Written Answers Nos. 208-229
208. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills the status of an emergency works application for a school (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35927/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe school to which the Deputy refers applied for Emergency Works Grant funding for demolition and rebuild works.
The application was refused as the scope of the works is outside the terms and conditions of the Emergency Works Grant Scheme.
The school has appealed this decision. The appeal is under consideration and a decision will issue to the school authority shortly.
209. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on a matter (details supplied) regarding the Education (Admission to Schools) Bill 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35929/16]
Amharc ar fhreagra237. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on a matter (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36332/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to takes Questions Nos. 209 and 237 together.
In relation to the first question raised by the Deputies regarding the ‘baptism barrier’, the Deputies will be aware, that the Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills, is to consider the complex issues raised by the Labour Party's proposed amendment to section 7(3)(c) of the Equal Status Act as set out in their Private Members Bill.
I have included a specific action in the Action Plan for Education that expresses my commitment to working with the Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills to deliver changes in this area.
The Government proposed and the Dáil agreed that the Equal Status Bill proceed to second stage in June 2017. This will allow parents, patrons and other stakeholders to have their say and to ensure that the right balance can be struck between competing rights and that there would be no unintended consequence that would create an adverse impact on the schools of minority denominations.
I believe that this matter requires time to allow adequate scrutiny and debate in order to ensure any new approach is reasonable, fair and workable. I believe that the work of the Education and Skills Committee will be invaluable in that regard.
The Education (Admission to Schools) Bill 2016 does not propose any changes to section 7(3)(c) of the Equal Status Act and I propose to advance the Admissions Bill separately from the issues before the Committee.
As I have said previously, I believe that this is the correct way to proceed. In this way, we can ensure that the important pragmatic changes contained in the Education (Admission to Schools) Bill can be implemented as quickly as possible, and not be tied up with contentious issues that could end up in the Courts. At the same time, we can in this way give the time and space for the complex issues involved in the Equal Status Bill to be properly teased out.
It is also important to note that even if the Education (Admission to Schools) Bill 2016 is enacted by the Oireachtas in the coming months it cannot apply in respect of admissions in September next as schools have already begun that process.
The Education (Admission to Schools) Bill 2016 provides an over-arching framework for greater transparency and consistency in school enrolment generally and thereby gives greater confidence to parents that the admission criteria laid down by schools and the procedures used by them are legitimate, reasonable and fair. The following is an outline of some of its key provisions:
- The Education Admissions Bill will bring tangible benefits to all parents. The Bill will oblige all schools to admit pupils where there are available places. It is important to note that 80% of schools are not oversubscribed.
- The Bill provides for schools to explicitly state in the school's admission policy that it will not discriminate against an applicant for admission on the grounds of disability, special educational needs, sexual orientation, family status, membership of the traveller community, race, civil status, gender or religion while including provision for single sex schools and denominational schools to reflect, in their admission policy, the exemptions applicable to such schools under equality legislation.
- The Bill includes a specific requirement that school enrolment policies must include details of the school's arrangements for any students who do not wish to attend religious instruction.
- The Bill contains a provision prohibiting the charging of fees or seeking payment or contributions for an application for admission to a school or for the enrolment or continued enrolment of a student in a school.
- The Bill also provides for the Child and Family Agency (Tusla) to designate a school for a child with no school place and for the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) to designate a school for a child who has no school place for reasons related to the child’s special educational needs.
In relation to the second question raised by the Deputies regarding opting out of faith formation, Article 44 of the Constitution and Section 30 of the Education Act 1998 provides that parents have a right to have their children opt out of religion classes if they so wish. The manner in which any school ensures that the right to opt out of religion classes is upheld is a matter for the school concerned.
Each individual school must determine the particular arrangements which are most appropriate in its individual circumstances having regard to local issues such as available space, supervision requirements and how the school concerned organises classes etc.
The Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the primary school sector (2012) recommended steps that could be taken to ensure that the education system can provide a sufficiently diverse number and range of primary schools to cater for children of all religions and none.
