Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 22 September 2011
42 Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding the national literacy strategy for children and young persons; if every school will be required to have a literacy action plan in place for the new school term; and the supports that have been made available to teaching staff to help them deliver the action plan. [25117/11]
Amharc ar fhreagraI published Literacy and Numeracy for Learning and Life, the National Strategy to Improve Literacy and Numeracy among Children and Young People 2011-2020, on 8 July. Good progress has already been made on implementing the early actions identified in the Strategy.
One of the key actions in the Strategy is to require all schools to engage in robust self evaluation and put in place a three-year school improvement plan which includes specific targets for the promotion and improvement of literacy and numeracy. Schools will be required to put these plans in place by the end of the 2012-13 school year as outlined in the Strategy. Robust school self-evaluation will enable schools to identify strengths and areas for development in their own work and will focus particularly on literacy and numeracy. Arising from school self-evaluation, schools will be enabled to draw up targets and actions for improvement which will be included in their School Improvement Plans.
The Inspectorate of my Department is finalising draft materials to support the implementation of school self-evaluation. These materials will be in addition to Looking at Our School — Primary and Looking at Our School — Post-primary which are already available on the website of my Department. The additional new sample materials will be in pilot use in a selected sample of primary and post-primary schools later this year. Inspectors will be working with the staffs of these schools to refine the materials and develop self-evaluation practices in the schools. In addition, members of the Inspectorate and staff from the Professional Development Service for Teachers (PDST) will be providing inputs on school self-evaluation to teachers and school leaders at various professional development networks during this school year.
A range of professional development courses in literacy and numeracy were provided to teachers over the summer vacation period. Over 10,400 teachers completed summer in-service courses in literacy, over 1,270 teachers completed courses in numeracy and mathematics and a further 1,230 teachers completed courses in Irish. The PDST will be providing further courses to teachers in these areas in the course of this school year.
