Tuesday, 5 Nov 2024

School Enrolments

Questions (46)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

46. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Education the efforts being made to ensure sufficient school places at all schools, primary, second level and special needs, throughout Kildare North, having regard to the increasing demand and pressure for school places; if it is expected that a satisfactory level of accommodation can be achieved, particularly in those schools where difficulty regarding accommodation and school places has been noted in the past; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44974/24]

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Written answers

Minister for Education

I can assure the Deputy that the provision of school places to meet the needs of children and young people at primary and post primary level, including children and young people with special educational needs is an absolute priority for the department.

In line with the Department's demographic projections of post primary school place requirements, there has been a continued growth in enrolments throughout many School Planning Areas in North Kildare. In response, the Department has invested significantly in schools in County Kildare over recent years. Since 2020, over €310m has been invested in schools in County Kildare. This investment includes recently completed new school buildings in Maynooth and Naas. Additionally, further new school buildings and extensions are at construction or planned, including in Prosperous, Kilcock, Maynooth, Celbridge, Leixlip, Naas and Clane.

At a national level, Ireland has been experiencing growth in overall post primary enrolments and this is projected to continue in many parts of the country for the next number of years before beginning to decline. However, first year enrolments nationally are expected to have peaked in the 2023/24 school year and are now beginning to decline. Across North Kildare there are almost 250 more first year places available for the 2025/26 school year than sixth class children.

Nevertheless, the Department has been putting in place a number of measures to support parents and post-primary schools, including in North Kildare, with a view to helping the admissions process for 2025/26 run as smoothly as possible.

Firstly, the Department has written to all parents and guardians of children in sixth class with advice and guidance regarding the admissions process for post-primary for the 2025/26 school year. This letter advised parents to apply to multiple schools in areas where there is high demand and requested parents to take steps to avoid holding multiple places.

Secondly, the Department has improved the central Post-Primary On-line Database IT system that schools use to register student enrolments. This is an important improvement and is available to assist schools to manage the enrolment process and provide real-time notification to schools where a new student has accepted a school place in more than one school. This will help identify duplicate enrolments at a very early stage.

Furthermore, the successful data-sharing arrangements that were implemented for the 2024/25 admissions process in areas of enrolment pressure will be put in place again for the 2025/26 process, including for areas in North Kildare. It is expected that, as in previous years, the data sharing will provide confidence that there is sufficient school place availability in the majority of areas. However, if a shortfall of places is identified in an area, the Department will work with schools to put the necessary solutions in place.

The Department continues to proactively plan for school place needs, using the most up to date data. Information on current and projected future population, and the impact of future residential development in each town, are all considered as part of this planning process. Engagement with school patrons is another important component of the Department’s planning process.

The Department also continues to work actively with the NCSE in respect of the planning for special education provision, including requirements for additional special classes and special school places. The new special school being established in Kildare for the 2025/26 school year is testament to this strong forward planning process.

I want to assure the Deputy that my Department will continue to work to ensure a school place for every child in County Kildare, and across the rest of the country, including by advancing required school building projects.

Question No. 47 answered with Question No. 35.

School Staff

Questions (48)

Paul Donnelly

Question:

48. Deputy Paul Donnelly asked the Minister for Education to establish a comprehensive support system for educators who become victims of violence within the workplace, ensuring a swift and empathetic response to their needs. [38884/24]

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Written answers

Minister for Education

A leave of absence may be granted to a teacher or special needs assistant who is unable to perform their duties due to a physical injury following physical contact from a third party that happened in the course of their duties and during approved school activities.

In accordance with Section 14 of the Education Act 1998, it is the duty of the Patron to appoint, where practicable, a Board of Management. The Board of Management is the body of persons, or the person appointed by the Patron to manage the school on his/her behalf, including issues surrounding health and safety.

While the Department of Education has statutory functions in the setting of terms and conditions for teachers and SNAs, the Department of Education is not the employer.

Where a teacher or SNA is injured as a result of physical contact from a third party causing physical injury in the course of their duties and during approved school activities, they may apply for leave under the “Leave of absence following Assault Scheme”.

The provisions of this scheme are contained in the Department’s Circular Letter 0061/2017 - www.gov.ie/en/circulars/?q=&sort_by=published_date&organisation=department-of-education&year=&circular_id=0061%2F2017 - for teachers and Circular Letter 0062/2017 for SNAs. It provides for special leave with pay (subject to specified limits) to a teacher or SNA who is unable to perform their duties due to a physical injury following physical contact from a third party that happened in the course of their duties and during approved school activities.

