Written Answers Nos. 205-222
205. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will report on the delivery of sufficient classrooms in a school (details supplied) for the new school year in September 2019; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3808/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraOfficials at my Department are aware of the accommodation requirements of the school to which the Deputy refers and work is ongoing to ensure that there will be sufficient suitable additional accommodation available to the school for September 2019.
206. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Education and Skills the status of an application by a school (details supplied) for funding to repair its school yard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3821/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe school to which the Deputy refers has submitted additional information in support of its application for funding under my Department's Emergency Works Scheme. This information is currently being assessed and a decision will issue directly to the school authority in due course.
207. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position of a person (details supplied) on a waiting list for a specific school; and when the person will be accommodated. [3843/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe policy of my Department is to ensure that all children with special educational needs can be provided with an education appropriate to their needs.
The National Council for Special Education, NCSE, is an independent statutory body whose functions include planning and co-ordinating the provision of education and support services to children with special educational needs in conjunction with schools, families and the Health Service Executive, HSE.
The enrolment of a child to a school is a matter, in the first instance, for the parents of the child and the Board of Management of a school. My Department has no role in making decisions in these matters. However, practical help and advice is available throughout the country from the local Special Educational Needs Organiser, SENO, who can assist parents in identifying an appropriate educational placement and the necessary supports for the child. Contact details for SENOs is available at: http://ncse.ie/seno-contact-list.
I understand that the local SENO is working with this family and that a suitable placement has been identified. If further issues arise, it is important that the parent continues to work closely with the SENO for the area.
208. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on a matter in respect of a school (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3851/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe 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.
Staffing arrangements for the 2019-20 school year are currently being finalised and will be published on my Department's website next month. At that stage, schools will be able to establish their staffing for the coming school year and submit a staffing appeal to the Primary Staffing Appeals Board.
209. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Skills if a school (details supplied) in County Kildare will be funded in order to develop an autism spectrum disorder, ASD, unit; the procedure the school must undergo to be eligible for a funding stream of this nature; his plans to fund ASD units nationally in 2019, 2020 and beyond; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3904/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe National Council for Special Education, NCSE, has a statutory function to plan and co-ordinate the provision of education and support services to children with special educational needs including Autism, in consultation with the relevant education partners and the Health Service Executive, HSE. This includes the establishment of special class and special school placements in various geographical areas where there is an identified need.
Since 2011, the NCSE has increased the number of special classes from 548 in 2011 to 1,459 across the country now, of which 1,196 are Autism Spectrum Disorder, ASD, special classes. Details of all special classes for children with special educational needs are available by county on the NCSE website: www.ncse.ie.
In County Kildare, there are currently four special schools and 75 special classes in mainstream schools, including six ASD Early Intervention classes, 46 primary ASD classes and 15 ASD post-primary ASD classes.
While it is not always possible or practical that a special class placement would be available in a child’s local school, the NCSE has informed my Department that, in general, they are satisfied that there are sufficient ASD special class placements to meet existing demand in Kildare.
The NCSE identifies the need for special class and special school placements nationally on an ongoing basis, and where specialised provision is required to support children with Special Educational Needs, it is planned and established to meet that need.
My Department is aware that the establishment of special provision in some schools and communities can be challenging.
The Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018 will assist in addressing this issue in areas where the NCSE is of the opinion that there is insufficient education provision for children with special educational needs.
Section 8 of the Act, which commenced on 3 December 2018, provides the Minister with a power, after a process of consultation with the NCSE, the board of management and the patron of the school, to compel a school to make additional provision for the education of children with special educational needs.
As the question refers to a particular school, I have arranged for the Deputy's question to be forwarded to the NCSE for its attention and direct reply.
210. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding the roll-out of broadband to a school (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3913/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraThrough the Schools Broadband Access Programme, the Department provides for the supply of internet connectivity for all recognised primary and post-primary schools, and some 98% of schools are included in this scheme. All post-primary schools and some special schools are now included in the 100 Mbps programme.
