Written Answers Nos. 585-605
585. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Education the timeframe for the publication of a circular by her Department with regard to a frontloaded SNA allocation model; and if her attention has been drawn to the fact that currently many applications for support during the 2021-2022 term cannot be progressed until the updated guidelines are published and brought into effect. [21847/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe arrangements for the allocation of SNAs for mainstream classes for the 2021/22 school year are currently under review. An announcement on the matter will be made as soon as possible.
586. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Education if she will ensure that behaviour analysts within special schools for children with autism and complex needs are retained in the entirety of the sector in view of the situation (details supplied) in County Kildare. [21895/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department previously funded 13 centres through an ABA pilot scheme funded for the period 1999-2011.
All of these centres applied for and were granted recognition as special schools for children with Autism and form part of the network of special schools.
As part of the transitional agreement my Department provides grant funding to these schools to engage behaviour practitioners. My Department intends to continue this arrangement for the 2021/22 school year.
My Department facilitates a Consultative Forum with the Patrons of these 13 schools to ensure these schools are adequately supported.
My Department will convene a meeting of this forum to ensure this issue and other matters arising can be addressed through this forum.
587. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Education the way in which her Department and agencies under her remit facilitate persons wishing to engage with their services through the Irish language; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21899/21]
Amharc ar fhreagra588. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Education if all forms issued by her Department and agencies under her remit are available in both the Irish and English languages; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21917/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 587 and 588 together.
My Department makes every effort to facilitate persons wishing to engage with its services through the Irish language on an ongoing basis, with a keen understanding that the largest customer base for services in Irish are the primary and post-primary school sectors and in particular schools where instruction is carried out through the medium of Irish. Full details of the services the Department is committed to providing can be found in the Department’s fourth Irish Language Scheme, available on the Department’s website at the following link: https://www.education.ie/en/The-Department/Customer-Service/scheme-under-section-15-of-the-official-languages-act-2003-2020-2023-.pdf . The scheme was published in February 2020 and will be in place until 2023.
Examples of some of the key services my Department currently provides are as follows:
- Where a person communicates in writing or by electronic mail in an official language with the Department, they will be responded to in the same language.
- The Department operates an Irish-language telephone line and commits to responding to callers within 1 working day by a member of staff who can deal with queries in Irish.
- Where the Department communicates in writing or by electronic mail with the general public or a class of the general public for the purpose of furnishing information, the Department ensures that the communication is in the Irish language or in both official languages.
- The Payroll Division of the Department will issue payslips, and other correspondence in Irish to payees on the Primary Teachers Payroll, Post Primary Payroll, Non -Teaching Staff Payroll and Retirees Payroll on request.
- The Department will ensure that all appropriate web pages contained within the main structure of www.education.ie will be bilingual.
My Department publishes a number of documents simultaneously in Irish and English in keeping with the Irish Language Scheme and it also publishes various application forms relating to issues such as payroll services or primary administration in Irish.
The information in respect of state bodies, within the scope of the Deputy’s question, is not held by my Department. Contact details for these bodies are set out in the attached document, should the Deputy wish to contact the aegis bodies directly with this query.
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Contact E-Mail Addresses for State Bodies under the Remit of the Department of Education |
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Name of Body |
Dedicated Email address for the Members of the Oireacthas |
Designated Official Responsible for assisting Oireachtas Members |
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An Chomhairle um Oideachais Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta (Note 1) |
oireachtas@cogg.ie |
muireann@cogg.ie |
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Educational Research Centre |
oireachtas.queries@erc.ie |
jude.cosgrove@erc.ie |
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National Centre for Guidance in Education |
oireachtas@ncge.ie |
Jennifer.mckenzie@ncge.ie |
|
National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (Note 2) |
oireactasqueries@ncca.ie |
Aine.ArmstrongFarrell@ncca.ie |
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State Examinations Commission |
Oireachtas@examinations.ie |
Paddy.Quinn@examinations.ie |
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The Teaching Council |
pqrep@teachingcouncil.ie |
Tomás Ó Ruairc |
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National Council for Special Education |
oireachtasqueries@ncse.ie |
patrick.martin@ncse.ie and cindyjane.oconnell@ncse.ie |
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Residential Institutions Statutory Fund - Caranua |
Oireachtas@caranua.ie |
jane.merrigan@caranua.ie. |
Note 1 – The designated officer responsible within An Chomhairle um Oideachais Gaeltachta is Muireann Ní Mhóráin
Note 2 - The spelling of the NCCA e-mail address to which Oireachtas queries may be addressed has been verified with the NCCA as being accurate.
589. Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin asked the Minister for Education the additional learning support that is available for children that enter the primary education system before the cut off point for exemption for compulsory Irish to catch up with their peers; the number of pupils that join the primary school system between second and fifth class; if she will consider creating a pilot scheme of remote learning support to help such children; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21948/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Primary Language Curriculum is for children of all abilities in all school contexts and comprises both Irish and English. It recognises and supports pupils’ engagement with Irish and English at different stages and rates along their language-learning journey. It builds on the language knowledge and experience that pupils bring to the school and recognises that pupils will be at various stages. Schools cater for a wide diversity of needs by providing a differentiated learning experience for pupils in an inclusive school environment for both Irish and English. This is informed by the benefits of bilingualism for all pupils, as well as the principles of inclusion that underpin the Primary Language Curriculum. All pupils should be encouraged to study Irish and achieve a level of personal proficiency that is appropriate to their own personal needs and ability.
The Progression Continua in the Primary Language Curriculum provide a framework for teachers to identify the pupil’s stage of language development and to plan interventions that support the development of language skills and competences in Irish and in English in an integrated manner, emphasising the transferability of language skills across languages. Differentiation is a way of teaching in which teachers proactively modify curriculum, teaching methods, resources and learning activities in line with the identified needs of an individual and/or small groups of learners to maximize the learning opportunity for each learner in the classroom. The aim of differentiation is to ensure that each pupil can engage in purposeful and meaningful learning activities and to increase their motivation and enjoyment in order to support them in engaging with increasingly challenging tasks over time tasks over time. Teachers adapt teaching activities and resources in order that they build on the pupil’s identified strengths in response to need. Teachers give consideration to the distinctive characteristics and learning styles of individual pupils. This enables pupils to make progress in their language-learning journey at a rate that is appropriate for them
The Special Education Teaching Allocation model also allows mainstream schools to provide additional teaching support for all pupils who require such support in their schools based on their identified learning needs in school. The deployment and use of these resources is at the discretion of the school and is based on the availability of resources and the identified needs of its pupils.
The Department has no plans for a pilot scheme of remote learning support.
There were 1,777 new entrants with a source of “School Abroad” for the specified standards in 2019-20.
2019
New Entrant Pupil Source Standard Enrolment
(Y/N) Description Description per Return
Y Schools Abroad Second Class 443
Y Schools Abroad Third Class 452
Y Schools Abroad Fourth Class 451
Y Schools Abroad Fifth Class 431
Grand Total 1,777
590. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Education the number of primary schools that have between 20 to 23, 24 to 27 and 28 to 31 teachers within their schools in tabular form. [21984/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraPlease find attached requested data for the number of schools with teachers in the ranges of 20-23, 24-27 & 28-31 for the academic year 2019-20 the last year we have published figures for.
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Academic Year 2019-20 |
|||
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Number of Classes/Teachers |
20-23 |
24-27 |
28-31 |
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Number of Schools |
54 |
61 |
10 |
Notes: Data is derived from the 2019-20 Primary Class Size Information where 1 class = 1 teacher
It should be noted that this information pertains to ordinary mainstream classes in mainstream primary schools only.
https://www.education.ie/en/Publications/Statistics/Data-on-Individual-Schools/
591. Deputy James Lawless asked the Minister for Education the status of the provision of behaviour analysts for children with autism and complex special educational needs (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21995/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department previously funded 13 centres through an ABA pilot scheme funded for the period 1999-2011.
All of these centres applied for and were granted recognition as special schools for children with Autism and form part of the network of special schools.
As part of the transitional agreement my Department provides grant funding to these schools to engage behaviour practitioners. My Department intends to continue this arrangement for the 2021/22 school year.
My Department facilitates a Consultative Forum with the Patrons of these 13 schools to ensure these schools are adequately supported.
