Written Answers Nos. 212-228
216. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Education if a person (details supplied) might qualify for assistance towards schoolbooks given that they are not currently in receipt of a payment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33391/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs Minister for Education, I believe it is crucially important that children and young people are actively supported to access education in its fullest forms. This Government recognises that the cost of preparing children for school each September can be a cause of financial difficulty and worry for many Irish families.
Earlier this year I announced the establishment of Ireland’s first national primary school book scheme. More than 558,000 pupils enrolled in approximately 3,230 primary schools, including over 130 special schools, will benefit from this new measure. In March, the Department issued extensive guidance to schools on the operation of the scheme.
At a minimum, the scheme will provide free schoolbooks, workbooks and copybooks for all children and young people in recognised primary schools and special schools. Parents, including the parent in question who I understand has primary school-going children, should not be asked to purchase, or to make a contribution to the school towards the cost of, schoolbooks, workbooks or copybooks. Schools have received €96 per pupil and this is paid based on pupil enrolment figures.
The implementation of the measure builds on the experience of school book rental schemes currently in place for a number of years in 96% of primary schools and on the learning from the free school books pilot provided for the past three school years in over 100 DEIS primary schools.
Primary schools and special schools will continue to have autonomy to choose books that meet their curricular requirements. The scheme will seek to ensure that value for money is achieved and that primary schools and special schools will be supported to implement the scheme in a way that delivers the best learning outcomes for pupils.
My Department engaged with all relevant stakeholders as to how the scheme will operate. These included: primary school management bodies, unions, the National Parents Council Primary, representatives of booksellers and schoolbook publishers, IBEC, Retail Ireland, the Small Firms Association, Barnardos and the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul. My Department also engaged with a number of schools, including some of the primary schools participating in the DEIS pilot free book scheme, to learn of their first-hand experience of operating a book rental scheme.
A full evaluation of the first year of implementation of the scheme will be undertaken in consultation with the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform, to inform the guidance, implementation, costs and efficiency of the scheme for future years.
As Minister for Education, I am acutely aware of the various costs faced by families upon the return of their children to school each September and am confident that this new provision will significantly reduce the back to school financial burden for many families.
217. Deputy Michael McNamara asked the Minister for Education to outline if a review of the existing panel system for teaching positions has been or will be carried out by her Department; if consideration will be given to the reintroduction of the open application system for relocations (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33180/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraCircular 74/2022 sets out the arrangements for the Supplementary Panel for the 2023/24 school year. The panel criteria is reviewed each year, in consultation with the Education Partners (which includes the Teacher Union). Arrangements in relation to next year's Supplementary Panel will be reviewed and published towards the end of the current year.
The redeployment arrangements are a mechanism used to fill teaching posts. Each Main Redeployment Panel is created for surplus permanent/CID holding teachers in order to ensure that vacancies are offered in the first instance to these teachers. Once all surplus permanent/CID holding teachers are redeployed, schools are required to fill permanent vacancies from Supplementary Redeployment Panels comprised of eligible fixed-term (temporary/substitute) and part-time teachers. At that point, fixed-term vacancies may be advertised through open competition.
Once a redeployment panel has been exhausted in an area, schools with permanent vacancies in that area may proceed to open competition to fill these vacancies. It is open to any teacher to apply for these vacancies as they arise.
218. Deputy Steven Matthews asked the Minister for Education the steps she will take to ensure the temporary accommodation committed to for a school (details supplied) will be in place in advance of the new school year; if the basis for any delays for this project can be outlined; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33223/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am pleased to advise the Deputy that approval under the Additional School Accommodation scheme has issued to the school in question for the provision of six general classrooms.
The project is being delivered under the Department’s Devolved Reconfiguration and Modular Accommodation programme. The project managers for the school in question have completed their viability report and are working closely with the school authority to ensure the required accommodation is delivered as soon as possible.The Department has a significant modular accommodation programme in place to assist schools in the provision of additional capacity, including in respect of facilitating the establishment of special classes. This programme involves the use of Project Management supports which is designed to enable the accommodation to be provided as quickly as possible and help ease the administrative workload for school authorities in relation to the management and delivery of projects.
