Niamh Smyth
Ceist:131. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Education and Skills if there will be scope to scale up Music Generation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7664/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraPhilanthropy Initiatives
Ceisteanna (131)
Freagraí scríofa
My department currently supports the Music Generation initiative to the value of €2.5m per year, in respect of the 11 local Music Education Partnerships (MEPs) established under Phase 1 of the initiative and which were initially supported through philanthropic funding.
In January 2016, a commitment was given by the Department of Education and Skills, subject to Exchequer resources, to provide further funding to support a second phase of the Music Generation initiative when philanthropic support for the new MEPS established during this phase ends. This commitment will see Exchequer support increase by a further € 2.1 m year from 2020.
On 23 January 2017, an open call was announced for Music Education Partnerships to apply for inclusion in Phase 2 of Music Generation. A total of €3 m in funding, from philanthropic investment by U2 and The Ireland Fund, is available through this call, which will enable Music Generation’s expansion into new areas of the Republic of Ireland between 2017 and 2021.
School Patronage
Ceisteanna (132, 146, 147)
Michael D'Arcy
Ceist:132. Deputy Michael D'Arcy asked the Minister for Education and Skills whether there are grounds for opening a national school in an area in which a lack of choice has been identified; and if so, the steps a community interest group should take to establish such a school. [7469/17]
Amharc ar fhreagra
Richard Boyd Barrett
Ceist:146. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will reconsider the proposed divestment process and establish an independent working group with representatives of all the patron bodies to formulate a transparent process that puts parents' wishes at the centre; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7669/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraRichard Boyd Barrett
Ceist:147. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will reconsider his decision to give the Catholic Church the final say over which patron to divest schools to, in view of the existing disproportionate influence the church has over primary education; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7670/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
I propose to take Questions Nos. 132, 146 and 147 together.
As the Deputies will be aware I announced last week new plans aimed at providing more multi-denominational and non-denominational schools across the country, in line with the choices of families and school communities and the Programme for Government commitment in this area.
This will involve the Education and Training Boards in the initial phase, as the State’s local education authorities, identifying areas where there is likely to be demand for greater diversity and they will work with pre-school services to establish evidence of this demand among the cohort of pre-school parents. There will then be discussions between individual ETBs and the existing patrons/landowners concerning the possible transfer of schools to accommodate this demonstrated demand for diversity.
Each ETB will then prepare a report for the Department outlining the levels of demand within their functional areas and the responses of the existing patrons as to how this might be accommodated through the reconfiguration of existing school provision.
In the subsequent implementation phase, where the level of demand for multi-denominational schools is sufficient to justify transfer of a school from denominational to multi-denominational patronage, a process will commence to give effect to that. There will be a role for the existing patron/landowner in consulting with local community and school interests and taking into account proposals from different prospective multi-denominational patrons. It is envisaged that transfers will largely be by way of voluntary transfer of live schools by existing patrons.
This new process for supporting transfers of schools to multi-denominational patrons in response to the wishes of local families is based around principles of transparency and cooperation. Therefore, there will be a very substantial level of consultation of local communities in the process, both with the ETBs’ in the initial phase to establish evidence of demand by consulting pre-school parents and subsequently through the requirement for the existing patron to consult with local community and school interests in proposing to transfer patronage of an existing school to an alternative patron body. In that process, the existing patron will also take into account proposals from all prospective multi-denominational patrons that wish to be considered. I would urge all parties to engage in this process constructively, with a view to reaching solutions to meet parental preferences.
In addition to progressing the reconfiguration of existing school provision to provide greater choice to parents nationwide, the Government is committed to ensuring that parental preferences will continue to be key to patronage decisions on new schools established in areas of demographic growth. When it is decided that a new school is required to meet demographic needs in an area, my Department runs a separate patronage process to decide who will operate the school. It is open to all patrons and prospective patrons to apply for patronage of the school under this process and the level of parental preference for each patron in addition to the extent of diversity already in the area, are key to decisions in relation to the outcome of the process.
School Patronage
Ceisteanna (133)
Eamon Ryan
Ceist:133. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Education and Skills ,further to Parliamentary Question No. 283 of 12 July 2016, to outline the status of the process discussed; his views on the issue of the lack of school places in the Dublin 6 area, with particular reference to non-denominational schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7492/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
I am pleased to inform the Deputy that the patronage process for the nine new post-primary schools which will open in September 2017 and 2018, which I referenced in my July response to the Deputy, has been completed. As I announced in November 2016, the new post-primary school which will open in 2018 to serve the areas of Dublin 2, 4, 6 and 8 will open as a multi-denominational school under the patronage of Educate Together.