My Department will convene a meeting of this forum to ensure this issue and other matters arising can be addressed through this forum.
592. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Education further to Parliamentary Question No. 1051 of 21 April 2021, if it is accepted that a school (details supplied) has traditionally been a feeder school for second-level education in Maynooth and given that same would have been taken into consideration when constructing the new campus in Maynooth that due consideration would have been given or should have been given to providing school transport along with the accepted tradition of pupils from the school attending second-level school in Maynooth; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21996/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraSchool Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the current school year over 114,100 children, including over 14,700 children with special educational needs, are transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country at a cost of over €224.7m in 2020.
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.
A number of changes to the School Transport Scheme were introduced in Budget 2011, which derived from recommendations in the Value for Money Review of the Scheme. These changes encompassed a number of elements including the cessation of catchment boundary area to determine eligibility at post primary level.
Under the terms of the Department's School Transport Scheme children are eligible for school transport if they satisfy the distance criteria (3.2km at primary and 4.8km at post-primary) and are attending their nearest school as determined by my Department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language.
All children who are eligible for school transport and who complete the application and payment process on time will be accommodated on school transport services for the 2021/2022 school year where such services are in operation. Children who are not eligible for school transport may apply for transport on a concessionary basis only and will be facilitated where spare seats are available after eligible children have been accommodated. Where the number of ineligible children exceeds the number of spare seats available Bus Éireann allocates tickets using an agreed selection process.
Bus Éireann has advised that pupils who reside in Rathcoffey village and are attending Maynooth Post Primary Centre are generally not eligible for transport as they reside closer to Scoil Mhuire Community School, Clane, Co. Kildare.
However, pupils who reside in Rathcoffey village and are attending Gaelcholáiste Mhaigh Nuad, Maynooth, Co. Kildare (All Irish) and Maynooth Community College, Co. Kildare (Aonad) may be eligible for transport as they are attending their nearest All Irish school.
593. Deputy Martin Browne asked the Minister for Education the position regarding the case of a person (details supplied) in County Tipperary who has been refused a school bus ticket to Newport due to the fact that Doon is 300 metres closer to their home. [21999/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraSchool Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the current school year over 114,100 children, including over 14,700 children with special educational needs, are transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country at a cost of over €224.7m in 2020.
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 School Transport Scheme, children are eligible for transport where they reside not less than 3.2kms at primary and 4.8kms at post-primary and are attending their nearest School/Education Centre as determined by the Department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language.
All children who are eligible for school transport and who complete the application and payment process on time will be accommodated on school transport services for the 2021/22 school year where such services are in operation.
Children who are not eligible for school transport may apply for transport on a concessionary basis only and will be facilitated where spare seats are available after eligible children have been accommodated. Where the number of ineligible children exceeds the number of spare seats available Bus Éireann allocates tickets for the spare seats using an agreed selection process.
Bus Éireann have confirmed that the pupil referred to by the Deputy is not eligible for school transport as he is not attending his closest school. No application for school transport was received for the pupil in question for the 20/21 school year. An application for school transport for the pupil in question for the 21/22 school year was received 28/02/2021.
Bus Éireann have advised that there is a school transport service available for the 21/22 school year from where the pupil resides to their school of attendance.
594. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Education the actions she is taking to address the shortage of secondary school places for children with special educational needs in Cork city; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22014/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraEnabling children with special educational needs to receive an education appropriate to their needs is a priority for this Government.
This year, over 20% of the total Education budget or €2bn will be invested in supporting children with special educational needs. As a result, the numbers of special education teachers, SNAs and special class and school places are at unprecedented levels.
The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has responsibility for coordinating and advising on the education provision for children nationwide.
It is open to any school to make an application to the NCSE for the establishment of a specialised provision and where sanctioned, a range of supports, including capital funding, is made available to the school.
The majority of special schools cater for students up to the age of 18. However, in the event that students are transitioning from a special school to a post-primary school, such enrolment applications are a matter for each individual board of management and the NCSE does not hold such records.
The NCSE, through its local network of SENOs (Special Educational Needs Organisers), is available to provide advice and support to parents of students that are due to transition to post-primary on the possible placement options available to their child, including mainstream placement with appropriate support, special class placement and special school placement. Post-primary placements are supported with additional resources where required.
