Written Answers Nos. 41-60
41. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Education the status of the review of the school transport scheme; if she has received the completed review to date; the timeline for the publication of the review; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45049/23]
View answerThe School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the 2022/23 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.
In addition, school transport scheme services are being provided in the current 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.
There has been an overall increase in both applications and tickets issued for the 2023/2024 school year in comparison to the 2022/2023 school year.
Under the current terms of the scheme, pupils at primary level are eligible where they live no less than 3.2 kilometres from and are attending their nearest primary school. At post primary level, students who live no less than 4.8 kilometres from and are attending their nearest post primary school/education centre are deemed eligible. Any pupils/students who do not meet these criteria are deemed not eligible, or otherwise known as concessionary applicants, and are allocated a ticket based on the availability of a seat when all eligible children have been catered for.
Temporary Alleviation Measures at post-primary level are being continued for the current school year. Under these measures, which were initially introduced in 2019, transport will be provided where there is a route in operation and where capacity exists for concessionary post-primary pupils who are eligible for transport to their nearest school and are attending their second nearest school and who applied and paid on time.
As you are aware, my Department undertook to complete a review of the School Transport Scheme. The review has been 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.
The Technical Working Group and the Steering Group have recently completed their work on the final report of the review. This final report includes recommendations on the future operation of the scheme. The report is being submitted by the Steering Group for my consideration.
42. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Education when schools (details supplied) will be opened upon building works being completed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45097/23]
View answerThe Letter of Acceptance (LOA) for the campus building project referred to by the Deputy issued to the preferred tenderer on the 31st May 2022 commencing the building contract.
The campus when complete will deliver a new 1,000 post-primary school and two 24 classroom primary schools and accommodation, including 14 classrooms across the three projects, for children with special education needs.
The projected handover date for the schools is Quarter 4 2023 as advised to the Patron Body in November 2022. The first of the primary schools has been recently handed over and the school commenced operation from the new building on the 10th October.
The Letter of Acceptance for the individual school project referred to by the Deputy issued to the preferred tenderer on the 18th May 2022 commencing the school building contract.
The construction programme is some 84 weeks and due to complexities on the site will be handed over in three phases. Phase 1 was handed over to the school on the 18th August 2023, with Phase 2 and 3 scheduled for handover in Q4 2023 and Q1 2024 respectively.
44. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Education her estimate of the number of secondary students in each of Cork and Kerry who will benefit from the introduction of free school books next year; the number of primary students that are currently benefitting from free school books in each of the counties; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44925/23]
View answerAs Minister for Education, I believe it is crucially important that children and young people are actively supported to access education in its fullest forms. This Government recognises that the cost of preparing children for school each September can be a cause of financial difficulty and worry for many Irish families.
As part of Budget 2023, I announced a major investment of over €50 million to provide free schoolbooks in recognised primary schools and special schools. This was a landmark moment in Irish education and one that furthers our goal to provide free education for all and ensure that every child can benefit from free education.
The introduction of this measure directly addressed our commitment under the Programme for Government to commence a free schoolbooks scheme pilot in September 2020 and expand the scheme to schools nationwide, as resources allow.
The Free Primary Schoolbook Scheme has resulted in over 558,000 pupils in over 3,230 recognised primary schools, including over 130 special schools benefitting from free schoolbooks and classroom resources from this September. The number of pupils who benefitted in counties Cork and Kerry under the scheme is 63,443 and 16,427 respectively or 79,870 overall.
To further the delivery of our important government commitment, last week I announced that funding is allocated under Budget 2024 to extend the free schoolbooks scheme to all students in junior cycle years in public post primary schools. The total funding available for this extension of the scheme is €67 million.
It is estimated that up to 213,000 students, in over 670 schools across all counties, will benefit from this new measure, which will commence from September 2024.
The grant for this scheme will be paid based on the previous year’s validated enrolment figures which, for the 2024/25 school year, will be the enrolment numbers for the current 2023/24 school year.
The most recent validated enrolment figures which is held by my Department on junior cycle enrolments show that 208,736 students were enrolled in junior cycle years in the 2022/23 school year. The number of students expected to benefit from the Junior Cycle scheme in counties Cork and Kerry under the new scheme is:
• 23,264 in Cork, and
• 6,735 in Kerry,
• Or 29,999 overall.
Guidance on the new junior cycle free schoolbooks scheme will be developed over the coming period as part of our engagement process with schools, parent and management bodies and other stakeholders. It will ensure that value for money is achieved, and that schools will be supported to implement the scheme in a way that has the best learning outcomes for junior cycle students. Similar to the scheme at primary level, administrative supports will be provided to schools in order to roll out the scheme.