The policy of my Department is to offer the best quality connectivity to all schools in line with the technical solutions available in the market and financial constraints. Broadband capacity can vary due to geographical location and local infrastructure, and thus impact on the service that can be provided.
The school referred to by the Deputy is in the National Broadband Plan intervention area and is currently on a 12 Mbp/s wireless connection through the Schools Broadband Access Programme. The school is in year three of a three-year service agreement. When this contract has expired toward the end of 2019, the school will be retendered to the Departments' framework of suppliers, and upgraded to a higher speed if possible.
Under the current primary schools programme, the Department continually reviews the availability of services and upgrades schools where the opportunity arises, in line with contractual and budgetary requirements. A recent draw-down from the Framework of Providers of Broadband Services saw some 1,400 primary schools awarded download speeds of 30 Mbps or greater (the baseline download speed required under the National Broadband Plan). Those schools have now been upgraded to that connectivity. This represents more than one third of all primary schools. This is a significant improvement over recent years, given that fewer than 100 primary schools were on those speeds in 2012. Further schools are likely to be upgraded to those speeds in 2019, through EIR's 300K Rural Deployment commitment.
The need to improve broadband connectivity to primary schools is recognised in the Digital Strategy for Schools 2015-2020, and as noted, access to high-speed broadband is one of the indicators identified in the Digital Strategy Action Plan. An interdepartmental working group has been established to determine how best to address broadband connectivity to primary schools in collaboration with the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment, in the context of the National Broadband Plan and the Intervention Strategy, and proposed industry provision.
211. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the Private Member's motion to ensure that all victims of child sex abuse whose perpetrators have been convicted can seek redress from the State, which was passed by Dáil Éireann in July 2018; the interaction that has taken place between him and the independent assessor; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3925/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs part of the implementation of ECtHR Judgement in the Louise O'Keeffe case, Mr. Justice Iarfhlaith O’Neill, a retired High Court Judge, was appointed in November 2017 as an independent assessor to assess cases where an individual has had an application to the ex-gratia scheme declined by the State Claims Agency - the administrators of the scheme.
Mr. Justice O’Neill invited the Department to make a submission on: "whether the imposition of the condition which required that there had to be evidence of a prior complaint of child sexual abuse on the part of the employee in question to the school authority (or a school authority in which the employee has previously worked), to establish eligibility for a payment under the ex gratia scheme, is consistent with and a correct implementation of the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Louise O’Keeffe v. Ireland".
The submission forwarded to Mr. Justice O’Neill on 27 April can be accessed on the Department's website.
Mr. Justice O’Neill subsequently provided copies of submissions received by him from solicitors representing applicants for assessment and from third parties and subsequently asked the Minister to address in particular: "the legal status and/or legal effect in domestic law, of decisions/determinations of the Committee of Ministers in relation to the implementation/enforcement of judgments of the ECtHR".
The second submission on foot of this request was forwarded to Mr. Justice O’Neill on 14 September and can be accessed on the Department's website.
Mr. Justice O’Neill then received further submissions from third parties responding to the submission of 14 September and asked for further response. A further submission was sent to Mr. Justice O’Neill on 21 January and that submission will be published on the Department's website shortly.
212. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to allow a college (details supplied) use the designation of university. [3926/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraAn amendment has been proposed at the Committee Stage in the Seanad to the Qualifications and Quality Assurance (Education and Training) Amendment Bill 2018, which would allow the college referred to in the details supplied to the Deputy’s question to use the title of university in the State.
The Department has sought legal advice from the Office of the Attorney General on the proposed amendment, including in the context of any potential wider application beyond the college in question. The Department will advise the Minister on the most appropriate response to the proposed amendment on the basis of the legal advice.
213. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on a matter (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3993/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraI can confirm to the Deputy that the school in question has recently submitted additional information in support of its application for additional school accommodation.
This information is currently being considered and a decision will be conveyed to the school authority when this process has been completed.
214. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason a person (details supplied) has not received a special needs assistant, SNA, in school; and if an application has been made to request a SNA. [3998/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe National Council for Special Education, NCSE, is responsible 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 my 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.
In considering applications for SNA support for individual pupils, the NCSE 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.
