Results 6,721-6,740 of 19,968 for speaker:Norma Foley

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: School Transport (29 Jun 2023)

Norma Foley: As the Deputy will be aware, the school transport scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the 2022-2023 school year, in excess of 149,000 young people, including more than 18,000 children with special educational needs, were transported daily. In addition, school transport scheme services have been provided in the 2022-2023...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: School Transport (29 Jun 2023)

Norma Foley: I acknowledge the importance of the scheme. I know it myself as I come from a rural constituency. Very specific measures were taken to ensure there would be earlier allocation of tickets. For the first time, the payment closing dates were brought forward. The family portal to process applications is closed and it will reopen on 30 June 2023, which is imminent. This closure is...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: School Transport (29 Jun 2023)

Norma Foley: I understand the importance of receiving information as early as possible. It is for that reason we brought everything forward this year. Therefore, it is our expectation that, well in advance of the return to school, tickets will have been issued and people will know clearly where they stand. Significant value is provided by the school transport system. The Deputy will appreciate...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: State Examinations (29 Jun 2023)

Norma Foley: As the Deputy has articulated, the SEC has specific responsibility for the operation, delivery and development of the State examinations. As part of its remit, the SEC provides the scheme of reasonable accommodations, which is known as the RACE scheme. This scheme facilitates access to the State exams by candidates who would have difficulty in accessing the exams or communicating what they...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: State Examinations (29 Jun 2023)

Norma Foley: I thank the Deputy. She is correct. I agree there is enormous importance attached to the RACE scheme. I understand the most recent full review was carried out in 2016-2017. In the interim, there have also been amendments, particularly for candidates who present as visually impaired. I also want to say that schools have devolved authority to recommend to the SEC the supports available...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (29 Jun 2023)

Norma Foley: As Minister for Education I am very conscious of the need to ensure schools are supported, enabling them to maximise teaching and learning outcomes for all students. My Department provides funding to all recognised schools in the Free Education Scheme by way of per capita grants. These grants are based on recognised enrolments in September of the relevant school year, which is the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (29 Jun 2023)

Norma Foley: In this the 2022/23 school year, the staffing schedule operates on a general average of 24 pupils to every 1 teacher. This is a historically low level of pupils to teachers. Primary schools also have access to other non-mainstream teachers, including for example special education teachers and language support teachers. Under the Programme for Government, there is a commitment to make...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Textbooks (29 Jun 2023)

Norma Foley: It is the responsibility of each individual school to select the resources, if any, that it will use to support its implementation of the curriculum. The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) and my Department do not endorse or recommend particular materials. This includes text books, and it is a matter for each school to consider all relevant issues, including discussing...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Data (29 Jun 2023)

Norma Foley: The Deputy will be aware that my Department provides a payroll service to over 3,700 primary, secondary, community and comprehensive schools. The number of teachers allocated for the 2022 / 2023 school year was 42,739 in primary schools and 34,250 in post primary schools. This has been an increase of over 17,000 teachers employed in our schools over the 10 year period from the school years...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Patronage (29 Jun 2023)

Norma Foley: The Programme for Government includes a commitment to “achieve the target of at least 400 multi-denominational primary schools by 2030, to improve parental choice”. In recent years there has been considerable progress towards increasing the numbers of multi-denominational primary schools. In 2022, there were 166 primary schools with a multi-denominational or...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (29 Jun 2023)

Norma Foley: As Minister for Education I am very conscious of the need to ensure schools are supported, enabling them to maximise teaching and learning outcomes for all students. My Department provides funding to all recognised schools in the Free Education Scheme by way of per capita grants. These grants are based on recognised enrolments in September of the relevant school year, which is the September...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (29 Jun 2023)

Norma Foley: The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the 2022/23 school year, over 149,000 children, including over 18,000 children with special educational needs, were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. There has been an increase of 21% in tickets issued to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Mental Health Services (29 Jun 2023)

Norma Foley: The Department of Education is committed to supporting the emotional wellbeing of our children and I was delighted to announce the establishment of a programme of counselling and mental health supports to be piloted in a number of primary schools from September 2023. Strand 1 of the pilot was announced on the 31stof May and Strand 2 on the 22ndof June. Strand 1 will see the provision of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Disadvantaged Status (29 Jun 2023)

Norma Foley: My Department provides a wide range of supports to all schools, DEIS and non-DEIS, to support the inclusion of all students and address barriers to students achieving their potential. Supplementing these universal supports, the DEIS programme provides a targeted and equitable way to address concentrated educational disadvantage that promotes equity and has benefits for students. My...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (29 Jun 2023)

Norma Foley: I am aware that the timing of issue of results is of course an important issue for the further and higher .education sector, in the context of planning for the transition from post-primary to further and higher education. In that regard, my Department, together with the State Examinations Commission and the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, met with...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (29 Jun 2023)

Norma Foley: The State Examinations Commission or the SEC has responsibility for the development, operation and delivery of the State examinations. In accordance with its role, all matters relating to the drafting and setting of examinations and the marking of them fall within its remit. Ensuring integrity and fairness in the examinations is a core part of the SEC’s role. The SEC has advised that...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (29 Jun 2023)

Norma Foley: The purpose of my Department’s Additional School Accommodation (ASA) programme is to ensure that essential classroom accommodation is available to cater for pupils enrolled each year and where the need cannot be met by the school’s existing accommodation. I can confirm to the Deputy that the school referred to was approved funding under my Department's ASA Scheme and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (29 Jun 2023)

Norma Foley: The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the 2022/2023 school year, over 149,000 children, including over 18,000 children with special educational needs, were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. There has been an increase of 21% in tickets issued...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (29 Jun 2023)

Norma Foley: Ref No: 31566/23 The Inspectorate report, ‘Summer Programme 2022: Perspectives of children and young people, their parents and programme managers’ was published on my Department’s website in April 2023. The report is based on visits conducted by the Inspectorate to a sample of the primary, post-primary and special schools that provided the summer programme. During their...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Textbooks (29 Jun 2023)

Norma Foley: I believe it is crucially important that all children and young people are actively supported to access education in its fullest forms and I know that I am supported by Government in this belief. Since June 2020, and over the past three Budgets, I have secured funding to support measures aimed at achieving that goal. One of the most important policies in this regard has been the...