Written Answers Nos 410-429
410. Deputy Danny Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide extra funding to address funding deficiencies in a school (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26534/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe criteria used for the allocation of teachers to primary schools is published annually on the website of the Department of Education and Skills. The key factor for determining the level of staffing resources provided at individual school level is the staffing schedule for the relevant school year and pupil enrolments on the previous 30 September. The staffing schedule operates in a clear and transparent manner and treats all similar types of schools equally irrespective of location.
Staffing arrangements for the 2017/18 school year are set out in circular 0017/2017 which is available on my Department's website.
The staffing schedule includes an appeals mechanism for schools to submit an appeal under certain criteria to an independent Appeals Board. Details of the criteria for appeal are contained in the staffing schedule, Circular 0017/2017.
The school referred to by the Deputy submitted an appeal for consideration by the Appeals Board for the April 2017 meeting of the board under the EAL criteria. The appeal was refused by the Appeals Board on the basis that the projected EAL enrolment in the school on 30th September 2017 did not warrant the allocation of an additional post. The school has been notified accordingly. The Appeal Board operates independently of the Minister and the Department and its decision is final.
The new Special Education Teaching allocation provides a single unified allocation for special educational support teaching needs to each school, based on each school’s educational profile.
The aim of this new model is to deliver better outcomes for children with special educational needs. Substantial research, analysis, consultation with service users and stakeholders, and piloting have gone into the development of this model and all of the evidence points to the fact that this new system will deliver better outcomes for children.
No school will lose supports as a result of the implementation of the new model. In addition, no school will receive an allocation, for the support of pupils with complex needs, less than the allocation they received to support such pupils during the 2016/17 school year. No allocation made for such pupils by the NCSE will be removed from schools as long as that pupil remains in the school.
An additional 900 teaching posts have been provided to support the introduction of this new allocation model. The provision of an additional 900 teaching posts is a very significant investment in the provision of additional teaching support for pupils with special educational needs in our schools. This is additional to an increase of 41% in the number of resource teachers allocated to schools annually by the NCSE since 2011.
The additional funding will provide additional supports to over 1200 schools who are identified as needing additional supports as a result of the new model. Supports for children with special educational needs is a key priority for this Government. The new funding will ensure that all schools receive a sufficient allocation of special education needs resources to provide additional teaching support to all pupils, including pupils who have yet to enrol in their school, who require such support.
Under the new allocation model, schools will be provided with a total allocation which includes a baseline allocation for the school and an allocation based on the school’s profile.
The provision of a profiled allocation will give a fairer allocation for each school which recognises that all schools need an allocation for special needs support, but which provides a graduated allocation which takes into account the actual level of need in each school.
Schools will be frontloaded with resources, based on each school’s profile, to provide supports immediately to those pupils who need it without delay. This will reduce the administrative burden on schools as schools will no longer have to complete an application process annually and apply for newly enrolled pupils who require resource hours. Children who need support can have that support provided immediately rather than having to wait for a diagnosis.
Schools will therefore no longer have to make applications, for newly enrolled pupils for whom resource teaching hours may have been provided under the old model, or for pupils who have received a new diagnosis, as schools will now receive a single allocation for all of their special education teaching needs, based on their school size and profile.
The new allocations to schools will include provision to support all pupils in the schools, including where a child receives a diagnosis after the allocation is received by a school, or where there are newly enrolling pupils to the school.
All allocations to schools include a supplementary provision, which has been referred to as the ‘baseline allocation’ which is allocated over and above the profiled allocation.
For students who start school from September 2017, with a specific diagnosis, either in junior infants or transferring from another school, the resources they need will already be in the school under the new model.
It should be noted that this is a brand new model of allocation and is not comparable to the existing model. By using a broad range of attainment and socio-economic criteria, it is expected that generally, a school’s profile will remain relatively constant from year to year. Each year, some students with additional teaching needs will leave and others will enrol, broadly balancing the school profile. Resources allocated under this model will not normally be adjusted between allocations.
DES Circulars 0013/2017 and 0014/2017 outline the basis on which the Education Research Centre determined the allocations for all schools.