As this question relates to a particular child, I have referred the question to the NCSE for its direct reply. I do not have a role in making determinations in individual cases.
215. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education and Skills the status of an appeal by a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4020/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraI can confirm to the Deputy that the school in question has recently submitted additional information in support of its application for additional school accommodation. This information is currently being considered and a decision will be conveyed to the school authority when this process has been completed.
216. Deputy Joe Carey asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding an application by a school (details supplied) in County Clare to provide an autism spectrum disorder, ASD, unit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4039/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe National Council for Special Education, NCSE, has a statutory function to plan and co-ordinate the provision of education and support services to children with special educational needs including Autism, in consultation with the relevant education partners and the Health Service Executive, HSE. This includes the establishment of special class and special school placements in various geographical areas where there is an identified need.
There are 37 special classes attached to mainstream schools in County Clare. Of these, two are ASD early intervention classes, 20 are primary ASD classes and seven are post-primary ASD classes. The number of ASD special classes in County Clare has increased from five in 2011-12 to 29 in 2018-19. Details of all special classes for children with special educational needs are available by county on the NCSE website: www.ncse.ie.
Schools may apply to the NCSE to open a special class where a need has been identified in their area, i.e. a number of students have professional reports indicating they require the support of a special class.
The NCSE, in looking to open special classes, must take into account the present and future potential need for such classes, taking particular account of the educational needs of the children concerned. The NCSE will also take account of location and sustainability in looking to establish special classes in certain areas.
In addition, the NCSE will consider:
- the school’s accommodation and accessibility;
- the number of special classes, if any, already in the school.
The NCSE has not currently identified the need to establish additional ASD special classes in the area referred to by the Deputy.
However, this process is ongoing, and should the NCSE identify the requirement for additional special class placements in the area it will contact schools in the area in relation to establishing an ASD special class.
Parents/Guardians who may need advice or are experiencing difficulties in locating a school placement, including special class placement, should contact their local Special Educational Needs Organiser, SENO, who can assist in identifying an appropriate educational placement for their child. Contact details are available at: http://ncse.ie/seno-contact-list.
My Department continues to work with the NCSE to ensure that there is appropriate planning in place to ensure that all children who require special class placements can access such placements in schools within their communities.
217. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he has received a report (details supplied) on the schooling needs of pupils with autism in the Dublin 7 and 15 areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4063/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am aware of the demand for additional special class and special school placements in the North Dublin area.
I have asked the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, to provide my Department with a report on current and future identified need in the area so that evidence based decisions may be made on the development of the necessary placements in the area for the short, medium and longer term. The report is expected shortly.
The NCSE is continuing to work with schools, parents, NEPS, health professionals and other staff who are involved in the provision of services in the North Dublin area for children with special educational needs, to ensure that each child has a school placement appropriate to their needs for the 2018-19 school year and beyond.
Funding for special education provision in 2018 will amount to some €1.75 billion, up 43% since 2011 and equivalent to 18.7% of the gross overall current allocation for education and training.
My Department's policy is to provide for the inclusive education of children with special educational needs, including Autism, ASD, in mainstream school settings, unless such a placement would not be in the best interests of the child concerned, or the children with whom they will be educated.
The greater proportion of children with Autism attend mainstream classes, but some require the environment of a special class or special school. This decision is based on a recommendation contained within a professional assessment and in consultation with the NCSE.
Special schools funded by my Department are intended to cater for children and young persons with special educational needs from the age of four years old until the end of the school year in which they reach their 18th year.
The enrolment of a child to a school is a matter, in the first instance, for the parents of the child and the Board of Management of a school.
Accordingly, the NCSE advises parents, to seek to enrol their child, by applying in writing, to the school/s of their choice as early as possible. Where parents have been unsuccessful in enrolling their child in a school, they should update their local SENO to inform the planning process.
The NCSE is responsible, through it's network of Special Needs Organisers, for the development and delivery and co-ordination of education services to children with Special Educational Needs, including the establishment of special class and special school placements.