The use of the Department’s Modular Accommodation Framework also assists in ensuring lead in periods for procurement of modular accommodation are minimised to the greatest extent possible. To date, this has worked very well in the education sector and has seen delivery of large scale, high quality modular accommodation to meet the needs of children, particularly those with special educational needs.
However, the wider context in relation to the overall modular market at present is challenging with modular accommodation suppliers being very busy across commercial, housing and other sectors.
The Department is working closely with the Project Management teams and the modular accommodation suppliers to ensure additional capacity for the schools sector is delivered as quickly as possible. While the position continues to evolve, it is envisaged that the bulk of the overall modular accommodation requirements will be dealt with over the course of Term 1 of the new school year.
The Department is working closely with school authorities on contingency planning arrangements and putting any necessary supports in place.
219. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Education to clarify whether at any point over the past ten years the SSL certificates for her Department’s websites expired for a period of time; if so, the reason this occurred; and the duration they remained expired. [33269/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department has recorded no instances over the past ten years where SSL certs, for public facing websites, remained expired for a period of time.
220. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Education to provide an update in relation to the urgent emergency works application by a school (details supplied). [33304/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraI can confirm to the Deputy, that my Department has since approved the Emergency Works application to which the Deputy refers and the school has been advised of same.
221. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Education for an update on school building works at a school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33340/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe large scale capital project at the school referred to by the Deputy, is at an advanced stage of Architectural planning Stage 3 – Tender Action and Award. The tender process was undertaken and a contractor is identified. However, the existing planning permission is due to expire in September 2023. My Department's officials are liaising with the Design Team in relation to planning permission requirements with the aim of ensuring that any delays are minimised to the greatest extent possible. It remains the Department's ambition to have construction commencing on this project in 2023.
222. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Education if she and her officials will engage directly with a parent (details supplied) regarding their School Transport Scheme difficulties; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33350/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the 2022/2023 school year, over 149,000 children, including over 18,000 children with special educational needs, were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country.
There has been an increase of 21% in tickets issued to eligible students and an increase of 38% in tickets issued on a concessionary basis in the 2022/23 school year compared to the 2021/22 school year.
In addition, school transport scheme services were provided in the for over 5,400 children who have arrived to Ireland from Ukraine.
The total cost of the scheme in 2022 was €338.9m.
Under the terms of my Department's School Transport Scheme for Children with Special Educational Needs, children are eligible for transport where they are attending the nearest recognised school that is or can be resourced to meet their special educational needs.The National Council for Special Education through its network of Special Education Needs Organisers (SENOs) acts in an advisory role to my Department on the suitability of placements for children with special educational needs.
A pupil with special educational needs is eligible for school transport if s/he is attending the nearest recognised mainstream school, special class / special school or a unit, that is or can be resourced to meet the child's special educational needs under Department of Education's criteria.
An application for school transport has not been received in School Transport Section of my Department, and Bus Éireann have advised that the pupil referred to by the Deputy is not availing of a transport service provided under the School Transport Scheme. In order to apply for school transport under the School Transport Scheme for Children with Special Educational Needs, the family should contact their school principal in the first instance who will assist in submitting an application for school transport to the SENO that is affiliated with the school the child is attending.
Further details of this scheme can be found on the Departments website: gov.ie/schooltransport.
Officials in School Transport Section can be contacted directly at: school_transport@education.gov.ie, where they will be happy to assist with queries the family may have.
223. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Education the band a school (details supplied) is on the Pobal HP deprivation index; what data was used to decide this; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33386/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department provides a wide range of supports to all schools, DEIS and non-DEIS, to support the inclusion of all students and address barriers to students achieving their potential. Supplementing the universal supports available to all schools, the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) Programme is a key policy initiative of my Department to address concentrated educational disadvantage at school level in a targeted and equitable way across the primary and post-primary sector.
The identification of schools for inclusion in DEIS is based on the “multiplier effect” of concentrated levels of socio-economic disadvantage on the educational experience. The approach is grounded in international evidence and it is considered that it is the combination of the various interventions under DEIS that have enabled it to succeed. Recent endorsements for the approach include a 2018 OECD report, Equity in Education – breaking down barriers to social mobility which showed that educationally disadvantaged students do much better in schools where they are a minority, thereby demonstrating the importance of focusing support on concentrated numbers of students from areas of significant socio-economic disadvantage.
