Results 6,101-6,120 of 17,531 for speaker:Jan O'Sullivan

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (10 Mar 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 477 and 478 together. I intend to proceed with the implementation of the Junior Cycle reform including the implementation of the new specification for English which commenced last September. The implementation will now be based on the Travers' proposal which I agreed to late last month. All teachers of English who registered with the Junior Cycle for...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staffing (10 Mar 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: The staffing arrangements for primary schools for the 2015/16 school year are set out in Department Circular 0005/2015 which is available on my Department's website atwww.education.gov.ie. The circular sets out the improvements to the staffing schedule for the 2015/16 school year for small schools. These improvements are improved retention thresholds for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th classroom...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Universal Support Ireland Administration (10 Mar 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: The performance of SUSI is assessed on an ongoing basis in accordance with the terms of the Management Framework Agreement concluded between the Department and the CDETB in respect of SUSI a unit of CDETB. The Department under the agreed governance arrangement monitor the ongoing performance of SUSI throughout the academic year and a full report of the performance metrics for 2014/15...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Eligibility (10 Mar 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: Different State support schemes have different objectives. The Department's statutory based student grant scheme has its own particular objectives which is to provide additional assistance where parental income is below a certain threshold or, in the case of independent mature students, where the level of income of the student and his or her spouse warrants additional assistance by way of a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staffing Appeals Mechanism (10 Mar 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: As referenced in Parliamentary Question No. 475 of 3 March, 2015 the provisions of the Job Sharing Scheme for Special Needs Assistants in Recognised Primary and Post-Primary Schools are outlined in my Department's Circular Letter 41/2014. There is no provision for an appeal process and in accordance with the Circular a Special Needs Assistants may only apply to share a wholetime post on a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Institutes of Technology (10 Mar 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 484 and 483 together. The original vision for the technological sector and for its contribution to the economic, social and cultural life of regions remains valid today but even more is expected of the sector now – more in terms of flexibility, more in terms of responsiveness to regional and local communities, more in terms of responsiveness to the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Site Acquisitions (10 Mar 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: The site acquisition for the school referred to by the Deputy is currently ongoing. Due to commercial sensitivities attaching to site acquisitions generally, I am not in a position to provide further details at this time.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (10 Mar 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department's policies focus on ensuring that all children can have access to an education appropriate to their needs, preferably in school settings through the primary and post primary school network. A range of placement options for pupils with special educational needs is provided, in order to ensure that all pupils can receive a school placement. Many...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staffing Appeals Mechanism (10 Mar 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: The criteria used for the allocation of teachers to schools is published annually on the Department's website. The staffing arrangements, including the staffing appeal process, for the coming school year 2015/16 are set out in Circular 0005/2015 which is available on the website. The staffing appeal process at primary level includes the provision whereby schools with a high concentration of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Legislative Measures (10 Mar 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has published a Plan for the Implementation the Education of Persons with Special Educational Needs (EPSEN) Act. This report, which was published in 2006, made recommendations which suggested that additional investment over a period of years of up to €235m per annum, across the education and health sectors, would be required to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Emergency Works Scheme Applications (10 Mar 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: The school referred to by the Deputy submitted an application for funding under my Department's Emergency Works Scheme to provide universal access at their school. My Department's Planning and Building Unit has sought further clarification from the school authority and this information is currently awaited. As soon as the information is received a final decision will be communicated to the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further Education and Training Programmes Funding (10 Mar 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: As the Deputy will be aware, there has been a very significant reform of the Further Education and Training Sector in recent years, including the establishment of SOLAS as the Further Education and Training Authority and the amalgamation of the former Vocational Education Committees nationwide to form 16 Education and Training Boards (ETBs). These ETBs have also taken on responsibility for...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Complaints Procedures (10 Mar 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 491 and 492 together. Under the Education Act 1998, legally, all schools are managed by the school Board of Management, on behalf of the school patrons or trustees or Education and Training Board (known as the management authority). It is the management authority that employs the school's teachers and other staff members. In ETB schools, the ETB is the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staffing (10 Mar 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 arrangements for the 2015/2016 school year are set out in Circular...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (10 Mar 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: State Examinations Commission has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the certificate examinations. In view of this I have forwarded your query to the State Examinations Commission for direct reply to you.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (10 Mar 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: I can confirm that the site acquisition process is advancing to facilitate the provision of a new school building for the school referred to by the Deputy. Once the acquisition of the site is finalised, my Department will be in contact with the school authorities in relation to the location of the school and the progression of the building project.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staffing (10 Mar 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: Budget 2012 provided for the phased withdrawal of approximately 428 posts allocated to some schools under disadvantage programmes prior to the introduction of DEIS in 2005. Due to conflicting reports of posts being lost in these schools, my Department produced a report on the impact of the withdrawal of these legacy posts from DEIS Band 1 and Band 2 Schools. Following the Government's...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Eligibility (10 Mar 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: I understand that in the case of the student referred to by the Deputy that the appeal was considered by the Student Grants Appeals Board on 13th January 2015 and that the student was advised of their decision in writing. The current qualifying distance for the higher non-adjacent rate of student grant, at 45 km, takes into account a reasonable radius within which students may commute on...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Curriculum (10 Mar 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: I have requested that the NCCA include Politics and Society in their workplan. Based on their advice, it is intended that the new Leaving Certificate subject, Politics and Society, will be trialled in an initial cohort of schools who will express interest and capacity in trialling this subject from September 2016. The impact of the trial will be considered and then a decision will be...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments (10 Mar 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: All new schools, either at primary level or post-primary level, are set up to meet specific demographic needs within defined geographical areas. As part of the patronage determination processes to establish who will operate new schools, prospective patrons must commit to enrolling, as a priority, pupils from the area for whom the school is intended. The Department would expect to see this in...