As Minister for Education, I am acutely aware of the various costs faced by families upon the return of their children to school each September and am confident that this new provision will further and significantly reduce the back to school financial burden for many families.
45. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Education the engagement that her Department has had with school book publishers and the booksellers' associations regarding the Budget announcement of the extension of the school book grant scheme. [45130/23]
View answerAs Minister for Education, I believe it is crucially important that children and young people are actively supported to access education in its fullest forms. This Government recognises that the cost of preparing children for school each September can be a cause of financial difficulty and worry for many Irish families.
As part of Budget 2023, I announced a major investment of over €50 million to provide free schoolbooks in recognised primary schools and special schools. This was a landmark moment in Irish education and one that furthers our goal to provide free education for all and ensure that every child can benefit from free education.
The introduction of this measure directly addressed our commitment under the Programme for Government to commence a free schoolbooks scheme pilot in September 2020 and expand the scheme to schools nationwide, as resources allow.
The Free Primary Schoolbook Scheme has resulted in over 558,000 pupils in over 3,230 recognised primary schools, including over 130 special schools benefitting from free schoolbooks and classroom resources from this September.
To further the delivery of our important government commitment, last week I announced that funding is allocated under Budget 2024 to extend the free schoolbooks scheme to all students in junior cycle years in public post primary schools. The total funding available for this extension of the scheme is €67 million.
The grant for this scheme will be paid based on the previous year’s validated enrolment figures which, for the 2024/25 school year, will be the enrolment numbers for the current 2023/24 school year.
The most recent validated enrolment figures which is held by my Department on junior cycle enrolments show that 208,736 students were enrolled in junior cycle years in the 2022/23 school year.
It is estimated that up to 213,000 students, in over 670 schools across all counties, will benefit from this new measure, which will commence from September 2024.
Guidance on the new junior cycle free schoolbooks scheme will be developed over the coming period as part of our engagement process with stakeholders. My officials have been engaging with all relevant stakeholders, including the Irish Education Publishers Association (IEPA) and Bookselling Ireland, in the context of the implementation of the primary free book scheme and further engagement will shortly commence around the roll out of the new scheme. This will include schools, parent and management bodies and representatives for Irish education book publishers and book shops, as well as Society of Saint Vincent De Paul and Barnardos.
My Department will continue to listen to the valuable input from all stakeholders, on their experiences from the primary scheme as well as insights into how a similar scheme will operate in post primary schools.
The scheme will aim to ensure that value for money is achieved, and that schools will be supported to implement the scheme in a way that has the best learning outcomes for junior cycle students. Similar to the scheme at primary level, administrative supports will be provided to schools in order to roll out the scheme.
As Minister for Education, I am acutely aware of the various costs faced by families upon the return of their children to school each September and am confident that this new provision will further and significantly reduce the back to school financial burden for many families.
46. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Education further to a positive meeting between Board of Management of CBS, Mullingar and officials in the school building unit; and her plans to ensure that the application for additional accommodation is dealt with in a timely and innovative way to ensure the school can adequately accommodate the need of current students and the needs of a expanding town. [44910/23]
View answerI wish to advise the Deputy that the purpose of the Additional Schools Accommodation (ASA) scheme is to ensure that essential mainstream and special education classroom accommodation is available to cater for pupils enrolled each year and where the need cannot be met by the school’s existing accommodation.
Under Project Ireland 2040 the education sector will receive a total of approximately €4.4 billion capital investment over the period 2021-2025. There will be a rolling 5 year funding envelope which will be updated annually for the period 2026 to 2030 within the Government’s overall NDP funding envelope of €136 billion in exchequer capital (€165 billion total capital including non-Exchequer) that will facilitate building a modern and sustainable school infrastructure.
With respect to the application from Coláiste Mhuire, my Department identified particular technical constraints on the site which add significant complexity to the delivery of additional accommodation for the school. My officials recently had a productive meeting with the school and representatives, and the school has since shared a proposal for the new accommodation. This proposal is currently being assessed. While mindful of the need for a solution for the school, my Department is also cognisant of the need to ensure that school building projects are feasible and deliverable, with a view to ensuring that there is sufficient capacity across each area to meet the needs of all students. My Department will be in further contact with the school shortly to discuss the outcome of the assessment of the recent proposal.
47. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Education the actions that are being taken by her Department to tackle teacher shortages at primary and secondary school level, including the 740 special educational needs teachers announced in Budget 2024. [45065/23]
View answerEnsuring that every child's experience in school is positive and that they have qualified, engaged teachers available to support them in their learning is a priority area of action for the Government.
