Written Answers Nos. 541-560
544. Deputy Peter Burke asked the Minister for Education the number of primary school principals appointed in County Westmeath from 2011 to 2021, by gender, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42188/21]
View answerThe detailed information sought by the Deputy is not readily available in my Department.
It would take an investment of IT and other staffing resources to obtain this information. It is not possible given that the resource priorities must be allocated to ensuring the payment of teaching and non teaching staff on payrolls operated by my Department to provide this information.
The information that is available in relation to the number of teachers in primary schools on a county basis as provided by the managerial authorities of the schools is published in the Statistics Section of my Department's website.
The link to access the information is www.education.ie/en/Publications/Statistics/Data-on-Individual-Schools/
Statistics on a county basis are not compiled for the number of teachers but the information available in relation to the overall numbers including gender is available on the website. The link to access this information is www.education.ie/en/Publications/Statistics/teacher-statistics/.
545. Deputy Peter Burke asked the Minister for Education if her Department is promoting any policies to address gender inequalities faced by male and female primary school teachers seeking promotion; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42189/21]
View answerThe Equality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2015, which commenced on 1 January 2016, provided for certain changes in the exclusion of discrimination on particular grounds in certain employments (i.e. educational or medical institutions maintained, in whole or in part, by monies provided by the Oireachtas) by amending Section 37 of the Employment Equality Act, 1998.
In Department Circular 0044/2019, section 6.7(vi) of Chapter 3 "Appointment Procedures for Assistant Principals and Deputy Principals (Internal Competition)" sets out that "Interview Boards must ensure that questions asked at interview do not lead to discrimination on the grounds set out in Section 6(2) of the Employment Equality Acts, 1998-2015 i.e. gender, civil status, family status, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, race and member of the Travelling Community".
Also, section 7.7 of Chapter 4 "Appointment Procedures for Principal & Deputy Principal (Open Competition)" of this circular states "Advertisements must not indicate or be reasonably understood to indicate an intention to discriminate on the grounds as set out in Section 6(2) of the Employment Equality Acts, 1998-2015 i.e. gender, civil status, family status, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, race and member of the Travelling Community. Special care should be taken in drafting the advertisement, especially in indicating the gender category of the school, so as to ensure that it will be understood by all that both men and women are eligible to apply and will be given equal consideration".
546. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Education if her attention has been drawn to the commitments made in October 2020 to regularise the employment, terms and conditions and pension rights of school caretakers; the status of the progress of this commitment made; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42205/21]
View answerThe Department is aware of the vitally important role played by school secretaries and caretakers in the running of our schools.
In recognition of this role, special COVID-19 working arrangements were put in place and the Employee Assistance Service was extended to grant funded staff. The Department also previously fully implemented and funded the 2015 recommendations of an independent arbitrator for 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 and officials from the Department and school management bodies have been engaging with Fórsa on the issues. A process of engagement has taken place at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) and an understanding has been agreed on a pathway to progress the issues with a phased approach being taken to the development of proposals.
The Department is actively seeking to engage with Fórsa in an effort to resolve the issue as part of an ongoing IR process under the auspices of the WRC. Industrial action would impact on the day-to-day operation of schools at a time when so much effort has gone into ensuring they could open and stay open during the pandemic. The Department would appeal to school secretaries and to Fórsa to defer this planned action to allow further early and intensive discussions to take place.
547. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Education the status of a matter (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42219/21]
View answerThe Department is aware of the vitally important role played by school secretaries in the running of our schools.
In recognition of this role, special COVID-19 working arrangements were put in place and the Employee Assistance Service was extended to grant funded staff. The Department also previously fully implemented and funded the 2015 recommendations of an independent arbitrator for 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 and officials from the Department and school management bodies have been engaging with Fórsa on the issues. A process of engagement has taken place at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) and an understanding has been agreed on a pathway to progress the issues with a phased approach being taken to the development of proposals.
The Department is actively seeking to engage with Fórsa in an effort to resolve the issue as part of an ongoing IR process under the auspices of the WRC. Industrial action would impact on the day-to-day operation of schools at a time when so much effort has gone into ensuring they could open and stay open during the pandemic. The Department would appeal to school secretaries and to Fórsa to defer this planned action to allow further early and intensive discussions to take place.
548. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Education the funding allocated to the residential institutions redress scheme; the number of applications approved and paid to date; the average payment; the number of ineligible applications; the number of applications refused; and the number of applications withdrawn, in tabular form. [42221/21]
View answer549. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Education the funding allocated to the residential institutions redress scheme for administrative purposes including staffing, legal and premises costs. [42222/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 548 and 549 together.
The Residential Institutions Redress Board was established under the Residential Institutions Redress Act 2002 to make awards to persons who, as children, were abused while resident in industrial schools, reformatories and other institutions subject to state regulation or inspection. The Residential Institutions Redress Board no longer has the power to accept new applications since the 16th September 2011. At this stage the Redress Board is in wind-down mode having completed processing all applications and applicant costs.
Since inception the administrative costs of the scheme up to December 2020 paid by my Department is € 73.8 M which includes the administrative costs of both the Residential Institutions Redress Board and the Residential Institutions Review Committee.
Overall expenditure on the Scheme is in the order of € 1.245 billion.
As of December 2020, the following is the position -
|
Total number of awards made by the Redress Board |
15,594 |
|
Average award |
€62,247 |
|
No. of applications withdrawn, refused or resulting in a nil or no award |
1,069 |
The total paid for Applicant legal and associated costs up to December 2020 is € 194 million.
More detailed data is contained the Redress Board’s Annual Reports.
www.rirb.ie/annualReport.asp
550. Deputy Danny Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education if she will address a matter regarding greyhound racing in the curriculum (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42225/21]
View answer556. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Education if her Department deems the content of a CSPE school book (details supplied) being used in Irish schools appropriate; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42287/21]
View answer566. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education if an issue in relation to a school textbook (details supplied) will be addressed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42380/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 550, 556 and 566 together.
The current policy within my Department is not to endorse or promote any particular programme, product or publication to support the teaching of subjects. However, there are a number of exceptions where my Department has procured textbooks or resources in order to fill a specific and urgent need. Apart from a small number of prescribed texts at post-primary, determined by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA), the decisions on which textbooks, programmes and products to use in primary and post-primary schools are taken at school level.
In terms of the content the Deputy refers to, my Department does not have a role in approving, commissioning, sponsoring or endorsing any content in any educational product. The curriculum specification and prescribed syllabus materials are determined by the NCCA and it is the responsibility of each individual school to select the resources that it will use to support its implementation of the curriculum. With respect to the specific issue raised, it should be noted that the specification for Junior Cycle CSPE does not contain any reference to or mention of greyhound racing.
The knowledge and skills that students are expected to gain across all curriculum areas are published in subject specifications on www.curriculumonline.ie.
The NCCA does not advise upon the content of specific text books. Nor does the NCCA review or provide feedback on textbooks or have any role in endorsing or approving textbooks. There are no written guidelines setting out this relationship between the NCCA and educational publishers. It is a matter for publishers and their editing processes to ensure their textbooks are fit for purpose in a competitive market and for schools to choose which, if any, of these textbooks they believe will support the teaching of the curriculum. It remains open to those with concerns to contact schools directly using the information publically available on my department’s website. www.education.ie/en/find-a-school
My Department does not review or approve the content of textbooks published by private companies, as this may be seen as an indication of approval for their use in schools. Any concerns regarding material published in textbooks should be raised with the publisher themselves.
551. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Education the number of classrooms or teaching spaces that currently have a carbon dioxide monitor installed, by county, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42234/21]
View answer552. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Education the optimum parts per million range her Department will be recommending with regard to the use of carbon dioxide monitors in classrooms as a mitigation strategy for Covid-19; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42235/21]
View answer553. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Education the additional measures such as air circulation or filtration devices that will be used to increase airflow and reduce the spread of Covid-19; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42236/21]
View answer554. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Education if she will report on the investigations and research her Department has conducted into measures (details supplied); the conclusions reached in each case; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42237/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 551 to 554, inclusive, together.
The importance of good ventilation is an important aspect of public health advice on managing Covid-19 risks and this led to the establishment of an Expert Group by the Department of Health.
