Results 5,721-5,740 of 19,576 for speaker:Norma Foley

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: School Staff (23 Sep 2021)

Norma Foley: Again, I acknowledge, as the Deputy has done, that considerable work has been done and it has demanded the co-operation of all involved. I acknowledge that in respect of the union, the Departments, given that this involves the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform as well as my Department, and the WRC. To give some background, on 13 September the parties engaged at the WRC, whereby...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: School Staff (23 Sep 2021)

Norma Foley: I appreciate the points the Deputies have made. They do not have to tell me the value of school secretaries and caretakers. I have worked all my teaching life in the school sector and I am very familiar with the work of school secretaries and, indeed, caretakers. Specifically on some of the points that have been made, a phased approach is being taken to these discussions. The first...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: School Equipment (23 Sep 2021)

Norma Foley: Managing ventilation is just one of a suite of public health measures in place to keep our schools safe. Updated guidance on practical steps for the deployment of good ventilation practices in schools was provided at the end of May, following the work of an expert group that carefully considered the role of ventilation in managing Covid-19. A copy of the guidance is published on the website...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: School Equipment (23 Sep 2021)

Norma Foley: I thank the Deputy. There is international demand for carbon dioxide monitors. We ordered them more than four months ago. We are moving into the fifth month now. Ninety-six percent of our primary schools are in possession of their allocation of carbon dioxide monitors. All of our special schools have received their allocation, and all of our post-primary schools have a minimum of ten...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: School Transport (23 Sep 2021)

Norma Foley: I thank the Deputy for his question. The school transport scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. In the 2020-21 school year, more than 114,100 children, including over 14,700 children with special educational needs, were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country at a cost of over €224.7...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: School Transport (23 Sep 2021)

Norma Foley: I thank the Deputy. I appreciate the issues being brought forward to constituency offices. I am a rural Deputy myself and I understand that and the importance of the school transport system. We have made significant progress in the past year in addressing many of the issues that were problematic last year. This has been helped in no small measure by the review that is in place and as a...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: School Transport (23 Sep 2021)

Norma Foley: I thank the Deputies. I confirm, once again, that the planning for school transport for the 2021-22 school year has proceeded on the basis that the public health measures in place at schools closed at the end of last year would remain as term began in this new school year. This included the recommendation from public health that post-primary services would operate at 50% capacity and that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Reopening of Schools, Cork Life Centre, School Bullying and the Impact on Mental Health: Discussion. (21 Sep 2021)

Norma Foley: I want to be very clear that the advice we offer is the advice we get from public health. This is as a consequence of the ongoing engagement we have with public health. Throughout the summer we continued to engage with it and we continue to do so now. The advice from public health is that children should stay at home if they are unwell. It is a precautionary measure. There is the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Reopening of Schools, Cork Life Centre, School Bullying and the Impact on Mental Health: Discussion. (21 Sep 2021)

Norma Foley: To be fair, I would have to say to the Deputy that the advice our principals and our parents and guardians are being asked to follow is the advice that has been provided by public health to the Department. This is the advice that is disseminated to the schools and organisations. There has been an enormous body of work in terms of getting this information out to parents in a variety of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Reopening of Schools, Cork Life Centre, School Bullying and the Impact on Mental Health: Discussion. (21 Sep 2021)

Norma Foley: I thank the Deputy for relaying the very positive remarks he has received from principals in both sectors. I will make a quick remark on the view expressed on delays in contact tracing once a child has been positively diagnosed. I want to repeat to the Deputy what has been repeated by public health. It states once a child is diagnosed as Covid positive the HSE is automatically informed and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Reopening of Schools, Cork Life Centre, School Bullying and the Impact on Mental Health: Discussion. (21 Sep 2021)