Budget 2024 contains a range of measures that demonstrate my commitment to continued investment in our education system. In addition to numerous actions I have taken in recent years to address teacher supply, a number of specific, targeted measures will be introduced with the new funding provided.
These include a professional masters of education (PME) incentive scheme, funding for additional teacher upskilling programmes, and increasing the number of posts of responsibility.
• A professional masters of education (PME) incentive scheme will be introduced for newly qualified teachers graduating in May 2024. Those newly qualified teachers who graduate with a PME will, subject to some conditions, be eligible for an incentive payment of up to €2,000. This incentive payment will be paid to eligible primary and post-primary teachers in 2025. It will recognise the costs that PME students incur when completing their initial teacher education, assist them with these costs and encourage suitable candidates to consider a career in teaching.
• Additionally, there will be an expansion in the number of upskilling programmes available. These programmes, which are free to teachers, increase the number of teachers who are qualified to teach in-demand subjects and reduce the level of out-of-field teaching. These new upskilling programmes in Irish, French, politics & society, and computer science will be in addition to existing upskilling programmes in maths, physics and Spanish.
• Also, an additional 1,000 posts of responsibility will be provided in the school system for the 2024/25 school year. This is in recognition that school leaders play a key role in improving educational outcomes by creating a positive school climate and environment as well as motivating and empowering educators and learners within their school communities.
Budget 2024 also contains a number of measures designed to help support every pupil and student to thrive at school and realise the full extent of their potential including:
• A 5% increase for the special education budget this year to allow the recruitment of an additional 745 SET posts and 1,216 SNA posts bringing the total number of such posts to more than 41,500.
• This will allow for the opening over 400 new special classes in mainstream schools and 300 additional special school places.
• A total provision for approximately 2,700 new placements for children with special educational needs in special classes across primary, post-primary and special school settings
These new measures are in addition to a range of targeted measures that I have introduced in recent times, including:
• At primary level, I approved 610 additional places on initial teacher education programmes for this and the next academic year (2023/24 and 2024/25).
• I recently met with the primary teacher initial education providers on continuing existing flexibilities that enable student teachers to support schools, either while on placement, or in a substitute capacity. In 2023, more than 2,700 student teachers registered with the Teaching Council and provided valuable support to schools as substitute teachers.
• Restrictions on job-sharing teachers from working as substitutes have been reduced. These teachers may be employed to work as substitutes during the period they are rostered off duty.
• Limits on substitute work applying to teachers on career break have also been suspended.
• Post-primary teachers can provide up to 35 additional hours of substitute cover per term in the subject they are qualified to teach.
The teacher allocation ratio in primary schools is now at the lowest ever seen at primary level. The average student-per-teacher ratio in primary schools reduced by 10% between 2017 and 2023.Teaching remains an attractive career choice. CAO first preference choices for post-primary teaching increased this year by 14%, in addition to a 9% increase in 2022. While schools in certain locations are experiencing challenges in both recruiting teachers and obtaining substitute teachers, the vast majority of sanctioned teacher positions are filled. The rate of resignation and retirement is very low by any standard, and is consistent with previous years.
My Department continues to engage closely with school management bodies, teacher unions and other education stakeholders to develop further, innovative measures to address teacher supply issues.
48. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Education to insist that county-based co-ordinators are put in place for school transport to avoid the problems that arise each year with the scheme. [42410/23]
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.
In addition, school transport scheme services were provided for over 5,400 children who have arrived to Ireland from Ukraine.
The total cost of the scheme in 2022 was €338.9m.
Already over 133,000 tickets have issued for the 2023/2024 school year which is an increase of 12% when compared with the start of the 2022/2023 school year. The number of tickets issued so far has already exceeded the total number of tickets issued in the 2022/23 school year.
Both the Department and Bus Éireann are very conscious of the challenges faced by parents and both have dedicated members of staff assigned to each county.
Contact details and information was circulated via in information note to all Oireachtas members in August in an effort to assist with any queries that may arise.
As outlined in the above mentioned information note, Bus Éireann has put in place a dedicated customer care call centre and a ‘contact form’ on buseireann.ie/schooltransport to assist families specifically with School Transport queries during the busy summer period. Families that have queries can contact the call centre on: LoCall 0818 919 910. Operating hours are 09.00 – 17.00 Monday to Friday.
Bus Éireann also have a dedicated email address for public representatives to contact them with any queries: oireachtas@buseireann.ie.
