Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 May 2021
475. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Education the specific sustainable development goal targets her Department is responsible for implementing; the progress made in implementing those targets since 26 April 2018; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25763/21]
View answerUnder the Sustainable Development Goals National Implementation Plan, a number of Education strategies and plans have been identified as key to implementing SDG 4 – Quality Education which spans ensuring
- students/adults enjoy free/affordable, equitable and quality education, (4.1 and 4.3)
- increasing youth and adults who have skills for employment and entrepreneurship (4.4)
- gender disparities are eliminated and equal access to all levels of education (4.5)
- all youth and substantial proportion of adults achieve literacy and numeracy (4.6)
- all learners acquire skills, knowledge to promote sustainable development (4.7)
1. National Strategy on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) (SDG 4.7)
The National Strategy on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) 2014-2020 has now expired but significant progress was made over the period and a report is being compiled in this respect. Key achievements include:-
- the integration of sustainable development themes and principles into the curriculum at early years, primary and post primary levels
- the publication of an audit of the ESD opportunities and linkages in the curriculum in 2018
- the integration of sustainable development criteria in initial teacher training programmes
- the integration of sustainable development themes into the assessment (state examinations) process
- the development of an ESD resources portal on scoilnet: http//www.scoilnet.ie/go-to-post-primary/science/organisations/esd/
- the increased engagement of schools with a range of sustainable development related programmes including Green Schools, World Wise Global Schools and ECO-UNESCO.
Building on the success of the existing strategy, the Department, together with the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science will jointly develop a new strategy for ESD to 2030, aligned to the UNESCO Framework for ESD for 2030 and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Target 4.7. ESD to 2030 will be informed by a process of stakeholder engagement and public consultation and will aim to extend ESD to the informal and non-formal education sectors, raise awareness, increase youth participation and links with communities. Development will be overseen by the ESD Advisory Group. The public consultation was launched on Earth Day (22nd April 2021) and will remain open until the end of June 2021. Both Departments will continue to engage with key stakeholders including the school community into the early autumn with a view to publishing a new strategy for ESD to 2030 in early 2022.
As well as being a target in itself, ESD is also considered a key enabler for achieving all 17 SDGs.
2. Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools Plan (DEIS) (SDG 4.1, 4.5, 4.6)
DEIS – Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools is the main policy initiative of the Department of Education to address educational disadvantage at school level. The renewed DEIS Plan published in 2017 sets out the vision for future interventions in the critical area of educational disadvantage policy and builds on what has already been achieved by schools who have benefitted from the additional supports available under the initial DEIS programme introduced in 2005. DEIS Plan includes 5 key goals:
- the implementation of a more robust and responsive assessment framework for the identification of schools and effective resource allocation;
- to improve learning experiences and outcomes for pupils in DEIS Schools;
- to improve the capacity of schools leaders and teachers to engage, plan and deploy resources to their best advantage;
- to support and foster best practice through inter-agency collaboration;
- to support the work of schools by providing research, information, evaluation and feedback.
In the 2020/21 academic year there are 887 schools in the DEIS Programme serving over 185,000 pupils - 689 Primary and 198 Post Primary. The total Department spend on DEIS in 2021 is in the region of €149million, which includes €24.686 million for the School Completion Programme. In addition budget 2021 provided for an additional allocation of €2m in 2021 and €5m in 2022, to address educational disadvantage. Additional funding is provided from Department of Social Protection for the School Meals Programme.
The Department’s investment in 2021 includes providing for;
- 419 Home School Community Liaison Coordinators serving 539 schools, catering for approximately 156,000 pupils.
- Additional posts for DEIS Band 1 primary schools to allow for a reduced pupil teacher ratio.
- Curriculum supports
- Priority access to continuing professional development
- School Excellence Fund - DEIS
- DEIS grants and enhanced book grants.
3. National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy 2016-2020 (SDG 4.5)
The National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy (NTRIS) which is under the remit of the Department of Children, Disability, Equality, Integration and Youth provides the framework and strategic direction for interventions across Government Departments to support the additional needs of the Traveller and Roma communities in Ireland. The Department of Education participate in the NTRIS Steering Group and the Education sub-group which oversees the implementation of the education actions of NTRIS.
Actions under way include work by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment following on from their audit of traveller culture and history in the curriculum, research on the effectiveness of the Department’s anti-bullying strategy for Traveller pupils, and a NTRIS pilot project in 4 areas aimed at improving Traveller and ROMA attendance, participation and engagement in schools. It is intended that the outcomes of this pilot project will help to inform future policy.
