Written Answers Nos. 284-298
284. Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor asked the Minister for Education the number of candidates who sought access to the deferred sitting of this year's Leaving Certificate exams due to medical emergencies; the number of applications that were approved; the reasons for which applications were refused; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33910/23]
View answerThe State Examinations Commission has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the state examinations.
In view of this I have forwarded your query to the State Examinations Commission for direct reply to you.
285. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Education the number of new SNA posts which have been created in the past five years; how these extra posts have been allocated as between special schools, special classes within mainstream and to mainstream classes to support children with special needs; and if she is satisfied the children in different settings have an equitable chance of having their needs for support met. [33984/23]
View answerI would like to thank the Deputy for the question and would like to advise the following:
Enabling children with special educational needs to receive an education is a priority for this government. It is also a key priority for me as Minister for Special Education & Inclusion, for my department and for the National Council for Special Education (NCSE).
The vast majority of children with special educational needs are supported to attend mainstream classes with their peers. Where children with more complex needs require additional supports, special classes and special school places are provided.
For 2023, the spend by my department on special education has been substantially increased by over 10% on last year, meaning that for 2023 my department will spend over €2.6 billion on special education.
This level of educational funding and support is unprecedented and represents in excess of 27% of the department’s total allocation for 2023.
This includes funding to support children with special educational needs in mainstream classes; funding for new special classes and new special school places; additional special educational teachers, special needs assistants (SNAs) and funding for the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS).
In 2023, the number of teaching and SNA posts in our schools will increase with an additional 686 teachers and a further 1,194 SNAs in our schools.
For the first time ever there will be over 19,000 teachers working in the area of special education and over 20,000 SNAs. Together we have almost 40,000 qualified and committed people in our schools who are focused wholly and exclusively on supporting children with special educational needs.
The NCSE has the 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.
SNAs play a central role in the successful inclusion of students with additional and significant care needs into mainstream education, special classes and special schools ensuring that these students can access education to enable them to achieve their best outcomes and reach their full potential.
SNAs are allocated to schools as a school based resource and not to individual children. 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.
The NCSE have published the SNA allocations for the 2023/24 school year. For ease of reference these allocations are broken down by school type and are available on the NCSE's website at: www.ncse.ie/set-hours-and-sna-allocations
As the NCSE are responsible for allocating SNAs to schools I will arrange to have your query referred to the NCSE for their attention and direct reply.
My department and the NCSE are committed to delivering an education system that is of the highest quality and where every child and young person feels valued and is actively supported and nurtured to reach their full potential.
286. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education if a school (details supplied) will qualify for DEIS status; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33993/23]
View answerMy Department provides a wide range of supports to all schools, DEIS and non-DEIS, to support the inclusion of all students and address barriers to students achieving their potential.
Supplementing the universal supports available to all schools, the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) Programme is a key policy initiative of my Department to address concentrated educational disadvantage at school level in a targeted and equitable way across the primary and post-primary sector.
In March last year, I announced the single largest expansion of the DEIS programme. This benefited 361 schools. The programme now includes 1,200 schools and supports approximately 240,000 students. This means 1 in 4 of all students are now supported in the programme.
This recent expansion will add an additional €32million to my Department’s expenditure on the DEIS programme from 2023, bringing the overall Department of Education allocation for the programme to €180million.
Schools were identified for inclusion in the programme through the refined DEIS identification model, which is an objective, statistics-based model. Schools were not required to apply for inclusion in the DEIS programme and the model has been applied fairly and equally to all schools.
The DEIS identification process is based on the principle of concentrated disadvantage and the proportion of students from disadvantaged backgrounds within a school. The DEIS identification model aimed to identify those schools with the highest levels of concentrated disadvantage or the highest proportion of students from disadvantaged backgrounds within a school using the school's enrolment data and national census data as represented by the Pobal HP Deprivation index which is publicly available.