Both Bus Éireann’s and my Department’s School Transport Section have officials in place who manage school transport queries in relation to specific counties. The officers liaise with families, school principals, and Oireachtas Members regularly. In addition, Bus Éireann employ local inspectors who liaise closely with families, contractors, and school staff at a local level. Contact details of Department of Education officials are published on gov.ie/schooltransport .
49. Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin asked the Minister for Education if there is more than one case in her Department where her education representatives have not engaged with the relevant contractor, arising from substantial building works; and to ensure that any snags or defects arising from substantial building works were remedied before the expiry of the defects liability period and if so, the number of cases in the past three years. [44820/23]
View answerUnder the terms of the contract, the Contractor has a period of 12 months after the date of substantial completion to rectify any snags or defects that are identified i.e. Defects Liability Period (DLP). If at the end of the 12 month period all snags or defects have not been rectified, then the Contract offers other remedies to have matters resolved.
In relation to projects where the client is the Department of Education, my Department’s Employer Representatives engage with the relevant Contractor to ensure that any snags or defects are remedied before the end of the Defects Liability Period.
In relation to projects where the client is the relevant Board of Management (BOM) or Education and Training Board, it is a matter for the school authority to engage with the relevant contractor in this regard.
51. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Education given her Department's Initial Teacher Education Policy Statement (2023), if it is intended to reduce the initial teacher education (ITE) two-year PME programme to one year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44904/23]
View answerThe Professional Master of Education (PME) is a two-year, full-time Level 9 postgraduate professional teacher education programme designed to qualify graduates as primary & post-primary teachers.
Changes to the duration and content of initial teacher education programmes were made in response to recommendations in the National Strategy to Improve Literacy and Numeracy among children and Young People 2011-2020 and were incorporated into the Teaching Council’s accreditation standards. What had been the ‘H-Dip’ of 18 months at primary and 1 year at post-primary became the two-year Professional Master of Education for both. The standards were arrived at following extensive research and consultation with regard to the programme that would be required in order to develop the skills, knowledge, understanding, and professional values expected of newly qualified teachers.
The reforms were focused on improving the quality of teaching and learning in schools, which is central to the educational outcomes of children. The extended duration allowed for substantial periods of school placement and a number of mandatory elements in all programmes including literacy and numeracy and ICT in teaching and learning. These standards were recently updated by the Council in Céim (2020) which reaffirms that post-graduate ITE programmes shall be a minimum of two years’ duration.
The extensive nature of curriculum and assessment reforms over the past decade, and the more complex legislative and regulatory context within which teachers and schools operate, have made teaching an even higher-order challenge. Expanded pedagogical approaches and a focus on learner-centred processes have resulted in greater demands on teachers to reach and demonstrate high professional standards. The requirements for ITE are a significant factor in the high quality of our teaching profession in Ireland, which is recognised at home and abroad.
It is acknowledged that there are challenges around the availability of teachers at present. While there are currently no plans to reduce the current duration of the postgraduate ITE programmes to one year, the Department’s ongoing approach is to continue to develop further innovative measures to improve the availability of teachers.
New funding of €4 million is to be provided to introduce a professional masters in education (PME) incentive scheme to support teacher supply measures and to reflect the costs incurred in undertaking the PME.
Newly qualified teachers who possess a PME may be eligible for an incentive payment of €2,000. The single incentive payment will first become available to eligible primary and post primary teachers after completion of the 2024/25 school year.
This funding recognises the costs that PME students bear in order to complete their initial teacher education.
An official circular with details of the measures will issue in due course.
52. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Education the breakdown by county of the number of primary schools with only a principal in them, a principal and one mainstream class teacher and a principal and two mainstream teachers respectively provided in tabular form; whether she intends changing the pupil teacher ratio for small rural schools considering the challenge in teaching multiple classes in the same classroom; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45009/23]
View answer68. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Education the number of primary schools that had a staffing schedule of mainstream class teachers consisting of a principal plus one mainstream classroom teacher for the school year 2022/2023; the number of these that had more than 40 pupils enrolled in this school year; whether she intends lowering the threshold significantly for the retention and appointment of a second classroom teacher in primary schools in view of the challenge of teaching multiple classes with more than 20 pupils in each classroom in a "two teacher school"; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45008/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 52 and 68 together.
Budget 2024 has provided for an unprecedented €10.5 billion investment in Education and Schools in Budget 2024 which includes an increase of €421 million in core current funding, as well as over €80 million in core capital funding. An additional €170 million is also being provided as part of Cost of Living and COVID-19 supports. These additional funds build on significant increases in recent budgets and further enhance the investment in Ireland’s primary and post-primary education system. The significant increased investment is the largest Education budget in the history of the state and reflects government’s commitment to a quality inclusive school system and improved learning outcomes for every student.
