Written Answers Nos. 29-49
40. Deputy Michael Harty asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on reports that the cost of increasing the number of the number of school special needs assistants to acceptable levels is a matter of concern to the Department of Finance and to his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50189/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraIt is a core goal of the Action Plan for Education that every child should have an equal opportunity to fulfil their potential in school. Indeed, this has received strong legislative endorsement through the provisions of the Education of Persons with Special Educational Needs Act of 2004 which provides for the inclusive education of pupils with special educational needs.
This has required a very substantial expansion in both special education teachers and Special Needs Assistants (SNAs).
In total, the number of SNAs available is currently 13,990, which represents an increase of over 32% since 2011, when 10,575 posts were available.
There are now over 34,000 children receiving the support of SNAs. Almost 60% of these children are supported to participate in mainstream schools. We have also more than doubled the number of special classes, where 20% of the children are supported, while the remainder are supported in special schools.
SNA support is provided to ensure that all pupils who have care needs can participate in education, including pupils attending special schools, or special classes, or who may be attending mainstream education and need additional support.
The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is an independent body which has responsibility for allocating SNA support to schools, in accordance with the criteria set out in my Department's Circular DES 30/2014.
The NCSE decides how much SNA support is required in each school and makes allocations to schools.
The NCSE are carrying out a comprehensive assessment of the SNA scheme aimed at providing better outcomes for students and ensuring we are making the best additional investment for children with special educational needs. This Government is committed to ensuring the best possible results for the children and students in this area. This process is the best way to deliver on that.
I have therefore asked the NCSE to conduct a comprehensive review of the SNA scheme and this review is due to be completed early next year.
43. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to reconsider his Department's refusal to fund a new space at a school (details supplied) for resource teaching; and his further plans to reconsider his refusal to a previous request that his officials have a face-to-face meeting with the principal and board of management of the school. [52002/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department is satisfied that the delivery of a project in recent years at the school referred to by the Deputy, to provide six new mainstream classrooms and new toilet facilities, provides sufficient accommodation to cater for the school’s mainstream requirements. In addition, I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department approved the provision of a two-class ASD Unit in February of this year which will further improve the facilities at this school.
The delivery of both projects allows for reconfiguration of existing permanent accommodation to meet resource teaching requirements.
Whilst my Department has engaged with the school in question in regard to the manner in which resource teaching can be provided within available accommodation, officials of my Department are open to meeting with the school authorities to further explain the position.
44. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on recent reports that only six graduates are in training to be physics teachers. [51819/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn 2016/17 and in 2017/18, I provided for the recruitment of in the region of 3,000 teachers at post-primary level. All of the 2016-2017 posts have been successfully filled and the process for filling the additional posts in the current year is almost complete. We are successfully filling the posts that we are making available.
The latest figures obtained by my Department from the higher education institutions offering post graduate initial teacher education programmes indicate that there are currently 21 students studying to qualify as teachers of Physics in these programmes. In addition, the Deputy should note that teachers of physics can qualify through a number of undergraduate initial teacher education programmes. Data on the numbers of students currently taking physics in these programmes is not readily available.
The Deputy should note also that, according to my Department’s records, approximately 540 schools are offering Physics as a leaving certificate subject in 2017 and there are 1,058 post primary teachers in total registered with the Teaching Council with Physics as their first subject. 40 teachers were registered for the first time by the Teaching Council as qualified to teach Physics as their first subject in 2017.
As part of the implementation of the STEM Strategy I am determined to deliver increased teacher supply in key priority areas. My officials are gathering and analysing baseline data. We are also assessing specific policy initiatives which can accelerate supply in critical areas. This would include measures to deliver a higher proportion of those entering initial teacher education at undergraduate or masters level in the priority areas; to upgrade the skills of existing teachers; to identify possible sources of qualified persons who are not now teaching.
45. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Education and Skills the measures he will take to protect the playing pitches for the students of a school (details supplied) into the future in view of his Department's investment in the school over the years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52014/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs I have already indicated to the Deputy, the fields at the school in question are owned by the Congregation of Christian Brothers. The decision by the Congregation of Christian Brothers to dispose of land owned by the Congregation is a matter for the Brothers.
In July 2017, the Congregation advised my Department in writing that the lands concerned were sold and that the Congregation had signed a legally binding contract with the purchasers and the Congregation could not reverse this transaction.
My Department understands that the Board of Management or members of the Board of Management may be taking legal proceedings against the Congregation of Christian Brothers relating to the sale of the fields.
46. Deputy Margaret Murphy O'Mahony asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to implement the recommendations of the recent review of the fund for students with disabilities; and the timeframe for same. [51822/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Higher Education Authority (HEA) published the report of the Review of the Fund for Students with Disabilities on 27th October. The independent review of the Fund was conducted by RSM UK Consultants as part of the implementation of the National Plan for Equity of Access to Higher Education 2015-19.
The purpose of the review was to evaluate the role of the Fund in supporting access and participation in higher education by students with disabilities. The overall finding of the review is that this Fund has played and continues to play a vital role in supporting the provision of services and supports enabling the participation of students with disabilities in higher and further education.
This review finds that, since 2008, over €70 million has been allocated through the Fund thus enabling the participation of over 38,000 students with disabilities in further and higher education. The number of students supported by the Fund has grown from 3,800 in 2008 to almost 10,500 last year. €9.6 million will be allocated through the Fund in 2017.