The leave available under the Scheme for Leave of Absence following Assault is 3 months (92 days) at full pay in a rolling 4-year period. In exceptional cases, such as where a significant period of hospitalisation is required or in situations of a second or subsequent incident of assault, the leave may be extended for a further period not exceeding 3 months (91 days) at full pay, subject to an overall limit of 6 months (183 days) at full pay in a rolling 4-year period.

The Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform (DPENDR) determines the terms and conditions of Leave Schemes for Public Servants, which includes teachers and SNAs. In this regard, the leave limits noted in the Assault Leave Circular for Teachers/SNAs were agreed with Education Partners in conjunction with DPENDR.

A Teacher or SNA who has exhausted the maximum period of paid leave under the Scheme for Leave of Absence following Assault and who is still medically unfit to resume duty may avail of Sick Leave under the Sick Leave Scheme, subject to the normal rules of that scheme.

The Employee Assistance Service, www.gov.ie/en/service/23acf5-employee-assistance-service/, which is currently provided by Spectrum.Life, is available as a supportive resource for teachers and SNAs following physical injury. The freephone confidential helpline is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Supportive resources may include short term counselling (up to six sessions). If the EAS recommends additional short-term counselling sessions with the teacher, the Department can facilitate this request.

Special Educational Needs

Questions (49)

Richard Boyd Barrett

Question:

49. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Education the measures she is putting in place to ensure that children with additional needs are not left without their SETs due to the shortage of teachers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44993/24]

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Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Education

I would like to thank the deputy for the question.

The special education teaching allocation is an additional resource provided to schools and is ringfenced for the sole purpose of providing additional supports to young people with special educational needs. The importance of providing well-timed, appropriate and targeted support to young people with Special educational needs is crucial to their development and their long-term life prospects.

Therefore, it is critical that all schools deploy the additional special education teaching resources effectively to meet the needs of those identified in the School Provision Plan for Young People Identified with Special Educational Needs underpinned by the Continuum of Support framework.

The deployment of special education teaching hours allocated to a school for purposes other than intended deprives young people with special educational needs of direct access to these resources. This can impact negatively on the learning outcomes of the most vulnerable children and young people in our education system.

It is the responsibility of individual school boards of management to ensure that the special education teaching resources allocated to the school is used for the intend purpose only.

Revised guidelines have been developed over the past eighteen months by the Inspectorate, The National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) and the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) in conjunction with the Department.

The updated Guidelines will be provided, in the coming weeks, to aid schools in the deployment of their special education teaching resources to support children and young people in mainstream classes with Special Educational Needs.

The guidelines incorporate existing good practices evident in schools along with feedback provided, during their development, from our educational partners.

In addition to the guidelines, Indicators of Effective practise are being provided to schools to allow them to evaluate and plan effective deployment and examples of Student Support Files and Plans are being provided to aid schools.

To address teacher supply issues, the Department, with stakeholder support, has implemented several actions.

Measures introduced have led to:

• an increase of 20% in Initial Teacher Education graduates (student teachers) between 2018 and 2023, and a 30% increase in the number registered with the Teaching Council since 2017, and

• a 16.7% increase in the number of teaching posts allocated to post-primary, and an increase of 13.3% allocated to primary between 2017/18 and 2023/24.

Recent Budget measures introduced reflect this Government’s commitment to ongoing investment in the education system to address teacher supply issues. Key initiatives include:

• Budget 2025 included a bursary for student teachers to increase the number of qualified STEM (including science, maths, chemistry, physics, engineering) teachers in post-primary schools. The bursary, a €2,000 payment each year for the final two years of their undergraduate initial teacher education programme, is contingent on a commitment to complete a minimum 2 years post-qualification teaching service in a recognised post primary school.

• Budget 2024 also included the expansion of upskilling programmes, free to teachers, aimed at increasing the number of qualified teachers in high-demand subjects and reducing out-of-field teaching. New programmes in Irish, French, politics & society, and computer science will complement existing programmes in maths, physics, and Spanish. Trinity College Dublin will deliver the new Irish upskilling programme for post-primary.

• Budget 2025 continued funding for free upskilling courses for teachers in high-demand subject areas (Irish, French, Spanish, maths, computer science, physics, politics & society).