In the 3 previous Budgets, I prioritised reducing the pupil teacher ratios in primary schools which has brought the teacher allocation ratio to an average of 1 classroom teacher for every 23 pupils in all primary schools, the lowest level ever seen at primary level. A three point reduction in the retention schedule, which I introduced in 2021, assists schools that would otherwise be at risk of losing teaching posts. I also improved teacher allocations for DEIS Urban Band 1 schools which now stand at an average of 17:1, 21:1 and 19:1 for junior, senior and vertical schools respectively.
The latest figures in relation to pupil teacher ratio shows an improved ratio of teachers to pupils from 15.7:1 to 13.4:1 at primary level when comparing the 2016/17 school year to the 2022/23 school year. In the same period the primary staffing schedule improved from 27:1 to 24:1. Average class sizes at primary improved from 24.6 to 22.8 in the same period. The improvements brought about by Budget 2023 for this school year will be available in the statistical reports published at the end of the school year.
For the 2022/23 school year, 507 schools had a Principal and 1 teacher, with 56 of these schools having more than 40 pupils enrolled. The 2023/24 information requested by the Deputy is attached. It should be noted that this is provisional at this time and that final numbers will be known in November when the staffing process has completed at the end of this month.
|
COUNTY |
2023/24 Principal Only |
2023/24 Principal + 1 |
2023/24 Principal + 2 |
|
CARLOW |
6 |
4 |
|
|
CAVAN |
8 |
20 |
|
|
CLARE |
31 |
19 |
|
|
CORK |
1 |
44 |
39 |
|
DONEGAL |
2 |
54 |
33 |
|
DUBLIN |
4 |
10 |
|
|
GALWAY |
55 |
30 |
|
|
KERRY |
1 |
31 |
24 |
|
KILDARE |
3 |
7 |
|
|
KILKENNY |
11 |
12 |
|
|
LAOIS |
10 |
9 |
|
|
LEITRIM |
15 |
8 |
|
|
LIMERICK |
1 |
17 |
13 |
|
LONGFORD |
7 |
6 |
|
|
LOUTH |
1 |
3 |
|
|
MAYO |
3 |
51 |
31 |
|
MEATH |
7 |
5 |
|
|
MONAGHAN |
1 |
12 |
6 |
|
OFFALY |
7 |
8 |
|
|
ROSCOMMON |
33 |
16 |
|
|
SLIGO |
15 |
9 |
|
|
TIPPERARY |
26 |
23 |
|
|
WATERFORD |
6 |
7 |
|
|
WESTMEATH |
13 |
7 |
|
|
WEXFORD |
1 |
6 |
9 |
|
WICKLOW |
9 |
6 |
|
|
10 |
482 |
364 |
53. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Education her views on a €20 per child mental health support proposal for all primary school children; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45091/23]
View answerThe demand for the provision of responsive services to support the mental health of children and young people in Ireland is increasing, particularly in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic and reported associated increased levels of anxiety. The provision of child and adolescent mental health services in Ireland lies specifically within the remit of the Department of Health and the HSE. However, the Department of Education plays an important role in supporting the well-being and mental health of our young people and is currently funding a range of initiatives and supports in this area. I recently announced a €5 million pilot programme of counselling and mental health supports for primary schools for the 2023/2024 school year. I am also delighted to announce that my Department has secured additional funding in Budget 2024 to continue the Counselling in Primary Schools Pilot for an additional year, until June 2025.
The new pilot includes two strands and will work to mitigate the mental health challenges which may be experienced by children in our schools. The counselling service provided under the Pilot Programme is not a substitute for services provided by HSE Primary Care Psychology and/or CAMHS. It is also not intended to replace the work that is currently provided by school staff to promote the wellbeing of children. The Pilot Programme is an interim measure intended to supplement these services and provide mental health and wellbeing support for children in primary schools.
Strand 1 will see the establishment of county panels of pre-approved private counsellors to provide in-person one-to-one counselling to support primary school children in schools in counties Cavan, Laois, Leitrim, Longford, Mayo, Monaghan and Tipperary. Participating schools will be allocated blocks of up to six counselling sessions (per child) for a small number of children in the school. The sessions will be book-ended by a pre and post session meeting with parents/legal guardians and relevant school staff. Parents and school staff are seen as key agents of change in a child’s life and will be part of the intervention with the child and will be guided and encouraged to support the child at home and at school on an ongoing basis.