A sub-group of the main Expert Group focussed exclusively on the issue of improving and monitoring ventilation in schools and this group issued a report with specific advice for schools. This report supplemented the main group report on Ventilation and related measures to reduce airborne transmission of COVID-19. The Expert Group recommended that the report be read in conjunction with advice issued by the Department of Education Practical Steps for the Deployment of Good Ventilation Practices in Schools. The Expert Sub Group report formed the basis for the most recent updating of the ventilation guidance for schools and included recommendations in relation to strengthening the message about the importance of good ventilation, the use of CO2 monitors and, where considered necessary, air cleaners. To support schools further to identify rooms which may have inadequate ventilation and to optimise comfort levels through a better understanding of the degree of window opening required in rooms, the Department have arranged for the provision to schools of a number of portable units (based on the size of each school). The use of CO2 monitors can provide a useful general indication that areas/rooms within a building may not be adequately ventilated and can enable occupants to become familiar with the impact that activities, outdoor weather and window openings have on levels of good ventilation within a room. This information can be used to inform strategies for improving ventilation and in that regard my Department has funded the provision of over 35,000 portable CO2 monitors for schools at an estimated overall cost of circa €4 million. The portable units can facilitate measurements in a wide range of locations in schools.
The use of CO2 monitors can provide a useful general indication that areas/rooms within a building may not be adequately ventilated and can enable occupants to become familiar with the impact that activities, outdoor weather and window openings have on levels of good ventilation within a room. This information can be used to inform strategies for improving ventilation and in that regard my Department has funded the provision of over 35,000 portable CO2 monitors for schools. These portable units can facilitate measurements in a wide range of locations in schools.
Deliveries of CO2 monitors to schools commenced during the 3rd week of August and are expected to be completed by mid-September. In total, it involves over 35,000 CO2 monitors being distributed to schools in either one or two deliveries over a four-week period.
The number of units provided by county is determined by the size and number of schools in each location. The bandings below have been used to allocate the monitors.
|
Primary Schools (Classrooms) |
Monitors per school |
|
1 classroom |
2 |
|
2 to 4 Classrooms |
3 |
|
5 to 8 |
5 |
|
9 to 12 |
7 |
|
13 to 16 |
9 |
|
17 to 20 |
11 |
|
21 to 24 |
13 |
|
25 to 30 |
17 |
|
31+ |
20 |
|
Special Schools |
Monitors per school |
|
Special Schools |
10 |
|
Secondary Schools (Free Scheme) enrolment bands |
Monitors per school |
|
<500 |
20 |
|
501 to 750 |
25 |
|
751 to 1000 |
30 |
|
1001+ |
35 |
As of the 7th of September 16,500 monitors have been delivered.
CO2 levels provide a guide on air quality. Monitoring CO2 levels will help schools to identify poorly ventilated rooms. The CO2 monitors being provided to schools guides them on the need to increase ventilation once Co2 levels are above 800 CO2 parts per million.
The updated guidance on ventilation references a role for air cleaners in certain more limited circumstances where for example a room is not well ventilated and works are awaited to address same. The air cleaner can assist in such cases in improving air quality but it is important to note that air cleaning devices are not a substitute for good ventilation.
A school’s architect or engineer can guide a school on whether an air cleaner is necessary or appropriate.
If an individual school has particular difficulties in managing ventilation my Department is available to guide and support it as required on the appropriate strategy to address same.
My Department’s ventilation guidance for schools is very clear and practical on the steps to be taken by all schools to manage ventilation levels. A copy of the guidance is published at www.gov.ie/en/publication/ad236-guidance-on-ventilation-in-schools/.
555. Deputy Joe Carey asked the Minister for Education the status of an application for additional accommodation for a school (details supplied) in County Clare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42264/21]
View answerAn application under my Department’s Additional Accommodation Scheme (ASA) was received from the management authority of the school referred to by the Deputy. The application has been assessed and my Department is satisfied that the school has sufficient accommodation to meet its current needs. The school authorities have been informed of this decision.
557. Deputy Richard O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Education if her attention has been drawn to the lack of SNAs in schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42312/21]
View answerEnsuring that every child including children with special educational needs receive an education is a priority for the Government and my Department.
The numbers of special classes, special education teachers and Special Needs Assistants are at unprecedented levels.
The Department will spend approximately €2 Billion, or over 20% of its total educational budget on making additional provision for children with special educational needs in 2021.
