Results 261-280 of 16,182 for speaker:Helen McEntee

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (17 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: Under the Programme for Government there is a commitment to aim to reduce the general pupil teacher ratio at primary level to 19:1 over the term of government and introduce targeted measures in schools with very large classes. This will build on the progress which has been made by the previous Government. The general average of pupils to teachers in the Primary Staffing Schedule...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (17 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: The Programme for Government provides for a number of measures to support small schools, including introducing a new national small schools' project and trialing new administrative supports. The Government is very aware that small schools are an important part of the life of local communities. The current small schools' action research project established in 2021 is due to conclude at the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (17 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: 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 process contains an appeals mechanism for schools to submit a staffing appeal under certain criteria to an independent Primary Staffing Appeals Board. The school...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (17 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: The School to which the Deputy refers was approved funding under my Department’s Additional School Accommodation Scheme for a project providing two special education tuition rooms. The project is devolved for delivery to the school authority. The Stage 2b (developed design) report was received by my Department and is currently under review from both a technical and cost...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (17 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: I can confirm to the Deputy, that my department has approved funding for the school in question for 2 special education classrooms, central activities space and sensory garden under the Additional School Accommodation (ASA) scheme. This project is currently at Stage 1 (preliminary design) of the architectural planning process. My department is not in receipt of an application in relation...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (17 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: The 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....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Early School Leavers (17 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: The most recent figures available concerns the students who began their post primary education in 2017. This cohort were due to complete their Leaving Certificate in the academic years 2021-22 or 2022-23. The 2016 cohort finished in the years 2020-21 or 2021-22. Figures for the 2018 cohort finishing in 2022-23 or 2023-24 are yet to be published. The following table shows the number for...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (17 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: The development of digital skills and media literacy must start from a young age. The Department of Education and Youth’s response to the provision of digital skills and media literacy within early childhood and care and school settings includes:Curriculum at all levelsDigital Strategy for Schools to 2027STEM Education Policy Statement 2017-2026Literacy, Numeracy and Digital Literacy...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Patronage (17 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: There are currently 172 primary schools with a multi-denominational or inter-denominational ethos. This includes:51 of the 52 new primary schools established for demographic reasons since 2011 having a multi-denominational ethos32 areas now have increased multi-denominational provision as a result of the reconfiguration or divesting process undertaken since 2011.For historical reasons, most...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Schemes (17 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: The purpose of the Teacher Fee Refund Scheme is to provide funding towards the cost of course participation and examination fees on successful completion of teacher professional learning courses. In order to prioritise teachers’ professional learning in areas clearly linked to learning, teaching and assessment, funding is allocated to relevant programmes in line with policy priorities...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (17 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: The large scale capital project at the school referred to by the Deputy is at Architectural Planning Stage 3 – Tender Action and Award. The brief for this project is to provide a new 27 classroom school with 3 classrooms for children with special educational needs and a General Purpose Hall on the existing school site. Works include the demolition of existing school building. ...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (17 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: The major building project for the school referred to by the Deputy will deliver a new 1,000 pupil post primary school with accommodation and 6 classrooms for children with special educational needs. It is intended that the project will be delivered under my Department's ADAPT Programme which uses a professional external Programme Manager to co-ordinate and drive the Integrated Project Team...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (17 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: I can confirm to the Deputy that my department is in receipt of an application for additional school accommodation (ASA) from the school in question. The purpose of the ASA scheme is to ensure that essential mainstream classroom and Special Education Needs (SEN) accommodation is available to cater for pupils enrolled each year, where the need cannot be met by the school's existing...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Judicial Reviews (17 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: I propose to take Questions Nos. 470, 471 and 472 together. The information requested by the Deputy is not readily available. It is currently being collated and reviewed by officials in my Department and a response will issue directly to the Deputy as soon as it is available.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: School Facilities (12 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: As part of the Government’s ongoing commitment to supporting schools, I recently announced €65 million in minor works and ICT grants. This funding provides schools with flexibility to address small-scale infrastructure improvements and to invest in IT equipment and digital infrastructure. The minor works grant is provided on a standard flat rate plus a per capita basis. This...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: School Facilities (12 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: To clarify on ICT, we gave a commitment as part of the overall strategy that we would provide €200 million to schools over the lifetime of the strategy. What had been provided to date was two amounts of €50 million but they were not exactly every year so they were spaced out. I want to make sure that every year schools get the grant, that they know they are getting it and how...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: School Facilities (12 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: I want to stress that the Department is there and available to engage with schools. While we have seen an increase in the number of people coming to the FFSU it is not to the level that we are hearing more broadly. I encourage schools which may be in difficulty and having a challenging time ahead with their finances to engage with the Department. The DEIS grants and status mean that...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Educational Disadvantage (12 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: The DEIS programme is a key policy of the Department to tackle concentrated educational disadvantage at school level. The Tusla education support service, TESS, is under the remit of my Department and has three strands: the statutory Educational Welfare Service, EWS, the home school community liaison scheme and the school completion programme. These all work extremely well and support a...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Education Schemes (12 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: More broadly, I wish to highlight that the child poverty unit established by my former colleague and our former Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, is still there in the Department of the Taoiseach. We continue to work together to look at ways in which we can support the most vulnerable. The DEIS programme is key to that. It is not just the new DEIS plan but also the DEIS plus scheme we have...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Early School Leavers (12 Jun 2025)

Helen McEntee: The most recent figures available regarding school completion rates report on students who began their post-primary education in 2017. Of those students who entered first year in 2017, 90% sat the leaving certificate examination in 2022 or 2023. A total of 97.8% sat the junior certificate - now called the junior cycle - examination in 2020. While the latest retention rate to leaving...