Strand 2 will see the establishment of a new type of support from Education Wellbeing/Mental Health Teams for clusters of primary schools in Cork, Carlow, Dublin 7 and Dublin 16. This Strand will see the introduction of Education Wellbeing/Mental Health Practitioners, who will work as part of a team under the direction and supervision of NEPS, to provide enhanced in-school support in the form of low level evidenced based cognitive behavioural interventions. The focus of the support to be provided under Strand 2 is on strengthening whole school preventative approaches. This includes the provision of psycho-education support for parents and teachers, and the provision of early intervention to children with mild/emerging need, using low-level therapeutically-informed approaches.
This pilot is in addition to the existing supports for well-being and mental health in schools. The National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) provides direct support in the event of a critical incident, access to national and regional support and development work to build school capacity to support students, access to individual pupil casework where there is need. NEPS works closely with the HSE and its agencies to ensure those who may require the provision of therapy or counselling are referred on to the appropriate clinical services for intervention and support. Psychologists from NEPS are also facilitating post-primary schools to improve the Student Support Team process. Student Support Teams are the structure through which key well-being and well-being-related policies are implemented in post-primary schools.
The National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) have developed training for school staff on the promotion of well-being and resilience in schools which include upskilling school staff on the use and implementation of therapeutically-informed approaches in schools. These include trauma-informed approaches, based on the principles of cognitive behaviour therapy, and attachment-aware approaches. The approaches outlined in the training are based on research findings, on the experience of experts in their fields and on the experience of practising psychologists working in schools. The training will build the capability of school staff in both primary and post-primary settings, including for school leaders, teachers and SNAs. NEPS provides training for school staff on the Friends for Life programmes to help reduce anxiety in children and on the Incredible Years Classroom Management System. NEPS has also launched an eLearning course - Responding to Critical Incidents in Schools. This course is aimed specifically at the school’s Critical Incident Management Team but is open to all interested staff.
54. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Education to provide a breakdown of the Budget 2024 allocation of €4 million for additional supports for special schools between capital and revenue spent; and what are the planned areas for investment. [45129/23]
View answerOur schools continue to put inclusion at the heart of everything we do, and I strongly believe that it is the role of Government to support them in this by ensuring that schools have the necessary resources.
The provision of education for children with special needs is an ongoing priority for the Government and my main focus, as the Minister of State with responsibility for special education and inclusion.
The provision of appropriate resources for children, schools, school staff, parents, and the organisations that support these children, is an essential element for the continuous development of education services for children with special needs and to improve their educational outcomes.
Through my many visits to schools, I have seen at first hand the unique complexities of running a special school where there is a significant administrative burden. In order to assist special schools in the effective management of their schools, Budget 2024 provides €2 million to allow for the removal of the threshold for administrative deputy principals enabling an admin support provision in every special school who cater for children with special needs. This measure requires the recruitment of an additional 89 teaching posts.
Budget 2024 also provides an opportunity to support special schools who cater for children aged from 4 to 18 years of age with special education needs. €2 million is being provided to enable the recruitment of 100 additional post-primary teachers in these Special Schools which will allow them to deliver a greater range of the national curriculum subjects and to improve student progression and transition.
The Special School package of €4 million funding will ensure that these two Special Schools measures will be in place from September 2024 and will directly benefit over 9,000 children in these schools. These measures have a full year cost of €11 million.
Special schools will also benefit from the increase in capitation funding which is being made to all schools in Budget 2024.
56. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Education the progress to include Climate Action and Sustainable Development in the leaving certificate curriculum as part of the annexe of actions for the climate action plan; if there are plans to extend this to junior cycle and/or primary education; if there will be additional measures to support climate literacy through formal education; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44986/23]
View answerI can advise the Deputy that Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is a key priority for myself and for the Department of Education and it’s aegis bodies. A 2nd National Strategy – ESD to 2030, was published in June 2022, co-sponsored by the Department, the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth.
ESD aims to ensure that by 2030, all learners have the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development. ESD is a target in itself under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs - Target 4.7) and widely acknowledged as a key enabler for the achievement of all 17 SDGs including SDG 13 – Climate Change. ESD to 2030 contributes to delivery of the Climate Action Plan and SDG National Implementation Plan.
Much was achieved under the 1st ESD Strategy (2014 – 2020) including the integration of ESD themes and principles across the curriculum at all levels as identified in an Audit published by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) in 2018.
Climate Action (SDG 13) themes and principles are identified by the NCCA’s 2018 Audit in the following curricula: Primary History, Geography, Science and SPHE, Junior Cycle Business Studies, Home Economics, Science, History and CSPE and Leaving Certificate Agricultural Science, Geography and Politics and Society.
ESD has also been integrated into the assessment and inspection processes and into Initial Teacher Education (Céim) as a core element.