The patronage process for the four new primary schools which will open in 2017 and 2018, including the new primary school to serve the Dublin South City Centre areas of Dublin 2, 4 and 6 is ongoing. My Department is currently assessing the applications received. This assessment stage involves very detailed work, including geo-coding each parental preference received to establish if they represent a parent of a child living in the school planning area the school is set up to serve. Following completion of this detailed analysis, my Department will prepare detailed assessment reports in relation to each of these new schools based on the applications received. These will then be submitted to the New Schools Establishment Group for their consideration. Following completion of Group's work, they will submit a report with recommendations to me for my consideration and final decision.
As with other school planning areas nationwide, the demographic data for the Dublin 6 area is being kept under ongoing review by my Department to take account of updated child benefit data and updated enrolment data and also the impact of ongoing and planned capacity increases in these, and adjoining, school planning areas.
The Deputy may be aware that I recently announced new plans aimed at providing more multi-denominational and non-denominational schools across the country, in line with the choices of families and school communities and the Programme for Government commitment in this area.
This will involve the Education and Training Boards in the initial phase, as the State’s local education authorities, identifying areas where there is likely to be demand for greater diversity and they will work with pre-school services to establish evidence of this demand among the cohort of pre-school parents. This provides an opportunity nationwide for the provision of additional multi-denominational and non-denominational schools.
Schools Building Projects Status
Ceisteanna (134)
Timmy Dooley
Ceist:134. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Education and Skills when a school (details supplied) in County Clare will receive approval for construction works to commence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7501/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
The project to which the Deputy refers has been devolved for delivery to Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board (LCETB).
I understand that tenders for the project were recently received and a tender report is now being prepared by LCETB's Design Team. When the Tender Report has been received and evaluated my Department will be in direct contact with LCETB with regard to further progression of the project.
School Equipment
Ceisteanna (135)
Catherine Martin
Ceist:135. Deputy Catherine Martin asked the Minister for Education and Skills to outline the steps that will be taken to address the issue with regard to the recent survey conducted by the National Parents Council Primary regarding the back health of children from carrying heavy school bags; when his Department last issued information to all primary and post-primary schools highlighting the health hazards of heavy school bags; if his Department will consider mandatory weight guidelines for schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7510/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
I am aware of the recent survey carried out by the National Parents Council on the weight of school bags. The matter was discussed by the Oireachtas Committee for Children and Youth Affairs on 25th January 2017. My Department will of course consider any findings or recommendations the Committee may make on this matter.
My Department issued circulars to all primary and post-primary schools in 2005 to highlight the potential health hazard of overweight schoolbags and to outline a range of local measures that could be put in place to help alleviate the problem.
The report of the Working Group on the Weight of School Bags, commissioned in 1997, recognised that many of the solutions to this issue belong at local school level and made various recommendations in this regard, such as optimum use of storage facilities, developing pupil organisation skills and timetabling.
My Department is aware that positive action has been taken by many schools on these issues. Actions consist of a range of measures, including the provision of lockers and in the case of second level school the arrangement of the timetable into double class periods, active liaison with parents and the co-ordination of homework by subject teachers.
Ultimately it is a matter for each individual school to determine which particular measures are most suited to its individual circumstances and to how the school concerned organises teaching and learning.
The use of digital resources by teachers and students in schools is increasing. While conventional textbooks are still widely used, a number of schools have introduced or are considering introducing e-books and other digital resources to enhance students' work in school and at home. Schools can use the book grant scheme to purchase a range of digital resources relevant to the curriculum.
It should be also be noted that Scoilnet.ie, the Department funded website, supports Primary and Post-Primary teachers in sharing and finding useful resources for the classroom, including the Britannica School website, and other valuable online content and resources to assist in teaching and learning.
On 5 December 2016, I published the General Scheme of an Education (Parent and Student Charter) Bill 2016. The Government have approved the draft outline of a new law, which will require every school to consult with parents and students, and publish and operate a Parent and Student Charter.
The publication of this draft legislation will fulfil a key commitment in the Action Plan for Education to improve information and complaint procedures for parents and students relating schools.
The draft legislation defines the principles that will guide how schools will engage with students and parents. Some of the issues which schools will be required to deal with under the charter include: inviting feedback from students and parents; and providing better information about School Management and School Policies.