I would like to assure the Deputy that the NCSE is continuing to work with post-primary schools in Cork to provide additional special class places to meet future demand.
The Deputy will also be aware of the recent announcement whereby Minister Foley and I have secured a significant expansion of special school provision in Cork through the establishment of a new special school and increased capacity in an existing special school to meet the needs of children in the Cork area.
The new provision will see the establishment of a new special school in Carrigaline which will have the capacity to provide 48 school places. It will provide for the needs of children with autism and general learning disability up to eighteen years of age.
The provision will also provide for a change to the designation of St. Mary’s Special School, Rochestown to also cater for children with a dual diagnosis of learning disability and autism with 12 new school places becoming available for September 2021.
Priority will now be given to those children who currently do not have an offer of a school place for next September.
The provision of 60 additional special school placements is to cater for the immediate requirements. I can assure the Deputy that my Department and the NCSE continue to work towards the development of additional placements in the Cork area to meet ongoing and future demand.
The NCSE's local Special Educational Needs Organiser (SENO) remains available to parents. Parents may contact SENOs directly using the contact details available at: https://ncse.ie/regional-services-contact-list . As information on available special education places changes as the school year progresses, parents are advised to maintain contact with their local SENOs.
595. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Education if users of the school bus transport system cannot avail of the medical card waiver if they are on concessionary tickets; if this is the case even if they are unable to attend their nearest school through no fault of their own, for example, if it is oversubscribed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22049/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraSchool Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the current school year over 114,100 children, including over 14,700 children with special educational needs, are transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country at a cost of over €224.7m in 2020.
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 School Transport Scheme, children are eligible for transport where they reside not less than 3.2kms at primary and 4.8kms at post-primary and are attending their nearest School/Education Centre as determined by the Department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language.
All children who are eligible for school transport and who completed the application and payment process on time have been accommodated on school transport services for the 2020/21 school year where such services are in operation.
Children who are not eligible for school transport under the terms of the scheme may apply to Bus Éireann for transport on a concessionary basis subject to a number of conditions including the appropriate annual charge is paid. The Medical Card waiver is not applicable to children who are not eligible for school transport.
It should be noted that in cases where the Department is satisfied that the nearest school is full, eligibility for school transport will be determined based on the distance that children reside from their next nearest school having regard to ethos and language. If a family has further information in regard to the closest school being full they should contact School Transport Section of my Department. Further information in this regard is available on my Department's website www.education.ie .
596. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Education the reason pupils in a school (details supplied) do not have access to an educational psychiatrist; and her plans to put this service in place in the school. [22060/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraI can inform the Deputy that a new educational psychologist was assigned to the school referred to by the Deputy in January this year. Prior to this a member of the local NEPS team provided a service to the school which involved responding to queries from the school, access to critical incident support if needed, casework, case consultation and access to the Scheme for the Commissioning of Psychological Assessments (SCPA).
597. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Education if the relationship and sexuality programme developed by an organisation (details supplied) will be used in primary schools; and if so, the way in which that relates to the commitment in the Programme for Government to develop inclusive and age-appropriate relationships and sexuality education and social, personal and health education curricula across primary and post-primary levels including an inclusive programme on LGBTI+ relationships and making appropriate legislative changes. [22069/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraAccess to sexual and health education is an important right for students. Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE) is a mandatory curriculum subject in all primary schools and in post-primary Junior Cycle. Relationships and Sexuality Education (or RSE) is required at all levels, from primary through to Senior Cycle. My Department has set out the content for each of these programmes in SPHE syllabuses and guidelines.
All schools are required to have an RSE policy that is developed in consultation with the school community, including school management, parents, teachers and students as appropriate. The school’s programme for Relationship and Sexuality Education is developed and taught in the context of the school’s RSE policy. Schools are required to teach all aspects of the RSE programme, including family planning, sexually transmitted infections and sexual orientation. It is important to note that the ethos of the school should never preclude learners from acquiring the knowledge about the issues, but ethos may influence how that content is treated.