Norma Foley: As the Deputy has acknowledged, the hot meals programme is under the remit of the Department of Social Protection. Particularly in the past year, significant funding has been made available to schools for whatever minor works they deem necessary. In fact, there were two tranches of minor works funding paid to schools. For the first time, minor works grants were paid to second level schools....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Reopening of Schools, Cork Life Centre, School Bullying and the Impact on Mental Health: Discussion. (21 Sep 2021)

Norma Foley: Since the reopening of our schools last year, and again this year, the emphasis has very much been on well-being. I ensured in the budget that 120 guidance posts and 17 additional National Educational Psychological Service, NEPS, posts would be made available. I am pleased to be able to state a well-being platform is being provided whereby all the resources required for schools are on a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Reopening of Schools, Cork Life Centre, School Bullying and the Impact on Mental Health: Discussion. (21 Sep 2021)

Norma Foley: I thank the Deputy. I appreciate his opening remarks. On CLASS, this is the third aspect of the support programme for children, as we have said previously. The important aspect of the CLASS initiative is that it is for the benefit of all students. There will be targeted teaching hours made available to schools. For example, a post-primary school of 800 pupils will be entitled to an...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Reopening of Schools, Cork Life Centre, School Bullying and the Impact on Mental Health: Discussion. (21 Sep 2021)

Norma Foley: It is important to acknowledge in the first instance that excellent work is already being done in our schools. For example, this week the roll-out of the incidental inspections is taking place. An integral part of those inspections will be an opportunity to review best practice in our schools currently. Coming from that, there will be a composite report of all of that best practice which...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Reopening of Schools, Cork Life Centre, School Bullying and the Impact on Mental Health: Discussion. (21 Sep 2021)

Norma Foley: I thank Deputy Ó Cathasaigh. I appreciate the positive feedback. I have had the opportunity to visit a number of schools over the past number of weeks. I share the Deputy's view that there has been a very positive reaction to the return to school. That is across the board - from parents and guardians, school staff and, very importantly, the students themselves. In terms of class...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Reopening of Schools, Cork Life Centre, School Bullying and the Impact on Mental Health: Discussion. (21 Sep 2021)

Norma Foley: I appreciate and acknowledge the huge body of work that this committee has been involved in on bullying. The report was published just last month and I am in the process of working my way through it. I am very positively disposed towards working with many of the recommendations. Specifically, it is important to make a first step. That is why it will be a very positive learning experience...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Reopening of Schools, Cork Life Centre, School Bullying and the Impact on Mental Health: Discussion. (21 Sep 2021)

Norma Foley: In the first instance, I take exception to the remarks about complacency in our schools. There is nothing complacent about our return to school. As I have said, we have consistently engaged right throughout the summer and put funding in place of €57 million alone for this first term for the return to school. There is no sense of complacency and, in contrast, there is a sense that a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Reopening of Schools, Cork Life Centre, School Bullying and the Impact on Mental Health: Discussion. (21 Sep 2021)

Norma Foley: I thank the Deputy. She raised a case involving high class numbers at primary school level but pupil-teacher ratios, as a consequence of work done in previous budgets, are at an historic low. I am not au faitwith the specific case raised by the Deputy but, in general, where there are exceptional positions in schools or whatever, there is an appeals process for teacher allocations. It is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Reopening of Schools, Cork Life Centre, School Bullying and the Impact on Mental Health: Discussion. (21 Sep 2021)

Norma Foley: I know from experience that the day of leaving certificate results can bring great joy for some and great disappointment for others. The day the course points are published can also bring great joy and disappointment as well. I have already outlined that this past year and the previous year have been extraordinary and that extraordinary circumstances prevailed. The class of 2021 had an...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Reopening of Schools, Cork Life Centre, School Bullying and the Impact on Mental Health: Discussion. (21 Sep 2021)

Norma Foley: I thank the Senator and acknowledge the various points she has raised. There has been significant progress on the Cork Life Centre and I acknowledge the work of the officials of the Department, the Cork Education and Training Board and the Cork Life Centre, which has engaged so positively and proactively in being able to progress matters. On the Senator’s specific question on other...