Following consultation with our education partners, including the National Parents Council (Primary), National Parents Council (Post Primary) and the Irish Second-level Students Union, I will finalise national guidelines on a Parent and Student Charter.
The draft Bill will now go to the Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills for pre-legislative scrutiny.
Junior Cycle Reform
Ceisteanna (136)
Kevin O'Keeffe
Ceist:136. Deputy Kevin O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will review the situation whereby history is not deemed to be a core subject of the new junior cycle. [7515/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
Through comparing education internationally, it has been found that in high performing education systems such as New Zealand, Queensland, Estonia and Finland, schools have been given greater autonomy and flexibility in the programmes they offer.
When schools in Ireland are implementing the new Framework for Junior Cycle, they too will have the autonomy and flexibility to design programmes within the parameters of the framework, mindful in particular of the needs of their students and their teaching resources. I am in favour of leaving the decisions on what is offered to the discretion of the school, and of students having as broad a range of options to choose from as possible.
Because the total number of full subjects which can be done for assessment in junior cycle is ten, it is likely that schools will retain most or all of their current subjects in their junior cycle.
Currently, over 90% of students choose History, although it is compulsory only in voluntary secondary schools, not much more than half our post-primary schools. Curriculum choice is important in motivating students to learn and to remain in school to completion of senior cycle.
Schools across all sectors offer History. History teachers attract students to their subject through their own love and passion for History, and by engaging the natural curiosity of their students in, for example, the lives of people, the origins of the modern world and in objects and documents from the past. History is generally the 5th most popular subject in the Junior Certificate examination.
I have every confidence that, through the implementation of the Framework for Junior Cycle the place of History will be retained and given a new impetus across the junior cycle curriculum. A new specification for Junior Cycle History is being developed by the NCCA. This involved extensive consultation with key stakeholders and the public, which finished recently, during which over 200 submissions were received. The new specification will be available for implementation in all schools from September 2018.
The Leaving Certificate History syllabus attracts about 25% of the total cohort of students. The aim is to make the new specification for Junior Cycle History more attractive, so young people can see it as a realistic option, rather than focusing on learning content by heart. Many people believe that uptake in senior cycle could be improved if the junior cycle History was made more attractive, more relevant and perhaps less of a race against time.
In the new Framework for Junior Cycle, all schools are expected to provide opportunities for students to achieve 24 statements of learning over the period of junior cycle. These statements include valuing local, national and international heritage and understanding the importance of the relationship between past and current events, the forces that drive change, and understanding the origins and impacts of social, economic and environmental aspects of the world around them. Even where students do not take History as a full subject, it is to be hoped that opportunities to achieve such statements through other forms of historical study can be provided to them.
The minimum time allocated for subjects such as History will be 200 hours over the three years of junior cycle, or the equivalent of three 40-minute periods per week over three years. For many schools, this will lead to an increased time provision for History as a subject, and it will no longer be nominally linked to Geography as previously.
This new minimum time stipulation for History as a subject should allow not only for a deepening of a student's historical knowledge but also of his or her ability to analyse, interpret, write and develop historical skills more thoroughly. Those very skills, and attitudes, can indeed be hugely important in ensuring that students are able to understand and interpret all forms of history, news and current affairs too.
National Educational Psychological Service
Ceisteanna (137)
Denise Mitchell
Ceist:137. Deputy Denise Mitchell asked the Minister for Education and Skills to set out in tabular form the name of each school in Dublin which does not have direct access to a National Educational Psychological Service psychologist for the purposes of carrying out an educational assessment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7521/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
As the Deputy may be aware my Department’s National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) provides an educational psychological service to schools through the direct assignment of a NEPS psychologist and in some cases by providing schools access to the Scheme for Commissioning Psychological Assessments (SCPA) where schools can have an assessment carried out by a member of the panel of private psychologists approved by NEPS, and NEPS will pay the psychologist the fees for this assessment directly. SCPA is utilised, in the main, where as yet unfilled vacancies exist in NEPS staffing provision locally or where staffing resource is lost through extended leave (maternity, sick or carer’s leave).
For the Deputy’s information, there follows a list of schools in Dublin who currently derive this service through the above-mentioned SCPA scheme rather than through a NEPS psychologist. In the case of these schools, NEPs psychologists may no longer be assigned to those schools as a result of retirement, resignation or transfer to another NEPs region.