The Programme for Government states that ‘this Government will develop inclusive and age appropriate curricula for Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) and Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE) across primary and post-primary schools, including an inclusive programme on LGBTI+ relationships’.
In April 2018, then Minister for Education and Skills Mr. Richard Bruton asked the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) to undertake a major review of Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) in schools across all stages of education to ensure that it is fit for purpose and meets the needs of young people today in modern Ireland. The NCCA advises the Department and Minister in relation to the curriculum to be taught in schools.
The Report on the Review of Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) in primary and post-primary schools was published by the NCCA in December, 2019.
The NCCA was asked to look at a number of specific issues in respect of RSE and the curriculum. These included but were not limited to consent; developments in relation to contraception; healthy positive, sexual expression and relationships; safe use of the Internet and social media and its effects on relationships and self-esteem; and LGBTQ+ matters.
The NCCA has established two development groups, one for primary and one for post-primary, to oversee the work in this area and support the development of guidance material for schools. Both the primary and post primary SPHE/RSE Development Groups have been meeting virtually on a monthly basis since the groups were convened in October 2020.
The immediate focus of the work is on creating support materials for teachers for publication online as part of the Interim Guidance Toolkit. The toolkit's purpose is to support effective teaching and learning of SPHE/RSE linked to the current curriculum. This work is progressing well and the first section of the toolkit (a portal repository of teaching and learning resources linked to the Primary SPHE Curriculum, the SPHE Junior Cycyle Short Course and Senior Cycyle SPHE Framework) is now published and a second section is due to be published at the end of April.
Further sections of the toolkit will be added over the coming weeks/months. To visit the recently updated primary toolkit go to this link
https://www.curriculumonline.ie/Primary/Curriculum-Areas/Social,-Personal-and-Health-Education/Junior-and-Senior-Infants/?lang=en-ie
To visit the Junior Cycle toolkit go to this link https://www.curriculumonline.ie/Junior-cycle/Short-Courses/SPHE/SPHE-RSE-toolkit/?lang=en-ie/
To visit the Senior Cycle toolkit go to this link https://www.curriculumonline.ie/Senior-cycle/SPHE-(1)/SPHE-Toolkit/?lang=en-ie
In tandem with the development of the online Toolkit, preparation for the broader redeveloping and updating of the SPHE curriculum as recommended in the NCCA Report has begun, with an initial focus on Junior Cycle. The review of the current Junior Cycle SPHE course has been completed and will be considered by the NCCA Council in June. This review contains a brief which will inform the work of the subject development groups in formulating an updated Junior Cycle SPHE specification, which will begin in September. A draft of the updated Junior Cycle SPHE specification will be available for public consultation in Q1 of 2022.
598. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Education the progress of the recommendations made in the Caranua report Facing the Future Together: Discussing Ireland’s Lifelong Responsibility to the Survivors of Institutional Abuse; her plans to fully implement the plan for survivors; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22075/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs you may be aware, there are a number of published reports and current consultation work highlighting the ongoing needs of Survivors and the lifelong difficulties they experienced due to their childhood experiences in residential care. The report of themes to be explored in further consultation with Survivors of Abuse in Residential Institutions published in August 2019 by the Department of Education and Skills highlighted:
- the increased health needs of an aging population;
- concerns about adequate and suitable housing;
- social supports to counteract social isolation and the need to make services easier to access.
The “Facing the Future together” conference report produced by the Christine Buckley Centre, Caranua, and others, was launched in October 2020 and identifies the following supports as being particularly important for survivors –
- medical card,
- family services,
- advocacy support,
- trauma-informed care and
- global support.
Through an inter-departmental group, the Department is engaging with the other Government Departments who are responsible for these services to scope out how best to provide supports in the future for survivors. In addition, a Survivor-Led Consultation Group was established during 2020 to engage in a further phase of the consultation process and is meeting on a regular basis using virtual technology. The meetings are facilitated by professionally qualified facilitators who are funded by my Departments. Matters relating to survivors of institutional abuse identified by survivors, and which are set out in the August 2019 report, continue to be discussed by the Group. I met with the Group in December 2020 to hear about the various issues which had been identified by the Group.
It is expected this consultation process will be concluded shortly. Their findings will be further considered by the inter-departmental group and their conclusions will feed into my consideration of proposals to Government in this context.