Under ESD to 2030, there are five priority areas for action, in line with UNESCO’s framework for ESD for 2030: Advancing Policy, Capacity Building of Educators, Transforming Learning Environments, Empowering and Mobilising Youth and Accelerating Local Level Action. An initial review is currently underway with a review report to June 2023 expected to be published before the end of 2023. Some of the achievements to date under ESD to 2030 by the Department of Education include:
- Funding of circa €1m for organisations and schools for projects supporting implementation of ESD to 2030 in 2022/23 and 2023/24.
- Publication of a Sustainability Toolkit for schools to support the development and adoption by schools of Sustainability Policy Statements as set out in the School Sector Climate Action Mandate
- A mapping of ESD related Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for teachers
- Adoption of ESD to 2030 by UNESCO as Ireland’s Country Initiative for ESD for 2030 – one of only two countries in the Europe/ North America region to have achieved this
- Hosting a meeting of the EU Working Group for schools on learning for Sustainable Development in Kinsale in May 2023 – an opportunity for us to demonstrate some of the work underway in schools in Ireland on partnerships for sustainability to our EU colleagues.
- Appointment of the Irish Second Level Students Union (ISSU) to the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) and a Youth Representative to the UN ECE Youth Platform for ESD, ensuring the student voice is at the centre of curriculum development and international discourse.
- The publication of a quarterly ESD newsletter, highlighting good practice across the education sector and sharing information and resources.
- An annual ESD Forum, providing an opportunity for key stakeholders to gather to network and discuss ESD.
Work on the integration of ESD themes and principles across the curriculum at all levels is continuing. In addition to the existing cross-curricular content on ESD, work is underway on the development of the new Leaving Certificate subject specification of Climate Action and Sustainable Development, which will be available in schools on phased basis from the 2025/26 school year.
A short course on Climate Action and Sustainable Development is available for Junior Cycle.
The Primary School Curriculum is currently being redeveloped. The Primary Curriculum Framework, launched on March 9th 2023, is strongly linked to the development and promotion of common European values and democratic citizenship. One of the seven key competencies is ‘Being an active citizen’. This competence includes helping children to question, critique, and understand what is happening in the world within a framework of human rights, equity, social justice, and sustainable development. It also raises awareness of global challenges such as climate change, conflict, and growing inequalities. There will be opportunities across the redeveloped primary curriculum for tangible teaching of citizenship education. One of the curriculum areas under development is Social and Environmental Education, helping children to develop an understanding of the human and natural environments and the relationship between them.
In addition, my Department is working with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (D.ECC) to support implementation of the National Dialogue on Climate Action, embedding climate action in education and promoting climate literacy and is represented on D.ECCs Citizen Engagement and Climate Literacy Taskforce.
Further information on ESD to 2030 is available on the webpage: gov.ie - National Strategy on Education for Sustainable Development in Ireland (www.gov.ie)
57. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Education the number of vocational schools which have closed in the State in each of the past ten years and to date in 2023; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44811/23]
View answerI wish to advise the Deputy that the decision making authority for a school closure is the Patron of the school, and this is subject to the agreement of the Department. Any proposal to close a school must involve consultation with all of the relevant stakeholders, parents, teachers, students and local communities and follow decisions taken at local level.
The following is the only vocational school that closed in the years outlined:
St Thomas's Community College, Bray, Co. Wicklow closed with effect from 31/08/2015
58. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Education the proposals, if any, there are to include more schools in the DEIS programme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45051/23]
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 in the region of 1,200 schools and supports approximately 240,000 students. 1 in 4 students and 30% of schools are now supported in the programme.
This expansion added 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 that were identified for inclusion in the programme were those with the highest levels of concentrated disadvantage as identified 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 was applied fairly and equally to all schools.
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 four budgets, I have secured funding to provide measures to support children in this regard.
My Department recognises the need to target resources to those schools who need them most, the next phase of work will explore the allocation of resources to all schools to tackle educational disadvantage.
The DEIS Plan is based on the premise that in order to have the maximum possible impact on providing opportunities for students most at risk of educational disadvantage, then extra resources need to be targeted as closely as possible at those students with the greatest level of need. This will involve further development of the existing DEIS programme, to create a more dynamic resource allocation model where levels of resources more accurately follow the levels of need identified by objective data.
To support this work my Department has 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 is currently ongoing and the OECD team estimate that the review will be complete in Q2 of 2024. 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.
59. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Minister for Education the number of schools in County Mayo that have plans for additional accommodation delayed because of inflationary costs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45026/23]
View answerThe Department of Education has a strong track record of project delivery. During the period 2018 to 2022, nearly 900 school building projects were completed under a variety of delivery mechanisms. Some 300 projects are under construction during 2023, of which 40 are new school buildings.
