rental Schemes. Under this scheme, the Department provided funding of €16.9 million in 2019 to all of these schools.
Additional funding of €1million provided under Budget 2020 was allocated to 102 Primary DEIS schools for a new pilot programme for the 2020/21 school year. The aim of this pilot is to provide free school books for students in the schools involved, and to support these schools in eliminating the cost of school books for parents. It will run for the period of one year and its effectiveness and impact will be monitored and evaluated before any decision is made as regards its possible extension or continuation. Under Circular 46/2013, DEIS schools receive a book grant of €21 per student. This pilot will provide an additional €64 per student to increase the overall book grant rate to €85 per student enrolled in the school. This additional funding issued to schools in May 2020.
School book rental schemes have an important role to play in reducing the cost of school books for parents and in order to support the establishment of book rental schemes my Department provided €15.7 million seed capital in 2014, 2015 and 2016 to primary schools. Circa. 96% of primary schools and 68% of post-primary schools operate a book rental scheme
It is a matter for the Board of Management of each individual school to decide on its own policy in relation to the use of book grant funding in the school but they are expected to adopt a cost-conscious approach to the selection of books for use in their classes. The current arrangement relies on the local knowledge of the school in order to ensure a fair allocation of funds to those most in need.
50. Deputy David Stanton asked the Minister for Education her plans to establish a special school in east County Cork; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30099/20]
View answerEnabling children with special educational needs to receive an education appropriate to their needs is a priority for this Government. Next year, over 20% of the total Education budget or €2bn will be invested in supporting children with special needs.
This investment will support the provision of over 1,200 additional special class places. Notwithstanding the extent of this investment, there are some parts of the country, including Cork, where increases in population and other issues have led to concerns regarding a shortage of school places.
Through better planning at both national and local level, it is my objective that specialist education places should come on stream to meet emerging demand on a timely basis.
The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has responsibility for coordinating and advising on the education provision for children nationwide. The NCSE is working with schools, patron bodies, parents and others in East County Cork to ensure there are sufficient special education placements to meet local need. However, there are no plans for a new special school in the area at this time.
51. Deputy Eoghan Murphy asked the Minister for Education the status of the roll-out of new ASD units in primary schools in south County Dublin. [29933/20]
View answerEnabling children with special educational needs to receive an education appropriate to their needs is a priority for this Government. In this year's budget, more than 20% of the total Education Budget or €2bn will be invested in supporting children with special needs, an increase from €1.9bn last year.
Notwithstanding the extent of this investment, there are some parts of the country, including South Dublin, where increases in population and other issues have led to concerns regarding a shortage of school places.
The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has responsibility for coordinating and advising on the education provision for children nationwide. NCSE is continuing its engagement with schools, patron bodies, parents and others across South Dublin to bring the required additional special class and special school placements on stream. While progress has been achieved, the NCSE has identified the need for additional special class and special school places in South Dublin for the current school-year.
Normally, special class and special school places are established with the full cooperation of the schools in areas where they are required. However there are some parts of the country where the NCSE has faced challenges in getting schools and their patrons to provide new special class or special school places.
As Minister, I have a power under Section 37A of the Education Act 1998 (as inserted by Section 8 of the Education (Admissions to Schools) Act 2018), to direct a school to provide additional provision where all reasonable efforts have failed. The legislation contains a procedure through which the capacity of schools in an area can be tested and through which ultimately a Ministerial direction can be made requiring a school to make additional special education provision available.
The legislation was used for the first time in 2019, in respect of the Dublin 15 area. Significant progress has been made in that area on foot of action taken under Section 37. A new Special School was established and six schools have agreed to open special classes thereby meeting the need for additional places in the area. The experience of Dublin 15 shows that real and practical challenges can be addressed by working together to provide additional special class and special school places.
A Report from the NCSE, prepared in accordance with Section 37A (2) of the Education Act 1998 (as inserted by Section 8 of the Education (Admissions to Schools) Act 2018), confirming the need for additional special education places in South Dublin was submitted to the then Minister in April last. This Report is available on my Department’s website.
Statutory notices under the Act were subsequently issued on 26 June, 2020 to 39 schools identified by the NCSE. The issue of the notices is but the first step in a very transparent multi-step process, the purpose of which is to establish if the school has capacity to provide new places. At each stage of the process, schools are given the opportunity to make representations and there is also an option for arbitration at a later point. Statutory notices issued under the Act together with the representations received from the schools and their patrons are published on my Department’s website. The representations received to date have all been published and are a matter of public record.
