Results 5,581-5,600 of 7,283 for speaker:Josepha Madigan

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (8 Mar 2022)

Josepha Madigan: I wish to advise the Deputy that this is a matter for the NCSE and your query has been forwarded to it for direct reply.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (8 Mar 2022)

Josepha Madigan: I wish to advise the Deputy that the appeal process in relation to Special Needs Assistants is a matter for the NCSE and your correspondence has been forwarded to them for direct reply.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (8 Mar 2022)

Josepha Madigan: Supporting the transition of young people with a disability right through the education system with a particular focus on enabling young people to make informed life choices is a priority for me. We are working with colleagues across a number of Departments to ensure that this remains a focus of the Third Action Plan under the Comprehensive Employment Strategy for Persons with Disabilities...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Admissions (9 Mar 2022)

Josepha Madigan: Enabling children with special educational needs to receive an education is a priority for this Government. This year, my Department will spend in excess of €2 Billion, or over 25% of the Department’s budget on providing a wide range of schemes and supports for children with special educational needs. This includes additional teaching and care supports. The National...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Admissions (9 Mar 2022)

Josepha Madigan: Enabling children with special educational needs to receive an education is a priority for this Government. This year, my Department will spend in excess of €2 Billion, or over 25% of the Department’s budget on providing a wide range of schemes and supports for children with special educational needs. This includes additional teaching and care supports. As a result,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (9 Mar 2022)

Josepha Madigan: Enabling children with special educational needs to receive an education is a priority for this Government. This year, my Department will spend in excess of €2 Billion, or over 25% of the Department’s budget on providing a wide range of schemes and supports for children with special educational needs. This includes additional teaching and care supports. As a result,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (9 Mar 2022)

Josepha Madigan: In light of the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the introduction of the new Frontloaded Allocation Model for SNAs for students in mainstream classes in primary and post -primary schools was deferred for a further year to the beginning of the 2022/23 school year.  In order to minimise disruption for schools, in the current circumstances, and to provide for continuity...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (9 Mar 2022)

Josepha Madigan: Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) play a huge role in helping to ensure the inclusion of pupils with significant care needs in education and in school life.  This was acknowledged in the Comprehensive Review of the Special Needs Assistant Scheme (SNAs) published by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) in 2018.  The Review made a number of recommendations regarding...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (9 Mar 2022)

Josepha Madigan: Budget 2021 provided for an additional 145 special education teachers which brought the total provision to 13,765 in 2021. Budget 2022 provides for an additional 620 new SET posts in special education. This new investment is required to meet the needs of students with special educational needs enrolled in mainstream classes; students to be enrolled in new special classes and new special...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Irish Sign Language (9 Mar 2022)

Josepha Madigan: Last week Minister Foley and I were pleased to announced details of a new scheme for the provision of Irish Sign Language (ISL) in-school support for students who are Deaf and whose primary means of communication is ISL. The new scheme will involve two key strands of support: - Programme of intensive in-school support for individual students to enable them access teaching and learning and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (9 Mar 2022)

Josepha Madigan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 131 and 132 together. My Department ran an expanded summer education programme for Summer 2021, as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Under this expansion, students with complex special educational needs and those at greatest risk of educational disadvantage had access to an enhanced summer programme of education. The total funding available to provide...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (9 Mar 2022)

Josepha Madigan: The appeals process for SNA allocations is dealt with by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), therefore I have referred your query to the NCSE for direct reply.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Special Educational Needs (10 Mar 2022)

Josepha Madigan: I want to take this opportunity to congratulate the new graduates of the SNA programme in UCD. This programme of training was advised by the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, in 2018. Some 3,500 students will take that course over the next three years. To get back to the Deputy’s specific question on SNAs in general, we have increased the number of SNAs by 81% since...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Special Educational Needs (10 Mar 2022)

Josepha Madigan: Work is under way in respect of the new allocations for schools and they will issue as soon as possible. There will be consultation with stakeholders in advance. It is primarily the job of the NCSE to assess each school and its allocation. It is up to each school to allocate its SNAs as it sees fit. For mainstream classes, as I said, no diagnosis is required. The criteria for the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Special Educational Needs (10 Mar 2022)

Josepha Madigan: I assure the Deputy that the Minister and I take the role of SNA very seriously. SNAs are valued greatly for the assistance they give to children with additional needs who, quite simply, would not be in a position to function in any real way in classes without them. The SNA's role to increase the independent living skills of children with additional needs is to be commended and admired. In...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Special Educational Needs (10 Mar 2022)

Josepha Madigan: I thank the Deputy, who has raised this issue with me previously. When we are talking about special classes in general, we have to look at it in the context of the journey that we have been on. That is not to say that we still have a great deal of work to do but we have increased the number of special classes by 386% since 2011 and that is quite significant. At the end of December,...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Special Educational Needs (10 Mar 2022)

Josepha Madigan: To reassure the Deputy, there is intensive ongoing engagement with all of these schools by the local special educational needs organisers, SENOs, in the Dublin 12 area and I am consistently briefed on what is happening when I ask. Scoil Úna Naofa is employing consultants, as I said, to oversee building works and we hope that it will happen as soon as possible. The aim is to open for...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Special Educational Needs (10 Mar 2022)

Josepha Madigan: I met the archbishop in Our Lady of Good Hope and we had a conversation around special schools and special classes. They are very active and really want to try and provide that inclusivity where they can. We can all accept that sometimes there are legitimate reasons where schools do not have the capacity and, in those circumstances, we can either try to provide that building work where they...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: State Examinations (10 Mar 2022)

Josepha Madigan: I thank the Deputy. As he knows, I myself have a son doing the leaving certificate. He is in the middle of his mocks at the moment. Deputy Durkan is right that the past two years have been especially difficult due to the pandemic. Obviously, the Minister announced adjustments around greater choice in the papers and fewer questions to answer while allowing the same amount of time to...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: State Examinations (10 Mar 2022)

Josepha Madigan: Regarding the leaving certificate more generally for children without additional needs, the right balance has been struck in trying to cater for them as best we can, bearing in mind the difficulties that they have faced over the past two years. I am satisfied that we have made reasonable accommodations for children with additional needs. The scheme aims to remove access barriers to exams...