Written Answers Nos. 952-969
953. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Education if students who have permission to travel abroad for education purposes will be expected to pay €2,000 to quarantine upon returning home at the end of their school term abroad. [18552/21]
View answerMy Department does not have any record of pupils from primary or post primary schools having received permission to travel abroad for education purposes during the 2020/21 school year.
The Deputy will be aware of the current requirement for quarantine at a designated facility on arrival in Ireland from certain countries.
The current mandatory hotel quarantine guidelines for unaccompanied children stipulate that an unaccompanied child can be accompanied to a designated facility by a responsible adult who will stay with them. If no responsible adult can accompany the child to the facility, the child can self-isolate at their place of residence, where they are supervised by a responsible adult in that residence. Any unaccompanied child in the care of the Child and Family Agency can satisfy the quarantine requirements if they can effectively self-isolate in accommodation provided by the Agency.
954. Deputy Martin Browne asked the Minister for Education if her attention has been drawn to a recent application by a school (details supplied) in County Tipperary for funding for emergency works to ensure the safety of staff and pupils; and if funding will be made available to the school. [18556/21]
View answerI wish to inform the Deputy that an Emergency Works application for Electrical works has been received from the school in question.
Further information has been requested which has not been returned to date, on receipt of this information the application will be considered further and the decision will be made available via the schools Esinet account.
955. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Education if a student (details supplied) in County Kerry will be made eligible for school transport following the determination of a section 29 appeal; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18557/21]
View answerSchool Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the current school year over 114,100 children, including over 14,700 children with special educational needs, are transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country at a cost of over €224.7m in 2020.
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.
This family referred to by the Deputy reside 22.10km from home to their closest school and 29.2km from home to their second nearest school and school of attendance. This family were previously deemed to be not eligible for transport as the pupil was not attending their nearest school. However, with the introduction of social distancing and an additional bus added to the route, the family in question have to date been catered for on a concessionary basis on a service from 19th October 2020.
Based on the additional information received regarding the families appeal under Section 29, Bus Éireann have now been instructed to consider this family as eligible on their system to their school of attendance as their closest school was full at time of enrolment and was unable to accommodate the pupil. The family will be contacted directly in this regard.
956. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Education the reason a determination was made on one of the section 29 appeals by persons (details supplied) given the appeals of both were submitted together and with the same documentation from the post-primary school; if a determination will be expedited on the rejected appeal; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18560/21]
View answerUnder Section 29 of the Education Act 1998, an appeal may be made to the Department of Education in respect of a decision by a school Board of Management or a person acting on behalf of a Board of Management to permanently exclude a student from the school, to suspend a student from attendance at the school for a period or periods totalling not less than 20 school days in a school year or to refuse to admit a student to the school.
The Deputy may be aware that the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018 provided for the replacement of section 29 of the Education Act 1998 with sections 29A to 29F. Under the new arrangements for appeals taken in respect of refusal to admit due to the school being oversubscribed, the appeals committee conduct a paper based examination of all such appeals. Prior to these appeals being lodged the appellant must first seek a review by the schools board of management of their application for enrolment, which allows the school to consider if any error occurred in the schools processing of the enrolment application. When the appeals committee has considered these paper based appeals the outcome is to allow or disallow the appeal. Where appeals under this category are allowed a direction is given to the school to admit the student or adjust the ranking of the student on the waiting list as appropriate.
In accordance with the section 29(F) of the Education Act, 1998 an appeals committee shall refuse to hear or determine an appeal in certain circumstances, including where the applicant did not request a review by the board of management of the decision to refuse admission prior to submitting their appeal application to this Department. The necessity to seek a review by the board of management for this category of appeal is outlined in the procedures for hearing and determining appeals under section 29(1)(c)(i). Where a committee’s decision is to refuse to hear or determine an appeal, the applicant can request a review of this decision. The review will be carried out by a member of the section 29 appeals committee panel, who was not a member of the appeals committee that made the original decision to refuse to hear or determine the appeal after which the outcome of the review issues to the parent.
Appeals under section 29(1)(c)(ii) of the Education Act, 1998, where refusal is considered to be for reasons other than the school being oversubscribed, are examined by oral hearing. It is optional, but not mandatory, in these appeals to request a review by the school’s board of management prior to submitting the appeal to this Department. Following all oral hearings a preliminary decision issues to both parties and allows for an opportunity to submit observations on the preliminary decision to the appeals committee after which the committee issue their final decision.
