Apologies have been received from Deputy Charlie McConalogue and Senator Gerard Craughwell. At the request of broadcasting services, I ask that members turn off their mobile phones or put them in safe or flight mode.
In accordance with standard procedures agreed by the Committee on Procedure and Privileges for paperless committees, all documentation for the meeting has been circulated to members on the documents database. I propose that we go into private session.
I welcome the Minister for Education and Skills, who will now make a presentation relating to the draft order.
I welcome the opportunity to brief committee members on the establishment of the Educational Research Centre, ERC, Drumcondra as a body corporate under section 54 of the Education Act 1998. The ERC was founded on the initiative of the Department of Education and St. Patrick’s College in the 1960s. Since its foundation, the ERC has been an internationally recognised centre of excellence in research, assessment and evaluation in education. Its work makes a key contribution to the development and evaluation of educational policy in Ireland. For example, members will be familiar with its work on educational disadvantage and the DEIS initiative and its work on international studies such as PISA. However, despite the national importance of the centre, it lacks any effective governance structure. The centre is physically sited on the campus of St. Patrick’s College, Drumcondra, and Department funding for the centre is channelled through the college. However, no governance structure was ever put in place for the centre, even though its work is completely distinct from that of the college. St. Patrick’s College is one of a number of colleges amalgamating to form a new institute of education under the auspices of Dublin City University. This makes the lack of governance of the centre an even more pressing issue.
In view of the key national strategic role of the centre, the Government decided in July 2014 to establish the ERC as a new agency under section 54 of the Education Act 1998. The required draft establishment order was laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas on 11 June 2015. It is intended to establish the ERC as a body corporate under section 54 of the Education Act 1998 on 30 July 2015. The establishment of the centre in this way will secure the future of the centre. First, establishing the centre as a body corporate with its own board will underpin its academic independence and secure its contribution to national policy making. Successive Ministers have respected the independence of thinking and research carried out by the ERC. Like them, I am conscious of the professional role researchers, evaluators and statisticians must play if they are to be valuable to the policy making process.
Second, I want to ensure the invaluable support the centre provides to other bodies in the education arena continues. The centre carries out research and provides advice and support to several bodies, including the Department and inspectorate, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, the State Examinations Commission and the National Council for Special Education. The establishment order also provides that the ERC can play an important role in development and providing materials and systems to schools to enable them to monitor and report to parents and others on the progress of their students. Establishing the centre formally guarantees the continuance of the vital support to the education system.
Third, we have to remember that although the centre has no legal standing at present, it is a de facto body. Its main funding comes from the Department of Education and Skills, and its staff are public employees. My officials have consulted regularly with the college authorities and with the staff of the centre while these proposals for governance were worked out. Providing a legal basis for the centre will regularise the employment of the staff and the continuance of the centre’s excellent research and evaluation work.
The ERC is a key piece of our national educational infrastructure. It holds invaluable historical data on the Irish education system, including longitudinal data on the performance of Irish students. Its staff have the skills and expertise to enable Ireland to participate in major international studies such as TIMSS, PIRLS and PISA. There is a growing awareness of the importance of assessment and research in education systems and I want to ensure we have a strong Irish centre to carry out such work into the future. The establishment order is essential in achieving that aim.
It should be noted that establishment of the ERC as an agency will not entail any additional costs to the Exchequer and no change is envisaged in the current level of funding of the centre by the Department. The staff working in the centre will transfer from the staff of St. Patrick’s College to that of the centre.
In the ERC, Ireland has an international recognised centre of excellence in educational research and assessment. Establishing the centre as a legal body simply regularises a currently unsatisfactory situation by enabling formal governance structures to be put in place. This will secure the future of the ERC and ensure its work and development can be put on a satisfactory footing. I will gladly answer any questions or questions members may have.
I thank the Minister. I welcome the proposal to make the ERC a body under section 54 of the Education Act 1998. The Minister examined a number of options, including whether to bring the centre under the aegis of the Department, but the route she is going down is the most prudent. The centre will maintain its independence and will have a governance structure, which is important. The Minister gave us a list of the staff involved in the briefing notes she provided to members. There are a director, research fellows, research associates and so on and there will be no additional costs in transferring the centre to a corporate body. Will the board of the centre be appointed by the Minister? Does she know the type and number of personnel she wants to put on the board?
