Written Answers Nos. 333-348
333. Deputy Marc MacSharry asked the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the provision of a specialist autism unit for a school (details supplied); if it will be ready for the academic year commencing in September 2018; if not, when it will be available for use; the number of places it will have; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15095/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraI wish to advise the Deputy that my Department has recently become aware that the National Council for Special Education has sanctioned a special class for pupils with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) at the schools in question. To date, my Department has no record of receiving an application for additional accommodation from the schools referred to in respect of this sanction.
Any application received will be considered and a response will be conveyed to the school authority in due course. An application form may be accessed on my Department's website www.education.ie.
336. Deputy James Browne asked the Minister for Education and Skills if each school in County Wexford that does not have a physical education hall will be provided with same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15107/18]
Amharc ar fhreagra337. Deputy James Browne asked the Minister for Education and Skills if there is a standard size for a school hall; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15108/18]
Amharc ar fhreagra338. Deputy James Browne asked the Minister for Education and Skills the schools in County Wexford that have applied for a new school hall or an upgrade to their school hall; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15109/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 336 to 338, inclusive, together.
I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department is fully committed to providing that schools who wish to offer the new Leaving Certificate Physical Education Specification and the Senior Cycle Physical Education Framework (non-examinable) in the future will be able to do so.
The Deputy will be aware that under the National Development Plan (NDP), increased funding has been provided for the school sector capital investment programme. This funding allows for a continued focus on the provision of new permanent school places to keep pace with demographic demand and also provides for an additional focus on the refurbishment of existing school buildings to include the building and modernisation of PE facilities in post-primary schools.
Under the Ireland Project 2040, we will invest €8.4 billion (compared to €4.9 billion in the previous decade) in primary and post primary school buildings. This will include the provision of 50 large scale school building projects and 20,000 school places in state of the art new buildings.
This ramp up in funding will take place progressively over the period of the NDP, with significant increases becoming available in later years. The immediate priority of my Department is providing 20,000 new and replacement school places each year, to ensure that every child has a school place.
I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department has received an application for capital funding to provide a new P.E. Hall from the C.B.S. Secondary School, New Ross. The increased funding being provided over the period of the NDP will provide an increased scope at that time to address applications from schools such as CBS Secondary School, New Ross. I also wish to advise the Deputy that every new post primary school is built with state of the art P.E. facilities. The typical size of a new PE hall is 1,048 sq. metres; this may sometimes vary depending on site conditions etc.
339. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the construction of the new building for a school (details supplied); and when students will occupy same. [15137/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe school to which the Deputy refers is currently scheduled for completion in May 2018. Therefore, subject to no issues arising, the building will be ready for occupation in May 2018.
341. Deputy Martin Ferris asked the Minister for Education and Skills if a student (details supplied) who has provided evidence of a need for a SNA will be considered for such support while waiting for formal diagnosis in order to provide equal opportunity to fulfil their potential. [15166/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraSpecial Needs Assistants (SNAs) are provided to assist recognised schools to cater for pupils with disabilities, who have additional and significant care needs, in an educational context and where the nature of these care needs have been outlined in medical and other professional reports as being so significant that a pupil will require additional adult assistance in order to be able to attend school and to participate in education.
The National Council for Special Education (NCSE), is responsible, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs) for allocating a quantum of Special Needs Assistant (SNA) support for each school annually taking into account the assessed care needs of children qualifying for SNA support enrolled in the school.
The NCSE allocates SNA support to schools in accordance with the criteria set out in Department Circular 0030/2014, which is available on the 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. My Department’s policy is to ensure that every child who is assessed as needing SNA support will receive access to such support.
In considering applications for SNA supports for individual pupils, the SENOs take account of the pupils' needs and consider the resources available to the school to identify whether additionality is needed or whether the school might reasonably be expected to meet the needs of the pupils from its current level of resources.
SNAs are not allocated to individual children but to schools as a school based resource. SNA support is allocated to schools to support pupils based on their assessed care needs, as opposed to being allocated on the basis of a particular disability diagnosis. The NCSE has an Information booklet for parents in relation to the SNA scheme on its website: www.ncse.ie.
Schools who wish to make applications for SNA support should apply to the NCSE. The deadline for applying for SNA support for the 2018/19 school year was extended from 28 February to 7 March 2018 due to the effects of adverse weather. The NCSE continues to accept applications after this date.
The NCSE aims to respond in May 2018 to valid applications for access to SNA support received.
The NCSE Appeals Process may be invoked by a parent or a school where it is considered that a child was not granted access to SNA support on the grounds that Department policy was not met in accordance with Circular 0030/2014.
Schools may also appeal a decision, where the school considers that the NCSE, in applying Department policy, has not allocated the appropriate level of SNA supports to the school to meet the special educational and/or care needs of the child/ren concerned.
If a parent considers that their child is not accessing a sufficient level of SNA support they should address their concerns to the school in the first instance.
All schools have the contact details of their local SENO and parents may also contact their local SENO directly to discuss their child's special educational needs, using the contact details available at http://ncse.ie/seno-contact-list.
342. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Education and Skills the amount of expenditure on consultancy by his Department in each of the years 2015 to 2017; the number of consultants engaged by his Department in those years; the names of the consultancy companies awarded contracts; and the steps which have been taken to reduce the expenditure on consultancy and the reliance on consultants by his Department in these years and for the future. [15199/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraDetails of consultancy payments made by my Department for the years 2015 to 2017 inclusive are available on the Department's website http://www.education.ie/en/Publications/Corporate-Reports/Financial-Reports/Expenditure-on-Consultancy/.