When the Delivering Equality of Education in Schools (DEIS) programme was first established in 2005 schools were identified for inclusion in the programme using different means than currently, and the methods differed at primary and post-primary levels. At primary level a survey of school principals provided data on the percentage of students in the school with the following characteristics : – parents who were unemployed; living in local authority accommodation; from lone parent families; of Traveller ethnicity; from large families (more than 5 children); and eligible for free books. At post-primary level centralised information was used to identify schools for inclusion: the percentage of students with medical cards; school level retention rates for several cohorts; and Junior Certificate achievement data over a period of time.
It was through this identification process that the school referred to by the Deputy was included in the DEIS programme, and it has been in receipt of the full range of supports under the DEIS school support programme since that time. The designation of a DEIS school as DEIS Band 1, Band 2 or Rural only applies to primary schools. The school to which the Deputy refers is a post-primary school. All post-primary DEIS schools receive the same supports, which are listed at www.gov.ie/en/policy-information/4018ea-deis-delivering-equality-of-opportunity-in-schools/.
In March last year, I announced the single largest expansion of the DEIS programme. This benefited 361 schools. The programme now includes 1,200 schools and supports approximately 240,000 students. This means 1 in 4 of all students are now supported in the programme.
Schools were identified for inclusion in the programme through the refined DEIS identification model, which is an objective, statistics-based model. Schools were not required to apply for inclusion in the DEIS programme and the model has been applied fairly and equally to all schools. A detailed paper on the refined DEIS identification model is available on gov.ie at www.gov.ie/en/publication/a3c9e-extension-of-deis-to-further-schools/#how-schools-were-selected-for-inclusion-in-deis
My Department is continuing to undertake work towards achieving its vision for an inclusive education system which supports all learners to achieve their potential. It also recognises that we need to target resources to those schools who need them most. That is why my Department has undertaken a programme of work to explore the allocation of resources to schools to address educational disadvantage. To support this work my Department have invited the OECD Strength Through Diversity: Education for Inclusive Societies Project to review the current policy approach for the allocation of resources to support students at risk of educational disadvantage in Ireland. This review will provide an independent expert opinion on the current resource allocation model for the DEIS programme and, drawing on international examples, inform a policy approach for an equitable distribution of supplementary resources to support students at risk of educational disadvantage attending all schools, both DEIS and non-DEIS. The OECD are engaging with a range of relevant stakeholders to inform the review process as well as drawing on international examples. The OECD estimates that the review will be completed in Q2 2024.
The OECD review is being complimented by a programme of work by my Department which will look at reviewing individual resources and allocation approaches. This work will consider the allocation of resources, including Home School Community Liaison support, within the DEIS programme. This work will be involve consultation with a range of relevant stakeholders. It will also seek to ensure that schools are supported to ensure every child has an equal opportunity to achieve their potential.
Following the National Census held in April 2022, it is envisaged that an updated HP Deprivation Index will be generated by Pobal and will be available in Q3 of 2023. My Department will engage with Pobal in relation to this process. The updated HP Deprivation Index, when available, will be considered by my Department to help inform future resource allocation to tackle educational disadvantage.
224. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Education the percentage of secondary schools have been given access to a full-time HSCL; if this has declined in recent years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33387/23]
Amharc ar fhreagra225. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Education the reason a secondary school (details supplied) was allocated 0.5 HSCL; what data was used to make this decision; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33388/23]
Amharc ar fhreagra227. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Education how a school (details supplied) was placed in the same cluster for HSCL as another local school; who made this decision; what policy was used to make this decision; if she will provide the correspondence that was sent with this decision; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33390/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 224, 225 and 227 together.
Currently, all DEIS Urban Primary and Post Primary schools are included in the Home School Community Liaison Scheme (HSCL), which serves 687 DEIS schools. The scheme is delivered by 530 full-time HSCL Coordinators who are teachers in these schools and assigned to HSCL duties either in individual schools or in clusters of schools, catering for approximately 207,000 pupils. This includes 230 post primary DEIS schools, of which 178 schools (77.4%) are assigned a full HSCL post and 52 schools are assigned a shared post.