A paper, entitled "Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the Primary Sector: Progress to Date and Future Directions", which took account of the public consultation, was published in 2014. The paper outlined good practice and options for promoting diversity in schools in a number of areas, including the right to opt-out of religious classes.
The paper gives an overview of current practice in schools in relation to the right to opt-out of religious classes and acknowledged that each school should arrive at solutions that suit its own particular context and to engage in dialogue with parents about the arrangements to be put in place before the child starts school. Schools are encouraged to develop their own practices and policies in this regard.
Subsequently, the Catholic Schools Partnership (2015) developed a resource for Catholic schools entitled ‘Catholic Primary Schools in a Changing Ireland: Sharing Good Practice on Inclusion of All Pupils’. It gives suggestions on developing polices and sharing best practice with regard to inclusion of all pupils, which gives practical suggestions to schools in how to engage positively in intercultural dialogue.
The Education (Admission to Schools) Bill 2016 includes a specific requirement that school enrolment policies must include details of the school's arrangements for any students who do not wish to attend religious instruction.
I believe this is an important measure which will help ensure transparency from the outset as to how a school will uphold the rights of parents in this regard.
The Department has also been working on draft legislation to provide for replacing the current Section 28 of the Education Act, 1998. The legislation will provide the statutory basis for ministerial guidelines which will form the framework for a Parents’ and Students’ Charter in every school following consultation with parents, students, recognised school management bodies and staff associations representing teachers and other appropriate bodies.
The Parents and Students Charter Bill essentially deals with how schools communicate with parents and will provide a greater opportunity for dealing with such issues.
210. Deputy Jim Daly asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of applications that have been refused for injury warrants under the Superannuation Acts since 1995 within his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35983/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraOfficials at the Human Resources Unit of my Department are not aware of any officials having submitted a case since 1995 under the terms of the Superannuation Act Scheme 1887. In the event the Deputy has a concern about a particular case, he should provide me with more details and I will request officials at my Department to enquire into the matter.
211. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on the points raised in correspondence (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36071/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraSupervision and substitution duties are compulsory for all teachers since the Haddington Road Agreement. A limited group of teachers were allowed to opt-out of the duties in return for a pay reduction i.e. as part of the Haddington Road Agreement, teachers in employment in 2012/13 were given a once-off opportunity to opt-out. The pay reduction associated with opting out has a value of €1,769 and applies permanently to the end of the teacher’s career.
The ASTI directive instructed its members to withdraw from the Supervision and Substitution Scheme with effect from 7 November 2016. The opt-out is an element of the S&S scheme and ASTI have directed all members to withdraw from that scheme. Therefore, the ‘opt-out’ provided for under the scheme will not apply to ASTI members who are subject to their directive.
Following standard industrial relations practice, on days where employees do not make themselves available for any element of their core duties, resulting in the workplace not being able to function, that employee will not be paid for that day.
216. Deputy Bobby Aylward asked the Minister for Education and Skills the protocol for allocation of resource teaching hours in respect of students with learning disabilities who have shown general improvements in day-to-day learning and end of term examinations; if a student with a learning disability achieves high scores in their end of term examinations, whether resource teaching hours are likely to be reduced in advance of the following term; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36145/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraI wish to advise the Deputy that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), which is an independent statutory agency, is responsible, through its network of locally based Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs) for the allocation of Special Educational needs supports to schools, including Low Incidence Teaching Hours (LITH) support for students with special educational needs (SEN) arising from a disability. The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support.
Separately all mainstream schools have a permanent allocation of additional teaching resources to provide for children who have learning support needs or whose educational psychological assessment places them in the high incidence, or less complex, disability category. It is a matter for individual schools to use their professional judgement to identify pupils who will receive this support and to use the resources available to the school to intervene at the appropriate level with such pupils. Schools are supported in this regard by the National Educational Psychological Services.
My Department provides guidelines for schools in relation to the utilisation of additional teaching resources which have been allocated to them. These include Circulars SpEd 02/05 and 70/2014 on the Inclusion of Pupils with Special Educational Needs, and the National Educational Psychological Services (NEPS) Continuum of Support Guidelines.