A detailed paper on the refined DEIS identification model is available on gov.ie at www.gov.ie/en/publication/a3c9e-extension-of-deis-to-further-schools/#how-schools-were-selected-for-inclusion-in-deis
In accordance with Circular 0019/22 schools that were not satisfied with the outcome following the application of the DEIS identification model to their school enrolment data were provided with the opportunity to have that outcome reviewed. The DEIS appeals process was applied fairly across all appellants, the window for appeals has now closed and the results are final. My Department will continue to support schools to deliver high quality, inclusive teaching and learning to students and young learners.
The extension of the DEIS programme to new schools is just one component of work in my vision for an inclusive education system which supports all learners to achieve their potential. While the DEIS programme supports those schools with the highest levels of concentrated educational disadvantage, I also recognise that there are students at risk of educational disadvantage in all schools. Since June 2020, and over the past three budgets, I have secured funding to provide measures to support children in this regard. As part of Budget 2023, I announced over €50 million to provide free books to primary school pupils within the free education scheme from next September. I have also further improved the staffing schedule for all primary schools to 23:1, the lowest it has ever been.
My Department is continuing to undertake work towards achieving its vision for an inclusive education system which supports all learners to achieve their potential. It also recognises that we need to target resources to those schools who need them most. That is why my Department has undertaken a programme of work to explore the allocation of resources to schools to address educational disadvantage. To support this work my Department have invited the OECD Strength Through Diversity: Education for Inclusive Societies Project to review the current policy approach for the allocation of resources to support students at risk of educational disadvantage in Ireland. This review will provide an independent expert opinion on the current resource allocation model for the DEIS programme and, drawing on international examples, inform a policy approach for an equitable distribution of supplementary resources to support students at risk of educational disadvantage attending all schools, both DEIS and non-DEIS. The OECD are engaging with a range of relevant stakeholders to inform the review process as well as drawing on international examples. The OECD estimates that the review will be completed in Q2 2024.
The OECD review is being complimented by a programme of work by my Department which will look at reviewing individual resources and allocation approaches. This work will involve consultation with a range of relevant stakeholders. It will also seek to ensure that schools are supported to ensure every child has an equal opportunity to achieve their potential.
Demographic changes to schools will be considered within this work underpinning my commitment to an effective and responsive resource allocation strategy. Following the National Census held in April 2022, it is envisaged that an updated HP Deprivation Index will be generated by Pobal and will be available in Q3 of 2023. My Department will engage with Pobal in relation to this process. The updated HP Deprivation Index, when available, will be considered by my Department to help inform future resource allocation to tackle educational disadvantage.
Addressing the educational needs of refugee and migrant children is a priority. My Department provides specific English language support to schools with pupils newly arrived into the country that have English as an additional language and we have provided for additional Special Education Teachers and Special Needs Assistants.
Furthermore, the Regional Education and Language Teams (REALT) have broadened their scope to cater to the educational needs of all International Protection Asylum Seeker arrivals. This underlines my Department's commitment to providing the necessary resources and funding to support migrant children's unique educational needs.
287. Deputy Joe McHugh asked the Minister for Education how many students will be availing of the alternative Leaving Certificate papers in July 2023, following the option of this scheme in 2019; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34043/23]
View answerThe State Examinations Commission has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the state examinations.
In view of this I have forwarded your query to the State Examinations Commission for direct reply to you.
288. Deputy Joe McHugh asked the Minister for Education for an update on the building plans for schools (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34053/23]
View answerThe first school to which the Deputy refers to was approved funding under my Departments Additional School Accommodation Scheme (ASA) for the provision of 3 science Laboratories, two preparation areas, 1 construction studies room, 1 art room, 3 project storage rooms, 1 home economics room, 1 engineering room, a 2 classroom special educational needs base, a PE Hall and fitness Suite, conversion and demolition works to existing accommodation and ancillary areas.
I can confirm that my Department has received a stage 1 (initial design) architectural report from the school. My Department officials have scheduled a meeting with the school authority and its Design Team in order to progress this important project.
The large scale capital project at the second school referred to by the Deputy, will be delivered under my Department's ADAPT (Accelerated Delivery of Architectural Planning and Tendering) Programme. The project brief includes a new extension and refurbishment of existing protected buildings for 1,000 pupils, including 2 classrooms, for children with special educational needs.