In addition to these recently introduced measures further initiatives have developed to address teacher supply challenges, including:

• at primary level, 610 additional places on initial teacher education programmes were approved,

• newly qualified teachers (NQTs) employed in primary schools can complete the Droichead process while employed on a Supply Panel or Principal Release Time Post,

• over 3,700 student teachers were registered under Route 5 with the Teaching Council to substitute in June 2024, up from 2,700 that were registered in the previous school year. Continuing these flexibilities allows student teachers to support schools during their placements or as substitutes.

• increasing the pool of teachers available to undertake substitute work, through the continued suspension of the usual limits on career break and job-sharing schemes and the continuation of the teaching hours’ extension scheme in post-primary schools to 2024/25 school year,

• encouraging retired teachers to work as substitute teachers; in the 2023/24 school year, over 1,700 retired teachers provided substitute cover, an increase of 12% on the previous year, and

• the Teaching Transforms campaign continues to promote the teaching profession and encourage students to follow a career in teaching. Promotion campaigns have been developed to coincide with the CAO closing date and change of mind deadline in recent years.

Teaching is an attractive career choice. Over 3,700 newly qualified teachers registered with the Teaching Council in 2024 with over 123,000 now on the register. Analysis of CAO applications spanning from 2017 to 2024 indicates a sustained and robust demand for undergraduate teaching programmes. On average, 6% of first preference applications during the period from 2017 to 2024 were for either primary or post-primary teaching programmes. The new pay deal will mean that teachers’ starting salary will increase to €46,000 rising to a maximum of €85,000 per year which compares well internationally.

The Department frequently consults stakeholders on issues such as teacher supply through industrial relations forums, sectoral meetings, and direct discussions with teacher unions.

State Examinations

Questions (50)

Violet-Anne Wynne

Question:

50. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Education if she will consider implementing an extra time allowance for secondary school students with dyslexia during State examinations under the RACE scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44985/24]

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Written answers

Minister for Education

The 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.

Special Educational Needs

Questions (51)

Éamon Ó Cuív

Question:

51. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Education if it is intended to review and change the method by which SNAs are allocated to primary schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44793/24]

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Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Education

I would like to thank the deputy for the question.

As a government, special education is a key priority which has been underpinned by more than a quarter of the entire education budget.

Budget 2025 has provided for 1,600 additional special needs assistant (SNA) posts to support students in both mainstream and special education settings.

To the greatest extent possible, students with special educational needs are supported in mainstream education settings with additional supports such as SNAs provided.

Special Needs Assistants (SNA) 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.

The NCSE has the responsibility for planning and coordinating school supports for children with special educational needs including the allocation of SNAs and reviews.

Presently there are almost 22,000 SNA’s allocated to mainstream and special classes along with Special Schools.

This represents an increase of approximately 113% since 2011 when the SNA figure was 10,320.

While all schools are allocated SNA’s based on the care needs of its pupil population, there may occur exceptional circumstances where a school may have insufficient SNA resources to support the care needs of its pupil cohort in mainstream classes.

The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has streamlined the review process for Special Needs Assistants.

If a school believes that they have insufficient resources to meet the care needs of their students they should make contact with the local SENO who will support them in applying for a review.

The revised SNA review process, schools no longer need to submit SNA timetables. Schools complete one form (School Care Needs Record Form which is based on the Continuum of Support) which contains all information required on the school care needs profile and on the tasks which SNAs carry out.

The NCSE have recruited additional special education needs organisers (SENOs), advisors and team managers. The total number of SENOs has increased from 65 to 120. SENOs play an important role in ensuring there is adequate special educational provision within local areas and are currently visiting schools nationwide to conduct planning meetings. These visits will be key in terms of forward planning for the 2025/26 school year.

The NCSE manages the review process and handles each case individually. The review process is a detailed investigation of the care needs of the children and young people in the relevant school so as to ensure that the existing resources are being utilised appropriately and that any deficit in primary care needs support is identified and addressed.

The NCSE in-school support is also available to schools to offer further guidance and support.

The department is fully committed to establishing an SNA model that is fully cognisant of matching SNA resources with the care needs of those children who require this support. It is important that any allocation process is based on care needs rather than educational ability.

Work is continuing on developing an SNA model that will accurately reflect and is responsive to the care needs of pupils.

School Enrolments

Questions (52)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

52. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Education the extent to which she continues to ensure the availability of an adequate number of teaching staff in all primary, second level and special needs schools throughout Kildare North, given then burgeoning demand; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44975/24]

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Written answers

Minister for Education

Ensuring 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.

