Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 1 March 2017
144. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to progress the three areas in the education sector that he has identified as his core priority areas of focus in the sector, including assisting children with special needs, supporting schools and building a stronger bridge between education and the workplace; the reason he has prioritised these three areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10685/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe basic aim of this Government is to sustain our economic progress and use it to build a fair and compassionate society. Education is the best means of delivering a fairer society, breaking down cycles of disadvantage and ensuring that all our people, in particular those with special educational needs, are able to participate in that progress and fulfil their potential. Excellent and innovative education and training are the pivot around which personal fulfilment, a fair society and a successful nation should revolve. It is central to sustaining economic success and in converting economic success into building a strong community. Having the best education and training service in Europe will allow us to provide better opportunities for more people from disadvantaged groups, as well as ensuring that we create more sustainable well-paying jobs.
This February, I launched the Action Plan for Education 2017, building on the first ever Action Plan for Education 2016 - 2019, which was published in September last year. The central vision of the Action Plan for Education is that the Irish education and training system becomes the best in Europe over the next decade. The Plan’s high-level goals are based on the five policy areas which I believe will help us to achieve this ambition. The goals are:
1.1 Improve the learning experience and the success of learners
2.2 Improve the progress of learners at risk of educational disadvantage or learners with special educational needs
3.3 Help those delivering education services to continuously improve
4.4 Build stronger bridges between education and wider community
5.5 Improve national planning and support services.
Focussing on these five areas allows us to adopt a whole-of-system approach to reform. Such an approach will allow us to deliver to the highest international standards; equip learners of all ages to participate and succeed in a changing world; allow Ireland be a leader across a broad range of endeavours; and harness education and training to break down barriers for groups at risk of exclusion. Such an approach will allow us to achieve our overall ambition.
Reflecting on our high level goals, we have identified key ambitions for the coming years which will represent important milestones of progress. These include:
- Promoting wellbeing in our school communities to support success in school and life
- Significantly reducing the gap with the top European performers in areas of numeracy and science
- Significantly reducing the gap between low achieving students in literacy and numeracy in DEIS and those in non-DEIS schools
- Increasing the take up of gateway subjects and increasing opportunities for learning in the areas of coding and computer science
- Enriching teaching and learning with new curricula, new assessment methods, and technology assisted learning
- Continuing to improve retention rates at second-level in DEIS schools, from their current rate of 82.7% to the national norm, currently 90.2%, by 2025
- Increasing by 7 points (equivalent to 30%) the proportion of students at risk of disadvantaged who proceed to Higher Education
- Systematically reducing the skills gap in areas of critical skill need in Higher Education by providing for 50,000 upskilling and reskilling places
- Increasing by a quarter the number of students undertaking a work placement or work project as part of their third level qualification by 2021
- Developing a strong stream of employer supported apprenticeships and traineeships, providing places for 13,000 young people in 2020, in 100 career areas
- Broadening the choice of schools available each year in line with the target of 400 multi/non-denominational by 2030
- Contributing to the delivery of the cross-departmental research targets in Innovation 2020 to enable Ireland become a Global Innovation Leader
- Increasing upskilling and reskilling opportunities in education and training for those in work.
A range of specific actions for this year are listed under each goal of the 2017 Plan.
These include:
Goal 1:
- Build on significant improvements in literacy and numeracy already achieved.
- Introduce and implement new subjects and short courses on a phased basis.
- Introduce an integrated national STEM Education Policy Statement.
- Implement the Digital Strategy for Schools 2015-2020.
- Implement the recommendations of Roadmap for Enhancement in a Digital World 2015-2017.
Goal 2:
- Tackle educational disadvantage through the recently announced new DEIS scheme, supported by €5 million in funding for 2017.
- Develop proposals for a Schools’ Excellence Fund.
- Implement strands of the National Plan for Equity of Access to Higher Education, so that higher education becomes more representative of the population in general.
- Publish a national policy on the Recognition of Prior Learning.
- Ensure FET is meeting the specific needs of unemployed people and other groups impacted by disadvantage.
Goal 3:
- Support the development of the workforce within the Early Years sector.
- Undertake a planned programme of inspection and advisory visits in all schools and increase the frequency of advisory visits.
- Implement the Further Education and Training Professional Development Strategy 2016-2019.
- Improve the impact of the PLC, VTOS and BTEI schemes, by reviewing each programme, publishing the review, and setting out time-bound implementation plans.
- Initiate a review of quality in Higher Education.
Goal 4:
- Introduce a stronger complaints procedure and charter for parents and students.
- Establish 400 multi-/ non- denominational schools.
- Develop innovative responses to skills gaps across key priority areas of the economy including ICT, languages and biopharma.
- Oversee the work of the Regional Skills Fora and monitor performance.
- Develop a new Systems Performance Framework for Higher Education for the period to 2021.
Goal 5:
- Support the operation of a high quality school system through the annual provision of teaching and financial supports to schools, based on agreed criteria and enrolment data.
- Develop a standardised approach to governance and accountability across the education sector to ensured consistent application across the sector of corporate governance compliance requirements.
- Continue to implement the 2016 - 2021 Construction Programme.
- Improve the quality of services across the sector through the introduction of shared services, in line with the Shared Services Plan.
- Manage EU co-financed programmes and exploit co-financing opportunities.
Under each goal, specific measures will be implemented to assist children with special educational needs, supporting schools and building a stronger bridge between education and the workplace.
These include:
- Establishing the new Inclusion Support Service.
- Allocating teachers to schools under the new allocation model to support children with special educational needs.
- Consulting with partners on the implementation of sections of the EPSEN Act and on the provision of services to children with Down Syndrome.
- Expanding the range of supports available through the Centre for School Leadership.
- Providing dedicated professional support to teachers to support the implementation of curricular and policy change.
- Developing and introducing a new postgraduate qualification for aspiring school leaders.
- Completing a National Survey of Employers to inform policy and programme development.
- Further Education and Training providers and Higher Education Institutions providing employability statements for courses/disciplines to better inform students and employers.
- Driving the growth of traineeships and apprenticeships.
- Ensuring the relevance of work placements and work-based projects.
- Increasing the diversity of opportunity in learning beyond school.
In order to ensure that progress is made in all of these areas, including helping children with special needs, supporting schools and building a stronger bridge between education and the workplace, updated annual Action Plans will be published each year, detailing the actions that will be implemented during that year. As part of this process, actions will be monitored against published timelines and progress reports will be published on a quarterly basis.