This represents an increase of over 50% in total expenditure since 2011, at which point €1.247 Billion per annum was provided.
For the 2021/22 school year 2,118 special classes have been provided. This is an increase of 269 classes from the previous school year and will ensure that approximately 12,700 special class places will be available this year, including 1,600 new special class places.
Since 2011, the number of special classes in mainstream schools has increased by almost 386% from 548 to 2,118 for the 2021/2022 school year.
Budget 2021 provided for an additional 990 additional SNAs for allocation to schools, bringing the total numbers to 18,000 by December 2021.
This allocation of SNAs is to meet the care needs of pupils in 2021 and will enable the establishment of new special classes, creation of new places in special schools, support children in mainstream classes for the 2021/22 school year.
This will represent an increase of increase of 70% in the number of SNAs provided since 2011 at which point 10,575 SNAs were available.
The NCSE have published the SNA allocations on their website www.ncse.ie.
Where circumstances change during the course of the 2021/22 school year that materially increase the level of care need in a school to the extent that the school can clearly demonstrate that it cannot be met within the existing SNA allocation, the school may apply to the NCSE for a review. Detailed information on the NCSE exceptional review process is published on the NCSE website ncse.ie/for-schools
The NCSE has responsibility for planning and coordinating school supports for children with special educational needs including the allocation of SNAs and reviews. The Department does not have a role in making individual school determinations.
558. Deputy Richard O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Education the reason additional buses are not being sourced given that all seats on buses cannot be utilised due to Covid-19 restrictions resulting in some students being without a seat on a bus and have no way of getting to or from school; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42313/21]
View answerThe School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. In the 2020/2021 school year over 114,100 children, including over 14,700 children with special educational needs, were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country at a cost of over €224.7m in 2020.
All children who are eligible for school transport and who complete the application and payment process on time for the 2021/22 school year will be accommodated on school transport services where such services are in operation. In addition all post-primary pupils who are otherwise eligible for school transport but are attending their second nearest school and have applied and paid on time will be accommodated on school transport services where such services are in operation. This arrangement is in place for current school year pending completion of the full review of the School Transport Scheme.
Children who are not eligible for school transport may apply for transport on a concessionary basis only and are offered seats where capacity exists after all eligible children have been catered for. 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 2021/2022 school year.
Planning for school transport for the 2021/22 school year has proceeded on the basis that the public health measures in place as schools closed at the end of the last school year would remain as term began in this new school year. This includes the recommendations from Public Health that post-primary services would operate at 50% capacity and that masks would be worn. All other measures relating to hygiene, pre-assigned seating, cleaning and the wearing of masks by post-primary students are also in place. Funding is being provided by my Department for the additional buses required so that services can operate at 50% capacity and for the cost of the other required measures.
As the vaccination programme for children on post-primary services is rolled out and as the lifting of restrictions on public transport services proceeds, the capacity limit of 50% on post-primary school transport services will be subject to ongoing review and the Department will be considering the position in this regard over the coming weeks.
Should post-primary services resume operating at 100% capacity and where additional vehicles that were provided for social distancing purposes are removed, any spare capacity available will be offered on those services to concessionary pupils or late applicants where such capacity exists.
559. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Education if any representations were made to her or by either of (details supplied) in relation to the possibility of running predictive grades for the leaving certificate in 2022 as well as a written examination in view of the amount of time schools had to remain closed and work online in the past two years; if these bodies favour such an approach; her response to them; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42319/21]
View answerI am conscious that students who are due to take their Leaving Certificate examinations in 2022 have experienced a degree of disruption to their learning.
My Department co-chairs an Advisory Group on Planning for State Examinations in conjunction with the State Examinations Commission. The group was originally established to consider contingency arrangements for the 2020 Leaving Certificate and was reconstituted for the purposes of planning for the 2021 Leaving Certificate. The group includes representatives of students (Irish Second Level Students Union), parents (National Parents Councils), teachers (TUI and ASTI), school leadership and management bodies, the State Examinations Commission (SEC), the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science and the Department of Education, including the National Educational Psychological Service.
In meetings held in April and May, this group discussed the Leaving Certificate 2022 examinations.