The HSCL scheme seeks to promote partnership between parents, teachers and community family support services, with a view to supporting improved attendance, participation and retention.
The scheme is one of a suite of initiatives funded by my Department as part of the overall DEIS programme and Tusla Education Support Services (TESS) manages the scheme on behalf of my Department.
When the DEIS programme was first established, schools were identified for inclusion in the programme using different means than currently, and the methods differed at primary and post-primary levels. At primary level a survey of school principals provided data on the percentage of students in the school with the following characteristics : – parents who were unemployed; living in local authority accommodation; from lone parent families; of Traveller ethnicity; from large families (more than 5 children); and eligible for free books. At post-primary level centralised information was used to identify schools for inclusion: the percentage of students with medical cards; school level retention rates for several cohorts; and Junior Certificate achievement data over a period of time.
It was through this identification process that the school referred to by the Deputy was included in the DEIS programme, and it has been in receipt of the full range of supports under the DEIS school support programme since that time. The designation of a DEIS school as DEIS Band 1, Band 2 or Rural only applies to primary schools. The school to which the Deputy refers is a post-primary school. The supports provided under DEIS to post-primary schools are listed at www.gov.ie/en/policy-information/4018ea-deis-delivering-equality-of-opportunity-in-schools/.
The school in question was clustered with a local DEIS primary school for a number of years for HSCL support. 1 HSCL coordinator post was shared between the two schools. In 2019, the primary school and two other local DEIS primary schools amalgamated to form one school. My Department allocated one HSCL post to the newly amalgamated DEIS primary school. In addition, the HSCL shared post was retained. The school in question has therefore retained the same level of HSCL support that it has held for a number of years, i.e. a shared HSCL post.
In March last year, I announced the single largest expansion of the DEIS programme. This benefited 361 schools. The programme now includes 1,200 schools and supports approximately 240,000 students. This means 1 in 4 of all students are now supported in the programme.
Schools were identified for inclusion in the programme through the refined DEIS identification model, which is an objective, statistics-based model. Schools were not required to apply for inclusion in the DEIS programme and the model has been applied fairly and equally to all schools. A detailed paper on the refined DEIS identification model is available on gov.ie at www.gov.ie/en/publication/a3c9e-extension-of-deis-to-further-schools/#how-schools-were-selected-for-inclusion-in-deis.
My Department is continuing to undertake work towards achieving its vision for an inclusive education system which supports all learners to achieve their potential. It also recognises that we need to target resources to those schools who need them most. That is why my Department has undertaken a programme of work to explore the allocation of resources to schools to address educational disadvantage. To support this work my Department have invited the OECD Strength Through Diversity: Education for Inclusive Societies Project to review the current policy approach for the allocation of resources to support students at risk of educational disadvantage in Ireland. This review will provide an independent expert opinion on the current resource allocation model for the DEIS programme and, drawing on international examples, inform a policy approach for an equitable distribution of supplementary resources to support students at risk of educational disadvantage attending all schools, both DEIS and non-DEIS. The OECD are engaging with a range of relevant stakeholders to inform the review process as well as drawing on international examples. The OECD estimates that the review will be completed in Q2 2024.
The OECD review is being complimented by a programme of work by my Department which will look at reviewing individual resources and allocation approaches. This work will consider the allocation of resources, including Home School Community Liaison support, within the DEIS programme. This work will be involve consultation with a range of relevant stakeholders. It will also seek to ensure that schools are supported to ensure every child has an equal opportunity to achieve their potential.
Following the National Census held in April 2022, it is envisaged that an updated HP Deprivation Index will be generated by Pobal and will be available in Q3 of 2023. My Department will engage with Pobal in relation to this process. The updated HP Deprivation Index, when available, will be considered by my Department to help inform future resource allocation to tackle educational disadvantage.
Tusla Education Support Service’s (TESS) Integrated Service Manager, assigned to the area, is available to assist the school in question. TESS will continue to provide support to help ensure that the allocated post is utilised to its fullest potential in order to best support those who are most in need.
226. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Education for further information on the phase of work currently underway to explore the allocation of resources to schools in County Galway, including the HSCL co-ordinator, to tackle educational disadvantage; when this phase of work started or will start; who is responsible for it; when is it expected to conclude; if schools can participate in the process; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33389/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department provides a wide range of supports to all schools, DEIS and non-DEIS, to support the inclusion of all students and address barriers to students achieving their potential.
Supplementing the universal supports available to all schools, the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) Programme is a key policy initiative of my Department to address concentrated educational disadvantage at school level in a targeted and equitable way across the primary and post-primary sector.
In March last year, I announced the single largest expansion of the DEIS programme. This benefited 361 schools. The programme now includes 1,200 schools and supports approximately 240,000 students. This means 1 in 4 of all students are now supported in the programme.
This recent expansion will add an additional €32million to my Department’s expenditure on the DEIS programme from 2023, bringing the overall Department of Education allocation for the programme to €180million.
I am very conscious of the benefits of the DEIS programme. Analysis has shown that since the programme began in 2006, it has helped to close the gap in achievement between schools serving the highest levels of educational disadvantage and those serving populations with little or no disadvantage. It has provided children who come to education at a disadvantage with an equitable opportunity to achieve their potential in education.
My Department is continuing to undertake work towards achieving its vision for an inclusive education system which supports all learners to achieve their potential. It also recognises that we need to target resources to those schools who need them most. That is why my Department has undertaken a programme of work to explore the allocation of resources to schools to address educational disadvantage. To support this work my Department have invited the OECD Strength Through Diversity: Education for Inclusive Societies Project to review the current policy approach for the allocation of resources to support students at risk of educational disadvantage in Ireland. This review will provide an independent expert opinion on the current resource allocation model for the DEIS programme and, drawing on international examples, inform a policy approach for an equitable distribution of supplementary resources to support students at risk of educational disadvantage attending all schools, both DEIS and non-DEIS. The OECD are engaging with a range of relevant stakeholders to inform the review process as well as drawing on international examples. The OECD estimates that the review will be completed in Q2 2024.
The OECD review is being complimented by a programme of work by my Department which will look at reviewing individual resources and allocation approaches. This work will consider the allocation of resources, including Home School Community Liaison support, within the DEIS programme. This work will be involve consultation with a range of relevant stakeholders. It will also seek to ensure that schools are supported to ensure every child has an equal opportunity to achieve their potential.
228. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Education for details, in tabular form, of all school building projects that are currently underway in County Clare at this time, including estimated completion dates. [33411/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraThrough Project Ireland 2040, we are investing €4.4 billion over the period 2021 to 2025, to add capacity and develop and upgrade school facilities across the country for the almost one million students and over 100,000 staff that learn and work in our schools every day.
My Department has a proven track record of delivery. During the period 2018 to 2022, nearly 900 school building projects were completed. This includes 16 building projects across County Clare and a total investment of over €95 million in schools in that county.
The key drivers of capital investment in the schools sector are as follows:
•demographic change, including keeping pace with delivery of SEN and accommodation for Ukrainian pupils particularly at Post Primary level,
•alignment with housing provision and national planning at school planning area level,
•construction costs,
•climate action objectives including deep energy retrofit.
My Department completed over 180 projects last year, including 4 in County Clare, within a challenging construction sector environment of high inflation, labour shortages and supply chain issues.
There are 29 projects under the Large Scale and Additional Accommodation Scheme in Co Clare. The current status of all projects and completions from 2010 to date is listed on a county by county basis at www.gov.ie and is updated on a regular basis to reflect their progress through the various stages of capital appraisal, site acquisition, design, tender and construction
In addition, where accelerated delivery of accommodation is required, the Department utilises its Modular Accommodation Framework to provide critical mainstream school places and places for students with special educational needs. There are currently 12 projects underway in Co. Clare.
Key priorities for my Department are supporting the operation of the school system and adding necessary capacity to cater for special education needs provision, mainstream demographics and catering for students from Ukraine and other countries under the International Protection system.
My Department is working proactively to ensure that all school building contracts are awarded and progressed as expeditiously as possible, while working within the parameters set by the Office of Government Procurement and principles of public procurement set out at both national and EU level.