The centre does valuable research work, which we have seen, particularly in respect of DEIS and the National Council for Special Education, NCSE. The Department has even availed of it for the research it has done. Does the centre have a strategic plan for the next five years? How does it decide research areas? Is that solely down to the centre itself or does it examine international models? Is the research solely based on our education system and doing research into that?
I agree wholeheartedly with my colleague. The ERC does exceptionally valuable work on the education system in offering an objective and robust assessment of many different education initiatives. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to work with the centre almost two years ago on a project relating to maths learning and maths teaching and my experience of working with the staff was positive. They carried out high quality, objective, robust and independent research. Giving the ERC an independent governance structure will strengthen its autonomy and its important place in the education system. The key issue is to ensure it continues to be well resourced because its work is exceptionally valuable. The centre is not afraid at times to challenge the consensus around the education system and how we develop it. It has been an independent voice for many years and I hope it will continue to be so in the future.
I welcome the Minister and commend her on the work she is doing in education. It is important, innovative work that needs to be done. Perhaps previous Ministers did not give it all the energy and commitment that was required. Earlier this morning, she spoke about SNAs and that is an important element of childhood development, child formation, and literacy. People are impressed by the Minister who has stepped in and taken on these challenges that parents and teachers are talking about.
It is important that the credibility of the centre and other ways of measuring the work of the ERC have a legal standing from both a national and international point of view because many aspects of its work are observed internationally. Giving the centre this status is timely and necessary and I am delighted that this is happening.
All of the members who contributed spoke about the importance of the independence of the centre, which is crucial, as well as the confidence people have in its independence and also in its excellence. That was a common thread in the contributions.
Deputy O'Brien asked about the board and the plan. I will appoint the board in the near future. The number we intend to appoint is five. I will use the Public Appointments Service, PAS, and we are drafting the advertisements at present to invite people to apply. The board will then be appointed. On the strategic plan, the board is obliged to submit a plan annually to the Minister of the day, and that will continue. For example, it has a work plan for this year which has already been agreed.
Deputy Cannon's issues were mainly about the importance of continuing the resource and ensuring that there is absolute confidence in its continued independence and resourcing. There is a fund and the allocation this year is a little over €2 million. That is the ball park figure. That will come directly through the Department of Education and Skills, as it does already, but in the future to it as an independent body.
Deputy Conaghan's issues were also about the importance of the work. His particular interest was in educational disadvantage, and the DEIS work it has done has been very valuable.
Everybody is satisfied that this is a very important body to education in Ireland. We are anxious to ensure that it has the appropriate governance for the future and that it also has appropriate security that its work will continue.
The briefing note states that the establishment order also makes it clear that the ERC will have a role in developing and providing materials and assistance to schools to enable them to monitor and report to parents and others on the progress of students. Obviously, some of that will tie into junior cycle reform as well. Could the Minister expand on exactly what role the ERC will have in providing those systems and supports?
It will be around the area of reporting back to parents on the school-based assessment and the reporting mechanism that will be adopted. Tests on numeracy and literacy are regularly reported to parents as well. It is that type of advice with regard to how exactly we report on the progress of students. The junior cycle has to go to a ballot of the teaching unions, but the discussion is ongoing with regard to how that will be reported to the parents.
I have a final question. Obviously, other Departments have to contribute to the education system, for example, child care. The Department of Children and Youth Affairs is responsible for the school completion programme. There is a cross-departmental plan that must feed into the overall education system; it is not just down to the Minister. When the ERC is doing its research does it take into account other areas and Departments? Does it take account of social and environmental factors? Does it look at international best practice or does it solely examine the Irish system, how to improve it and the research that goes into that? Does it have the scope to examine the Scandinavian models, for example, and other such areas?
It draws on a very wide range of research across the world in terms of comparators. It also uses the longitudinal studies and all of the material available in Ireland, whether that is from Pobal, the Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, or other sources of research. It has done a great deal of work in early years, for example, which would not necessarily be under the Department of Education and Skills as most of it is under the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, as is the school completion programme. It does a great deal of that general research that gathers data from a number of Departments and a number of other sources.
It has a level of independence as well in deciding what to do. Obviously, it does some things pro forma in terms of PISA and so forth, but it can initiate other things in research that it considers to be important for society. It also represents Ireland in respect of international research.
I had intended to ask a question about the staff, but it is answered in the more substantial presentation given to the committee. Should members wish to find out more there is more information provided in the full document provided by the Minister.
That concludes our discussion. I thank the Minister and her officials for attending today and for their assistance.