The Public Appointments Service (PAS) maintain regional recruitment panels of qualified personnel to fill these vacancies. During 2016, despite my Department's best efforts the panels did not produce recruits for NEPS in relation to all vacancies, the panels were therefore closed.
A new national recruitment competition was put in place last Autumn by PAS to fill all vacancies within all NEPS Regions. The resulting interview process associated with this competition was recently completed and recruitment panels for each NEPS region, including Dublin, will now be formed. PAS will finalise the processing of the candidates, including Garda vetting, and propose each candidate in series to my Department Human Resources Section for contract negotiations and formal job offer.
It is envisaged that the process will produce new NEPS psychologists for assignment to schools, including that to which the Deputy refers in his question, by the end of the current academic year.
However it is important to point out that in cases where NEPS service is not available through staffing vacancy or temporary absence of staff, as described above, the schools affected continue to have access to a psychologist through the Scheme for Commissioning Psychological Assessments to undertake pupil assessment work.
I would also confirm that all schools are able to access full NEP supports in the event of a critical incident irrespective of their having ongoing access to an assigned NEPS psychologist or not.
Teacher Data
Ceisteanna (138)
John Lahart
Ceist:138. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Education and Skills to set out in tabular form the gender breakdown of teachers in primary and post-primary schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7538/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
The information sought by the Deputy is set out in the following table. The figures for Primary teachers is based on the numbers of primary teachers on my Department’s payroll as at 9 February, 2017. The figures for Voluntary Secondary, Community and Comprehensive Teachers are based on the number of teachers on the Department’s payroll which will be paid on 23 February, 2017. It should also be noted that these figures will vary slightly with each payroll run. My Department does not hold statistics on the number of teachers employed in the ETB sector.
|
- |
Male Headcount |
Female Headcount |
Male - Whole-time Equivalent |
Female – Whole-time Equivalent |
|
Primary Teachers |
5431 |
30617 |
5360 |
29446 |
|
Secondary, Community and Comprehensive Teachers |
5879 |
12870 |
5675 |
11928 |
School Patronage
Ceisteanna (139)
John Lahart
Ceist:139. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide the breakdown of primary schools here under the headings of Roman Catholic, Church of Ireland, Protestant, multi-denominational and non-denominational; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7539/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
The information requested by the Deputy is available in the following table and refers to the current academic year (2016/2017).
|
Catholic |
Church Of Ireland |
Multi Denominational |
Inter Denominational |
Presbyterian |
Muslim |
Jewish |
Methodist |
Quaker |
Total |
|
2794 |
175 |
109 |
17 |
15 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
3115 |
School Patronage
Ceisteanna (140)
Róisín Shortall
Ceist:140. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Education and Skills to outline the status of the process to determine patronage of a new primary school to serve an area (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7549/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
As the Deputy may be aware, four new primary schools and nine new post-primary schools will open in 2017 and 2018 to cater for increased demographic needs. These schools include a new primary school which will open in September 2017 to serve the area of Dublin to which the Deputy refers.
When it is decided that a new school is required to meet demographic needs in an area, a separate patronage process is conducted to decide who will operate the school. It is open to all patrons and prospective patrons to apply for patronage of a school under this process. Parental preferences for each patron and for Irish-medium or English-medium provision, together with the extent of diversity currently available in the area, are key to decisions in relation to the outcome of this process.
The patronage process for the four primary schools is ongoing. The closing date for receipt of applications was 6th January last and my Department is currently assessing the applications received. This assessment stage involves very detailed work, including geo-coding each parental preference received to establish if they represent a parent of a child living in the school planning area the school is set up to serve. Following completion of this detailed analysis, my Department will prepare detailed assessment reports in relation to each of these new schools based on the applications received. These will then be submitted to the New Schools Establishment Group for their consideration. Following completion of Group's work, they will submit a report with recommendations to me for my consideration and final decision.
School Accommodation
Ceisteanna (141)
Michael Healy-Rae
Ceist:141. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on a matter (details supplied) with regard to a new school; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7551/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
I can confirm to the Deputy that my Department met with the school referred to in the context of an application received for a replacement school. The school were advised that, due to the need to prioritise available funding towards the provision of essential classroom accommodation to meet demographic demand, it would not be possible to progress a major project for the school at this time. The school were also advised that should enrolment numbers justify the appointment of an additional teacher, and if it was not possible to accommodate this teacher within the school, that the school could submit an application to my Department for an additional classroom at that point.