Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

I am pleased to bring the Education (Amendment) Bill 2010 before the House. The Bill provides for the involvement for the first time of vocational education committees in the provision of primary education as well as a number of other education related matters. This legislation is one of several measures currently being progressed by my Department to cater for the changing requirements of education provision. These include new arrangements for the recognition of primary schools and assisting the Catholic Church in its deliberations on the possible divesting of patronage of some of its schools. The provisions of the Bill will allow VECs to be part of that changing landscape and to extend the important contribution they already make to education at second level to the primary sector.

At present the role of the State in the establishment of primary schools is confined to facilitating the initiative of patrons in this area. This contrasts with the role of the State at second level, where it has been actively involved for many years in the establishment of schools. It is both appropriate and important that the State, through local VECs, should be in a position to participate in primary education provision in order to provide an alternative patronage model at this level.

Last May we had a useful discussion in this House on the subject of diversification of primary school provision. There was general

acknowledgement of the significant role played by VECs at second level and I am pleased this legislation will extend their functions to the primary sector.

A situation can also arise of a primary school being required but no patron being willing or available to establish one. The current system cannot require that a patron establish a school and it is therefore possible that, despite a demand for a school in a particular location, there is no mechanism for its establishment. The State cannot stand aside from its obligation in this regard and this is dealt with by the provisions of the Bill.

In order to meet the challenges posed by the changing shape of Irish society and the needs of its emerging communities for greater diversity, the former Minister for Education and Science, with the approval of the Government, undertook to explore the possibility of developing a new model of patronage for primary schools. This involved a consultation process with all the relevant education partners, including the main patron bodies, management bodies and union interests. From that process the view emerged that maintaining the status quo would not address the new demands being placed upon the education system. It also revealed a widespread general welcome for the initiative itself and for the main principles of the approach being adopted.

The Government agreed that the new model of primary school patronage would be a new State model of community national schools under the patronage of vocational education committees. It will have the capacity to cater for the wishes of parents for denominational, multidenominational and non-denominational education within the framework of a single patron model and a single board of management structure. The emphasis in the community national school model will be on inclusiveness and respect for the diversity of cultures in our society and one of the central purposes of the new model will be to cater for this diversity within a single school setting rather than in more than one school. Community national schools will welcome and respect all faiths and none and will proceed on the basis of clearly stated principles in respect of the availability of religious education during the school day, in conformity with the wishes of parents. This commitment is an important distinguishing feature of the model. A multi-belief programme will include provision for faith specific teaching for children of the main faiths represented in the schools, in accordance with the wishes of parents and subject to the availability of the necessary resources. The schools will also seek to cater for parents who do not wish their children to receive religious education in any particular faith. It is not the intention that the new model of patronage will replace existing models but that it will be a complementary alternative where the specific local circumstances warrant this new approach.

The new patronage model is currently being piloted in five locations in counties Dublin, Meath and Kildare. These community national schools are committed to a high standard of education and each child is helped to reach his or her personal potential. They operate in a spirit of partnership between patrons, teachers, students, parents and the wider community served by the school. I am happy to say that the experience to date indicates that the pilot schools are successfully addressing the changing demands and expectations of the society in which we now live, notably, the demand for diversity. They are meeting the ensuing challenges with real determination, co-operation and enthusiasm. Most important, the feedback from pupils, parents, teachers and school management, who are the key stakeholders in this project, is overwhelmingly positive.

Moving on to the details of the draft legislation, sections 1 to 3 of the Bill are the standard provisions for the Short Title, collective citations, construction and commencement, interpretation and expenses. Specifically in regard to the community national school model, the Bill provides for a new additional model of patronage for primary schools; amends and extends the functions of VECs to facilitate them in acting as patron or joint patron in the primary school system; and amends the Education Act 1998 to provide that a board of management of a community national school will operate in the same way as boards of management in primary schools generally rather than under the governance model used in post-primary VEC schools.

Section 4 provides for a VEC to establish or maintain a primary school, either on its own initiative with the consent of the Minister or on the direction of the Minister. A VEC may also on its own initiative seek the consent of the Minister to become patron or joint patron of an existing primary school or become patron, or joint patron, of an existing primary school on the direction of the Minister. In considering whether to grant consent in any of these circumstances to the establishment of a school in a particular area, the Minister must be satisfied that the following requirements set down in section 10(2) of the Education Act 1998, as amended by this legislation, are met - that the needs of existing and likely future pupil numbers could not reasonably be met by the existing schools in the area and that it is desirable to establish a new school that can meet their needs; provision of the prescribed curriculum, co-operation with the inspectorate; compliance with health, safety and building standards; conformity with relevant ministerial regulations and with any other terms and conditions as may reasonably be attached to recognition of a school by theMinister; and the efficient and effective use of resources.

