Results 6,741-6,760 of 19,559 for speaker:Norma Foley

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (30 May 2023)

Norma Foley: The project for the school to which the deputy refers is devolved for delivery to Kildare & Wicklow Education & Training Board (KWETB). The Brief for this project is to provide an extension to the existing school, the demolition of a section of the building and the refurbishment of some of the existing buildings. In April 2023, following a departmental review, the project was...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (30 May 2023)

Norma Foley: I am pleased to advise the Deputy that approval under the Additional School Accommodation scheme has issued to the school in question for the provision of six general classrooms under my Department's Devolved SEN Reconfiguration and Modular Accommodation programme. The project is being delivered under the Department’s Devolved SEN Reconfiguration and Modular Accommodation...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (30 May 2023)

Norma Foley: The purpose of the Home Tuition Grant Scheme is to provide funding towards the provision of a compensatory educational service for children who, for a number of specific reasons, are unable to attend school. The terms of this scheme are set out in circular 46/2022 which is available on the Government of Ireland website at www.gov.ie/en/circular/22b2a-home-tuition-grant-scheme-20222...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (30 May 2023)

Norma Foley: 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 149,000 children, including over 18,000 children with special educational needs, are transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. The total cost of the scheme in 2022 was €338.9m. There...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (30 May 2023)

Norma Foley: 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 149,000 children, including over 18,000 children with special educational needs, are transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. There has been an increase of 21% tickets issued to eligible...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (30 May 2023)

Norma Foley: As funding from my Department is not allocated or recorded on a county basis, I am therefore not in a position to readily provide details on the amounts paid to schools at a county level over the period, as requested by the Deputy. As the Deputy will be aware, my Department is voted over €10bn in the annual REV for 2023. This represents a substantial investment in our education...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Curriculum (30 May 2023)

Norma Foley: The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) advises the Minister for Education on curriculum and assessment for early childhood education, primary and post-primary schools. This advice is generated in a highly collaborative manner and draws on extensive research and educational literature, and experiences of schools and early childhood settings. Information on the curriculum...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (30 May 2023)

Norma Foley: The State Examinations Commission has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the state 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: School Admissions (30 May 2023)

Norma Foley: As the Deputy will be aware, for school planning purposes, my Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas and utilises a Geographical Information System to anticipate school place demand. Information from a range of sources, including Child Benefit data, school enrolment data and information on residential development activity is used for this purpose. Additionally, Project...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Gender Recognition (30 May 2023)

Norma Foley: Referrals to the clinic referred to by the Deputy are not a matter for my Department and as such I am not in a position to comment.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Childcare Services (30 May 2023)

Norma Foley: I can confirm that my Department does not assist with, or make a financial contribution to, the sourcing or provision of childcare or crèche facilities for the children of any staff members of my Department.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (30 May 2023)

Norma Foley: The Deputy will be aware that Dublin 15 is an area of significant population growth and as part of forward planning the Department of Education has been assessing school accommodation in the area. In this regard, the Department is planning a school building for the area that will be designed to be adaptable to cater for primary or post-primary school requirements as the needs arise. Planning...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (30 May 2023)

Norma Foley: The Letter of Acceptance (LOA) for the school referred to by the Deputy issued to the preferred tenderer on the 31st May 2022 commencing the school building contract. Works are progressing well on site and the school building is due for completion in Q4 2023. My Department has been liaising with the patron body of the school referred to by the Deputy in relation to interim accommodation...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (30 May 2023)

Norma Foley: The school referred to by the Deputy is being delivered by my Department’s Design and Build programme which uses a professional external Project Management team to progress the project through the stages of architectural planning, tendering and construction. The project proceeded to tender on 18th April 2023 as part of a bundle of projects which issued to a Framework of Design...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (30 May 2023)

Norma Foley: The Large scale capital project referred to by the Deputy is at Stage 3 - Tender Action and Award. A Tender process generally takes 8 to 12 months to complete. A new planning application was submitted in March 2023 and will progress in tandem with the tender process.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Data (30 May 2023)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 289 and 290 together. Please find attached requested data. 2021-2022 is the most recent year we have final published class data for on the DE website. Class data, including average class size, for the academic year 2022-23 will be available in June 2023. This figure is based on mainstream classes in mainstream schools and are collated from the relevant Class...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Schemes (30 May 2023)

Norma Foley: This year, my Department will spend in excess of €2 Billion, or over 25% of the Department’s budget on providing a wide range of schemes and supports for children with special educational needs. An additional €2 million funding was secured in Budget 2023 for the Assistive Technology scheme. This represents an increase of almost 60% on funding allocated previously to this...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Schemes (30 May 2023)

Norma Foley: The Digital Strategy for Schools to 2027 was published in April 2022 and builds on the achievements of the previous Digital Strategy for Schools 2015-2020. It aims to further support the school system so that all students across our schools have the opportunity to gain the knowledge and the skills they need to navigate an ever-evolving digital world successfully. The strategy was developed...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Schemes (30 May 2023)

Norma Foley: The Digital Strategy for Schools to 2027 was published in April 2022 and builds on the achievements of the previous Digital Strategy for Schools 2015-2020. It aims to further support the school system so that all students across our schools have the opportunity to gain the knowledge and the skills they need to navigate an ever-evolving digital world successfully. The strategy was developed...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Data (30 May 2023)

Norma Foley: The decision to use digital devices is a matter for the Board of Management of each school in the context of their digital learning planning. Where the introduction of new technology is planned, there should be consultation with members of the school community including parents, and such policies should be reviewed on an ongoing basis. Guidance is available to schools on planning for the...