It would not be appropriate for me to comment further at this stage on the legislative process which is currently underway.
52. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Education the number of leaving certificate students that have had their leaving certificate grades upgraded as a result of a review to the calculated grade system; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29992/20]
View answerOn 03 October I announced that improved Calculated Grades would issue that day to students who received lower Calculated Grades than they should have, as a result of errors that were found in the Calculated Grades process.
As a result of rectification of these errors, a total of 6,100 students received higher calculated grades. This breaks down as follows:
- 5,408 students received a higher grade, by one grade band, in one subject,
- 621 students received a higher grade, by one grade band, in two subjects,
- 71 students received a higher grade, by one grade band, in three or more subjects.
CAO Round 4 offers issued on 8 October. As part of that round, I understand that 485 CAO applicants received new offers on this date on foot of having improved results following the errors in the Calculated Grades. These 485 applicants received 422 Level 8 offers and 75 Level 7/6 offers between them.
All of these applicants have an opportunity to start the courses offered in Round 4 in the current academic year.
53. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Education the supports available from her Department to a primary school student whose lone parent is recently blind and unable to ensure her child safely reaches school each morning; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30249/20]
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.
Children who are eligible for school transport and who hold valid medical cards (GMS Scheme) are exempt from paying the annual charge. In addition, there is no charge for children who are eligible for school transport under the terms of the Department's School Transport Scheme for children with Special Educational Needs.
The parent is advised to contact her local Bus Éireann Office or the School Transport Section of my Department if they wish to make an enquiry about the availability of school transport for their child or if they wish to seek further information on the terms of the scheme.
54. Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin asked the Minister for Education if she will address the campaign to give school secretaries the same entitlements and protections as their public sector colleagues. [30273/20]
View answerI am keenly aware of the vital role contributed by school secretaries within school communities and I recognise the very important work done by these staff, and the other support staff in the running of our schools. I have met with Fórsa, who represent many of the secretaries working in schools.
In recognition of their role, I have put special arrangements in place for the coming school year whereby schools will be funded to employ a replacement secretary or caretaker in the event that staff who are at very high risk of contracting serious illness from COVID-19 cannot work on the school premises. I have also extended the Employee Assistance Service to all school staff including secretaries.
On foot of a Chairman’s Note to the Lansdowne Road Agreement, my Department implemented the 2015 recommendations of an independent arbitrator. The Arbitrator recommended a cumulative pay increase of 10% between 2016 and 2019 and that a minimum hourly pay rate of €13 be phased in over that period.
Fórsa trade union has tabled a follow-on claim from the 2015 agreement. Officials from my Department, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and School Management Bodies met with Fórsa on 1 October under the auspices of the Workplace Relations Commission.
I am very keen that all parties resume meaningful discussion in the WRC with a view to reaching a mutually acceptable solution. In that respect, I have asked my officials to examine closely pay issues for secretaries and caretakers, as well as very important wider matters relating to their conditions of work, in consultation with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.
The WRC process remains ongoing and I support the continued engagement between all parties in an effort to reach a mutually acceptable solution.
55. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Education the steps being taken to tackle the lack of secondary school places in areas of County Cork (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29791/20]
View answerI understand the Deputy is referring in particular to the Glanmire area of County Cork.
As you may be aware, in order to plan for school provision my Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas and utilises a Geographical Information System, using data from a range of sources, to identify where a demand for additional school places will arise. Riverstown_Glanmire is one such school planning area.
Included in the data considered is information provided by local authorities in respect of residential development activity in each area, in order to anticipate emerging school place requirements from any planned additional population.
Where data indicates that enrolments in a school planning area are expected to increase, my Department determines the optimum solution for accommodating the anticipated school place requirements after consideration of the following options:
- Utilising existing unused capacity within a school or schools,
- Extending the capacity of a school or schools,
- Provision of a new school or schools.
The requirement for additional school places is kept under on-going review and my Department is currently working on an updated exercise to assess needs for the coming years, including those which may arise in Riverstown_Glanmire. This work is at an advanced stage.
Where a school authority feels there is a deficit of teaching accommodation in a school, it is open to it to make an application through the Additional School Accommodation (ASA) scheme, details of which are available at www.education.ie. I can confirm Gaelcholáiste an Phiarsaigh (Roll Number: 62301N) has submitted such an application, which is currently under assessment.
56. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Education the extent to which the regulations in place continue to be sufficient to protect teachers, children and other staff from Covid-19 throughout the education sector; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30270/20]
View answerMy Department has published a suite of helpful guidance for the safe and sustainable reopening of schools, in line with public health advice, including guidance on the completion and implementation of a Covid-19 response plan by primary, special and post-primary schools. Each school is required to have a COVID-19 Response Plan in place.
Covid-19 response plans are the means through which schools can best prevent the introduction and spread of Covid-19 in the school environment. Covid-19 response plans set out the practical steps schools must take to minimise the risk of introduction and transmission of Covid-19 in the school environment and provide for the safe operation of schools.
The Health Protection Surveillance Centre and the HSE have published guidance for managing potential cases of COVID-19 in educational settings, which includes the testing strategy within an educational facility ‘Schools Pathway for COVID-19, the Public Health approach’:
https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/a0bff-reopening-our-primary-and-special-schools/
This guidance provides that the HSE Department of Public Health will liaise directly with schools regarding any actions to be taken following a Public Health Risk Assessment. In practice, this involves the HSE Department of Public Health liaising directly with the designated contact, usually the school principal of the public health instructions. These instructions are for implementation of public health measures required under Infectious Diseases legislation.
The National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) has considered the national experience of school reopening to date, including the epidemiological data and information gathered through case and outbreak management. The experience to date since schools reopened is reassuring and supports the current international position that schools and childcare facilities do not appear to be key drivers of COVID-19 transmission in the community. It is clear that the exceptional efforts of school staff, children and parents/guardians in implementing the public health guidance has contributed to the safe and successful reopening of schools in Ireland.
My Department has also recently published detailed FAQs for school principals in relation to the COVID-19 Testing Pathway for school communities. These FAQs will greatly assist principals to understand and manage situations as they arise in their schools and they include HSE contact details, including for out of hours for any queries that the FAQs do not address.
57. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Education the status of measures being put in place to improve pay and conditions for school caretakers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25940/20]
View answerI am keenly aware of the vital role contributed by school secretaries within school communities and I recognise the very important work done by these staff, and the other support staff in the running of our schools. I have met with Fórsa, who represent many of the secretaries working in schools.
In recognition of their role, I have put special arrangements in place for the coming school year whereby schools will be funded to employ a replacement secretary or caretaker in the event that staff who are at very high risk of contracting serious illness from COVID-19 cannot work on the school premises. I have also extended the Employee Assistance Service to all school staff including secretaries.
On foot of a Chairman’s Note to the Lansdowne Road Agreement, my Department implemented the 2015 recommendations of an independent arbitrator. The Arbitrator recommended a cumulative pay increase of 10% between 2016 and 2019 and that a minimum hourly pay rate of €13 be phased in over that period.
Fórsa trade union has tabled a follow-on claim from the 2015 agreement. Officials from my Department, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and School Management Bodies met with Fórsa on 1 October under the auspices of the Workplace Relations Commission.
I am very keen that all parties resume meaningful discussion in the WRC with a view to reaching a mutually acceptable solution. In that respect, I have asked my officials to examine closely pay issues for secretaries and caretakers, as well as very important wider matters relating to their conditions of work, in consultation with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.
The WRC process remains ongoing and I support the continued engagement between all parties in an effort to reach a mutually acceptable solution.
58. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Education the position regarding school transport and the progress that is being made to ensure the same number of children who were carried in 2019 will be carried again in 2020. [30276/20]
View answerSchool Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department.
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 my Department’s School Transport Scheme, children are eligible for transport where they reside not less than 3.2kms at primary and 4.8kms at post-primary and are attending their nearest School/Education Centre as determined by the Department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language.
School Transport services for commenced on the 26th August for the 2020/21 school year. 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 only and will be facilitated where spare seats are available after eligible children have been accommodated. Where the number of ineligible children exceeds the number of spare seats available Bus Éireann allocates tickets for the spare seats using an agreed selection process.
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. The 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, aligned to the public health advice received shortly before schools reopened which advised that the post-primary scheme should run at 50% capacity. The implementation of 50% capacity has been put in place where possible over the last number of weeks, while Bus Éireann has been carrying out a detailed analysis of the resources required to fully implement the advice on all routes.