The model will allow for some additional provision for exceptional circumstances or where a school’s enrolment levels increase very substantially prior to the next review of the model. The National Council for Special Education will support schools in managing their special education teaching allocations in the first instance. Only in very exceptional circumstances, where it can be demonstrated that the school's profile has changed very significantly since the allocation was made to the school, may an additional allocation of hours be made to the school.
The process of supporting schools in the management of their resources under this process and the consideration of exceptional circumstances will take effect from September 2017, which is the time from which schools will begin to utilise their special education teaching allocations under the new model. Schools will be advised as to how this process will operate once the existing appeal process has been completed.
Guidelines for schools on the organisation, deployment and use of their special education teachers to address the need of pupils with special educational needs are now published and available on the Departments website.
The Guidelines will support schools to reflect on how they can review and manage their timetabling practices to ensure the timetable is sufficiently flexible to meet the needs of all pupils in their school who have special needs. The Guidelines encourage schools to ensure they deploy their resources appropriately to meet the needs of all of the children in their school who require additional teaching support, including pupils with emerging needs, or new entrants.
411. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will review his Department's school transport policy in order to allow students from an area (details supplied) to avail of free school transport; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26537/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraSchool transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department.
Currently almost 116,000 children, including some 12,000 children with special educational needs, are being transported in over 4,000 vehicles on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country covering over 100 million kilometres annually.
The purpose of my Department's School Transport Scheme is, having regard to available resources, to support the transport to and from school of children who reside remote from their nearest school.
Under the terms of my Department's Post Primary School Transport Scheme children are eligible for school transport where they reside not less than 4.8 kilometres from and are attending their nearest school as determined by my Department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language.
The terms of the Post Primary School Transport Scheme are applied equitably on a national basis.
412. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will make arrangements with Bus Éireann to facilitate families to have the option of making payments on school transport fees on a monthly direct debit basis in order to help families who find the cost of making such payments in two instalments difficult; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26569/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraSchool transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department.
Currently almost 116,000 children, including some 12,000 children with special educational needs, are being transported in over 4,000 vehicles on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country covering over 100 million kilometres annually.
Bus Éireann is responsible for the planning and routing of each dedicated school transport service which is determined by the number and location of children who are eligible for school transport each year.
Annual charging, as opposed to term charging, was introduced in the 2009/10 school year with provision for the family payment to be made in two instalments in July and December. Families with children who are eligible for school transport and who hold valid medical cards (GMS Scheme) are exempt from the annual charge. Eligible children with special educational needs also travel free of charge.
Invoices are issued by Bus Éireann in July of each year and each child who travels is allocated a seat for the school year.
Annual charging has enabled Bus Éireann to streamline the payments system and plan the allocation of tickets on an annual rather than term basis thus ensuring that route planning and seating arrangements were managed in a more efficient and cost effective manner.
Given the complexity of the system and the necessity to plan for and provide seats for each eligible child availing of school transport services on vehicles for the full school year, it would not be practical to issue invoices, collect monies and allocate seating on a monthly basis.
413. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will revise the regulations surrounding the student universal support grant in order that if a family's only income is from Department of Social Protection payments this will not place a student over the threshold for the special rate for disadvantaged students (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26582/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Student Grant Scheme for the academic year 2017/18 was published on the 31st of March 2017. The qualifying criteria for the special rate of maintenance grant is as follows:
1. The student must qualify for the standard rate of grant;
2. Total reckonable income, after income disregards and Child Dependant Increase(s) are excluded, must not exceed €23,000; and
3. As at 31st December 2016, the reckonable income must include one of the eligible long-term social welfare payments prescribed in the Student Grant Scheme.
Jobseekers Allowance (where held for 391 days or more) is one of the qualifying long-term social welfare payments for the special rate of grant. If an applicant is in receipt of this payment and meets the other criteria for the special rate of grant then, she may qualify for the special rate of grant.
