Results 9,261-9,280 of 19,601 for speaker:Norma Foley

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Correspondence (8 Nov 2022)

Norma Foley: I would like to inform the Deputy that an application for funding under my Department's Emergency Works Scheme was received from the school in question. This application was assessed and approved. As this is a devolved project the responsibility for progressing the works lies with the school authority.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (8 Nov 2022)

Norma Foley: I wish to advise the Deputy that there is no current application on hand from the school authority in question. I can confirm that an application for additional accommodation was received in 2021 under my Department's Additional Schools Accommodation (ASA) scheme. Following assessment of the application the school was advised that they had sufficient accommodation for their staffing cohort....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (8 Nov 2022)

Norma Foley: A commitment was made under the Programme for Government to ensure robust data collection on the use of reduced school days and to further ensure that they are only used in a manner that is limited, appropriate and absolutely necessary. During quarter four 2021, Department of Education Inspectors engaged with a number of school principals to explore the use of a reduced school day in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Traveller Education (8 Nov 2022)

Norma Foley: I am committed to ensuring that actions to improve educational outcomes for Travellers are advanced in line with relevant Programme for Government commitments, including the commitment to develop a National Traveller Education Strategy. Officials from my Department, together with officials from the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth and the Department of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Mental Health Services (8 Nov 2022)

Norma Foley: The Department of Education plays an important role in supporting the well-being and mental health of our young people. The Department’s Well-being Policy and Framework for practice has given recognition to the importance of promoting well-being in education. The approach set out in the Well-being Policy is a whole school and preventative approach which has multiple components that...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Properties (8 Nov 2022)

Norma Foley: I wish to advise the Deputy that 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...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments (8 Nov 2022)

Norma Foley: My Department's main responsibility is to ensure that schools in an area can, between them, cater for all pupils seeking school places in the area. In 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. The Capital Programme details the school projects that are...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Funding (8 Nov 2022)

Norma Foley: I wish to advise the Deputy that an official from my department recently spoke with the consultant appointed by the school on this project. The school were advised that the proposed works are not in line with the Department's Technical Guidance Documents and are outside the scope of works originally approved, and therefore, the proposed tender must be reviewed and resubmitted to the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Reviews (8 Nov 2022)

Norma Foley: The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. In the last school year over 121,400 children, including over 15,500 children with special educational needs, were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country at a cost of over €289m in 2021. The Department commenced a review...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Funding (8 Nov 2022)

Norma Foley: The Origins Tracing Service is for individuals who spent all or part of their childhood in an Irish industrial school and are interested in tracing information about their parents, siblings or other relatives. The service, which is operated by Barnardos, is available free of charge to people in Ireland and abroad. My Department has fully funded the service since 2002.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Psychological Assessments (8 Nov 2022)

Norma Foley: The National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) of my Department provides a school-based psychological service to all recognised primary and post-primary schools through the application of psychological theory and practice to support the well-being, and the academic, social and emotional development of all learners. The NEPS service provides access for all schools to: - Psychological...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (8 Nov 2022)

Norma Foley: School Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the current school year over 121,400 children, including over 15,500 children with special educational needs, were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country at a cost of over €289m in 2021. The purpose of the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Funding (8 Nov 2022)

Norma Foley: I can confirm to the Deputy that my Department is engaging with the school authorities regarding the long term needs of the school in question, including consideration of the demographic requirements for post primary school places in the area. Information relating to the capital funding provided to the school has been included for the Deputy's information.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (8 Nov 2022)

Norma Foley: The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. In the current school year over 121,400 children, including over 15,500 children with special educational needs, were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country at a cost of over €289m in 2021. The purpose of the Department's...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (8 Nov 2022)

Norma Foley: My Department runs a comprehensive programme of work to support the supply of teachers at primary level. Significant additional posts have been allocated to the primary substitute teacher supply panels in areas where significant challenges in sourcing substitution continue, bringing the total to 610 posts on 151 panels, covering approximately 2,800 schools. The supply panels work alongside...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Data (8 Nov 2022)

Norma Foley: At primary level, the annual staffing schedule determines the allocation of teachers to schools. The staffing schedule has been improved under both Budgets in the past two years. For the 2022/23 school year, the schedule has been improved by one point and schools are provided with class teachers on the basis of 1 teacher for every 24 pupils which means that our primary schools are currently...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (8 Nov 2022)

Norma Foley: My Department runs a comprehensive programme of work to support the supply of teachers at primary level. Newly qualified teachers (NQTs) represent a new source of supply in 2022/23. In excess of 1,870 primary NQTs have had their registrations finalised by the Teaching Council to date in 2022 with further applications being processed. Significant additional posts have been allocated to the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Disadvantaged Status (8 Nov 2022)

Norma Foley: In March this year I was glad to be able to announce a major expansion of the DEIS – Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools programme. This means that, for the first time since 2017, the programme has been significantly expanded to an additional 322 schools. Those schools are now gaining access to targeted supports to address educational disadvantage. This will add an additional...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (8 Nov 2022)

Norma Foley: The Letter of Acceptance (LOA) issued to the preferred tenderer on 18 May 2022 commencing the school building contract for the school referred to by the Deputy. The construction programme for the school referred to by the Deputy is being delivered in three phases with the first phase due for completion in Q3 2023.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (8 Nov 2022)

Norma Foley: The Letter of Acceptance (LOA) issued to the preferred tenderer on the 31st May 2022 commencing the school building contract for the school referred to by the Deputy. The construction programme is 70 weeks with the new 1,000 post-pupil school anticipated to be completed in Q3/Q4 2023. My Department is in discussions with the patron with regard to any short-term interim accommodation...