Over the coming weeks, Bus Éireann will be implementing 50% capacity on a rolling basis as soon as it is possible to do so on each individual route. Further detailed planning is being done through the local offices on a route by route basis to plan appropriate measures to provide the additional capacity required. As the additional capacity is rolled out, where spare capacity is created, further tickets will be allocated to those children eligible for the scheme who have paid late and for other applicants seeking concessionary tickets.
59. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Education when emergency building works for a school (details supplied) will take place. [30114/20]
View answerI would like to inform the Deputy that the school in question has submitted tender reports for roof and mechanical works and these are currently being assessed in the Department. The Emergency Works team will respond directly to school authorities following assessment of these reports.
60. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Education the extra funding that will be made available to Bus Éireann to ensure all second level post-primary pupils have access to school transport in compliance with the new guidelines on social distancing on buses; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30259/20]
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 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. The 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, aligned to the public health advice received shortly before schools reopened which advised that the post-primary scheme should run at 50% capacity. The implementation of 50% capacity has been put in place where possible over the last number of weeks, while Bus Éireann has been carrying out a detailed analysis of the resources required to fully implement the advice on all routes. Over the coming weeks, Bus Eireann will be implementing 50% capacity on a rolling basis as soon as it is possible to do so on each individual route.
Bus Éireann and the Department of Education and Skills have supported all bus contractors to put in place measures to support infection prevention and control on the buses. The Department has also issued detailed information and guidance to parents and children on the operation of school transport services for the 2020/2021 school year. Measures include all post-primary students wearing masks, all bus drivers and bus escorts receiving PPE where necessary, as well as funding to support additional cleaning and hygiene measures, including the provision of sanitiser on all buses. Seating plans with pre-assigned seating are in place on all routes, with children sitting next to their siblings or classmates where possible. This reduces the interaction of children on the buses with those outside of their family, class or school.
Government has agreed to provide the necessary funding to ensure that full implementation of the public health recommendation of running buses for post-primary children is achieved as quickly as possible on the post-primary scheme and on the special educational needs scheme for post-primary children. As well as additional funding, significant numbers of additional vehicles, drivers and bus escorts will be required. Bus Éireann is implementing different means of providing extra capacity with existing operators, including upgrading vehicles, additional runs or additional vehicles being provided. Where additional services will need to be procured, Bus Éireann has put in place a framework of operators that are willing to provide additional services where required.
An analysis has been conducted to determine what is required to fully implement all post-primary school services to operate at 50% capacity. The estimated full year cost to operate all services at 50% capacity is between €87m and €135m with an estimated requirement for an additional 1,600 drivers and vehicles and 650 additional School Bus Escorts.
Further detailed planning is being done through the local offices on a route by route basis to plan appropriate measures to provide the additional capacity required. As the additional capacity is rolled out, where spare capacity is created, further tickets will be allocated to those children eligible for the scheme who have paid late and for other applicants seeking concessionary tickets.
61. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Education when a school (details supplied) will be provided with permanent accommodation. [29984/20]
View answerThe building project for the school referred to by the Deputy is being delivered under my Department's Design & Build programme and the project is currently at an advanced stage of Architectural Planning.
The proposed acquisition of the permanent site to accommodate the school is being progressed and is at an advanced stage of conveyancing.
62. Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin asked the Minister for Education if her attention has been drawn to the lack of accreditation to students for the SNA national training course being recommended to SNAs and schools by her Department and the concern of SNAs that accreditation should reflect the complexities of some of the responsibilities of the role and the course; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30275/20]
View answerThe Comprehensive Review of the Special Needs Assistant Scheme (SNAs) was published by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) in 2018. The Review made a number of recommendations including the need for a national training programme for SNAs currently employed in our schools.
Following consideration of the recommendation including engagement with stakeholders, it was decided that a training and professional framework for SNAs should be developed. As a first step, it was decided that a once off unaccredited programme was required to help ensure SNAs currently working in our schools have a shared understanding of their role and way of working with children with the complex care needs.
Following a public procurement process, University College Dublin (UCD) School of Education was awarded the contract for the development and delivery of the once off programme. UCD’s wide-ranging experience and expertise in education and training will help ensure the programme is of high quality, evidence based and relevant to the SNA role.
The programme aims to enhance the knowledge, skills and expertise of SNAs whose work is central to the inclusion of students with additional care and complex needs in school life. For some SNAs, this programme may present the first opportunity in recent times for them to engage with the theory and research based best practice underlying their role in a professional and supported environment. Completion of the programme may serve as a stepping stone to further education opportunities in the area.