The decision on eligibility for a student grant is a matter for the relevant grant awarding authority. Under the terms of the student grant scheme, grant assistance is awarded to students who meet the prescribed conditions of funding, including those relating to nationality, residency, previous academic attainment and means.
It is not proposed to depart from the existing arrangements for the determination of the eligibility for the special rate of maintenance grant.
414. Deputy Fiona O'Loughlin asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to review the curriculum for junior and leaving certificate cycle in respect of information technology studies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26592/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Action Plan for Education 2017 provides that the new subject of Leaving Certificate Computer Science will be implemented in schools from September 2018. The new subject specification is currently being developed by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment through its subject development group for Computer Science. Phase 1 of the implementation process is scheduled to commence in September 2018 in a small number of schools, with the subject being available to all schools from September 2020.
Coding is one of the Junior Cycle short courses developed by the NCCA and available to schools.
The Digital Strategy for Schools 2015-2020 (Enhancing Teaching, Learning & Assessment), launched in October 2015, sets out a clear vision for the role of ICT in teaching, learning and assessment in primary and post primary schools. The Strategy is focused on realising the potential of digital technologies to transform the learning experiences of students by helping them become engaged thinkers, active learners, knowledge constructors and global citizens who participate fully in society and the economy. The Strategy states that all future curricula will include clear statements that focus on the development of digital learning skills and the use of ICT as a resource in achieving specific outcomes across the curriculum.
An Implementation Advisory Group has been established to guide the implementation of the digital strategy. Membership of the Group comprises representation from the Department, industry, academic experts, practitioners/teachers and representation from the tech voluntary sector.
My Department is currently finalising a 2017 Digital Strategy Action Plan which I expect to publish shortly.
415. Deputy Fiona O'Loughlin asked the Minister for Education and Skills the recommended time on the curriculums in post-primary school for the study of information technology; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26593/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThere are no times specified by my Department for the study of information technology. The Action Plan for Education 2017 provides that the new subject of Leaving Certificate Computer Science will be implemented in schools from September 2018. The new subject specification is currently being developed by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment through its subject development group for Computer Science. Phase 1 of the implementation process is scheduled to commence in September 2018 in a small number of schools, with the subject being available to all schools from September 2020.
Coding is one of the Junior Cycle short courses available to schools.
The Digital Strategy for Schools 2015-2020 (Enhancing Teaching, Learning & Assessment), launched in October 2015, sets out a clear vision for the role of ICT in teaching, learning and assessment in primary and post primary schools. The Strategy is focused on realising the potential of digital technologies to transform the learning experiences of students by helping them become engaged thinkers, active learners, knowledge constructors and global citizens who participate fully in society and the economy. The Strategy states that all future curricula will include clear statements that focus on the development of digital learning skills and the use of ICT as a resource in achieving specific outcomes across the curriculum.
416. Deputy Fiona O'Loughlin asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on streaming in post-primary schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26594/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFindings from research in this area suggest that there is no one system of organisational grouping or student placement that works equally well for all students. It suggests that the success or otherwise of ability groupings depends less on the actual grouping itself than on the philosophy and purpose underpinning the grouping, and how the composition of the class groups and the quality of teaching reflects the intended philosophy.
However, research published by the Economic and Social Research Institute in 2011 indicates that the streaming of students by ability in Ireland has an adverse affect on overall education standards. This research shows that students in lower streams tend to perform much worse when grouped together while students assigned to higher ability classes do not make corresponding gains, hence average student performance falls. Similar to research elsewhere, the ESRI review shows that teacher-student interaction is crucial to student outcomes and that the teaching methods employed by teachers make a difference in this regard.
In light of these findings, many post-primary schools have started to move from strict streaming of their students in first year and now group their students according to mixed ability for much of the junior cycle. However, it needs to be noted that mixed ability settings can take many forms.
Schools are advised to adopt flexible grouping strategies that reflect individual needs and strive to improve educational outcomes for all students. Schools are also advised to ensure that groupings are regularly monitored to enable changes to be made if necessary.
