Results 24,941-24,960 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations Data (3 Jul 2018)

Richard Bruton: The State Examinations Commission has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the certificate examinations. The Commission in this regard operates a scheme of Reasonable Accommodations in the Certificate Examinations. In view of this I have forwarded your query to the State Examinations Commission for direct reply to you.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teachers' Remuneration (3 Jul 2018)

Richard Bruton: Principal teachers are employed by the managerial authorities of their schools and the information required for their payment on payrolls operated by my Department is provided by them. The information is provided on standardised forms which are completed by authorized representatives in the school. A Data Protection Privacy Statement is included on these forms. The Data Statement...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teacher Training Provision (3 Jul 2018)

Richard Bruton: The Deputy will be aware that the Education Admissions to School Bill, which is currently progressing through the Seanad, aims to provide a new framework for school enrolment that is designed to ensure that every child is treated fairly and that the way in which schools decide on applications for admission is structured, fair and transparent. The approach taken aims to strike the right...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments Data (3 Jul 2018)

Richard Bruton: The position in relation to enrolments at the 20 smallest schools in the country, four of which are island schools, is set out in the table. In respect of two of the schools listed, the Patron of the schools concerned has taken a decision to close the schools from the end of the 2017/18 school year. In respect of a 3rd school, following engagement with the school’s patron, approval has...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teaching Contracts (3 Jul 2018)

Richard Bruton: An Occupational Health Strategy is in place as a supportive resource for teachers. The aim of this strategy is to promote the health of teachers in the workplace, with a focus primarily on prevention rather than cure. The Occupational Health Strategy comprises of the Employee Assistance & Wellbeing Programme (EAWP) and the Occupational Health Service (OHS) for teachers. The EAWP is...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: School Staff (4 Jul 2018)

Richard Bruton: I have discussed with teaching principals a range of their concerns and have had more formal engagement with the relevant stakeholders, including the IPPN and the INTO. I have also been in correspondence with the forum for teaching principals in primary schools on the issue. The education system has certain characteristics, particularly the relatively large number of small schools, which...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: School Staff (4 Jul 2018)

Richard Bruton: I acknowledge this. I had a useful discussion in County Meath recently with teaching principals about exactly these points. It was at a similar meeting in Donegal where the idea of expanding the clusters, a small initiative in the past, to 50 this year was developed. I am glad we have been able to develop and implement it. It means teaching principals have a single person who acts as a...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: School Staff (4 Jul 2018)

Richard Bruton: I take the Deputy's point. A principal in a school with one or two mainstream teachers will get 17 release days. By contrast, a principal with five or six mainstream teachers will get 29 release days. The proposal would be to go to 36 for everyone without that grading across the different sizes of school. Whether that is a justifiable approach will need to be assessed. It will cost...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: School Curriculum (4 Jul 2018)

Richard Bruton: I thank the Deputy for the question. The framework for the junior cycle presents a dual approach to assessment and it supports student learning over the three years of the cycle. It measures achievement at the end of those three years. This dual approach reduces the focus on one externally assessed examination as a means of assessing students and increases the prominence given to...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: School Curriculum (4 Jul 2018)

Richard Bruton: Music is offered in just short of 600 post-primary schools out of a total of 711. Therefore, the vast majority offer it. When the National Council for Curriculum Assessment developed the curriculum, the question of students studying the subject on an external basis was discussed but it was agreed, through the development process and subsequent consultation, that the specification and its...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: School Curriculum (4 Jul 2018)

Richard Bruton: The Deputy probably answered her question. The philosophy is that education is integral and that a school should not have music or another subject as a specialism that is outsourced. The thinking is to have a whole-school approach whereby a child, particularly in the junior cycle, can have a range of experiences delivered in an integrated way and develop his or her own personality....

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Student Accommodation (4 Jul 2018)

Richard Bruton: I believed the Minister of State was to answer this question. The position on student accommodation is that we have developed a programme for the construction of purpose-built units. There is a pipeline of 7,000 student places in construction. Since the programme was started, 2,500 additional places have come on stream. The expectation is that we will match that figure in the coming...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Student Accommodation (4 Jul 2018)

Richard Bruton: The current provision of purpose-built student accommodation exceeds the target set in the plan published shortly after the housing plan. We are meeting and exceeding the targets. The application of the rent control regime to the student accommodation sector is a little more difficult than the Deputy suggests in that rent arrangements in student accommodation are by way of a licence, not a...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Student Accommodation (4 Jul 2018)

Richard Bruton: I accept the Deputy's point that we need to look at introducing a scheme of a similar nature, but the nature of the student market is different. We have all learned about the law of unintended consequences. It is important that we allow the work being done between the two Departments to continue rather than try to cobble together something that would not work. There is a degree of focus on...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Schools Property (4 Jul 2018)

Richard Bruton: On the school property to which the Deputy refers, the school patron has informed my Department that the school currently operating at this property will close on 30 June 2019, when the last group of pupils will have completed sixth class. The school patron has been working with the four Catholic schools under its patronage in Ballyfermot in regard to reorganising these schools. I...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Schools Property (4 Jul 2018)

Richard Bruton: The Deputy asked if the Department envisages a need for an additional school in the area. I am told that while there is some house-building taking place in the area and an increase in enrolments is expected, there is significant capacity in a number of the existing primary schools in the area. The outcome of the demographic exercises indicate a surplus of available accommodation over the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Schools Property (4 Jul 2018)

Richard Bruton: The Department has never acquired new buildings where it already has existing capacity. The Department's demographic process, which is based on the very best information available from local authorities, the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection, the census and so on, is applied evenly and equitably to all areas. Where it is identified that a new school is required, these...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Education Policy (4 Jul 2018)

Richard Bruton: The Action Plan for Education outlines a series of actions to be taken to make the Irish education and training service the best in Europe. Since May 2016, we have cut the pupil teacher ratio at primary level twice, provided for 3,000 special needs assistants and more than 5,000 new teaching posts, with an additional 1,280 posts for the coming school year as a result of budget 2018. We...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Education Policy (4 Jul 2018)

Richard Bruton: There are many questions there. On class sizes, from 2018 we will have the lowest class sizes in primary schools ever in the history of the State. It is a significant first and it was welcomed across the House. In prioritising resources, we have to look at where the boot is pinching most. This year, there was €550 million to be allocated right across the education sector and half...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Education Policy (4 Jul 2018)

Richard Bruton: As I said to Deputy Thomas Byrne, I did increase the release time to teaching principals. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan mentioned the onslaught of curricular change but many others would say that we are reforming a curricular system that was not serving pupils as well as it should. Much work has gone into improving the reading programme at primary level and we are seeing the impact. Our ten...