The recruitment and appointment of teachers for teaching positions is managed by individual school authorities. There are over 3,700 individual school authorities, responsible for this process, including boards of management at primary and post-primary schools, as well as Education and Training Boards (ETBs).

While most teaching positions are filled, some schools face significant recruitment challenges. To address teacher supply issues, the Department, with stakeholder support, has implemented several actions.

As of March 2024, a record 78,646 teachers are employed. There are less than 1% resignations in the Primary sector every year and 1.6% in Post Primary. The number of teachers who retired over the past number of years has varied, with 932 in 2013 and 1,074 in 2023.

While most teaching positions are filled, some schools face significant recruitment challenges. To address teacher supply issues, the Department has implemented several measures that have led to:

• an increase of 20% in Initial Teacher Education graduates (student teachers) between 2018 and 2023, and a 30% increase in the number registered with the Teaching Council since 2017, and

• a 16.7% increase in the number of teaching posts allocated to post-primary, and an increase of 13.3% allocated to primary between 2017/18 and 2023/24.

Recent Budget measures introduced reflect this Government’s commitment to ongoing investment in the education system to address teacher supply issues. Key initiatives include:

• Budget 2025 included a bursary for student teachers to increase the number of qualified STEM (including science, maths, chemistry, physics, engineering) teachers in post-primary schools. The bursary, a €2k payment each year for the final two years of their undergraduate initial teacher education programme, is contingent on a commitment to complete a minimum 2 years post-qualification teaching service in a recognised post primary school.

• Budget 2024 also included the expansion of upskilling programmes, free to teachers, aimed at increasing the number of qualified teachers in high-demand subjects and reducing out-of-field teaching. New programmes in Irish, French, politics & society, and computer science will complement existing programmes in maths, physics, and Spanish. Trinity College Dublin will deliver the new Irish upskilling programme for post-primary.

• Budget 2025 continued funding for free upskilling courses for teachers in high-demand subject areas (Irish, French, Spanish, maths, computer science, physics, politics & society).

• Budget 2024 introduced a €2,000 bursary-style fee refund for teachers graduating with a Professional Master of Education (PME) in 2024. This payment, to be made in 2025, aims to encourage newly qualified primary and post-primary teachers to take up teaching roles. A circular issued in September from my department setting out the eligibility criteria.

In addition to these recently introduced measures, as Minister I have developed further initiatives to address teacher supply challenges, including:

• newly qualified teachers (NQTs) employed in primary schools can complete the Droichead process while employed on a Supply Panel or Principal Release Time Post. For the 2024/25 school year, 591 substitute teacher supply posts have been allocated to 167 panels, covering 2,900 schools.

• over 3,700 student teachers were registered under Route 5 with the Teaching Council to substitute in June 2024, up from 2,700 that were registered in the previous school year. Continuing these flexibilities allows student teachers to support schools during their placements or as substitutes.

• increasing the pool of teachers available to undertake substitute work, through the continued suspension of the usual limits on career break and job-sharing schemes and the continuation of the teaching hours’ extension scheme in post-primary schools to 2024/25 school year,

• encouraging retired teachers to work as substitute teachers; in the 2023/24 school year, over 1,700 retired teachers provided substitute cover, an increase of 12% on the previous year, and

• the Teaching Transforms campaign continues to promote the teaching profession and encourage students to follow a career in teaching. Promotion campaigns have been developed to coincide with the CAO closing date and change of mind deadline in recent years.

Teaching is an attractive career choice, with 3,700 newly qualified teachers registered with the Teaching Council in 2024 and over 123,000 now on the register. Analysis of CAO applications spanning from 2017 to 2024 indicates a sustained and robust demand for undergraduate teaching programmes. On average, 6% of first preference applications during the period from 2017 to 2024 were for either primary or post-primary teaching programmes. The new pay deal will mean that teachers’ starting salary will increase to €46,000 rising to a maximum of €85,000 per year which compares well internationally.

The Department frequently consults stakeholders on issues such as teacher supply through industrial relations forums, sectoral meetings, and direct discussions with teacher unions. Additionally, a project, supported by UNESCO and the EU Directorate-General for Structural Reform Support, began recently, focusing on strategic workforce planning for teachers in Ireland.

School Staff

Questions (53)

Paul Donnelly

Question:

53. Deputy Paul Donnelly asked the Minister for Education to extend benefit to provide assault leave to teachers and SNAs for the duration of the medically certified leave, not just three to six months. [38883/24]