417. Deputy Fiona O'Loughlin asked the Minister for Education and Skills the systems in place to ensure that information technology is taught to the correct standard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26595/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Digital Strategy for Schools 2015-2020 (Enhancing Teaching, Learning & Assessment), launched in October 2015, sets out a clear vision for the role of ICT in teaching, learning and assessment in primary and post primary schools. The Strategy states that all future curricula will include clear statements that focus on the development of digital learning skills and the use of ICT as a resource in achieving specific outcomes across the curriculum.
The new subject of Leaving Certificate Computer Science will be implemented in schools from September 2018. The key skills in the Framework for Junior Cycle highlight the use of digital technologies across all subjects. At primary level the new Mathematics Curriculum, which is currently under development, will include computational thinking, creative thinking skills and coding.
One of the priority actions under the Digital Strategy for Schools 2015-2020 will be the development of a Digital Learning Framework for Teachers, based on the UNESCO ICT Competency Framework, to inform teacher training and professional development so teachers can better support students to become collaborative, problem solving, creative learners through using ICT. The Framework is intended to inform educational policy makers, teacher-educators, providers of professional learning and working teachers on the role of ICT in educational reform.
The Strategy also commits to ensuring that all Department-funded training programmes for teachers will have the use of digital technologies embedded in their design, development and delivery. Guidance and examples of good practice on the effective and critical use of digital technologies for teaching, learning and assessment will be further expanded on for use by teachers.
418. Deputy Fiona O'Loughlin asked the Minister for Education and Skills if secondary school students holding full medical cards are entitled to free school transport; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26605/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraSchool transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department.
Currently almost 116,000 children, including some 12,000 children with special educational needs, are being transported in over 4,000 vehicles on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country covering over 100 million kilometres annually.
The purpose of my Department’s School Transport scheme is, having regard to available resources, to support the transport to and from school of children who reside remote from their nearest school. Under the terms the Post Primary School Transport Scheme children are eligible for transport where they reside not less than 4.8 kilometres from and are attending their nearest education centre as determined by the Department/Bus Éireann.
Children who are eligible for school transport and who hold valid medical cards (GMS Scheme) are exempt from paying the annual charge.
419. Deputy Fiona O'Loughlin asked the Minister for Education and Skills the schedule under which medical card holders can avail of free or discounted school transport; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26606/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraSchool transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department.
Currently almost 116,000 children, including some 12,000 children with special educational needs, are being transported in over 4,000 vehicles on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country covering over 100 million kilometres annually.
The purpose of my Department’s School Transport scheme is, having regard to available resources, to support the transport to and from school of children who reside remote from their nearest school.
In general, children are eligible for school transport if they satisfy the distance criteria and are attending their nearest school.
Children who are eligible for school transport and who hold valid medical cards (GMS Scheme) are exempt from paying annual charges.
420. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding a school building application by a school (details supplied). [26610/17]
Amharc ar fhreagra451. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding a school building application by a school (details supplied). [26765/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 420 and 451 together.
The Deputy will be aware that a building project for the school in question is included in my Department's 6 year Construction Programme (2019/21).
My Department has identified a suitable site as a permanent location for the school and the acquisition process is underway. Discussions are ongoing in relation to the provision of access to the site and my Department is liaising with the Local Authority in this regard.
I can assure the Deputy that the acquisition of a new site for the school is a priority for my Department and it is my Department's intention to complete this process as expeditiously as possible.
My Department will continue to liaise directly with the school authorities concerned in the context of progressing the project through the architectural planning process.
421. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 108 of 5 May 2017, the information which remains outstanding from a school (details supplied) in view of the fact that it is its understanding that all requested information was provided in 2016. [26614/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI wish to advise the Deputy that my Department has contacted the school in question regarding the outstanding information and the principal has undertaken to provide the information in due course.
422. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Skills if a school (details supplied) in County Tipperary can be provided with extra special needs hours to meet the needs of their students; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26615/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI wish to advise the Deputy that DES Circular 0013/2017 for primary schools and 0014/2017 for post primary schools were published on 7th March 2017.
These Circulars set out the details of the new model for allocating special education teachers to schools.