The project is at an advanced stage of Architectural Planning Stage 2b – Detailed Design, the stage 2b submission was received by my Department in Quarter 4 2022. In parallel the prequalification of contractors and Reserved Specialists was carried out. On completion of this process, subject to no issues arising, the project will be in a position to proceed to tender.
The large scale capital project for the final school referred to by the Deputy is at Architectural planning Stage 3 – Tender Action and Award. The project will be delivered under my Department’s Traditional programme. The project brief is for a new 25 classroom school, including 8 classrooms for children with special educational needs. A tender process of this size can take 8-12 months to complete.
289. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Education the number of children in Cork that are awaiting an appointment with a NEPS psychologist; the number that are waiting less than 6, 6-12 and those that are waiting more than 12 months, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34068/23]
View answerThe National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) of the Department of Education does not operate waiting lists. In common with many other psychological services and best international practice NEPS delivers a consultative model of service. NEPS Psychologists work with schools using a problem solving model to help schools identify need and interventions to support those needs. Under this model, NEPS encourages schools to use a continuum based assessment and intervention process whereby each school takes responsibility for initial assessment, educational planning and remedial intervention for pupils with learning, emotional or behavioural difficulties.
The NEPS casework service involves the provision of a psychological service for a student, with the psychologist working with the student, teachers and parents, and other professionals if appropriate, to identify need and plan for intervention to support the student in school. Schools prioritise those students with most need. Additional supports for children with special educational needs are embedded in all primary and post primary schools. Schools allocate their Special Education Teaching and SNA supports based on need in the school setting, so that those with highest level of need can access the highest level of support within the school in a timely manner. This model means that pupils do not need a psychological assessment, or a diagnosis of a disability, in order to access additional support in school.
290. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Education the number of applications received from schools in Cork under the major capital works scheme; and the number granted to date in 2023. [34081/23]
View answerThrough Project Ireland 2040, we are investing €4.4 billion over the period 2021 to 2025 to add capacity and develop and upgrade school facilities across the country for the almost one million students and over 100,000 staff that learn and work in our schools every day.
My Department has a proven track record of delivery. During the period 2018 to 2022, just under 900 school building projects were completed. This includes nearly 100 building projects across County Cork and a total investment of over €433 million in schools in the county.
The key drivers of capital investment in the schools sector are:
•demographic change, including keeping pace with delivery of necessary special educational needs accommodation and accommodation for Ukrainian pupils, particularly at post primary level;
•alignment with housing provision and national planning at school planning area level; and
•climate action objectives including the need to progressively decarbonise the school estate.
My Department completed over 180 projects last year, including 20 in County Cork, within a challenging construction sector environment of high inflation, labour shortages and supply chain issues.
This year alone, in excess of 300 school building projects are currently under construction, including 40 new school buildings and 260 projects at existing schools across the country. 25 school building projects are under construction in Co. Cork.
There are a further 1,000 school building projects in the pipeline at various stages of planning, design and tender, of which 165 are projects in Co. Cork.
Where accelerated delivery of accommodation is required, the Department utilises its Modular Accommodation Framework to provide critical mainstream school places and places for students with special educational needs. There are currently 33 projects underway in Co. Cork.
In order to plan for school provision, my Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas. A Geographical Information System is used to analyse data from a range of sources, including CSO Census data, Child Benefit and school enrolment data, to identify where the pressure for school places across the country will arise and where additional school accommodation is needed at primary and post-primary level.
Requirements for additional school places, including in County Cork, are kept under on-going review in the context of available information on population, enrolments and residential development activity.
My Department will continue to work with patrons and school authorities to support the operation of the school system in Cork and around the country, adding necessary capacity to cater for special educational needs provision, mainstream classroom requirements and accommodation for students from Ukraine and other countries under the International Protection system.
Details of the current status of building projects delivered under the school building programme may be viewed on my Department's website at, www.gov.ie and this information is updated regularly. In addition, a list of large-scale projects completed from 2010 to date may also be viewed on the website.
291. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Education the number of children per county that are receiving additional supports for deafness or hard of hearing. [34110/23]
View answerEnabling children with special educational needs to receive an education is a priority for this government. It is also a key priority for me as Minister for Special Education & Inclusion, for my department and for the National Council for Special Education (NCSE).