Section 5 amends section 14(2) of the Education Act 1998 to remove the exemption for boards of management of community national schools established or maintained by VECs from the requirement to be constituted as a body corporate. This is to enable the boards of management of community national schools to operate in the same way as boards of management in primary schools generally. The board of management of a school established under this legislation will not be a sub-committee of a VEC, as is the case for post-primary VEC schools, but will instead be set up following the same procedures as apply to boards of management in other recognised primary schools. This means, for instance, that teaching and non-teaching staff will be employed by the board of management in the same way as other primary schools and the board will receive capitation and other funding directly from the Department in the same way as primary schools generally.

As patron, the VEC will provide the chair and one other member of the board of management and this will correspond with the position regarding two patron nominees to a board of management applying in primary schools generally. The nomination of VEC representatives to a board of management will be an executive function. However, the executive would not be precluded from nominating a VEC member or members to this role.

Sections 6, 7 and 8 provide for some necessary or consequential amendments to the Education Act 1998 arising from the provisions in sections 4 and 5.

As I have mentioned, the drafting of legislation to permit VEC patronage at primary level has also been availed of to deal with a number of other pressing education-related issues where primary legislation is necessary. These are dealt with in sections 9, 10, 11 and 12 of the Bill, as follows.

Section 9 of the Bill, the result of an amendment to section 2 of the Education Act 1998, provides for the amendment of the definition of "support services" in the Education Act 1998 to clarify the position on the delivery of speech therapy services and other health and personal services to students of school-going age.

The Education Act 1998 lists the planning and co-ordination of support services, including speech therapy services, as a function of the Minister for Education and Skills. While there is agreement at policy level that the HSE will continue to provide such services, the proposed amendments of the Education Act 1998 are necessary to clarify the position in regard to the delivery of speech therapy services to students of school-going age. The legislative framework will be regularised in accordance with the de facto position, which is that the provision of speech therapy services is a matter for the HSE. This position is already acknowledged by the Oireachtas through the provision of voted moneys to the HSE to deliver such services.

The proposed provisions will not impact on the availability through the HSE of speech therapy services for children with special educational needs. My Department's commitment to support the co-ordinated delivery of services to families of children with special educational needs is not diminished. The Department will continue to work with partners in the health and disability sectors through the vehicle of the cross-sectoral team, as established under the auspices of the office of the Minister of State with responsibility for disability and mental health, and the national disability strategy stakeholder monitoring group. This provision gives rise to a consequential technical amendment to repeal section 7(5) and (6) of the 1998 Act, as inserted by section 40 of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004. This is provided for in section 10 of the Bill.

Section 11 of the Bill supports the Government decision on rationalisation of agencies in the 2008 budget. It provides for the abolition of the Educational Disadvantage Committee, a formal statutory committee which has not been in existence since 2005. The committee was established under section 32 of the Education Act 1998 in order to advise the Minister on policies and strategies to be adopted to identify and correct educational disadvantage. Its final report, Moving Beyond Educational Disadvantage, was published in December 2005. That report, along with the previous work of the committee, was a valuable input to the development of DEIS.

Section 11 repeals section 32 of the Education Act 1998 and in a consequential technical amendment, the definition of "educational disadvantage" contained in section 32(9) of the 1998 Act has been moved to section 2 of that Act by section 9 of this Bill.

Section 12 of the Bill provides for the amendment of section 30 of the Teaching Council Act to allow for the employment, in certain exceptional and limited circumstances, of persons who are not registered teachers under the Act. To safeguard the standards and quality of education in schools, it is our policy that all teachers should be fully qualified and registered by the Teaching Council. To date, some 68,000 teachers have been registered by the council. In primary and post-primary schools, the number of unregistered teachers, in full-time and annual contract posts, is decreasing steadily and has reached an all-time low, as schools are implementing that policy as set out in Circular 40/2010 and previous circulars.

In this context, section 30 of the Teaching Council Act 2001, which has not yet been commenced, provides that only registered teachers can be remunerated out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas. While it is still my aim that all teachers in schools be registered with the council, and, therefore, fully qualified, it is apparent that to commence section 30 as it stands would have a serious negative impact for a small number of schools where, in specific circumstances, unqualified personnel are required in the short term.

The proposed amendment to the Act is necessary to allow the Minister for Education and Skills regulate in a measured way the use of unregistered personnel in exceptional and limited circumstances where the use of unregistered teachers may be necessary. To date, the use of unqualified personnel has been unregulated. The overarching aim of protecting the standards of education for students remains and the impact of this amendment is to strike a balance between the rights of students to be taught by registered teachers and the need for individual schools to deal with short-term difficulties.

The move to mandatory registration of teachers will be an important factor in progressively ensuring a fully qualified and registered teaching cohort. However, the reality facing schools is that it is not always possible to engage a registered teacher, particularly at short notice. This may be because of geographical reasons or the lack of availability of teachers of particular subjects at a given time. This reality exists despite the maintenance of a high level of output of graduates and it is important that provision be made for the exceptional and limited circumstances where the use of unregistered teachers may be necessary.

I hope Deputies will agree that at a time of increasing diversity of demand and in challenging economic conditions, this is an important Bill. I look forward to hearing the views of Deputies today and to further debate as the Bill progresses through the Houses of the Oireachtas. I commend the Bill to the House.

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