The online programme consists of five modules delivered over a ten-month period covering inclusion, communications and language, a range of special needs and information on caring for students with additional care needs. In total, there are 3,500 places available on the programme over the next four years.
This programme will begin in January 2021 with 500 participants in the first year. Priority is being given to SNAs working in School Inclusion Pilot Schools. Over 4,000 expression of interests have been received to date.
Each participant who completes the programme successfully will receive a certificate from UCD School of Education.
There is no cost to serving SNAs working in schools. This course is fully funded by the Department of Education and Skills.
63. Deputy Martin Browne asked the Minister for Education her views on the value for money to the State in issuing payments to parents to take their children to and from school due to the fact a school bus service is not available to them; her views on the loss of revenue to families and parents who have to miss work to do this; her views on the loss of tax revenue to the State due to this; her views on whether it would be better value for money for the State to provide additional buses or reroute local buses that have space on them; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27368/20]
View answerSchool Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department.
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 my Department’s School Transport Scheme, children are eligible for transport where they reside not less than 3.2kms at primary and 4.8kms at post-primary and are attending their nearest School/Education Centre as determined by the Department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language.
School Transport services commenced on the 26th August for the 2020/21 school year. 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. If a service is not available, then a grant is paid to support families of eligible children with the cost their own transport arrangements.
Children who are not eligible for school transport may apply for transport on a concessionary basis only and will be facilitated where spare seats are available after eligible children have been accommodated. Where the number of ineligible children exceeds the number of spare seats available Bus Éireann allocates tickets for the spare seats using an agreed selection process.
Concessionary transport is subject to a number of conditions including that routes will not be extended or altered, additional vehicles will not be introduced, nor will larger vehicles or extra trips using existing vehicles be provided to cater for children who are not eligible and no additional State cost will be incurred.
The annual charge for school transport services is €100 per annum for primary children and €350 for post primary children with a maximum family charge of €220 for primary children only or €650 overall. The service is heavily subsidised, with less than 8% of the cost of the scheme being recouped from fare-paying pupils in 2019.
64. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Education the errors that have been discovered in coding provided to a company (details supplied) to date regarding the calculated grading process; her plans to establish an inquiry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30134/20]
View answerThe decision to adopt a model of Calculated Grades by my Department was a result of COVID-19, which prevented the State from running the conventional Leaving Certificate Examinations. The purpose of this process was to allow as many students as possible to progress to employment, further education and training, or higher education.
On 30 September, I made a statement advising that two errors had been identified in the Calculated Grades process. These meant that incorrect grades were issued to some students when they received their results on 7 September.
The first error, in one out of 50,000 lines of code, was in relation to the processing of Junior Cycle data. The system was meant to draw on the core Junior Cycle subjects of English, Irish and Maths, and combine them with the students’ 2 best non-core subjects for all of the students in each class in each school. The coding error instead combined the core subjects with the students’ 2 weakest non-core subjects.
The error meant that, in some subjects, some students received Calculated Grades that were lower than they should have been, while some students received grades that were higher than they should have been.
In the course of a review which the Department then undertook, Departmental staff found a further error in the section of the code dealing with Junior Cycle results. The Junior Cycle subject Civil, Social and Political Education (CSPE) was meant to be disregarded as part of the model but was not. This second error, however, had a negligible impact on results.
At that stage I decided to seek independent expert oversight in the interest of certainty, particularly for our students. I commissioned Education Testing Services (ETS), a non-profit organisation based in the United States, to provide an independent expert opinion on the coding.
I provided a further update on 03 October, announcing that improved Calculated Grades would issue to impacted students that day. This announcement was made following a review of essential aspects of the coding by ETS.
ETS completed their review and provided it to my Department on 3 October. The review identified one further error, relating to how the code handled cases where students did not sit all three core subjects (Irish, English and Maths) at Junior Cycle level.
ETS also identified an issue concerning how the algorithm used in the standardisation process treated students’ marks at the extreme ends of the marks scale (99% and over, 1% and below). However, ETS also stated that this had no material impact on the results and no student could receive a lower grade as a result of it.
A copy of the report submitted by ETS is available on www.gov.ie/leavngcert.
I also announced on 3 October that I had asked that a comprehensive independent review of the design and implementation of the Calculated Grades process should take place when the process is complete.
The full scope of this review will be clearly set out in advance.
