Results 5,101-5,120 of 19,576 for speaker:Norma Foley

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (1 Jul 2021)

Norma Foley: The staffing schedule is an allocation mechanism that uses enrolment bands to determine the number of classroom teaching posts allocated to a school. This is a long standing arrangement for allocating teaching posts to our primary schools in a fair and equitable way based on their respective enrolment. The staffing schedule operates in a clear and transparent manner and treats all similar...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (1 Jul 2021)

Norma Foley: On 17 February I confirmed that Leaving Certificate 2021 examinations would proceed, guided by public health advice, and that students would also have the option of applying for grades accredited by the State Examinations Commission (SEC), to be known as SEC-Accredited Grades. Students have been able to opt to sit their examinations, to receive Accredited Grades, or both, on a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (1 Jul 2021)

Norma Foley: A new Framework of Design and Build Contractors to which Design and Build projects can be tendered was established on 24th May 2021. As part of this process, the school building project for the school referred to by the Deputy, was included in a procurement process for a bundle of projects to be delivered under the Department's Design and Build Programme. This tender process is now...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Oideachas trí Ghaeilge (1 Jul 2021)

Norma Foley: Tá mo Roinn tiomanta le fada an lá do cháilíocht an teagaisc agus na foghlama inár scoileanna, go háirithe maidir leis an nGaeilge. Is cuid dhílis den churaclam bunscoile í an Ghaeilge agus éilítear ar mhúinteoirí a bheith ábalta aghaidh a thabhairt ar an ngné seo den churaclam, gné atá bunaithe ar chur chuige...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teacher Training (1 Jul 2021)

Norma Foley: As Minister for Education, I approve the numbers of students which the four State-funded Higher Education Institute (HEI) providers can take in to both the Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) and Professional Master of Education (PME) programmes of primary Initial Teacher Education. The approved intake for each, over the last number of years, has been as follows: 1,000 places per annum for the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Consultations (1 Jul 2021)

Norma Foley: The DEIS Plan acknowledged that further work was required to refine the model and my Department is undertaking an extensive body of work in relation to this. Further to work conducted by the DEIS technical group, my Department commenced a consultation process with the education partners on the technical aspects of the model and further work on the model is being progressed. Work on refinement...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (1 Jul 2021)

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. From 11 January 2021, all students, including students currently in fifth year and who are due to sit the Leaving Certificate examinations in 2022, engaged in a programme of remote learning with their schools. Students in fifth year were prioritised for a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (1 Jul 2021)

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. From 11 January 2021, all students, including students currently in fifth year and who are due to sit the Leaving Certificate examinations in 2022, engaged in a programme of remote learning with their schools. Students in fifth year were prioritised for a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Irish Language (1 Jul 2021)

Norma Foley: The overarching goal of my Department's Policy on Gaeltacht Education 2017-2022 isto ensure the availability of high quality Irish-medium education in Gaeltacht areas to support the use of Irish as the main language of Gaeltacht communities. The implementation of the Policy, which commenced in early 2017, provides for a range of additional supports for Gaeltacht schools to strengthen...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (1 Jul 2021)

Norma Foley: The State Examinations Commission has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to 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: School Transport (1 Jul 2021)

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 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. All children who are eligible...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Mental Health Services (1 Jul 2021)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 36 and 43 together. The Department’s approach to supporting wellbeing and mental health is set out in its Wellbeing Policy Statement and Framework for Practice first published in 2018 and refreshed in 2019. The approach proposed is a whole school and preventative approach which has multiple components that include providing children and young...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (1 Jul 2021)

Norma Foley: As the Deputy is aware a building project for the new Gaelscoil in question is included in my Department's current Building Programme. Officials from my Department have been working closely with Cork City Council towards acquiring a permanent site for this school. A potential site option has been identified and discussions are ongoing with the landowner with a view to acquiring this site....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (1 Jul 2021)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 38 and 67 together. The brief for the project referred to by the Deputy is to provide a new replacement school building designed for special needs pupils on a greenfield site. The project will deliver a single storey building, providing an 8 classroom special school and appropriate ancillary accommodation including a General Purpose room, a Home Economics...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments (1 Jul 2021)

Norma Foley: My Department is aware of increasing pressures and demand for additional post-primary school places in a number of school planning areas including Killorglin-Miltown School Planning Area (SPA) 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 Jul 2021)

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 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. All children who are eligible...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Scoileanna Gaeilge agus Gaeltachta (1 Jul 2021)

Norma Foley: Le blianta beaga anuas, tá gníomhartha curtha i bhfeidhm ag mo Roinn chun na tairseacha ceapacháin agus coinneála i scoileanna beaga a fheabhsú, scoileanna beaga ar nós Scoil an Ghleanna, Scoil Náisiúnta Cillín Liathagus Scoil Mhichíl Naofa san áireamh. I measc na ngníomhartha, áirítear tairseacha rollaithe níos...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (1 Jul 2021)

Norma Foley: The arrangement for interim accommodation for the school to which the Deputy refers to open in September 2021 is in the Eblana building in Dun Laoghaire. My Department is also examining options of locations ideally within the catchment area for consideration for later in the 2021/2022 academic school year. Officials in my Department continue to liaise with officials in the Local Authority in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Disadvantaged Status (1 Jul 2021)

Norma Foley: An extensive body of work has been undertaken in terms of the refinement of the DEIS identification model, based on the latest school enrolment data and data available from Census 2016 under the HP Deprivation Index. A detailed quality analysis of the data has been carried out by members of the DEIS Technical Group which contains representatives of the Department’s Statistics and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Covid-19 Pandemic (1 Jul 2021)

Norma Foley: Schools have put significant measures in place to reduce the risk of coronavirus being transmitted to/within the school and significant funding has been provided to support schools in this respect. The evidence to date from a public health perspective is that schools are low risk environments. The approach to Covid-19 in schools is led by the advice and guidance of the HSE Public Health. ...