As the Deputy can understand I can’t comment on the specific details of the two cases referred to by the Deputy, however, my officials have advised that both appeals have been concluded and the outcomes have been issued.
Tusla Education Support Services (TESS), the Educational Welfare Service of the Child and Family Agency, is the legal body which can assist parents who are experiencing difficulty or may require assistance in securing a school placement for their child. Contact details for TESS are available at the following link https://www.tusla.ie/tess/get-in-touch/ or by email at tessinfo@tusla.ie
957. Deputy Réada Cronin asked the Minister for Education the steps she can take to assist parents urgently seeking places for younger siblings in a school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18629/21]
View answerIn relation to school admissions, it is the responsibility of the managerial authorities of all schools to implement an enrolment policy in accordance with the Education Act, 1998 and the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018. My Department's main responsibility is to ensure that schools in an area can, between them, cater for all pupils seeking school places in that area.
Under the provisions of the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018, all schools are required to have drafted new admissions policies, which have been approved by the patron, following consultation with staff and parents of children who are attending the school. The newly revised school’s admissions policy is published on the schools website. It is a key requirement of the act that all school admission policies are fair and transparent.
Parents have the right to choose which school to apply to and where the school has places available the pupil should be admitted. However, in schools where there are more applicants than places available, a selection process will be necessary. This selection process and the enrolment policy on which it is based must be non-discriminatory and must be applied fairly in respect of all applicants. However, this may result in some pupils not obtaining a place in the school of their first choice.
The act requires schools to clearly set out their selection criteria in their admission policies. Schools have discretion in relation to their admission criteria and how they are applied. The criteria to be applied by schools and the order of priority are a matter for the schools themselves. My Department does not seek to intervene in the selection criterion that is applied by schools.
958. Deputy Neale Richmond asked the Minister for Education if she has considered introducing a method for parents and guardians to confirm to schools that they have abided by the Covid-19 regulations during the Easter break to prevent additional transmission of Covid-19 in school settings; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18646/21]
View answerMy Department is very appreciative of the ongoing efforts of the school community working to limit the risk of the spread of COVID-19 in schools and ensuring that the infection control measures put in place in line with the school COVID-19 response plans are effective in making schools safe for children and staff.
There is a wide range of materials available for schools to support the communication with parents and students and re-inforce public health messaging. These include video messages from public health doctors on the safety of schools, posters and digital animations and videos.
Parents of children attending since March 1 are being asked by the school to complete a declaration form following an absence from the school. This states that the parent believes that their child does not have an infectious disease and that they have followed all medical and public health guidance with respect to the exclusion of their child from educational facilities. The form is available here.
959. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Education further to Parliamentary Question No. 836 of 24 March 2021, the person or body to be contacted in cases in which a board of management in a primary school operates outside the Governance Manual for Primary Schools 2019-2023 without following section 14, part 8 of the manual; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18649/21]
View answerThe Education Act, 1998 sets out the key roles and functions that are discharged by patrons and boards of management in the running of schools. Section 14 of the Education Act, 1998 provides that the appointment of a board of management of a school, where practicable, is solely a matter for the relevant school patron.
The board of management is the body of persons appointed by the patron to manage the school on behalf of the patron and the functions of the Board are set out in Section 15 of the Act. The Governance Manual for Primary Schools 2019 - 2023 sets out the agreed procedures for the appointment of members of boards of management and for the operation of such Boards.
Any queries or concerns regarding the functioning of a board of management should be addressed to the patron of the school concerned.
960. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Education the supports in place for students unable to return to school due to a family member having a serious underlying condition; if those students will be facilitated to learn from home; the provisions in place in such cases; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18651/21]
View answerThe Government has always been guided by public health advice in relation to what is safe in schools. The CMO has made it very clear in his advices to Government which are published on gov.ie, that schools are safe environments, with very little evidence of transmission within schools, and that the majority of infections of children and adolescents occurs outside the school setting. The decision to delay the reopening of schools was in recognition of the need to reduce societal activity and movement to curb the spread of the virus at a time where there was unprecedented levels of disease transmission in the community. This was not based on a changed assessment of the risks in relation to transmission levels in schools.
Schools have put significant infection prevention control measures in place to reduce the risk of coronavirus being transmitted to/within the school and funding of almost €650 million has been put in place by my Department to fund Covid-19 related measures, including funding for PPE, sanitation and additional cleaning etc.
