Results 1,981-2,000 of 19,559 for speaker:Norma Foley

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (14 Oct 2020)

Norma Foley: I am acutely aware of the issues faced by many schools in respect of teacher allocations and class sizes. Under the Programme for Government there is a commitment to seek to make further progress in reducing the pupil teacher ratios in primary schools. Previous budgets of 2016 and 2018 improved the staffing schedule by one point on both occasions to its historically lowest level ever of 1...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (14 Oct 2020)

Norma Foley: The DEIS programme allows for a reduced class size in Urban Band 1 primary schools with the application of a preferential staffing schedule to these schools of 20:1 at junior classes and 24:1 at senior classes to support those students at the highest risk of educational disadvantage. As the Deputy may be aware, DEIS Plan acknowledges the allocation of teaching resources to DEIS primary...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (14 Oct 2020)

Norma Foley: It is difficult to make precise comparisons between the levels of grants paid and the actual costs of running schools at primary and post-primary. In general, post-primary schools are larger than primary schools. They have specialist rooms such as laboratories, workshops etc. This leads to higher unit costs in for heat, light, power, maintenance and cleaning.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Public Sector Pay (14 Oct 2020)

Norma Foley: The public service agreements have allowed a programme of pay restoration for public servants to start. The starting salary for a new entrant teacher in 2012 was €30,702. As a result of the programme of pay restoration, the starting salary of a teacher from 1 October 2020 onwards will be €37,692. Section 11 of the Public Service Pay and Pensions Act 2017 provides that...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (14 Oct 2020)

Norma Foley: The decision to adopt a model of Calculated Grades by my Department was a result of COVID-19, which prevented the State from running the conventional Leaving Certificate Examinations. The purpose of this process was to allow as many students as possible to progress to employment, further education and training, or higher education. The system of calculated grades is underpinned by key...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Covid-19 Pandemic (14 Oct 2020)

Norma Foley: My Department received advice from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) on the use of face coverings in educational settings. The advice provides that It is a requirement for face coverings to be worn by teachers, staff in schools and students attending post primary school and includes a number of exemptions. My Department subsequently published clarification on the use of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Patronage (14 Oct 2020)

Norma Foley: A list of all currently open schools can be obtained from my Department's website using the "find a school" search tool. The list can be refined to extract the Dublin schools and their ethos. In regard to the schools due to open in the coming years, a process will be conducted to determine who will be patron of these schools. The outcome of such processes, when concluded, are generally...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (14 Oct 2020)

Norma Foley: The major building project for the first school referred to by the Deputy is at an advanced stage of architectural planning, Stage 2(b) - Detailed Design, which includes the application for statutory approvals and the preparation of tender documents. In December 2019, my Department received the Stage 2(b) submission for this project. In order to expedite the progression of the major...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (14 Oct 2020)

Norma Foley: The project referred to by the Deputy when complete will provide a three Storey 16 classroom Primary School building, including a two classroom special education needs base. The design also includes a general-purpose hall, support teaching spaces and ancillary accommodation, external junior play areas, secure SEN hard and soft play area and a sensory garden. The proposed project...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (14 Oct 2020)

Norma Foley: The key factor for determining the level of staffing resources provided at individual school level is the staffing schedule for the relevant school year and pupil enrolments on the previous 30th September. However, the staffing arrangements for primary schools also includes the provision whereby schools experiencing rapid increases in enrolment can apply for additional permanent mainstream...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Information and Communications Technology (14 Oct 2020)

Norma Foley: Through the Schools Broadband Access Programme the Department provides for the supply of internet connectivity for all recognised primary and post primary schools, and some 98% of schools are included in this scheme. The Department's High Speed Broadband Programme, provides all recognised post-primary schools, high speed broadband with a minimum broadband speed of 100mbs. There are 58 special...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (14 Oct 2020)

Norma Foley: School Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the 2019/20 school year over 120,000 children, including over 14,200 children with special educational needs, were transported in over 5,000 vehicles on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country covering over 100 million kilometres at a cost of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (14 Oct 2020)

Norma Foley: School Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the 2019/20 school year over 120,000 children, including over 14,200 children with special educational needs, were transported in over 5,000 vehicles on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country covering over 100 million kilometres at a cost of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (14 Oct 2020)

Norma Foley: The decision to adopt a model of Calculated Grades by my Department was a direct result of COVID-19, which prevented the state from running the conventional Leaving Certificate Examinations. In the absence of these examinations, every effort has been made to make the system as fair as possible for as many students as possible. The process of national standardisation, which forms a key...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (14 Oct 2020)

Norma Foley: School Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the 2019/20 school year over 120,000 children, including over 14,200 children with special educational needs, were transported in over 5,000 vehicles on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country covering over 100 million kilometres at a cost of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (14 Oct 2020)

Norma Foley: The building project for the school in question is included in my Department's capital programme. Officials in my Department continue to liaise with officials in Cork City Council in relation to the identification and acquisition of a suitable site for the school. A number of site options have been proposed and assessed. A potential site option has been identified. Negotiations with the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (14 Oct 2020)

Norma Foley: School Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. In the 2019/20 school year over 120,000 children, including over 14,200 children with special educational needs, were transported in over 5,000 vehicles on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country covering over 100 million kilometres at a cost of over...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (14 Oct 2020)

Norma Foley: I can confirm that my Department is in receipt of an application for capital funding under the Additional School Accommodation (ASA) scheme, from the school authority referred to by the Deputy. Once the application has been assessed, the school authority will be contacted directly with a decision.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (14 Oct 2020)

Norma Foley: The decision to adopt a model of Calculated Grades by my Department was a result of COVID-19, which prevented the State from running the conventional Leaving Certificate Examinations this year. The system of Calculated Grades is a complex and sophisticated system. It had to be developed from scratch, specifically for the Irish Leaving Certificate, and within an extremely tight timeframe in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (14 Oct 2020)

Norma Foley: My Department is acutely aware of the disruption caused to students as a result of school closures resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic and which led the decision not to run the state examinations this summer. In the context of the return to schools of students for the 2020/21 school year my Department published a range of documentation and support material as part of the Roadmap for the Full...