Results 2,741-2,760 of 19,576 for speaker:Norma Foley

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments (1 Dec 2020)

Norma Foley: 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, utilising data from a range of sources including information on planned and current residential development, to identify where the pressure for school places across the country will arise. Meakstown...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (1 Dec 2020)

Norma Foley: As the Deputy is aware small schools are defined for statistical purposes as schools with 4 mainstream teachers or less. While the number of small schools has declined in recent years, they nonetheless remain in very many rural communities. They are valued in their communities in that they provide a vital link to local heritage and history, help sustain rural populations and often act as a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (1 Dec 2020)

Norma Foley: I am pleased to inform the Deputy that funding was approved under the Additional Accommodation Scheme 2016 to enable the school in question to build two general classrooms, one Science Lab with prep area, and one Construction room. In 2019 further approval for nine standard WCs, one WC for assisted users & 1 Socialisation Area was granted. This project has been devolved for...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (1 Dec 2020)

Norma Foley: 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, utilising data from a range of sources including information on planned and current residential development, to identify where the pressure for school places across the country will arise. Glanmire is...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (1 Dec 2020)

Norma Foley: It is the aim of my Department that every child has access to equitable education and that each learner feels safe and happy in the school environment, at every stage. The curriculum at both primary and post-primary aims to foster inclusivity where equality and diversity are promoted. The Department’s STEM Education Policy Statement 2017–2026, published in November 2017, sets...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Residential Institutions Redress Scheme (1 Dec 2020)

Norma Foley: Section 7 (1) of Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Act 2012 provides for the Board to evaluate the effectiveness of approved services in meeting the needs of former residents. Caranua, with the approval of the former Minister for Education, entered into a contract to undertake an independent evaluation to - Evaluate whether the objectives of Caranua have been achieved - Measure the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments (1 Dec 2020)

Norma Foley: I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department is aware of increasing pressures and demand for additional post-primary school places in a number of school planning areas including school planning areas in North Dublin. Where capacity issues arise it may not be as a result of lack of accommodation but may be driven by the following factors: - Duplication of applications – pupils have...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments (1 Dec 2020)

Norma Foley: I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department is aware of increasing pressures and demand for additional post-primary school places in a number of school planning areas including County Meath. Where capacity issues arise it may not be as a result of lack of accommodation but may be driven by the following factors: - Duplication of applications – pupils have applied for a place to a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (1 Dec 2020)

Norma Foley: School Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. The purpose of my Department's School Transport Scheme is, having regard to available resources, to support the transport to and from school of children who reside remote from their nearest school. In the 2019/2020 school year over 120,000 children, including over 14,200 children with...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (1 Dec 2020)

Norma Foley: I wish to advise the Deputy that the school moved to its permanent site this September in suitable interim accommodation. In relation to the current status of the permanent building project, a tender process is ongoing for the establishment of a new framework of contractors for delivery of a bundle of design and build projects which is expected to be completed in Quarter 1 of 2021. This...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (1 Dec 2020)

Norma Foley: 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 teacher to 26 pupils. Budget 2021 will implement a further 1 point reduction for the 2021/22 school...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (1 Dec 2020)

Norma Foley: School Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. In the 2019/2020 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 (1 Dec 2020)

Norma Foley: The school to which the Deputy refers is currently in interim accommodation on an interim site pending delivery of its intended interim accommodation on its permanent site in the Dublin 13 area. Work has commenced on this interim accommodation on the permanent site and it is currently anticipated that the interim accommodation will be ready for occupation by the school in early December. ...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (1 Dec 2020)

Norma Foley: I can confirm that my Department is in receipt of an application and supporting documentation from the school referred to by the Deputy, for capital funding under the Additional School Accommodation (ASA) Scheme. The school is seeking a substantial amount of additional classrooms, both general and specialist. The application is currently being assessed and the school authority will be...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (1 Dec 2020)

Norma Foley: The criteria used for the allocation of teachers to primary schools is published annually on the website of the Department of Education and Skills. 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 30 September, 2019. The staffing schedule operates in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (1 Dec 2020)

Norma Foley: School Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. In the 2019/2020 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: Covid-19 Pandemic (1 Dec 2020)

Norma Foley: The scheduling of the school holiday periods during the academic years is agreed between the managerial authorities of schools, the teacher unions and my Department for the purposes of standardising breaks at Christmas, Easter and mid-term. This is important to ensure certainty for the school community about the dates of school holidays. There are no plans to alter the school break at...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Early Years Sector (1 Dec 2020)

Norma Foley: Early years and pre-school services come under the remit of my colleague the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. I understand from information available in the public domain that the centre referred to by the Deputy is a fully integrated early years provision with a multi-disciplinary team supporting children and families and based in the U.K, and its stated...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Covid-19 Pandemic (1 Dec 2020)

Norma Foley: My Department has an enhanced Occupational Health Service (OHS) in place to provide employers with occupational health advice in relation to employees’ fitness for work. Medmark, the current OHS provider has a process in place for school staff with health concerns about their risk of serious illness from contracting COVID-19, through workplace attendance. A detailed on-line...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teacher Training (1 Dec 2020)

Norma Foley: In recent years, management bodies and schools have reported difficulties in recruiting teachers. At post-primary level this relates mainly to the recruitment of teachers of particular subjects, including in STEM, as well as substitute teachers. The Steering Group on Teacher Supply was established in my Department in 2018. The Steering Group is leading on the identification of issues, the...