The HSE Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) has issued specific advice about children attending school in the context of covid-19. This advice covers both children with underlying medical conditions and children living with family members with underlying conditions. For all children, care should continue to be taken to reduce transmission through the infection control measures promoted by HPSC.
The HPSC advice advises that children with immediate family members, including parents, in both the ‘high risk’ and ‘very high risk’ categories can return to school and it is important for the child’s overall well-being. This is consistent with public health advice internationally in relation to at-risk family members. The priority is that the household continues to follow all current advice on how to minimise the risk of coronavirus, through regular hand washing, etc.
961. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Education the current restriction on teachers registered with the Teaching Council under route 3 that requires them to apply for continuous extensions to acquire their Teaching Council number annually. [18653/21]
View answerThe Teaching Council registers teachers under the Teaching Council Act 2001-2015 and in line with the Teaching Council (Registration) Regulations 2016. Registration is based on qualifications as set out in the Registration Regulations 2016.
The Council informs me that registration under Route 3 Further Education requires a teacher education qualification (TEQ) suitable for the purposes of teaching in further education and can be completed as part of an accredited undergraduate degree or in addition to an undergraduate degree.
The Council state that on an exceptional basis, registration is granted with conditions under Route 3 to individuals who hold a suitable undergraduate degree but do not hold a relevant teacher education qualification. This conditional registration is granted on the understanding that such registrants attain an accredited TEQ suitable for teaching in Further Education within a three year timeframe. If, due to exceptional circumstances, additional time is needed to fulfil the condition of registration, an application can be made under Section 32 of the Act. Where the Council grants extensions beyond the initial three years, it is generally for a one year period. This is not a restriction, it is a requirement for registration that is met by the vast majority of teachers registered through Route 3.
The Council currently accredits 11 programmes of initial teacher education in Further Education which are listed on the Council’s website. These programmes are delivered by Higher Education Institutions across the country on both full-time and part-time basis.
962. Deputy Michael Creed asked the Minister for Education the status of efforts made by her Department to procure sites for schools at a location (details supplied) in County Cork. [18663/21]
View answerOfficials in my Department continue to liaise with officials in Cork City Council in relation to the identification and acquisition of suitable sites for the schools in question.
A number of site options have been identified. Negotiations with the landowners in respect of the preferred site options to accommodate the schools are ongoing. You will appreciate that negotiations in respect of site acquisitions are, by their nature, sensitive and for that reason I am not in a position to provide further information at this time.
963. Deputy Neasa Hourigan asked the Minister for Education her plans to undertake an independent assessment of the pilot projects aimed at retaining Traveller and Roma children in education; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18692/21]
View answerIn line with Programme for Government commitments, my Department is currently planning for an independent assessment of this pilot project, and work is underway in this regard. The research will evaluate the impact of the pilot in the four pilot locations and it is envisaged that this will inform future policy initiatives to support Traveller and Roma children and young people in their education.
964. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Education the steps she has taken to provide a comprehensive policy for the Irish language from pre-primary education to teacher education for all schools in view of the commitment relating to same in the programme for Government; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18694/21]
View answerMy Department is working on an ongoing basis on the initial planning work required for the development of an Irish-medium policy. I look forward to progressing this important work and building on the positive outcomes achieved already in the implementation of the Policy on Gaeltacht Education in order to strengthen Irish-medium education. I look forward to working with the different relevant stakeholders to progress this important work.
965. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Education her views on whether the proposals by the NCCA relating to the Irish language are premature in the absence of an overall revised framework for the teaching of the language given the commitment in the programme for Government to provide a comprehensive policy for the Irish language from pre-primary education to teacher education for all schools; and if she will consider withdrawing these proposals pending a more thorough approach. [18695/21]
View answerThe L1 and L2 draft specifications for Leaving Certificate (established) Irish published by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) for public consultation build on the significant developments that have taken place in Irish language curricular provision at primary and Junior Cycle levels in recent years. These include the introduction of a differentiated L1 and L2 Primary Language Curriculum for all stages in primary education in 2019 and L1 and L2 specifications for Junior Cycle Irish in 2017.
Updated syllabuses for Leaving Certificate Irish were introduced in 2010. A number of research reports commissioned by the NCCA and COGG (An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta) on these syllabuses highlighted a number of issues around the quality of students’ experiences and outcomes that need to be addressed. The development of new specifications for Leaving Certificate Irish aims to address identified issues and is part of the ongoing cycle of curricular development and review undertaken by the NCCA.