599. Deputy David Stanton asked the Minister for Education the number of primary school students projected to transition to secondary level in each of the four school planning areas of Cobh, Midleton and Carrigtwohill, Fermoy and Youghal, respectively in each of the years 2026 to 2028; the number of students who have transitioned to second-level in each of these four school planning areas in each of the years 2017 to 2020; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22077/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy is aware, in order to plan for school provision and analyse the relevant demographic data, my Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas and uses a Geographical Information System, using data from a range of sources, including Child Benefit and school enrolment data, to identify where the pressure for school places across the country will arise and where additional school accommodation is needed at primary and post-primary level.
The anticipation of projected post primary school place requirements is based, in the first instance, on the level of enrolment at each standard (class) in primary schools and the historic transfer patterns between primary and post primary schools.
As the Deputy maybe aware the demographic review for 2020 has now been completed and the most recent projections are currently being considered. As part of this review, my Department completed projections up to 2027. Based on the information available at the time of that demographic exercise, the current projections for first year intake numbers in the Cobh, Midleton_Carrigtwohill, Fermoy and Youghal school planning areas for 2026 and 2027 are as follows:
|
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Cobh |
Midleton_Carrigtwohill |
Youghal |
Fermoy |
|
2026 |
161 |
658 |
195 |
368 |
|
2027 |
144 |
654 |
195 |
368 |
It should be noted, however, that residential development in an area can contribute to increased school place requirements. For that reason, my Department includes information received from local authorities in respect of current or planned residential developments in its consideration of future school place projections. Of the four school planning areas referenced by the Deputy, Midleton_Carrigtwohill and Cobh have the highest level of residential development activity, as notified by the local authority, and this may result in demand additional to the numbers outlined above. This is informing deliberations in respect of any potential school accommodation requirements. The projections will be updated on a rolling basis and will take account of the additional student numbers which materialise when planned residential development is completed and occupied.
As requested, the numbers of students who have enrolled in First Year in post primary schools in each of these four school planning areas in each of the years 2017 to 2020 are set out below:-
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|
Cobh |
Midleton_Carrigtwohill |
Youghal |
Fermoy |
|
2017 |
166 |
690 |
183 |
343 |
|
2018 |
163 |
655 |
162 |
367 |
|
2019 |
176 |
749 |
176 |
357 |
|
2020 |
170 |
785 |
177 |
410 |
600. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Education further to Parliamentary Question No. 922 of 21 March 2021, when a school (details supplied) will be notified of a decision in respect of its application submitted to Bus Éireann in October 2020 and subject to approval by her Department for a new bus service to cover the route of Carra to Bulluan, County Galway which is currently not serviced; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22083/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraSchool Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the current school year over 114,100 children, including over 14,700 children with special educational needs, are transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country at a cost of over €224.7m in 2020.
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 the 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/education centre as determined by my Department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language.
All children who are eligible for school transport and who completed the application and payment process on time have been accommodated on school transport services for the 2020/21 school year where such services are in operation. The closing date for payment for the 2020/2021 school year was Tuesday 4th August 2020.
Children who are not eligible for school transport may apply for transport on a concessionary basis only and will be facilitated where spare seats are available after eligible children have been accommodated.
As previously advised, Bus Éireann has confirmed that all services operating to the post-primary centre referred to by the Deputy are currently operating at capacity.
601. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Education the options that are open to the parents of a child (details supplied) in securing a specialist school placement after being unsuccessful three times in applying to a school. [22091/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraEnabling children with special educational needs to receive an education appropriate to their needs is a priority for this Government.
This year, over 20% of the total Education budget or €2bn will be invested in supporting children with special educational needs. As a result, the numbers of special education teachers, SNAs and special class and school places are at unprecedented levels.
The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has responsibility for coordinating and advising on the education provision for children nationwide.
NCSE is planning a further expansion of special class and special school places nationally, to meet identified need. This process is ongoing. Through better planning at both national and local level, it is my objective that specialist education places should come on stream to meet emerging demand on a timely basis. However, the active collaboration of school communities is essential in this regard.
