Results 17,681-17,700 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Other Questions: Schools Mental Health Strategies (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: The Deputy's point is well made, in that not every school is equally good at implementing these programmes. However, the junior certificate well-being programme, which we are rolling out from September, gives an opportunity for schools to have a hard look at themselves, a self-evaluation. We are encouraging schools to do that and there is a seven-step process to look at their programmes,...

Other Questions: Schools Mental Health Strategies (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: At the end of last week I had a workshop in Galway and detected that in schools there is a huge appetite for this programme. School authorities recognise that this is an area in which they need to improve. A lot of pressures are coming on schools with expectations from pupils who are experiencing difficulties and they must respond. We have developed some excellent tools to support them,...

Other Questions: Special Educational Needs (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: A number of sections of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004 have been commenced, including those establishing the National Council for Special Education and those promoting an inclusive approach to the education of children. In order to ensure that inclusive education can be provided for, very significant investment has been made in the area of special...

Other Questions: Special Educational Needs (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: I wish to correct one point. The figures I quoted were from €706 million in 2006 to €1,500 million in 2016, which covers the period when cutbacks were occurring in education. This area was not subject to cutbacks. Resource teaching has been increased by 41%. We now have 12,500 teachers providing resource or learning support, plus 12,500 special needs assistants. There has...

Other Questions: Special Educational Needs (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: I wish to reassure Deputy Wallace. There has been a 41% increase in the number of resource teachers since 2011, a 23% increase in special needs assistants and a 100% increase in the number of autism spectrum disorder classes in schools. Substantial investment is ongoing. I agree that parents need a better say. That is why we are introducing a parents charter Bill, the heads of which will...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Institutes of Technology Funding (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: My Department and the Higher Education Authority (HEA) are aware of the financial difficulties being experienced by a number of the Institutes of Technology (IoTs), including Letterkenny IoT. The HEA has been closely monitoring the financial position of all of the IoTs and in particular is working closely with those Institutes operating in deficit to ensure appropriate mechanisms are put in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: The National Council for Special Education is responsible for organising and planning provision for children with Special Educational Needs, including establishing special classes in mainstream primary and post primary schools. Progress in developing the network of Special Classes has been significant. In 2011 there were 548 special classes, of which 224 were primary ASD classes, 72...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools Scheme (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: A great deal of work has gone into the review of the DEIS Programme which began in 2015 and is progressing very well and it is my intention to publish a new Action Plan for Educational Inclusion in the coming weeks. The review process has looked at all aspects of DEIS, including the range and impact of different elements of the School Support Programme, the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Staff (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: In September, I launched the first ever Action Plan for Education aimed at making the Irish education and training service the best in Europe by 2026. This plan, which incorporates my Department's Strategy Statement as well as the Action Plan of Education outlines over one hundred actions to be implemented across the period 2016-2019. It provides the strategic framework for planning and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: The delivery of the new education campus at Ballinrea, Carrigaline has been devolved to Cork Education & Training Board (CETB). Planning permission has been received for the three schools following an appeal to An Bord Pleanála.  To comply with recent changes to the Public Works Contract, the Design Team was requested to assess the additional work that needs to be...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: In September, I launched the first ever Action Plan for Education. It set out the overall ambition of making the Irish education and training service the best in Europe by 2026. The plan itself focuses on the period 2016-2019 and outlines over one hundred actions to be implemented across the period. It provides the strategic framework for planning and reporting across the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: My Department's Action Plan for Education 2016-19 underlines the important function served by the education system in promoting wellbeing in our schools. At an overarching level it commits to supporting schools in the implementation of Wellbeing Guidelines for Primary and Post-Primary schools and providing a framework for a whole-school approach to mental health and wellbeing. There are a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools Scheme (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: As the Deputy is aware, a process to review the DEIS Programme is nearing completion. I intend to publish a new Action Plan for Educational Inclusion in the coming weeks. The review process is looking at all aspects of DEIS including the potential for increased integration of services provided by other Departments and Agencies to improve effectiveness. Among the measures to be included in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Healthy Living Strategies (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: I am reviewing the activity of my Department in the area of Wellbeing. I shall ask that the Deputy's suggestion be considered in that context. I am of course conscious that the content and procurement of school journals and resources is a matter for individual schools. This provides schools with the flexibility to select the resources that are most appropriate to the needs of their students.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teacher Recruitment (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: The key factor for determining the level of staffing at individual school level is the staffing schedule for the relevant school year and pupil enrolments on the previous 30th September.  The staffing schedule for the current school year is available in Circular 0007/2016.  The staffing schedule also includes an appeals mechanism for schools to submit an appeal under certain...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Patronage (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: Ten new primary schools have opened since 2013 under the patronage divesting process, two of which opened in September 2016. The Government is committed to progressing the development of a dynamic and innovative education system that reflects the diversity of twenty-first Century Ireland.  The Programme for a Partnership Government reflects the Government's objective...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Staff Contracts (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: The Teaching Council is the statutory body with responsibility for professional standards at all stages of the teaching career. It has established standards for post-qualification professional practice, as set out in Droichead, the new model of induction and probation for newly qualified primary and post-primary teachers.  The Droichead programme was the subject of a three-year...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Patronage (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: When it is decided following demographic analyses by my Department that a new school is required to meet demographic needs, my Department runs a separate patronage process to decide who will operate the school. The criteria used in relation to patronage of the new school place particular emphasis on parental demand for plurality and diversity of patronage, with parental preferences...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Curriculum (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: The Advisory Group to the Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the Primary Sector recommended in its report that programmes in Education about Religion and Beliefs (ERB) and Ethics be developed. The NCCA was asked, in response to the report, to explore the development of such programmes. The NCCA produced a Consultation Paper in 2015 outlining the proposed rationale, vision, aims and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Admissions (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department is monitoring the school accommodation position in the Wexford town area.  In that regard, my Department considers that the additional school accommodation planned for the Wexford town area should be adequate to cater for the projected increase in enrolments in that area. My Department will however continue to monitor the position, taking...