Some 124 special schools provide specialist education for those students with the most complex special educational needs, including students diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, ASD.
Since 2011, the NCSE has increased the number of special classes from 548 in 2011 to 1,459 across the country now, of which 1,196 are ASD special classes.
There are 37 special schools and 237 special classes attached to mainstream schools in County Dublin. Of these, 17 are ASD early intervention classes, 139 are primary ASD classes and 41 are post-primary ASD classes. The number of ASD special classes in County Dublin has increased from 66 in 2011-12 to 197 in 2018-19. Details of all special classes for children with special educational needs are available on: www.ncse.ie.
The NCSE is aware of emerging need from year to year, and where special provision, including special class provision, is required, it is planned and established to meet that need. This process is ongoing.
While it is not always possible or practical that a special class placement would be available in a child’s local school, the NCSE has informed my Department that, in general, it is satisfied that there are sufficient ASD special class placements to meet existing demand nationally. From time to time, the Council identifies local areas where additional provision is required. In those circumstances, SENOs work with the schools and families concerned to resolve the issues involved.
My Department is aware that the establishment of special class provision in some schools and communities can be challenging.
The Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018 when commenced will assist in addressing this issue in areas where the NCSE is of the opinion that there is insufficient education provision for children with special educational needs.
Section 8 of the Act, which commenced Monday, 3 December 2018, will provide me with a power, after a process of consultation with the NCSE, the Board of Management and the patron of the school, to compel a school to make additional provision for the education of children with special educational needs.
218. Deputy Jack Chambers asked the Minister for Education and Skills if his attention has been drawn to concerns of parents of children and staff at a school (details supplied) regarding accommodation for children enrolling in the school in September 2019; the measures that will be put in place to address these concerns; if the forward planning section of his Department will engage with the school in order to address the concerns raised; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4069/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraOfficials at my Department are aware of the accommodation requirements of the school to which the Deputy refers, and work is ongoing to ensure that there will be sufficient suitable additional accommodation available to the school for September 2019.
219. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Skills if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the change to the deadline for applying to Teastas Eorpach na Gaeilge resulted in some interested students missing the application deadline (details supplied); the steps taken to highlight and publicise the change well in advance; his views on whether the application deadline needs to be further extended; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4070/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn November 2018, I announced a plan to have one oral Irish examination for students seeking to gain entry to the primary post-graduate programmes run in the four State-funded providers DCU, Maynooth University, Marino Institute of Education and Mary Immaculate College.
Until now, to apply under the post graduate entry route to primary teaching, applicants who had already satisfied the minimum entry requirements in English, Irish and Maths potentially had to do three separate Irish oral examinations. Each oral examination would have taken place on the same day as the interview at the HEIs concerned, adding considerably to the stress on candidates.
I believe the plan that the four institutions of Initial Teacher Education have put in place will streamline the process for primary teaching candidates, who will only have to do one Irish oral test as part of their application for the PME, instead of three. I believe that this will reduce anxiety and help candidates to give their best.
I also wish to draw your attention to my announcement of today in relation to the deferral of the introduction of the new minimum entry requirements for Primary Initial Teacher Education, ITE, students starting a Professional Master of Education from September 2019 to 2020.
This deferral is for students who have commenced an undergraduate degree (as distinct from a Bachelor of Education degree) and are planning to apply for the Professional Masters of Education, PME, for entry in September 2019. This deferral means that those particular students will have to meet the new entry requirements from September 2020, instead of 2019.
I am assured that the necessary arrangements to accommodate students who didn’t make the January deadline are now being put in place.
220. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on the legal controversy regarding the award of a contract for online marking by the State Examinations Commission; his plans to investigate the matter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4090/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe State Examinations Commission, SEC, is the statutory body with responsibility for the operation of the State Certificate Examinations. The SEC has been working on plans to move from a paper-based to an on-line marking system for the examinations. Online marking involves examiners viewing scanned images of candidate scripts on screen, (instead of looking at the original paper version). The scripts are scanned following receipt from the examination centres and thereafter are an electronic document. Online examination marking of scanned examination scripts is widely used by almost all examinations boards in the UK.