The review makes fourteen recommendations including the need for a more robust model of allocation; the extension of the Fund to part-time students and, in the longer term, the transfer of the further education element of the Fund from the HEA to Solas.
A HEA implementation group will be established in the first quarter of 2018 to progress these recommendations. The implementation of the recommendations will lead to improvements in the management and allocation of the Fund and support more students with disabilities in realising their potential through further and higher education.
47. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding the Department of the Taoiseach's strategy statement commitment on the Action Plan for Education; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49419/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Department of the Taoiseach’s Strategy Statement 2016-2019 is committed to lead and support whole-of-government structures to drive and monitor implementation of key policies, strategies and initiatives. These will include the Action Plan for Education, Better Outcomes Brighter Futures and targeted new initiatives that have both local and national benefits for citizens.
In September 2016, I launched the first Action Plan for Education, covering the period 2016-2019. This sets out our ambition to make the Irish education and training service the best in Europe by 2026.
The Action Planning process recognises that our success will be achieved by the implementation of hundreds of actions across the sector in its entirety.
The Action Plan 2016-2019 was the beginning of an annual process. More detailed actions, with quarterly delivery dates, are identified in updated annual plans. These Plans are based on the original five high-level goals:
1. Improve the learning experience and the success of learners
2. Improve the progress of learners at risk of educational disadvantage or learners with special educational needs
3. Help those delivering education services to continually improve
4. Build stronger bridges between education and the wider community
5. Improve national planning and support services
Progress is monitored through the publication of End of Year Review reports and quarterly progress reports. All of these are available on the Department’s website (www.education.ie) and show the extent to which we are delivering what we said we would. They also help to ensure that attention is focused on areas where progress has not been as expected, in order to drive further change.
In addition, we are currently working on developing a range of indicators, based on national and international benchmarks, to enhance our monitoring arrangements.
Cumulatively, the Action Plans and monitoring process will ensure that we achieve our ambition of having the best education and training services in Europe by 2026.
48. Deputy James Lawless asked the Minister for Education and Skills the steps he will take in offering additional supports to the higher education sector, in view of the recent university rankings which saw Ireland achieve just one university in the top 200 while Scotland, with a similar population, achieved five of its colleges in the top rankings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49613/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraWhile there has been a decline in the position of some Irish Institutions in some international rankings systems, Ireland performs ahead of most European countries relative to our population size and has the highest level of tertiary attainment rate for 30-34 year olds in Europe.
My Department has consistently outlined that we have to be cautious about how we interpret the results of these commercial global rankings. The rankings are influenced by the staff/student ratio, the reduction in which has impacted on the placing of the Irish higher education institutions. Performance in rankings are often highly reliant on surveys of opinion and of citations in journals which do not adequately capture the full range of activities taking place in our third level institutions. They don't measure the quality of the teaching or learning environment. They also do not show how institutes respond to skills gaps and how they support participation by students with special educational needs or who are from a disadvantaged background. Nonetheless I do acknowledge that they are widely read and can be informative, when taken in context.
As Minister, my focus is on delivering a high quality Higher Education system that contributes to the overall goal of delivering the best Education and Training system in Europe by 2026.
It is important that we choose goals and objectives that are relevant to an Irish context and that support our level of ambition, and then benchmark ourselves against best international practice.
Under the System Performance Framework 2014-2016, the HEA has produced two System Performance Reports, the most recent report published in December 2016. These reports have shown a continued growth in the Irish higher education system of 13% since 2011 and an increased supply of graduates to the labour market.
The Systems Performance Framework 2018-2020 is currently being developed by my Department, in conjunction with the HEA. This Framework will set out the objectives which Government is setting for our Higher Education Institutions for the period 2018 – 2020, together with the high level targets to be achieved in this period. This very ambitious programme of work will require a close alignment between the various elements which together form the higher education system in Ireland.
49. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to review his Department's policy on the provision of Irish language classes to children with an autism diagnosis in their main learning environment, specifically the non-provision of the subject to children in a school (details supplied) who attend a class for those with an autism diagnosis; his views on whether this is discriminatory, exclusionary and not equality based education when a child with ASD cannot access the primary school curriculum to the same degree as their mainstream peers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52017/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraSpecial 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.
Students enrolled in special classes should be included, where possible, in mainstream classes and afforded the opportunity to access the full range of curricular areas, in line with their abilities, through differentiated teaching in either the special or mainstream classes.
The Primary School Curriculum is designed to cater for the diverse range of learning needs of children attending primary schools. Language learning, both English and Irish, is an inherent dimension of a broad and balanced curriculum.
Children with special educational needs should have access to the teaching of Irish to the degree that it is beneficial to their learning and development. In this regard, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) has provided guidelines for the teaching of Irish to students with mild general learning disabilities.
In the context of special classes for children with Autism, the low teacher pupil ratio should allow for the differentiation of individual children’s programmes. Differentiation of the programme of teaching and learning should endeavour to accommodate the children who are learning Irish and also those who are not.
Schools are also free to make arrangements for the deployment of teachers that recognises the skill sets and competencies of specific teachers. Where a special class teacher has an Irish Language shortfall the school should ensure that appropriate arrangements are made for the teaching of the Irish curriculum to the students in that class, in line with their abilities.
Access to Irish is compulsory in all recognised schools, however, there are limited circumstances whereby an application can be made by parents/guardians on behalf of a child for an exemption from the study of Irish.