Schools may differentiate the level of learning support granted to ensure that available resources are used to support children in line with their needs and that support is provided to those pupils that need it most.
The NCSE does not make any reduction in the resource hours allocations it makes to schools, to support pupils who have low incidence disabilities, in circumstances where pupils have improved academic performances.
Where schools have distributed additional teaching support to pupils, from within their general allocations of hours, or from the totality of their resource allocations, schools allocate hours taking into account each child's ongoing individual learning support needs, in accordance with the Continuum of Support Guidelines.
My Department encourages parents and school authorities to engage locally regarding pupils' education. Parents may also contact their local SENO directly to discuss their child’s special educational needs, using the contact details available on www.ncse.ie.
217. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Education and Skills the level of special needs assistant support allocated to a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36152/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraI wish to advise the Deputy that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), which is an independent statutory agency, is responsible, through its network of Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), for processing applications from schools for special educational needs supports, including SNA support.
The NCSE allocates SNA support to schools in accordance with the criteria set out in my Department's Circular 0030/2014, which is available on my Department's website at www.education.ie, in order that students who have care needs can access SNA support as and when it is needed.
Responsibility for deciding on the quantum of educational supports and resources to be allocated to schools to support individual pupils rests with the NCSE.
It should be noted that SNA allocations are not made to individual children, but are made to schools to support the care needs of children with assessed special educational needs in the school.
Once an allocation of SNA support has been made to a school, it is a matter for the school to utilise and deploy that support within the school in order to provide for the care needs of qualifying pupils within the school.
Where a school or parent wishes to appeal the level of SNA support allocation which has been made to them, they may do so through the NCSE appeal process, details of which are set out at www.ncse.ie.
All schools have the contact details of their local SENO. Contact details are also available on the NCSE website. The local SENO is also available to discuss any concerns that parents have about the present or future educational needs of their child.
218. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Education and Skills the proposals for additional autistic spectrum disorder units, as opposed to units already in operation, attached to mainstream secondary schools in the greater Dublin area; the location of each; the projected opening dates; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36163/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThis Government is committed to ensuring that all children with Special Educational Needs, including those with autism, can have access to an education appropriate to their needs, preferably in school settings through the primary and post primary school network.
Such placements facilitate access to individualised education programmes which may draw from a range of appropriate educational interventions, delivered by fully qualified professional teachers, with the support of Special Needs Assistants and the appropriate school curriculum.
Almost 14,000 students in schools have been diagnosed with autism. The Department of Education and Skills invests over €300m annually in providing additional resources specifically to support students with autism in schools enabling:
- 63% of students to attend mainstream schools
- 23% to attend special classes in mainstream primary and post-primary schools, and
- 14% to attend special schools.
The NCSE, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), in consultation with the relevant education partners, is responsible for the establishment of special classes in various geographical areas as required. Special classes are part of a continuum of educational provision that enables students with more complex special educational needs to be educated, in smaller class groups, within their local mainstream schools. They offer a supportive learning environment to students with ASD who are unable to access the curriculum in a mainstream class, even with support, for most or all of their school day. Special class for students with ASD are staffed with a lower pupil–teacher ratio of 6:1 at primary level and 6:1.5 at post primary level, and also have Special Needs Assistant support normally amounting to 2 SNAs for a class of 6 children.
Students enrolled in special classes should be included in mainstream classes to the greatest extent possible, in line with their abilities.
Progress in developing this network has been significant and in addition to the special school placements there are 1,153 special classes available, which is an increase of over 100% in the number of special classes which were available in 2011, which was 548.
This includes 127 ASD early intervention classes, 525 primary ASD classes and 237 post-primary ASD classes, which represents an increase of approximately. 16% on 2015/16 classes for children with autism.
There are 158 ASD classes attached to mainstream schools in Dublin, including 22 Early Intervention ASD Classes, 106 primary ASD classes and 30 post primary ASD. 17 of these are newly opened classes, including 3 Early Intervention ASD Classes, 9 primary ASD classes and 5 post primary ASD classes. The NCSE continues to review the special class placement requirements in Dublin and is currently engaging with schools with regard to opening new special classes in Dublin in areas where there is an identified need for special class provision.
