Results 1,261-1,280 of 19,958 for speaker:Norma Foley

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (8 Sep 2020)

Norma Foley: Literacy and numeracy are among the most important life skills that our schools teach. Literacy and numeracy skills are crucial to a person’s ability to access the rest of the curriculum and to develop fully as an individual, to live a satisfying and rewarding life and to participate fully in our society. It is important therefore that children master these skills to the best of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Ministerial Advisers (8 Sep 2020)

Norma Foley: In accordance with the terms of the Public Service Management Act 1997 I will be appointing two Special Advisers at my Department to assist me in carrying out my ministerial functions.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Brexit Issues (9 Sep 2020)

Norma Foley: The matter raised by the Deputy is a matter appropriate to my colleague the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Universal Support Ireland (9 Sep 2020)

Norma Foley: The matter raised by the Deputy is a matter appropriate to my colleague the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (9 Sep 2020)

Norma Foley: Regarding Coronavirus (Covid 19) the position is that arrangements for teachers are set out in Circular 0049/2020, which is published on my Department’s website at link: Circular 0049/2020 In this regard my Department has put in place an enhanced occupational healthcare service to assist education staff who have concerns about their risk of returning to the workplace. A...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (9 Sep 2020)

Norma Foley: The NCSE has responsibility for planning and coordinating school supports for children with special educational needs including the allocation of SNAs and reviews. My Department does not have a role in making individual school determinations. SNAs are not allocated to individual children but to schools as a school based resource. The deployment of SNAs within schools is a matter for the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (9 Sep 2020)

Norma Foley: 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. The staffing schedule operates in a clear and transparent manner and treats all similar types of schools equally irrespective of location. The staffing schedule includes an appeals mechanism...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (9 Sep 2020)

Norma Foley: As the Deputy is aware, the delivery of this project is devolved to the school authority. My Department received a preliminary design report from Culmore National school in early 2020 for review. An issue with an aspect of the design of the building was identified and a review carried out by officials in that respect. The design was ultimately approved following this review and the school...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Summer Works Scheme (9 Sep 2020)

Norma Foley: I can inform the Deputy that my Department has received a tender report with respect to the project to which he refers. This report is currently under review by officials and the outcome of that review will be notified to the school shortly.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (9 Sep 2020)

Norma Foley: School Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. In the 2019/20 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 Supports (9 Sep 2020)

Norma Foley: The Covid-19 Response Plan for the safe and sustainable reopening of Post-Primary Schools was published 27thJuly 2020. In addition Circular 0046/2020 outlines the Covid-19 operational supports that are being made available to assist with re-opening schools. These supports are made available to all post-primary schools in the free education sector and through an application process for...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (9 Sep 2020)

Norma Foley: The Roadmap for Full Return to School set outs the plan for the safe and sustainable reopening of our schools. It has been developed in line with public health advice issued by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC), the Roadmap for Society and Business, and follows comprehensive and intensive engagement with education stakeholders including the school management bodies and staff...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (9 Sep 2020)

Norma Foley: School Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of my 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: Schools Building Projects (9 Sep 2020)

Norma Foley: The school referred to by the Deputy opened its doors to 64 first year students on Friday August 28th 2020. In the context of the current accommodation arrangements the school has had to make some modifications to its subject offering for this term. While it was not feasible to make full provision for specialist subjects at the school's current location, Department officials will continue...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (9 Sep 2020)

Norma Foley: School Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the 2019/20 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...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (9 Sep 2020)

Norma Foley: In the 2019/20 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 €219m in 2019. The purpose of my Department's School Transport Scheme is, having regard to available...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Staff (9 Sep 2020)

Norma Foley: The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) conducts reviews of the allocation of Special EducationTeachers (SETs) and Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) in circumstances where schools consider that exceptional circumstances have arisen in their school which means that they cannot provide for the special education teaching or SNA needs of their pupil population from within the total...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (9 Sep 2020)

Norma Foley: School Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of my 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: Supervision and Substitution Scheme (9 Sep 2020)

Norma Foley: The Roadmap for the Full Return to School provides for comprehensive supports across a range of areas to allow for the safe reopening of schools. Among the supports provided is the extension of the Substitute Teacher Supply Panel. The scheme has been expanded from a pilot scheme consisting of 6 base schools to over 100 base schools, providing substitute cover to over 2,000 schools across the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Question Heading for question(s) 168 (9 Sep 2020)

Norma Foley: I can confirm that my Department has received correspondence, including a report, from the group referred to by the Deputy and that a response will issue shortly. 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, to...