Results 521-540 of 15,342 for speaker:Helen McEntee

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Discipline (8 Apr 2025)

Helen McEntee: Under the 2013 anti-bullying procedures for primary and post-primary schools, Boards of Management are required to undertake an annual review of their school’s anti-bullying policy and its implementation. Following this review, the school must put in place an action plan to address any identified areas for improvement. Written notification that the review has been completed must...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Textbooks (8 Apr 2025)

Helen McEntee: The Programme for Government acknowledges that education should be inclusive of all students, recognising that particular students may need particular supports. It commits to continue work to tackle all forms of disadvantage in education and promote inclusivity and to provide free schoolbooks to all children in the free education system and introduce changes as needed to the operation of this...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (8 Apr 2025)

Helen McEntee: Under the Education Act 1998, the question of enrolment policy in individual schools, including the setting of catchment areas, is the responsibility of the board of management on behalf of the school patron. The selection process and the enrolment policy on which it is based must be non-discriminatory and must be applied fairly in respect of all applicants. However, this may result in some...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Management (8 Apr 2025)

Helen McEntee: I propose to take Questions Nos. 464, 465 and 466 together. Schools are required to take all reasonable precautions to ensure the safety of pupils and welfare of their pupils and it is the responsibility of each individual managerial authority to arrange for their appropriate safety. Under the Education Act 1998 the Board of Management of a school is the body charged with the direct...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (8 Apr 2025)

Helen McEntee: The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the current school year, over 172,500 children, are transported daily in approximately 7,900 vehicles across 10,300 routes daily to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. These daily trips cover over 100 million kilometres. This figure includes...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (8 Apr 2025)

Helen McEntee: The school to which the Deputy refers submitted an application for funding under the Emergency Works Scheme (EWS) for roof works. The application in question is currently being reviewed by the technical area within the EWS. Once a technical recommendation has been received back from the technical team, the EWS team will engage further with the school as appropriate. The EWS team is aware...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (8 Apr 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. Schools were notified of the staffing arrangements for the 2025/26 school year with the publication of Circular 0011/2025 on 11 February 2025. The school referred to by the Deputy is to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (8 Apr 2025)

Helen McEntee: The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the current school year, over 172,500 children, are transported daily in approximately 7,900 vehicles across 10,300 routes daily to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. These daily trips cover over 100 million kilometres. This figure includes...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (8 Apr 2025)

Helen McEntee: The school to which the Deputy refers submitted an application for funding under the Emergency Works Scheme (EWS) for roof works. The application in question is currently being reviewed by the technical area within the EWS. Once a technical recommendation has been received back from the technical team, the EWS team will engage further with the school as appropriate. The EWS team is aware...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (8 Apr 2025)

Helen McEntee: The Teaching Council is the professional standards body for the teaching profession, which promotes and regulates professional standards in teaching. The Council registers teachers under the Teaching Council Acts 2001-2015. There are five routes of registration with the Teaching Council which are namely Route 1: Primary, Route 2: Post-primary, Route 3: Further Education, Route 4: Other and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Projects (8 Apr 2025)

Helen McEntee: The information requested by the Deputy is not readily available The information being sought will be collated and will be forwarded directly to the Deputy once available.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (8 Apr 2025)

Helen McEntee: The school to which the Deputy refers submitted an application for funding under the Emergency Works Scheme (EWS) for roof works. The application in question is currently being reviewed by the technical area within the EWS. Once a technical recommendation has been received back from the technical team, the EWS team will engage further with the school as appropriate. The EWS team is aware...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (8 Apr 2025)

Helen McEntee: Caretakers are valued members of our school communities who carry out work vital to the operation of our schools. At present, most primary and post-primary schools receive assistance to provide for caretaker services under ancillary grant funding. The Department of Education, through a package agreed with Fórsa, (the Trade Union which represents both school caretakers and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (8 Apr 2025)

Helen McEntee: The Department of Education , through a package agreed with Fórsa, the trade union representing school secretaries, provided for secretaries to be moved to a pay scale aligned with that of Grade III/CO and for some enhanced terms and conditions including improved leave entitlements and maternity provisions. This was implemented under Circular 0036/2022. This agreement has ensured fair...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (8 Apr 2025)

Helen McEntee: I propose to take Questions Nos. 480 and 502 together. Tackling educational disadvantage and supporting students to fulfil their full potential in life is a key priority for me as Minister for Education, and for the Government. The DEIS programme is a key policy of Government to tackle concentrated educational disadvantage at school level. It provides a targeted range of supports and is...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Welfare Service (8 Apr 2025)

Helen McEntee: Tusla Education Support Service (TESS) is under the remit of my Department. TESS operates under the Education (Welfare) Act, 2000, a piece of legislation that emphasises the promotion of school attendance, participation and retention. TESS has three strands namely the statutory Educational Welfare Service (EWS) and the two school support services the Home School Community Liaison (HSCL)...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (8 Apr 2025)

Helen McEntee: The scheme for Leave of Absence following Assault (LOAFA) was agreed for teachers and Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) between Management bodies of schools, Unions, the Department of Public Expenditure, National Delivery and Reform and the Department of Education, and came into effect from 1 September 2017, on a pilot basis. The provisions of the scheme are contained in Department Circulars...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (8 Apr 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 referred to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (8 Apr 2025)

Helen McEntee: The State Examinations Commission (SEC) acknowledges that school authorities are in the best position to put the arrangements in place to cater for the needs of individual candidates for whom the use of a special centre has been approved. The SEC further recognises that in the interests of candidate(s) for whom special centres are approved, the school may wish to nominate a specific SNA or a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (8 Apr 2025)

Helen McEntee: As Minister, I recognise a need to ensure that all of our students can follow a senior cycle learning pathway most appropriate to their needs, and any new learning pathways need to be valued. Last September, under Senior Cycle Redevelopment, the Senior Cycle Level 1 and Level 2 Learning Programmes Statement, and initial modules in Numeracy, and Communication and Literacy, were published....