The Education (Admission to Schools) Bill was published on 6 July 2016. The Admissions Bill provides that where a school has places available it must admit all applicants. The Bill contains a provision for the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) to designate a school for a child who has no school place for reasons related to the child’s special educational needs and for the Child and Family Agency to designate a school for a child who has no school place (other than a child with special educational needs).
Furthermore, it is general practice to include a Special Needs Unit in the accommodation brief for new school buildings, unless local circumstances indicate that it will not be required. In addition, the Department may also provide capital funding to schools to establish special needs provision e.g. reconfigure existing accommodation to provide a special class where this has been approved by the National Council for Special Education through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers.
The NCSE recently launched guidelines for Boards of Management and Principals of Primary and Post Primary schools which provide information on setting up and organising special classes. These guidelines are available to download from www.ncse.ie.
221. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Education and Skills if the minor works grant for primary schools is being paid to primary schools in 2016; if not, the reason; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36166/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraOn 17th November 2016, I announced the Minor Works Grant 2016/2017. The grant totals €28.5 million and payment will issue to primary schools in the coming weeks.
222. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills if his Department has considered providing substitute teachers to cover for full-time teachers who are also members of county councils and need to attend important events and meetings during the school day on behalf of their area. [36170/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe cost of substitution for primary and post primary teachers in voluntary secondary and community/comprehensive schools in 2015 was one hundred and seventy two million. This is very significant expenditure in the context of the overall budget of the Department and the numerous demands for additional expenditure that are arising.
The allocation of additional funding to provide substitute teachers for the reasons outlined by the Deputy is not a priority for my Department.
223. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Education and Skills if all the statutory approvals have been secured for a school (details supplied); and if the design team for the project has sent in its report and tender documents for approval by his Department. [36177/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe major building project for the school referred to by the Deputy is at an advanced stage of architectural planning - Stage 2b - Detailed Design, which includes the applications for Planning Permission, Fire Cert and Disability Access Cert and the preparation of Tender Documents. All statutory approvals have been granted.
Arising from conditions in the grant of planning permission and fire cert the Design Team are preparing a fully costed Brief Change Request for submission to my Department for review. Once the Brief Change has been reviewed my officials will revert to the school with regard to the completion of the Stage 2b submission at that time.
224. Deputy Darragh O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills the progress of a capital works project for a school (details supplied); when the project is scheduled to commence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36178/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Deputy will be aware that a project for the school to which he refers was included in my Department's 6 Year Capital Programme which was announced last November. The project for the school in question will be progressed with a view to proceeding to tender and construction stages in 2019-2021, as outlined in the programme.
My Department is currently finalising the Long Term Projected Enrolment and Overall Schedule of Accommodation for the school in question and once this process is complete, my Department will be in contact with the school concerned regarding the next steps.
225. Deputy Darragh O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills if a Brexit sub-committee has been established in his Department; if so, when the sub-committee was convened; the number of times the sub-committee has met; the number of members on the sub-committee; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36202/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe contingency planning and stakeholder consultations are being led and managed by the EU/International unit of my Department. This Unit reports regularly to the Management Board, the Secretary General and myself on Brexit planning. Their role included participation in cross-Departmental planning and co-ordination Groups. A Brexit stakeholders forum for the Education sector was also held on 14 November.
Further to the decision of the Inter-Departmental Group on Brexit to establish a number of specific Working Groups of Department and Agency representatives to progress Brexit preparations, the first meeting of the Education Subgroup of the Workgroup on the Economy and Trade took place on 28th October 2016. A total of nineteen officials from my Department, other Departments and agencies attended that meeting. Further meetings of the Education Subgroup will be held in the coming weeks and will reflect on the outcomes of the stakeholder engagement process that is underway.