The vast majority of children with special educational needs are supported to attend mainstream classes with their peers. Where children with more complex needs require additional supports, special classes and special school places are provided.
For 2023, the spend by my department on special education has been substantially increased by over 10% on last year, meaning that for 2023 my department will spend over €2.6 billion on special education.
This level of educational funding and support is unprecedented and represents in excess of 27% of the department’s total allocation for 2023.
This includes funding to support children with special educational needs in mainstream classes; funding for new special classes and new special school places; additional special educational teachers, special needs assistants (SNAs) and funding for the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS).
In 2023, the number of teaching and SNA posts in our schools will increase with an additional 686 teachers and a further 1,194 SNAs in our schools.
For the first time ever there will be over 19,000 teachers working in the area of special education and over 20,000 SNAs. Together we have almost 40,000 qualified and committed people in our schools who are focused wholly and exclusively on supporting children with special educational needs.
The supports provided by my department for deaf or hard of hearing students can include; the visiting teacher service, SNA and translator allocation and assistive technology supports provided within the home, mainstream, special class and special school setting.
Other supports include those provided by the NCSE to teachers and schools, such as; visits, phone calls, emails, and courses for whole staff, group and individual teachers which are tailored to the specific professional learning needs within a school.
The visiting teaching service for students who are deaf or hard of hearing is provided by qualified teachers with particular skills and knowledge of the development and education of children with varying degrees of hearing loss. They offer longitudinal support to children, their families and schools from the time of referral through to the end of post-primary education.
The level of assessed need for this service varies, with the majority of children requiring termly/bi-annual/annual supports.
In the 2022/23 school year there were 24 special classes for deaf/hard of hearing children across 14 mainstream schools – 17 in primary and 7 in post-primary – with approximately 132 pupils enrolled. With one class catering for 10 pupils within an early intervention setting. These classes work on a student teacher ratio of 7:1.
For the 2023/24 school year, the NCSE has sanctioned one additional class in County Laois. This will bring the number of special classes in mainstream schools that cater for deaf and hard of hearing children to 25 – 17 at primary and 8 at post-primary level.
In addition, there are two special schools dedicated to 170 deaf/hard of hearing students. These special schools cater for children nationwide.
Please see attachment with breakdown of supports provided per county.
My department and the NCSE are committed to delivering an education system that is of the highest quality and where every child and young person feels valued and is actively supported and nurtured to reach their full potential.
292. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Education the full year cost for a primary school teaching post. [34111/23]
View answerThe full year average cost for a primary school teaching post is €72,270. This includes provision for related substitution costs and employer PRSI.
293. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Education when the school transport review will be published. [34112/23]
View answerThe School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the 2022/2023 school year, over 149,000 children, including over 18,000 children with special educational needs, were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country.
There has been an increase of 21% in tickets issued to eligible students and an increase of 38% in tickets issued on a concessionary basis in the 2022/23 school year compared to the 2021/22 school year.
In addition, school transport scheme services have been provided in the 2022/2023 school year for over 5,400 children who have arrived to Ireland from Ukraine.
The total cost of the scheme in 2022 was €338.9m.
The School Transport Scheme is an important service for families and children.
The purpose of the 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.
A review of the School Transport Scheme is at an advanced stage. The review is being conducted with a view to examining the current scheme, its broader effectiveness and sustainability, and to ensure that it serves students and their families adequately.
Phase 1 of the review examined the impact of eligibility criteria on mainstream pupils who were eligible for transport to their nearest school but attending their next nearest school. The report was completed in June 2021.
Following consideration of this Phase 1 report, for the 2021/2022 school year, the provision of temporary alleviation measures was approved for transport for post-primary students who are otherwise eligible for school transport, but were attending their second nearest school and had applied and paid on time. These measures have been continued for the 2022/2023 school year, and will again continue in the 2023/2024 school year pending completion of the review.
Phase 2 of the review was completed late last year and phase 3 involved an examination of issues around eligibility criteria, scheme performance, scheme expenditure and the potential for scheme integration. In addition, external expert assistance was procured to assist in conducting a comprehensive cost benefit analysis in line the Public Spending code of the potential options for the future operation of the scheme. It is expected that phase 3 of the review will be completed shortly.