The revised allocation process replaces the generalised allocation process at primary and post primary school level for learning support and high incidence special educational needs, and the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) allocation process which provided additional resource teaching supports to schools, to support pupils assessed as having Low Incidence disabilities.
The new Special Education Teaching allocation provides a single unified allocation for special educational support teaching needs to each school, based on each school’s educational profile.
Allocations based on the school profiles were issued to all schools on 7th March.
The aim of this new model is to deliver better outcomes for children with special educational needs. Substantial research, analysis, consultation with service users and stakeholders, and piloting have gone into the development of this model and all of the evidence points to the fact that this new system will deliver better outcomes for children.
No school, including the school to which the Deputy has referred, will lose supports as a result of the implementation of the new model. In addition, no school will receive an allocation, for the support of pupils with complex needs, less than the allocation they received to support such pupils during the 2016/17 school year.
An additional 900 teaching posts have been provided to support the introduction of this new allocation model. The provision of an additional 900 teaching posts is a very significant investment in the provision of additional teaching support for pupils with special educational needs in our schools. This is additional to an increase of 41% in the number of resource teachers allocated to schools annually by the NCSE since 2011.
The additional funding will provide additional supports to over 1200 schools who are identified as needing additional supports as a result of the new model. Supports for children with special educational needs is a key priority for this Government. The new funding will ensure that all schools receive a sufficient allocation of special education needs resources to provide additional teaching support to all pupils, including pupils who have yet to enrol in their school, who require such support.
Under the new allocation model, schools will be provided with a total allocation which includes a baseline allocation for the school and an allocation based on the school’s profile.
The provision of a profiled allocation will give a fairer allocation for each school which recognises that all schools need an allocation for special needs support, but which provides a graduated allocation which takes into account the actual level of need in each school.
Schools will be frontloaded with resources, based on each school’s profile, to provide supports immediately to those pupils who need it without delay. This will reduce the administrative burden on schools as schools will no longer have to complete an application process annually and apply for newly enrolled pupils who require resource hours. Children who need support can have that support provided immediately rather than having to wait for a diagnosis.
Schools will therefore no longer have to make applications, for newly enrolled pupils for whom resource teaching hours may have been provided under the old model, or for pupils who have received a new diagnosis, as schools will now receive a single allocation for all of their special education teaching needs, based on their school size and profile.
The new allocations to schools will include provision to support all pupils in the schools, including where a child receives a diagnosis after the allocation is received by a school, or where there are newly enrolling pupils to the school.
All allocations to schools include a supplementary provision, which has been referred to as the ‘baseline allocation’ which is allocated over and above the profiled allocation.
For students who start school from September 2017, with a specific diagnosis, either in junior infants or transferring from another school, the resources they need will already be in the school under the new model.
It should be noted that this is a brand new model of allocation and is not comparable to the existing model. By using a broad range of attainment and socio-economic criteria, it is expected that generally, a school’s profile will remain relatively constant from year to year. Each year, some students with additional teaching needs will leave and others will enrol, broadly balancing the school profile. Resources allocated under this model will not normally be adjusted between allocations.
In relation to the particular school referred to by the Deputy, this school had a Learning Support allocation of 10 hours for the 2016/17 school year, which combined with 6.80 resource teaching hours allocated to the school by the National Council for Special Education, gave a total allocation to the school of 16.80 additional teaching hours for the 2016/17 school year.
As the profiled allocation for the school did not indicate an increased allocation requirement for the school for 2017/18, the school has maintained its existing level of allocation.
The special education teaching allocation for this school for 2017/18 is 16.80 hours.
There has therefore been no reduction to the special education teaching allocation for this school.
The NCSE published details of an appeals process on the NCSE website: www.ncse.ie whereby schools could appeal whether the data used to calculate their school profile was correct and complete and whether it was correctly applied in the calculation of their 2017/18 allocation.
Schools who wished to submit an appeal were asked to do so by March 31st 2017.
Schools could appeal whether the data used to calculate their school profile was correct and complete and whether it was correctly applied in the calculation of their 2017/18 allocation.
