Sorca Clarke
Question:65. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Education if she will carry out a full and comprehensive review of the pay and working conditions of school bus escorts. [6201/24]
View answerTuesday, 13 February 2024
Questions (65)
Oral answers (6 contributions)
I wish to ask the Minister for Education if she will carry out a full and comprehensive review of the pay and working conditions of school bus escorts.
The school transport scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the current school year, more than 161,600 children, including more than 135,000 pupils travelling on primary and post-primary services, 19,800 pupils with special educational needs and 6,800 pupils who arrived to Ireland from Ukraine are transported daily to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. The total cost of the scheme in 2023 was €382.02 million. There is a facility within the special educational needs transport scheme for the appointment of a school transport escort, where a child’s care and safety needs while on school transport are such as to require the support of a school transport escort. The Department of Education provides grant funding for the employment of the school transport escort and sets the rate of pay. Under the Education Act 1998, the principal and-or board of management are responsible for the operation of the school and is the employer of the school transport escort and therefore responsible for all employment matters relating to its school transport escort.
Building Momentum, a new public service agreement for 2021-2022, was agreed between Government and unions in 2020 and was extended to run until the end of 2023. The agreement provides for a number of pay increases over the period of the agreement. This agreement only applies to public servants and does not automatically apply beyond public servants. Therefore, grant-funded school staff such as bus escorts employed directly by schools are not part of the agreement. However, it is recognised that school bus escorts play a vital role in supporting children with special educational needs in their journey to and from school. The school transport section in the Department is currently carrying out a comprehensive review of matters as they relate to bus escorts and the information provided to schools. An information pack for schools is being developed and will be reviewed and updated regularly. As part of this comprehensive review, the terms of employment and rate of pay for school bus escorts are also being examined, and the Department will continue to keep the rates under review. The Department has recently published a national survey of SNAs on www.gov.ie. This will provide valuable data to inform the first SNA workforce development plan, which will be developed over the next two years in consultation with stakeholders.
Additional information not given on the floor of the House
The survey, which is anonymous and will remain open until 27 February, will gather information on those SNAs who also work as bus escorts including data on the number of hours worked per week and the number of children they escort to school.
The SNA workforce development plan will also include an examination of the interaction of the SNA role with that of bus escort, in the context of an overall review of the SNA role. A review of the school transport scheme has recently been completed by a steering group with high level membership of relevant Government Departments and other bodies, reflecting the importance of the scheme for access to education and other wider Government objectives. The school transport scheme has been in operation for over 55 years, since its establishment in 1967, and this review is one of the most extensive investigations that has been carried out into the scheme since then. Undoubtedly, the school transport scheme is of huge importance to families. The review has been conducted with a view to examining the current scheme, its broader effectiveness and sustainability and to ensure it services students and their families efficiently and effectively. The review has also given consideration to employment-related matters for school bus escorts. Considering how to best maximise the benefits now and into the future has been a significant factor in the review of the scheme. I am aware that this review is much-awaited. It is recognised that there are improvements which need to be made to the scheme and I know the importance of doing so. I expect to be in a position shortly to bring the review to Government, and, further to Government approval, the review will be published.
I note that the first part of the Minister's response was, essentially, verbatim to a parliamentary question reply given to my colleague, Deputy Mac Lochlainn, last November. I welcome what the Minister mentioned about the SNA reviews and, let us be honest, an awful lot of school escorts are also SNAs but not all. I wish to draw the attention of the House to the reality. The education committee had the privilege and honour of visiting the Holy Family School for the Deaf Cabra recently. We had a very warm welcome from the school. The pupils out there are wonderful. One of the teachers pointed out that their school escorts who come with children from County Monaghan every morning to Cabra then spend the day, at their own cost, in Dublin. When we talk about school escorts, it is correct to review their pay because it is quite low. The Minister spoke about a pack that would go out. I ask her to give a definitive date for that. We also need to look at the conditions under which these vital people work.
I agree. I said at the outset that the contribution of school escorts is invaluable. There is no doubt about that in terms of escorting children with additional needs to and from school. She is right and I referenced the SNA workforce development plan, which will include an examination of the interaction of the SNA role with the bus escort role. As the Deputy said, many individuals cross over into both roles. A review of the school transport scheme has recently been completed by the steering group with a high level membership of relevant Government Departments and other bodies, reflecting the importance of the scheme for access to education and other wider Government objectives.
The school transport review has been conducted with a view to examining the current scheme, its broader effectiveness and its sustainability and to ensuring that it services children and their families effectively and efficiently. The review has also given consideration to employment-related matters for school bus escorts. Consideration of how best to maximise the benefits now and into the future has been a significant factor in the review of the scheme. I am aware that the review is much awaited. It will be going to a Cabinet subcommittee and then on to the Government. That will all be completed.
We all recognise that movement is needed here. I do not for a moment underestimate the impact these escorts have in allowing children to access education, as is their constitutional right, where they present with that level of need. Will the Minister confirm what I think I heard her say, which is that the school transport review is now complete? I am talking about the school transport review that has been going on since 2021. On what date will she bringing that review to the subcommittee? If it includes reference to school escorts, a significant number of people will be paying very close attention to it from the perspective of their own employment. We are asking this group of individuals, school escorts, to sign onto the dole for 69 days of the year. We are creating very similar circumstances to those school secretaries and caretakers faced. School escorts should really have been included in the movement on those other two groups.
There are 4,000 school bus escorts in the system doing incredibly valuable work. I will specifically address a number of the issues the Deputy has raised. The school transport section is carrying out a comprehensive review of matters as they relate to bus escorts. The information pack that is being developed will be made available to schools for the beginning of the 2024-25 school year. As part of this review, the terms of employment and rate of pay for school bus escorts are also being examined. The consultation on the SNA workforce development plan is open until 27 February. It is important to say that. It is anonymous and gives people an opportunity to engage with the plan. The school transport review is also giving consideration to employment-related matters for bus escorts. I commit to publishing it in the first quarter of this year.