On 30 June, the Advisory Group on Planning for State Examinations received an update in relation to the 2022 Leaving Certificate and Junior Cycle examinations.
Following this meeting, I announced that adjustments would be made to the 2022 examinations which are similar to those published in December 2020 in respect of Leaving Certificate 2021.
The adjustments are outlined in Assessment Arrangements for Junior and Leaving Certificate 2022, which is available on www.gov.ie/leavingcertificate.
These adjustments will leave intact the familiar overall structure of the examinations, while incorporating additional choice for students in the examinations.
The adjustments provide greater choice for candidates across a wide range of subjects.
A summary advice note setting out the key curriculum and assessment arrangements for Leaving Certificate Applied Year 1 and Year 2 students in the 2021/22 school year has also been published and is also available on www.gov.ie/leavingcertificate.
The system of Calculated Grades which operated for Leaving Certificate 2020 was intended to be a once-off event in 2020 given the sudden and very challenging position at that time and the impossibility of running examinations in their traditional form safely.
A decision was made by Government in February 2021 to offer a system of Accredited Grades to this year’s Leaving Certificate students. The rationale for this was that, given the levels of disruption to learning experienced by current Leaving Certificate students during two significant and prolonged periods during their Senior Cycle education, it would have been unfair and unjust to require such students to sit traditional Leaving Certificate Examinations without offering an alternative or parallel process.
While schools were closed as a result of Covid-19 from January 2021, a programme of remote learning was provided to all students. Students who were in fifth year were also prioritised for a return to school following the return of sixth year students.
It is hoped that incoming sixth year students will be able to complete a full year of in-school tuition when they return to school at the start of the 2021/22 school year, and will experience no further disruption to their learning as a result of Covid-19
It was also announced, on 30 June that the State Examinations Commission (SEC) will run an alternative set of Leaving Certificate Examinations in 2022, shortly following the main set of examinations. The SEC will set out the eligibility conditions for these examinations, which will be limited to certain students who are unable to sit the main set of examinations due to close family bereavement, COVID-19 illness during those examinations, and certain other categories of serious illness, to be clearly and strictly delineated. The SEC will issue further details regarding these examinations, with all arrangements guided by prevailing public health advice. There will also be further engagement with stakeholders in this matter.
560. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education if she will address a matter (details supplied) regarding special needs assistants; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42320/21]
View answerThe NCSE has responsibility for planning and coordinating school supports for children with special educational needs including the allocation of SNAs and reviews.
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.
The level of a child's care needs change and evolve over time and so too must the level of care support provided.
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.
In light of the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the introduction of the new Frontloaded Allocation Model for SNAs for students in mainstream classes in primary and post -primary schools is to be deferred for a further year to the beginning of the 2022/23 school year.
In order to minimise disruption for schools, in the current circumstances, and to provide for continuity of allocations the following arrangements for the allocation of Special Needs Assistants for mainstream classes for the 2021/22 school year:
- Existing mainstream class SNA allocations in schools on 30 April 2021 will be maintained and will automatically rollover into the 2021/22 school year.
- No school will therefore receive an allocation less than that which they had on 30 April 2021.
- SNAs currently in mainstream settings can continue in post for the next school year in the normal way.
- Priority consideration will now be given by the NCSE to applications for increased support for the 2021/22 school year, in particular, applications from schools with no SNAs and developing schools will be prioritised. Determinations will be made before 30 June. Other applications will be processed in order of date received.
- As in previous years, where circumstances change during the course of the 2021/22 school year that materially increase the level of care need in a school to the extent that the school can clearly demonstrate that it cannot be met within the existing SNA allocation, the school may apply to the NCSE for a review. Detailed information on the NCSE exceptional review process is published on the NCSE website ncse.ie/for-schools
The NCSE have published the SNA allocations on their website www.ncse.ie.
SNA allocations for special classes and special schools are not affected by this arrangement.
Circular 0029/2021 has been published and advises schools of the arrangements for the allocation of SNAs for the 2021/22 school year.
Provisions set out in Circular 0030/2020 has been extended for the 2021/22 school year.
Circulars 29/2021 and 30/2020 are available on the Departments website.
My Department does not have a role in making individual school determinations. Accordingly your correspondence has been forwarded to the NCSE for direct reply.