It is open to any school to make an application to the NCSE for the establishment of a specialised provision and where sanctioned, a range of supports, including capital funding, is made available to the school.
Notwithstanding the extent of this investment, there are some parts of the country, including South Dublin, where increases in population and other issues have led to concerns regarding a shortage of school places.
The Deputy may be aware of the process underway in South Dublin under Section 37A of the Education Act, 1998. Statutory notices issued under the Act together with the representations received from the schools and their patrons are published on my Department’s website. As the legal process is still underway, it would not be appropriate for me to comment further at this stage.
Minister Foley and I also announced the establishment of a new special school (Our Lady of Hope School) in Crumlin, Dublin 12 last December. Both the NCSE and my Department are working closely with the patron and the school's management team on the practical arrangements required to progress this project as speedily as possible.
Finally, I can reassure the Deputy that the local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs) are available to assist and advise both schools and the parents of children with special educational needs. Parents may contact SENOs directly using the contact details available at: https://ncse.ie/regional-services-contact-list .
Information on the list of schools with special classes, the type and location of these classes is published on the NCSE website and is available at www.ncse.ie
The admission policies of schools are the remit of the Board of Management of each school and, as such, the NCSE has no role in relation to the number of applicants or waiting lists. However, once schools notify NCSE of vacancies within their specialist provision, SENOs work locally to ensure parents are made aware of these special class places.
602. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Education the steps that can be taken by a person (details supplied) to help ensure their child can attain a place at a school; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22092/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn relation to school admissions, it is the responsibility of the managerial authorities of all 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 school places in that area.
Under the provisions of the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018, all schools are required to have drafted new admissions policies, which have been approved by the patron, following consultation with staff and parents of children who are attending the school. The newly revised school’s admissions policy is published on the schools website. It is a key requirement of the act that all school admission policies are fair and transparent.
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 will 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.
The act requires schools to clearly set out their selection criteria in their admission policies. Schools have discretion in relation to their admission criteria and how they are applied. The criteria to be applied by schools and the order of priority are a matter for the schools themselves. My Department does not seek to intervene in the selection criterion that is applied by schools.
603. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Education the criteria for a ten-year-old child to qualify for school personal resource hours with an IQ of less than 90; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22096/21]
Amharc ar fhreagra604. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Education the additional school personal resources that are available to a ten-year-old child with an IQ of above 90; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22097/21]
Amharc ar fhreagra605. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Education the additional school personal resources that are available to a ten-year-old child with an IQ of below 90; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22098/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 603, 604 and 605 together.
I wish to advise the Deputy that Special Education Teachers support the mainstream class teacher by providing additional teaching support for pupils with special educational needs, or additional learning needs, in schools.
DES Circular 007/2019 for primary schools and 008/2019 for post primary schools set out the details of the model for allocating special education teachers to schools.
The 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. This model has replaced the previous model of allocating resource teaching support and learning support to schools.
The Special Education Teacher allocation, allows schools to provide additional teaching support for all pupils who require such support in their schools and for schools to deploy resources based on each pupil’s individual learning needs.
It gives greater flexibility to schools as to how they can deploy their resources, to take account of the actual learning needs pupils have, as opposed to being guided by a particular diagnosis of disability, and schools are guided as to how they should make such allocation decisions.
The school will take account of learning needs of children as evidenced by performance in schools but also supported where relevant by information provided regarding the nature of a condition that a pupil may have.
The Department of Education and Skills has published guidelines for schools as to how they should utilise and deploy their resources under the new allocation model, which are available at www.education.ie
The guidelines support schools in how they identify pupils for additional teaching support and decide how much support to provide for pupils who need it.
Under the special education teacher allocation model schools are frontloaded with resources, based on each schools profile, to provide supports immediately to those pupils who need it without delay.
Children who need support can have that support provided immediately rather than having to wait for a diagnosis.
Children do not have to be diagnosed with a particular condition to qualify for extra teaching assistance.
The model gives greater freedom to schools to give extra teaching help to the pupils who most need it, regardless of their diagnosis.
Schools also do not have to give a set amount of time to pupils based on their disability category. They can give the most assistance to the pupils who need the support most and allocate resources based on needs.
Children who have additional learning needs in school may receive additional teaching support in schools.