The NCSE has advised that the school referred to in this question has not submitted an appeal.
The model will also allow for some additional provision for exceptional circumstances or where a school’s enrolment levels increase very substantially prior to the next review of the model. The National Council for Special Education will support schools in managing their special education teaching allocations in the first instance. Only in very exceptional circumstances, where it can be demonstrated that the school's profile has changed very significantly since the allocation was made to the school, may an additional allocation of hours be made to the school.
Guidelines for schools on the organisation, deployment and use of their special education teachers to address the need of pupils with special educational needs have also now been published and are available on my Department's website.
The Guidelines will support schools to reflect on how they can review and manage their timetabling practices to ensure the timetable is sufficiently flexible to meet the needs of all pupils in their school who have special needs. The Guidelines encourage schools to ensure they deploy their resources appropriately to meet the needs of all of the children in their school who require additional teaching support, including pupils with emerging needs, or new entrants.
423. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of appeals personnel working at Caranua; if they are full time or part time; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26626/17]
Amharc ar fhreagra424. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of appeals awaiting decision up to six months, 12 months, 18 months and two years at Caranua, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26627/17]
Amharc ar fhreagra425. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Education and Skills the length of time it is anticipated to take to clear the backlog of appeals at Caranua; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26628/17]
Amharc ar fhreagra426. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on the appropriate time period for persons to wait before their appeal is decided; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26629/17]
Amharc ar fhreagra427. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will arrange for advocates acting on behalf of survivors and a delegation of survivors to meet the newly appointed appeals officer in order to avoid any inference of bias in view of the fact that meetings between Caranua and the appeals office take place regularly; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26630/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 423 to 427, inclusive, together.
Section 21 of the Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Act 2012 provides for the appointment of one or more persons to act as appeals officers to consider appeals against decisions of Caranua. The Act provides that the appeals officer shall be independent in the performance of his or her functions. While my Department provides administrative support to the appeals officer I, as Minister, have no role in the appeals process. Similarly the appeals process operates completely independently of Caranua.
I have recently appointed two new appeals officers who will be remunerated on a case by case basis. In appointing two appeals officers instead of just replacing the one appeals officer who has stepped down, I took cognisance of the backlog of appeals and would expect that this backlog would be reduced or eliminated over the course of the next 12 months.
I am advised that there are 148 cases outstanding. There are 45 applicants waiting up to 6 months, 62 between 6 and 12 months and 41 over 12 months.
For an appeals system to provide a service to appellants, the appellants shouldn't have to wait an inordinate amount of time for a decision. However, it should be recognised that some cases are going to be more complex than others and that where a case is complex and requires further information or consolidation of information or maybe an oral hearing that this is going to require additional time.
The legislation provides for oral hearings for the hearing of appeals. The legislation doesn't provide for meetings between the appeals officers and advocate groups or survivor representatives.
428. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills if a person (details supplied) is eligible for panel rights; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26653/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe core function of the redeployment arrangements is to facilitate the redeployment of all surplus permanent/CID holding teachers to schools that have vacancies. Thereafter, schools are required under the panel arrangements to fill permanent vacancies from supplementary panels comprised of eligible fixed-term (temporary/substitute) and part-time teachers.
Circular 0074/2016 sets out the arrangements for panel access for fixed-term/temporary and part-time teachers to the Supplementary Redeployment Panel for the 2017/18 school year.
Applicants must meet all of the published criteria in order to gain access to the Supplementary Redeployment Panel.
The teacher referred to by the Deputy failed to meet the criteria and is therefore ineligible to be included on the Supplementary Redeployment Panel.
429. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Education and Skills the status of a traffic survey relating to an application for works by a school (details supplied); and the timeframe for progressing the application. [26693/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Deputy will be aware that a building project for the school in question is included in my Department's 6 Year Construction Programme. (2019/21)
The school will be aware that preparatory work has been initited to advance this project including the technical assessment of the traffic survey. My Department will continue to liaise directly with the school authorities concerned in the context of progressing the project through the architectural planning process.