This final report will include recommendations on the future operation of the Department’s School Transport Scheme. Once approved by Government, it is planned that the review will be published.
For the 2023/2024 school year, it remains that children are eligible for transport at primary level where they reside not less than 3.2 kilometres from and are attending their nearest national school, and at post primary level where they reside not less than 4.8 kilometres from and are attending their nearest post primary school/education centre as determined by the Department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language.
Children who are eligible for school transport and who have completed the application process on time are accommodated on school transport services where such services are in operation.
Children who are not eligible for school transport, but who completed the application process on time, are considered for spare seats that may exist after eligible children have been facilitated; such seats are referred to as concessionary seats.
Pending completion of the School Transport review, there will be no removal or downsizing of buses/routes for the 2023/2024 school year.
294. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Education the funding, in tabular form, for the years 2021, 2022 and 2023 provided to Foróige. [34113/23]
View answerSet out below is a breakdown of funding provided to Foróige for the years 2021, 2022 and 2023 by the Department of Education. The majority of the funding is provided from the Dormant Accounts Fund towards the Foróige Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship Programme (NFTE).
|
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
|
*€375,000 |
€306,114.48 |
**€300,000 |
* The 2021 figure includes €163, 732, approved under previous Dormant Account Action Plans, which was unspent at the end of 2020, as NFTE drawdown is made on an academic year basis. As a result, a grant of €211,268 was approved in the 2021 Dormant Account Fund Action Plan towards NFTE, providing a total of €375,000 to Foróige in 2021.
**The funding for 2023 has not been drawn down to date.
295. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Education for a county breakdown of the average class size in primary schools for the 2022/2023 school year. [34114/23]
View answer296. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Education for a county breakdown of the average class size in secondary schools for the 2022/2023 school year. [34115/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 295 and 296 together.
Please find attached requested data.This figure is based on mainstream classes in mainstream schools and are collated from the 2022-2023 Primary Class Size tables published on the DES website and can be found at the link below;www.gov.ie/en/collection/class-size-information-at-individual-primary-school-level/ In post-primary schools pupil enrolments vary by subject and so the concept of average class size does not apply. Furthermore enrolments of pupils per subject is available at a school level only so average class size per subject is not available.
|
Avergage primary class size per County 2022-2023 |
|
|
County |
Average Class Size |
|
Carlow |
23.0 |
|
Cavan |
22.6 |
|
Clare |
22.0 |
|
Cork |
22.8 |
|
Donegal |
22.0 |
|
Dublin |
23.3 |
|
Galway |
22.2 |
|
Kerry |
22.4 |
|
Kildare |
24.2 |
|
Kilkenny |
23.6 |
|
Laois |
22.8 |
|
Leitrim |
23.0 |
|
Limerick |
22.7 |
|
Longford |
21.4 |
|
Louth |
23.2 |
|
Mayo |
21.3 |
|
Meath |
23.6 |
|
Monaghan |
23.0 |
|
Offaly |
22.0 |
|
Roscommon |
21.5 |
|
Sligo |
21.8 |
|
Tipperary |
21.9 |
|
Waterford |
22.6 |
|
Westmeath |
22.8 |
|
Wexford |
22.9 |
|
Wicklow |
23.3 |
297. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Education if she is aware of the controversy surrounding the Leaving Certificate Maths Paper 1, with one school principal complaining in the "strongest terms" about the difficulty level of the paper; if she will address this issue and if she has a plan for these students going forward (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34136/23]
View answerThe State Examinations Commission has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the state examinations.
In view of this I have forwarded your query to the State Examinations Commission for direct reply to you.
298. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education if her Department or any agency under the aegis of her Department operates a ‘barter account’ for the provision of goods or services; if so, if payments have been directed to be made to a barter account during the period 2011 to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34144/23]
View answerI can confirm that my Department does not operate a "barter account" and has not instructed that any payment to it be made into a barter account in the period in question. I can also confirm that the non- commercial bodies operating under the aegis of my Department have reported that they do not operate any barter accounts.