226. Deputy Eamon Scanlon asked the Minister for Education and Skills the details of vacant sites, properties and land owned by his Department or by bodies and agencies under the aegis of his Department in the Dublin City Council area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36219/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThere are no vacant sites, properties or land in the Dublin City Council area in my ownership for which there are no current plans for development, that is to say, any vacant sites in my ownership in the Dublin City Council area are in the process of being developed or of being prepared for development.
As the Deputy will appreciate, the information in relation to bodies and agencies under the aegis of my Department is not held centrally in my Department. This information is currently being collated and will be forwarded to the Deputy as soon as it is available.
227. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Skills when an application can be submitted by or on behalf of a pupil for the use of assistive technology in the junior certificate examinations of June 2017; the process and the timeline involved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36250/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe State Examinations Commission has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the certificate examinations. The Commission in this regard operates a scheme of Reasonable Accommodations in the Certificate Examinations.
In view of this I have forwarded your query to the State Examinations Commission for direct reply to you.
228. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Education and Skills the timeframe for the usage of the low incidence list as a reference point for the distribution of educational support; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36259/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has a statutory role under the Education of Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004 to provide me with policy advice in relation to matters concerning the education of persons with special educational needs.
The NCSE identified that the current model for allocating resource teachers to schools is potentially inequitable, because access to the range of professional assessments required for the diagnosis of low incidence disabilities is not always readily available to those who cannot afford to access them privately.
The NCSE has also advised that the current model can lead to unnecessary labelling of children from a young age.
The NCSE has proposed a new resource teaching allocation model which will, when introduced, remove the formal requirement for diagnostic assessment to access additional support and which will provide resources to schools based on school profiles.
Details of the recommendations contained in the NCSE Working Group policy advice on ‘A Proposed New Model for Allocating Teaching Resources for Students with Special Educational Needs' are available at http://ncse.ie/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Allocating_resources_1_5_14_Web_accessible_version_FIL.pdf.
As part the recent Budget announcements, I announced that following development and piloting over the past number of years, a new model for the allocation of teaching resources for children with special educational needs will be implemented from September 2017.
An additional €18 million will be provided in 2017 to provide for around 900 resource teacher posts.
Further details regarding implementation of the new model will be announced in the coming months.
229. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he has considered using specialised classrooms for all those with complex needs wishing to attend mainstream schools, as opposed to autistic spectrum disorder, ASD, units for those with an autism diagnosis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36260/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Deputy will be aware that this Government is committed to ensuring that all children with Special Educational Needs, can have access to an education appropriate to their needs, preferably in school settings through the primary and post primary school network.
Such placements facilitate access to individualised education programmes which may draw from a range of appropriate educational interventions, delivered by fully qualified professional teachers, with the support of Special Needs Assistants and the appropriate school curriculum.
In respect of children with Special Educational Needs who are unable to learn effectively in a mainstream class for most or all of the school day even with appropriate supports, they may be enrolled in special classes within their local mainstream schools where more intensive and supportive interventions are provided. Students enrolled in special classes should be included in mainstream classes to the greatest extent possible, in line with their abilities.
The NCSE, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), in consultation with the relevant education partners, is responsible for the establishment of special classes in various geographical areas as required. The NCSE continues to engage with schools in opening special classes where there is an identified need for special class provision.
It should be noted that in establishing special classes, or special class units, the NCSE is not constrained to only establish special classes or units for pupils with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
Many special classes have also been established, and continue to be established, to support pupils who a range of other significant or complex special educational needs, such as visual or hearing impairment, physical disabilities, or severe general learning difficulties.
The NCSE published a list of special classes for the 2016/17 school year. In total there are 1,153 special classes available, which is an increase of over 100% in the number of special classes which were available in 2011, which was 548. This list, which is available at http://ncse.ie/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/NCSE-Special-Class-List-for-September-2016.17.pdf provides details of the disability categorisation of each class.
The NCSE recently launched guidelines for Boards of Management and Principals of Primary and Post Primary schools which provide information on setting up and organising special classes, including information on grants which may be provided to schools to establish special classes. The guidelines are available to download from www.ncse.ie.