It is the policy of my Department to minimise to the greatest extent possible the use of external consultancy, however external consultants are hired occasionally in circumstances where particular expertise is not available internally and where it is deemed to add value and independence to the overall work of the Department. My Department continues to monitor proposals to engage external consultants to ensure value for money.
343. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Education and Skills the capacity for a community school in an area of disadvantage to offer PLC courses if it wishes to do so; the steps the community school must undertake to be eligible to provide PLC courses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15206/18]
Amharc ar fhreagra344. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Education and Skills the conditions a community school has to meet to offer PLC courses; the regulations it has to meet in respect of QQI; the cost of meeting these regulations; if funding is provided to community schools in respect of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15207/18]
Amharc ar fhreagra382. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Education and Skills the conditions a community school has to meet to offer PLC courses; the regulations to be met in respect of QQI; the cost of meeting these regulations; if his Department provides funding to community schools in respect of this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15537/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 343, 344 and 382 together.
The PLC programme has a national CAP of 30,000 approved places annually. Currently all of these places are allocated to the Education & Training Boards (ETBs) and a number of Voluntary Secondary and Community and Comprehensive Schools. SOLAS are responsible for the allocation of PLC places, however all of the approved places have been allocated for 2018/19.
In order to be considered by SOLAS for approval to run PLC courses, the provider must have a Quality Assurance System and have this Quality Assurance System approved and registered with QQI. Also the courses (programmes) that they are seeking to offer must also be validated by QQI. Any costs associated with this approval process are a matter for the provider. Details of this process and associated costs can be found on the QQI website: https://www.qqi.ie.
In January, I published the an ESRI evaluation of the PLC programme along with the SOLAS response, which sets out 45 recommendations to address the findings of the evaluation and improve the quality of the learner experience, learner outcomes and overall programme efficiency.
A SOLAS led PLC Programme Improvement Advisory Committee, comprised of PLC partners, has been established by SOLAS to oversee development and implementation of a three year programme improvement plan, based on the recommendations set out in the SOLAS response. These include a review of the geographic distribution of PLC places in the context of the overall FET provision available to meet the needs of learners and employers in each ETB catchment area, taking into account a number of factors including population and deprivation index.
Specifically in relation to small scale provision (colleges with fewer than 100 students) the recommendation from SOLAS is that further analysis of small scale PLC provision should be carried out in the context of delivering improved resource utilisation, operational efficiencies, student supports and employer engagement.
345. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to Topical Issue No. 2 on 21 March 2018 regarding provision for a location for a school (details supplied), the timescale for the delivery of the new site for the school; the impediments regarding same; when the school will be in a position to develop this facility to the next phase; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15219/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs outlined in my response to the Topical Issue to which the Deputy refers, a project to provide a permanent school building for the school in question is included on my Department's capital programme. Officials in my Department are working closely with officials in the relevant local authority in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding in relation to the identification and acquisition of a suitable site to facilitate the school building project. A potential site option has been identified and engagement with the relevant landowner is currently underway with a view to clarifying some outstanding technical issues. Unfortunately it is not possible at this time to give a timeframe for the acquisition of the school site, however all parties are working to progress the proposed acquisition as expeditiously as possible.
Once the site has been secured, a project to provide permanent accommodation for the school will be progressed into the architectural planning process.
346. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills the circumstances in which an Irish citizen who has not been resident for the purpose of Irish and EU college fees for the required period of time can avail of an exception to enable them to qualify for same. [15257/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe position is that in order to qualify for funding towards tuition fees, students must be first-time undergraduates, hold inter alia EU/EEA/Swiss nationality in their own right, and have been ordinarily resident in an EU/EEA/Swiss state for at least three of the five years preceding their entry to an approved third level course.
Where undergraduate students do not qualify for free fees they are required to pay fees to their higher education institution at either an ‘EU rate’ or a higher ‘Non-EU rate’.
My Department responded previously to concerns about the impact of the free fees eligibility criteria on individuals who have had, for occupational or economic reasons, to move abroad, requiring them to take their children out of the Irish education system in the process.
To this end, in March 2014 my Department requested that the Higher Education Authority (HEA) advise the higher education sector that full-time undergraduate students who:
- Hold EU/EEA/Swiss nationality but do not meet the residency clause of the Free Fees Initiative; and
- have completed five academic years of study (at either primary or post-primary level) in an EU/EEA/Swiss State; and
- commence their first undergraduate course of study in an approved institution here from the following academic year onwards,
should be charged the EU rate of fee rather than the higher non-EU rate by their higher education institution.
This approach was implemented for new students from the commencement of the 2014/15 academic year.
It is a matter for the institutions to apply this policy to such students. I am not aware of any particular issues arising from the implementation of this policy direction.
347. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will address a matter regarding teachers at a school (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15280/18]
Amharc ar fhreagra393. Deputy John Brassil asked the Minister for Education and Skills if a recent decision to refuse an appeal by a school (details supplied) regarding provision of an additional teacher for the 2018/2019 academic year will be reversed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15656/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 347 and 393 together.
The criteria used for the allocation of teaching posts is published annually on the Department website. 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.
The staffing schedule also includes an appeals mechanism for schools to submit a staffing appeal under certain criteria to an independent Appeals Board. Details of the appeal process and application form are available in Circular 0010/2018, "Staffing Arrangements in Primary Schools for the 2018/19 School Year", which is published on the Department website.
The school referred to by the Deputy submitted an application for consideration by the Appeals Board at its March meeting under Criterion A – "Exceptional Accommodation Difficulties". The Appeals Board considered the appeal and determined that it did not warrant the allocation of an additional post under Circular 0010/2018.
The school has been notified of the outcome of the appeal. The Appeals Board operates independently of the Department and its decision is final.
