Results 4,681-4,700 of 17,531 for speaker:Jan O'Sullivan

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Guidance Counsellors (30 Jun 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: Up until September 2012, an ex-quota allocation was provided for guidance in addition to the standard teacher allocation to post primary schools. This resource was allocated in accordance with pupil enrolment. Some 42% of second-level schools at the time were allocated at least 22 hours per week in respect of guidance (22 hours being the equivalent of one teaching post) while the remainder of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Guidance Counsellors (30 Jun 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 512 to 522, inclusive, together. Up until September 2012, an ex-quota allocation was provided for guidance in addition to the standard teacher allocation to post primary schools. This resource was allocated in accordance with pupil enrolment. 42% of second-level schools at the time were allocated at least 22 hours per week in respect of guidance (22 hours...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (30 Jun 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: The Deputy will be aware that 11,330 whole time equivalent Special Needs Assistant (SNA) posts have been made available to the NCSE to allocate to schools to end of the current school year. This is the highest number of SNAs that we have ever had and it has ensured that children with special educational needs can continue to participate in education and be supported in a manner appropriate...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments (30 Jun 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: It is the responsibility of the managerial authorities of all schools to implement an enrolment policy in accordance with the Education Act, 1998. The enrolment policy must be non-discriminatory and must be applied fairly in respect of all applicants. This Department's main responsibility is to ensure that schools in an area can, between them, cater for all pupils seeking school places in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (30 Jun 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: SOLAS, the Further Education and Training Authority, has statutory responsibility for the Apprenticeship system in Ireland. The Apprenticeship system is employer led and the number of craft apprentices registered with SOLAS is determined by individual employers recruiting potential apprentices within a broad range of occupational sectors. At the end of 2014, apprentice registrations to the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Staffing (30 Jun 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: On 10th February 2015, the establishment of a new Inclusion Support Service within the National Council for Special Education was announced to assist schools in supporting children with special education needs. The service will include the Special Education Support Service (SESS), the National Behaviour Support Service (NBSS) and the Visiting Teacher Service for children who are deaf/hard...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staffing (30 Jun 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: The Statistics Section of my Department's website contains extensive data relating to schools. The most recent published information relates to the 2013/2014 school year. Data in relation to the 2014/15 school year will be published later this week. The staffing and redeployment process for the 2015/16 school year is underway in my Department. The final staffing position for all schools...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (30 Jun 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: The criteria used for the allocation of teaching posts is published annually on the Department website. 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...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staffing (30 Jun 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: Since September 2012 the combined resources available for learning support (General Allocation Model at Primary) and language support have been merged into a single simplified allocation process. In order to manage the arrangements at national level and to do so in a manner that fits with the redeployment arrangements it is necessary for the the GAM/EAL allocation to each primary school to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (30 Jun 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: The school in question is included, along with five others, in the Schools PPP Bundle 5 programme which is currently at tender stage. Planning permission has been sought from Wicklow County Council for the development of the site in question. Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council has refused planning permission for an access road into the site. However, my Department is considering its...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (30 Jun 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: I am pleased to inform the Deputy that additional funding has been approved for the school in question and the school authority has been informed.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (30 Jun 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: The project referred to by the Deputy is currently at the Design Team appointment Stage. Upon completion of the appointment of the Design Team, my Department Officials will be in direct contact with the Board of Management to commence Stage 1 of Architectural Planning, which is the initial sketch design stage. It is not possible to progress all projects within the Department's building...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Services Staff (30 Jun 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 534 and 535 together. Schemes were initiated in 1978 and 1979 for the employment of Clerical Officers and Caretakers in primary and secondary schools. While a small number of these staff remain in schools, the schemes are being phased out and have been superseded by a more extensive grant scheme. The majority of primary and voluntary secondary schools in the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Parent and Student Charter (30 Jun 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: My intention is to amend Section 28 of the Education Act 1998 to require every school to have a Parent and Student Charter according to principles set down in legislation that will set a national standard. As the Deputy may be aware, section 28 is the section of the Education Act 1998 that provides for parental complaints in schools. It expresses a desirability of determining appeals and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (30 Jun 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: My Department is working closely with Sligo County Council in relation to the identification of a permanent site for the school in question and potential site options have been assessed. As the Deputy will appreciate, there are commercial sensitivities associated with land acquisitions generally and I am not in a position to comment further on the site acquisition at this time. I expect...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (30 Jun 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: I wish to advise the Deputy that the accommodation brief for the proposed building project has been approved and the project is currently at an early stage of the architectural planning process. The next step involves the appointment of a Design Team and my officials were in contact with the school in this regard recently. The project will now be progressed to the final stages of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (30 Jun 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: In February, 2014 the school referred to by the Deputy was sanctioned a devolved grant under my Department's Additional Accommodation Scheme to provide 3 new mainstream classrooms and an assisted users toilet. An application for additional funding has been received from the school authority to carry out works that were not approved by my Department. The school authority and their Design...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (30 Jun 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: The project referred to by the Deputy is at an advanced stage of the Tender Process and subject to no issues arising is expected to commence on site by the end of the summer. Once the project commences on site the construction programme set by the design team envisages that it will take approximately twenty nine months to complete the full suite of accommodation and refurbishment.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (30 Jun 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department's over-riding objective and the primary focus of the 5 Year Construction Plan is to ensure that every child has access to a physical school place and that our school system is in a position to cope with increasing pupil numbers. Total pupil enrolment in both primary and post-primary schools is expected to grow by around 108,000 additional...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (30 Jun 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 554 and 555 together. Average class size is not readily calculated on an individual school basis. Below is a link to a spreadsheet that shows the number of pupils in each mainstream class and the number of mainstream class teachers for each primary school in county order. Data refers to 2014/15 school year. .