I am advised by the SEC that it went to the market on 22 December 2017 in order to procure a service provider to assist in the transition to online marking over the five-year period 2018-22. This was a public procurement process, operated under EU and national procurement regulations, for a Script Scanning and Online Marking Solution for the State certificate examinations with the publication of a Request for Tender, RFT, on the eTenders website and in the Official Journal of the European Union. The deadline for submission of bids was 13 February 2018. Following a period of evaluation, the SEC notified the bidders in the process of the outcome on 28 March 2018. Bidders were notified that under EU rules a formal contract could not be put in place until at least 14 days had elapsed following the date of the notification. During the standstill period, the SEC was notified of a legal challenge to the procurement process brought by one of the bidders to the process.
By placing a contract at the end of the mandatory standstill period, the delivery by the SEC of online marking at the planned level for the 2018 examinations was achievable. However, the interruption to these plans, as a result of the legal proceedings, resulted in the SEC cancelling plans to proceed with online marking for the 2018 State examinations and to collapse the procurement process for pragmatic reasons. Without a clear view of the likely duration or impact of the legal proceedings, the SEC made this decision in order to safeguard the delivery of the 2018 examinations, as urgent arrangements had to be made to mark all examinations in a paper format, rather than some in a digital format as had been planned.
The RFT was clear that no commitment of any kind, contractual or otherwise, existed until such time as a formal written contract had been executed by the SEC. The RFT was also clear that the SEC was within its rights to cancel the public procurement competition at any time prior to a formal written contract being put in place.
The SEC advises my Department that it rejects any assertion that there was any improper action on the part of the Commission or its officials during the tender process and that there was full compliance with all national and EU procurement regulations in all aspects of the process, including the decision to collapse the tender on pragmatic grounds. The matter of costs in the legal case has yet to be determined by the Courts.
The SEC is satisfied that it has acted correctly and appropriately in relation to this procurement process.
In late December 2018, the SEC returned to the market for a script scanning and online marking solution for the 2019 examinations, and for future years.
221. Deputy Martin Ferris asked the Minister for Education and Skills the person or body that decides the catchment area for secondary schools; and the catchment area in respect of primary schools for a school (details supplied). [4093/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe question of enrolment in individual schools, including the setting of catchment areas, is the responsibility of the managerial authoritites of those schools and my Department does not seek to intervene in decisions made by schools in such matters. It is the responsibility of the managerial authorities of schools to implement an enrolment policy in accordance with the Education Act 1998 and the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018.
My Department's main responsibility is to ensure that schools in an area can, between them, cater for all pupils seeking places. Parents have the right to choose which school to apply to and where the school has places available the pupil should be admitted. However, in schools where there are more applicants than places available, a selection process may be necessary. This selection process and the enrolment policy on which it is based must be non-discriminatory and must be applied fairly in respect of all applicants. However, this may result in some pupils not obtaining a place in the school of their first choice.
As the Deputy is aware the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018, which was signed into law by the President on 18 July 2018, is an important piece of legislation which will introduce a more parent-friendly, equitable and consistent approach to how school admissions policy operates for the almost 4,000 primary and post-primary schools in this country and a fair and balanced school admission process for all pupils.
222. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Education and Skills the procedure for the removal of clergy who have not resigned or become ineligible to serve by patrons from school boards of management following diocesan changes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4096/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe mechanisms under which a Board of Management member may be removed are as follows:
Section 16 of the Education Act, 1998, provides that a patron may, with the consent of the Minister, for good and valid reasons stated in writing to a member of a board of management remove that member from that office, or if satisfied that the functions of a board are not being effectively discharged, dissolve that board.
Section 7 of the Governance Manual for Primary Schools 2015 - 2019 sets out the circumstances in which Board members may be removed or membership of a board of management shall cease.
As Minister, I have no function within Section 16 until such time as the Patron seeks my consent under Section 16 (1). Furthermore, as Minister, while I have a statutory role regarding the removal of a member of a Board, I have no statutory role in respect of members who cease to be members of Boards for varied reasons.
