Ms Deirdre Matthews:

That would be the issue we would discuss with them.

The Senator also asked about the ETBs. I will also reply to Senator Moran's question about what happens after inspection for the 11%. With regard to the ETBs, I am not aware at present, although some of my colleagues might be, of anything further happening from the point of view of being available to schools other than their own schools. However, it is certainly something that we would be interested in exploring.

On Senator Moran's question, when inspectors identify schools with serious weaknesses in respect of either leadership and management or teaching and learning, which we believe are the core functions, there is a group in the Department, the school improvement group which was established in 2008, to which those schools are referred. It is not an inspectorate group; it is a Department group made up of senior officials from a range of departments, predominantly school governance and the inspectorate. Those schools are dealt with, supported and monitored on a case-by-case basis, depending on what the issues are. The first port of call is speaking to the relevant people about what supports are available through the PDST or the national support services or through their patron bodies, which sometimes provide support. There are meetings between various officials from the Department and the patron, board of management and the principal, depending on what the issues are. They are monitored until they get to a stage where the Department is happy that they are in a position and have built up the capacity to manage themselves properly. From 2008 to the beginning of 2014, approximately 76 schools have been referred to that group.