Results 4,501-4,520 of 19,576 for speaker:Norma Foley

Education (Leaving Certificate 2021) (Accredited Grades) Bill 2021: Second Stage (13 May 2021)

Norma Foley: In my opening remarks, I set out the objectives and principles underpinning this Bill. Its core function is to help students from the leaving certificate class of 2021 to complete their schooling and to progress to the next chapter of their lives. This progression and transition is one of the recognised milestones in so many students' lives, going back many years. It is one of the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (13 May 2021)

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, using data from a range of sources, including Child Benefit and school enrolment data, to identify where additional school accommodation is needed at primary and post-primary level. Castletroy is in the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Physical Education (13 May 2021)

Norma Foley: Many schools have a general purpose room/sports hall and practically all schools have outdoor play areas. In addition, many schools, use adjacent local facilities, including community halls, public parks, playing fields and swimming pools. The provision of general purpose rooms, PE halls and outdoor hard play areas such as basketball courts, form part of the accommodation brief for all...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Site Acquisitions (13 May 2021)

Norma Foley: I appreciate that this project is a priority for the Deputy, as it is for my Department. My Department is very conscious of the difficulties the school authorities and the families have to contend with and, in this regard, my officials will continue to treat this acquisition as urgent. The site acquisition process is very complex and subject to completion of successful negotiation...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Schemes (13 May 2021)

Norma Foley: An investment programme of €210m has been delivered under the current Digital Strategy for Schools to address ICT needs. The final tranche of this grant funding, €100m, issued to schools during 2020. This grant issued directly and automatically to schools, with DEIS schools and SEN pupils receiving a higher rate of payment. This funding is intended to enable schools to embed...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (13 May 2021)

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 114,100 children, including over 14,700 children with special educational needs, are transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country at a cost of over €224.7m in 2020. The purpose of my Department's...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (13 May 2021)

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 114,100 children, including over 14,700 children with special educational needs, are transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country at a cost of over €224.7m in 2020. The purpose of my Department's...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Site Acquisitions (13 May 2021)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 91 and 163 together. The acquisition of a site to accommodate a permanent school building for the school to which the Deputy refers is at a very advanced stage. Due to the commercially sensitive nature of site acquisitions generally, it is not possible to comment further at this time. I can, however, assure you that the acquisition of a new site for the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments (13 May 2021)

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 Dublin 9 and Dublin 11. 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 –...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Schemes (13 May 2021)

Norma Foley: The DEIS review which took place in 2015 and 2016 involved a comprehensive consultation process with education partners, the community and voluntary sector, other Government Departments and agencies, EU colleagues and with education academics and practitioners. Written submissions were also invited from education partners in June 2015 and were published on my Department’s website. The...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Programme for Government (13 May 2021)

Norma Foley: I am firmly of the view that schools should do everything possible to keep costs down for parents. In 2017, my Department issued a circular letter to schools on school uniform costs and other school costs. The circular requires schools to adopt a range of measures to reduce the cost of school uniforms. These include ensuring that all elements of a school uniform are purchasable from a number...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (13 May 2021)

Norma Foley: The major building project for the school to which the Deputy refers 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. All statutory approvals have been secured. The Stage 2(b) Report has been reviewed by my Department and comments have recently issued to the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teacher Training (13 May 2021)

Norma Foley: Under the Teaching Council Acts 2001-2015, the Teaching Council is the body with statutory authority and responsibility for the registration of teachers. The Teaching Council registers teachers in accordance with the Teaching Council Registration Regulations 2016, which outlines the requirements for registration under each of four routes to registration (Primary, Post-primary, Further...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Reviews (13 May 2021)

Norma Foley: A detailed analysis of school enrolment data and the latest data available from Census 2016, using the HP Deprivation Index, has been carried out by members of the DEIS Technical Group. This group contains representatives of the Department’s Statistics and Social Inclusion Units, the Inspectorate and the Educational Research Centre. My Department commenced a consultation process with...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (13 May 2021)

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, 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 where additional school...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Educational Disadvantage (13 May 2021)

Norma Foley: Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) is the main policy initiative of my Department to tackle educational disadvantage at school level. The DEIS Plan sets out the vision for interventions in the critical area of educational disadvantage policy and is based on the findings of an extensive review of the DEIS programme, which involved consultations with all relevant...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Educational Disadvantage (13 May 2021)

Norma Foley: A detailed analysis of school enrolment data and the latest data available from Census 2016, using the HP Deprivation Index, has been carried out by members of the DEIS Technical Group. This group contains representatives of the Department’s Statistics and Social Inclusion Units, the Inspectorate and the Educational Research Centre. My Department has commenced a consultation process...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (13 May 2021)

Norma Foley: The current status of major building projects in the mid-western areas of Dublin that have stage 2b planning is as follows: Lucan Community College (RN 70080T) The major building project for Lucan Community College is currently at an advanced stage of Architectural Planning, Stage 2(b) – Detailed Design, which includes the application for statutory approvals and the preparation of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Site Acquisitions (13 May 2021)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 104 and 139 together. The building projects for Gaelscoil an Chaisleain and Le Chéile Secondary School are 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 suitable sites for the schools. A number of site options...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Discipline (13 May 2021)

Norma Foley: In accordance with Section 23 of the Education (Welfare) Act 2000 the board of management of every recognised school is legally obliged to prepare a code of behaviour in respect of the students registered in their school. This code of behaviour is prepared in consultation with the principal, teaching staff and the parents of students registered in the school. Recognising that expulsion...