Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teach as ucht an ama agus an deis seo a thabhairt dom. I thank the House for the opportunity to discuss the co-ordination and response in the education area to those seeking protection here in Ireland. My Department is committed to delivering an education system that is of the highest quality and where every child and young person is actively supported and nurtured to reach their full potential.

As Minister for Education, and as a teacher, I firmly believe schools continuously strive to create an inclusive environment for children from diverse backgrounds, encompassing Irish children as well as children from migrant and refugee families.

Schools play a vital role in their communities. Integration in school is important for the well-being of children and young people. It is also important in promoting social cohesion and reducing prejudice in all parts of society. I want to assure the House that meeting the educational needs of children and young people seeking protection is important to me as Minister and to my officials. As a Department, we are committed to continuing our support for those substantial efforts we are seeing from school communities on the ground.

I wish to pay particular tribute to the fantastic work that our schools have done in welcoming so many children and young people seeking protection who have arrived in our country in recent times, and previously. I have witnessed at first hand this exceptional effort by all members of school communities, boards of management, principals, staff, students and families, as well as the wider community. My Department's policy of integrating school-aged migrant children and young people into existing schools as quickly as possible, given that it can have a stabilising effect on children, has worked well to date because of the enormous level of co-operation by schools on the ground.

Members will appreciate the scale of the response needed, given that well over 100,000 people have arrived in Ireland from Ukraine alone since the beginning of the war. Alongside Ukrainian people seeking protection, 26,500 people from different nationalities are also seeking protection here. Just over 18,000 children from Ukraine have now enrolled in schools in every county across the State. This includes more than 11,000 children in primary schools and almost 7,000 in post-primary schools. In addition, there are more than 3,600 children enrolled in schools that are living in IPAS settings.

The Department of Education established regional education and language teams, known as REALT, to support existing services in responding to the needs of Ukrainians and children seeking international protection in accessing education.

Their primary role is to assist in securing school places for children and to support schools in meeting the needs of children as they arise. Children and young people learning English as an additional language, EAL, require well-planned support tailored to meet their individual language needs in order to participate fully in school life and derive maximum benefit from their education.

The Department provides English language support to schools with pupils who are newly arrived in the country with English as an additional language. Schools may also apply for further language support through the staffing appeals process. Figures show that 1,676 primary and 491 post-primary schools have applied for and are now receiving EAL teaching resources. In 2022, additional temporary special education supports were put in place to support schools with large Ukrainian enrolments. Schools in which ten or more Ukrainian pupils are enrolled are provided with additional special education teaching resources and schools with 15 or more Ukrainian pupils are provided with additional special needs assistants. A total of 611 schools received additional temporary special education teaching hours and 374 received additional temporary SNA supports. The same level of resources is available under a separate process to support schools that have enrolled a significant number of children seeking international protection.

Children fleeing the war in Ukraine and those seeking international protection can face challenges relating to personal, physical and emotional safety. The well-being of children is at the core of all that we do in the education system. Supporting well-being allows children to feel safe and happy in school and to learn. We are lucky that our schools provide a caring and supportive environment in which children can flourish. Guidance counsellors support refugee and migrant children in post-primary schools in terms of personal, social, educational and career development. This could include, for example, advice for Ukrainian students about which programme to enrol in at senior cycle level, information on grants, subject choice and entry requirements to institutions and career guidance information.

As well as providing supports to schools, the National Educational Psychological Service, NEPS, continues to gather information on Ukrainian and other refugee experiences through interaction in schools, participation in REALTs and keeping up to date with national and international research. On the basis of the evidence and experience, NEPS has developed a range of supports and resources for refugee and migrant children, including well-being resources for students from Ukraine, which are available on gov.ie. They include advice on supporting children with special education needs and supporting children at a time of war.

I thank the House for the opportunity to provide an update on the actions being taken to support the educational needs of students arriving in Ireland seeking protection. I again salute the work of school communities to foster welcoming and inclusive school environments.

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