Results 2,521-2,540 of 19,544 for speaker:Norma Foley

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (27 Jun 2024)

Norma Foley: The school referred to by the Deputy was approved to enter my Department’s pipeline of school buildings for a project to provide a 2 SET Resource Room under the Additional School Accommodation Scheme. A Stage 1/2a Report (Design Development) was submitted to my Department in June 2024. This submission is now required to undergo a review by officials at my Department to ensure the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (27 Jun 2024)

Norma Foley: The school referred to by the Deputy is at Stage 4 - In Construction. Works commenced on site in June 2023 with an estimated completion timeframe of 18 months. However, due to unforeseen site issues at the outset, completion is now estimated at Quarter 2 of 2025. The Design Team and my Department's Planning and Building Unit are monitoring progress closely and every effort will be made to...

Primary School Funding: Motion [Private Members] (26 Jun 2024)

Norma Foley: The Government is not opposing this motion. I thank Deputy Harkin and her colleagues for tabling this motion. As I have said, the Government is not opposing it. I welcome the opportunity to speak to the House this morning on the very important matter of primary school funding and the many measures under way by the Government to support primary schools. The issue of school funding is...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (26 Jun 2024)

Norma Foley: I can confirm to the Deputy, that my Department has recently received an application for the Additional School Accommodation (ASA) scheme, from the school in question. The purpose of my Department’s Additional School Accommodation (or ASA) scheme is to ensure that essential mainstream classroom accommodation and accommodation for pupils with special education needs is available to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (26 Jun 2024)

Norma Foley: Extending the reference date for enrolments to a later stage in the year would delay the timely notification of staffing to schools and the recruitment process that follows. The current process ensures schools can fill vacancies in a timely manner ahead of the new school year and so provides certainty to the school system. As advised, the staffing arrangements have in-built processes for...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (26 Jun 2024)

Norma Foley: I can confirm to the Deputy, that my Department is in receipt of an application for the Additional School Accommodation (ASA) scheme, from the school in question. The purpose of my Department’s Additional School Accommodation (or ASA) scheme is to ensure that essential mainstream classroom accommodation and accommodation for pupils with special education needs is available to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (26 Jun 2024)

Norma Foley: The project to which the Deputy refers, has been devolved for delivery to Cavan and Monaghan Education and Training Board (CMETB). The brief for this project provides for a 8-classroom school, 2 SET rooms, Principals office and 1 combined resource / library area. The project is currently at Stage 3 of the architectural design process. At the end of May 2024, the ETB were given...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Textbooks (26 Jun 2024)

Norma Foley: In 2024 over €47 million was allocated to continue implementation of the schoolbooks scheme at primary level. On the 8th May I announced details of year 2 of the Primary Schoolbooks Scheme which provides at a minimum free schoolbooks, workbooks and copybooks to pupils in recognised primary and special schools. More than 555,000 pupils enrolled in approximately 3,230 primary schools,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Discipline (26 Jun 2024)

Norma Foley: The Leave of Absence following Assault Scheme, which is contained in the Department’s Circular Letter 0061/2017 for teachers and 0062/2017 for SNAs, provides for special leave with pay (subject to specified limits) to a teacher or special needs assistant who is unable to perform their duties due to a physical injury following an assault that happened in the course of their duties and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (26 Jun 2024)

Norma Foley: I am pleased to advise the Deputy that the school referred to was granted approval for the provision of 4 Special Education Tuition rooms under the Additional School Accommodation Scheme, the accommodation is being delivered from the Department's Modular Accommodation Framework. The project is devolved to the School Authority for delivery. Task Order 1 has been issued which is an...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: National Educational Psychological Service (26 Jun 2024)

Norma Foley: I refer to your recent parliamentary question in relation to the provision of a psychological service by NEPS to a school (details supplied) My Department’s National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) provides psychological support to all primary, post-primary, and special schools. NEPS provides access for all schools to: Psychological support in the event of a Critical...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (26 Jun 2024)

Norma Foley: Unfortunately due to diary commitments, I was unable to attend the meeting referred to by the Deputy. In relation to the issues raised, my Department is committed to providing funding to recognised primary and post-primary schools in the free education scheme by way of per capita grants. The two main grants are the Capitation grant to cater for day to day running costs such as heating,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (26 Jun 2024)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 56 and 79 together. Prior to 2022, principal release days were allocated on the basis of the number of mainstream teachers in the school. As part of Budget 2022 measures, I ensured that all schools with a teaching principal have a minimum of 37 Principal Release Days. i.e. one administrative day per week. Schools with one special class have 4 additional...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Educational Disadvantage (26 Jun 2024)

Norma Foley: My Department is committed to providing funding to recognised primary and post-primary schools in the free education scheme by way of per capita grants. The two main grants are the Capitation grant to cater for day to day running costs such as heating, lighting, cleaning, insurance, general up-keep etc. and the Ancillary grant to cater for the cost of employing ancillary services staff....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Textbooks (26 Jun 2024)

Norma Foley: In 2024 over €47 million was allocated to continue implementation of the schoolbooks scheme at primary level. On the 8th May I announced details of year 2 of the Primary Schoolbooks Scheme which provides at a minimum free schoolbooks, workbooks and copybooks to pupils in recognised primary and special schools. More than 555,000 pupils enrolled in approximately 3,230 primary schools,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (26 Jun 2024)

Norma Foley: My Department is committed to providing funding to recognised primary and post-primary schools in the free education scheme by way of per capita grants. The two main grants are the Capitation grant to cater for day to day running costs such as heating, lighting, cleaning, insurance and general up-keep and the Ancillary grant to cater for the cost of employing ancillary services staff. Schools...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (26 Jun 2024)

Norma Foley: The Department of Education is committed to providing schools at both primary and post-primary level with as much detail regarding grants, grant amounts and expected payment timeframes for each academic year as far in advance as is practicable. For the 2024/25 academic year, officials in the Department are currently considering the presentation of schedules for grants that should...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (26 Jun 2024)

Norma Foley: In the 2021/2022 academic year (the most recent year for which data is available) there were 54.61 Whole Time Equivalent (WTE) teachers in Cork teaching subjects for which they were unqualified to teach. In the 2021/2022 academic year there were 430.97 WTE teachers in Dublin teaching subjects for which they were unqualified to teach. The source of this data is the 2021/2022 Survey of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Discipline (26 Jun 2024)

Norma Foley: The information as set out in the attached document includes all absences relating to Assault Leave that have been recorded by the schools on the Online Claims System (OLCS) between January 1st 2019 and December 31st 2023. The Department does not hold information on undocumented absences relating to assaults in the school environment. Individual schools should be in a position to provide...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teaching Qualifications (26 Jun 2024)

Norma Foley: Under Section 38 of the Teaching Council Act, all initial teacher education programmes must be accredited by the Teaching Council for registration purposes. There are two standard routes recognised by the Teaching Council to become a primary teacher: A four-year undergraduate Bachelor of Education programme A two-year post-graduate Professional Master of Education programme. There are four...