4. Literacy and Numeracy and Digital Literacy Strategy (SDG 4.6)
The National Strategy: Literacy & Numeracy for Learning and life 2011-2020 and Interim Review 2017 identified actions across six Pillars of the education system
- Pillar 1: Enabling parents and communities to support children’s literacy and numeracy development
- Pillar 2: Improving teachers’ and Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE ) practitioners' professional practice
- Pillar 3: Building the capacity of school leadership
- Pillar 4: Improving the curriculum and the learning experience
- Pillar 5: Helping students with additional learning needs to achieve their potential
- Pillar 6: Improving assessment and evaluation to support better learning in literacy and numeracy.
The Strategy and Interim report sets a central policy context for connecting children, young people and adults in literacy and numeracy discussions. They address the need to target, coordinate and strengthen links between home and education settings, and to develop and promote models of good practice to support literacy and numeracy acquisition. They recognise the need for a cohesive and coordinated national approach.
The priorities under the Strategy are linked to actions for related policy developments including the Further Education and Training Strategy 2014 – 2019.
New targets were set in the Interim Review 2017 including a set of discrete targets identified for DEIS schools after findings from studies such as the National Assessments of Mathematics and English Reading (NAMER) 2014 and the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2015 highlighted the progress made in reading and mathematics with many of the targets set in the Strategy in 2011, having been met in just over half of the Strategy’s lifetime.
Actions identified relate to reforms in initial teacher education, dedicated support for school leaders’ and teachers’ professional learning and curriculum reform. Work outside the school sector by agencies like SOLAS, by ETBs, libraries and by organisations such as Aontas and NALA, is enabling adults to gain the competence to enhance their own literacy and numeracy skills and thereby to assist them to confidently work with their children and grandchildren.
Development of a new Literacy and Numeracy and Digital Literacy Strategy, as set out in the Programme for Government, is underway. The strategy will be informed by robust research to include consideration of national and international practice, by stakeholder engagement and public consultation.
5. STEM Education Policy Statement 2017-2026 (SDG 4.5)
The STEM Education Policy Statement 2017-2026 acknowledges that there is a need to increase the uptake of STEM subjects and to enhance STEM learning for learners of all backgrounds, abilities and gender, with a particular focus on uptake by females. Building on this, a Gender Balance in STEM Advisory group was established to guide national actions that will ensure STEM education in Ireland is world class in improving gender balance and inclusion effectively for our young people. The Gender Balance in STEM Advisory group commissioned a Literature Review on Gender Balance in STEM, which was published in November 2020, entitled A Review of Literature to Identify a Set of Effective Interventions for Addressing Gender Balance in STEM in Early Years, Primary and Post-Primary Education Settings.
The report sets out what is known about critical barriers to girls’ participation in STEM education and STEM learning, while also highlighting effective interventions to increase participation of girls in STEM. The evidence set out in this literature review will inform actions under the second phase of the STEM Education Implementation Plan, 2021-2023, with a view to addressing gender balance and increased overall participation in STEM.
6. Department of Education - Statement of Strategy 2021-2023
The SDG Implementation Plan calls for a reference in Statements of Strategy where Departments have lead responsibility to implement SDG goals. The Departments new Statement of Strategy will contain reference to same.
7. Climate Action Plan (SDG 13)
Building on actions already undertaken, the Department has contributed to the Climate Action Plan 2021 in relation to schools buildings, school transport, school curriculum/ESD and the exemplar role of schools. A review of school transport includes options to reduce car journeys and assess how the school transport scheme can work with the Safe Routes to Schools Programme. The Department of Education is represented on the Interdepartmental Working Group on Climate Action.
Sustainable Development Goals – Data Collection and Reporting
The Central Statistics Office (CSO), Ordnance Survey Ireland (OSi) and Environment Systems Research Institute (Esri-Ireland) established a project team in April 2017 to engage with a combined
UN Statistics Division (UNSD)/Esri research exercise with a goal to develop and deploy a new approach for monitoring the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Indicators using geographic information systems. The result of this exercise is a new website (Ireland's SDGs Data Hub), hosted on OSi's Geohive platform, which is Ireland’s Central Portal for all SDGs and contains indicators data on the 17 UN SDGs for Ireland. All the indicators in this publication will be loaded onto the Geohive. This work has been formalised through the creation of Ireland’s Institute for SDGs (IIS) - an initiative between the CSO, OSi and Department of Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC). The membership of the IIS is expected to expand with ongoing monitoring and reporting of Ireland's progress towards meeting UN SDGs.
As part of this work, the CSO are publishing reports on each of the 17 SDGs and their targets. The report on SDG 4 - Quality Education was published in 2020. The Department of Education is represented on the CSO’s SDG Data Governance Board.