Under Project Ireland 2040, in excess of €5 billion will be invested in school infrastructure during the period 2021 to 2025.
There are currently 66 school building projects at schools in County Mayo at various stages of planning and delivery, and additional schools with further applications for capital funding which are currently being assessed.
The main focus of my Department’s capital allocation over the last decade and for the coming period is on provision of critical additional capacity to cater for increasing demographics. The Department is required to manage the overall school building programme so that we target and prioritise areas that are under greatest pressure for additional school places. This reflects our fundamental objective of ensuring the availability of a school place for every child.
The nature of such a large capital programme is such that delays can arise on any individual project for a multitude of reasons and my Department’s approach is to manage these as best as possible to ensure urgently required projects get delivered as quickly as possible within the resources available. Some of the types of issues that can arise on individual projects include identifying and acquiring a site for a new school, procurement of a Design Team, site or design issues, planning permission issues including appeals to An Bord Pleanala, tendering process etc.
It is also important to note that the current construction environment is very challenging and it can be difficult at times to attract strong interest from contractors and get them to stand over tender prices for projects proceeding to construction.
Cost control is a feature of the management of all projects, including school building projects, but my Department has not delayed additional accommodation projects at schools because of inflationary construction costs. In some instances, however, technical challenges with sites can give rise to significant abnormal development or other unforeseen costs and a reassessment of project scope can be required in order to ensure the viability of the planned project. This particular scenario is relevant in the case of a significant interim accommodation project at a post primary school in Mayo.
The position on individual projects evolves all the time and the current status of all projects are listed on a county by county basis at www.gov.ie. and is updated on a regular basis to reflect their progress through the various stages of capital appraisal, site acquisition, design, tender and construction.
My Department will continue to work to deliver critically required school building projects in County Mayo, as with elsewhere in the country, as quickly as possible.
60. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Education her plans to resolve resourcing issues in special schools for the current school year. [44994/23]
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.
While the additional funding made available in recent years to provide more special education teachers, special needs assistants (SNAs), NCSE supports and the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) supports in our schools is significant, it is accepted that there are a range of additional challenges facing our special schools. These schools support children and young people with the most complex special educational needs and need to invest significant time to establish and foster positive links between the home, school and other agencies.
My Department has been actively engaging with the representative bodies for boards of management, particularly the body representing special schools, the National Association of Boards of Management in Special Education (NABMSE) over the last year or more to address some of these additional challenges.
In November and December 2023 NABMSE facilitated a series of meetings nationwide with special schools. This engagement has focused in on a number of issues including:
a. The challenges attached to the designation of special schools as primary schools (the vast majority of special schools enrol students from 4 through to 18) and how this could be addressed
b. The resources necessary for special schools to support their students and
c. How best to ensure that all children who require it have access to a summer programme.
Following this close engagement with special schools, and aware of the challenges facing special schools from my own engagement with and visits to these schools, I was determined to introduce a number of new measures to support special schools. Some of these measures require additional budgetary provision and I was delighted to be able to announce last week that Budget 2024 has provided for two very targeted measures to support our special schools.
Firstly, the removal of the current 15 teacher threshold for the appointment of Administrative Deputy Principals in special schools which cater for children with special educational needs, so that all of these schools, rather than just a quarter of them, can benefit from having an Administrative Deputy Principal. These posts will be instrumental in assisting Principals with leadership and management functions and to support learning and parental and community engagement. This will make a real difference to staff and students in our special schools.
Secondly an additional allocation of 100 teaching posts will be provided to special schools. I am very conscious that our special schools provide an education for children and young people aged from 4 – 18 years of age and these posts will allow schools to deliver a greater range of the national curriculum subjects and to improve student progression and transition.
In addition, special schools will also benefit from the increase in capitation grants for all schools. I was also happy to secure funding to continue to provide an enhanced summer programme for students with special educational needs, with a focus again on children in special schools.
These measures build on a number of additional supports provided for in Budget 2023, including increased NEPs psychologists to allow all special schools have greater access to educational psychological support and funding for an increase in frontline staff in the NCSE to support special schools.
In addition to these budgetary measures, my department is also working closely with the NCSE to further support special schools in relation to a range of issues relating to administration, curriculum and training.
To help support special schools with teacher supply issues in this school year my department has provided guidance and recommendations to special schools through NABMSE to include; the flexible deployment of staffing resources, employment of Route 3 registered teachers on fixed term contracts and clarification around substitute teachers.