It is my Department’s aim to improve education standards and the quality of learning experiences for all students, including their engagement with the study of Irish in line with their ability, along the continuum. The second cohort of students who have engaged with the new specifications for Irish for the full three years of Junior Cycle will progress to senior cycle in the autumn. It is therefore important that these students are afforded learning experiences at Leaving Certificate level that allow them to enhance and deepen their learning in Irish and fulfil their potential.
In planning and in designing the consultation process, the NCCA was mindful of the challenging circumstances facing teachers, students, school leaders, and their communities due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to enable wide engagement by all those interested in participating, this consultation is currently scheduled to remain open for a six-month period until 31 August with the possibility of extending the timeline. Typically, consultations on draft subject specifications take place over a six to eight-week period. The NCCA is using a range of consultation methods including an online survey, focus group and bilateral meetings, and written submissions to gather and record the experiences and perspectives of participants on all aspects of the draft specifications, including the types of learning, teaching and assessment experiences set out for students.
I understand that as part of the ongoing consultation process, the NCCA continues to engage with colleagues in the broader Irish language sector and is meeting with Conradh na Gaeilge and delegates from other Irish language organisations in the coming weeks.
All curricular development concerning Irish is set within a broader policy framework for the language and its communities. This includes the Government policy on Gaeltacht Education policy, which is to support and promote the use of the Irish language in Gaeltacht communities and it is also important to state that the development of new specifications for Leaving Certificate Irish is taking place in the context of the 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010-2030.
966. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Education the number of notifications made by teachers to the Tusla education support service of instances in which students and children have disengaged from online learning. [18712/21]
View answer969. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Education further to Parliamentary Question No. 574 Question of 31 March 2021, the number of notifications made by teachers to the Tusla education support service of instances in which students and children have disengaged from online learning since the start of the pandemic. [18715/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 966 and 969 together.
During school closures, schools were not required to record attendance in the usual manner. Any records kept in relation to engagement during school closure periods are retained at school level and my Department does not collect this data.
TESS adopted a child welfare approach during the periods of school closure and all TESS staff worked locally with schools to support those students and families identified as needing additional assistance to engage with remote learning.
967. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Education the number of autism spectrum disorder places in primary and secondary schools in Finglas, Dublin 11; her plans to increase the number of ASD units in primary and secondary schools in the area; the timescale for delivery of each in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18713/21]
View answer968. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Education the number of autism spectrum disorder places in primary and secondary schools in the Ballymun area of Dublin; her plans to increase the number of ASD units in primary and secondary schools the area; the timescale for delivery of each in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18714/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 967 and 968 together.
Enabling children with special educational needs to receive an education appropriate to their needs is a priority for this Government. The Department of Education will spend approximately €2 Billion or over 20% of its total educational budget in 2021 on making additional provision for children with special educational needs this year.
The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has responsibility for coordinating and advising on the education provision for children nationwide. It has well established structures in place for engaging with schools and parents. NCSE seeks to ensure that schools in an area can, between them, cater for all children who have been identified as needing special education placements.
It is open to any school to make an application to the NCSE for the establishment of a specialised provision and where sanctioned, a range of supports, including capital funding, is made available to the school.
Notwithstanding the extent of this investment, there are some parts of the country 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. However, the active collaboration of school communities is essential in this regard.
There are currently sixteen special classes for students with autism attached to mainstream primary and post-primary schools in Dublin 9 and Dublin 11, including 1 Early Intervention class..
The NCSE is aware of an identified need for additional special classes at primary and post primary levels in the Dublin 9 and 11 areas and in the Fingal area as a whole. The NCSE is working with a number of schools in this area to encourage and support the opening of new special classes at all levels and has specific plans in place to increase the number of places available.
Through ongoing consultation at local level, the NCSE is also aware of those parents whose children will be seeking placement for the 2021/22 academic year, including mainstream placement with appropriate support, special class placement, Early Intervention and special school placement. The NCSE continues to work to identify any and all relevant suitable placements.
I should also clarify that the NCSE does not maintain waiting lists for schools. Boards of management of individual schools are responsible for such enrolment matters.
I can reassure the Deputy that the local Special Education Needs Organisers (SENOs) continue to be available to assist and advise both schools and the parents of children with special educational needs. Parents may contact SENOs directly using the contact details available at: https://ncse.ie/regional-services-contact-list .
Information on the list of schools with special classes is available at www.ncse.ie
