Results 7,641-7,660 of 19,576 for speaker:Norma Foley

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (23 Mar 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 147,900 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. In addition, school transport scheme services are being...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Curriculum (23 Mar 2023)

Norma Foley: Access to sexual and health education is an important right for students.  Currently, Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE) is a mandatory curriculum subject in all primary schools and in post-primary Junior Cycle. Relationships and Sexuality Education (or RSE) is required at all levels, from primary through to Senior Cycle. My Department has set out the content for each of these...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Educational Disadvantage (23 Mar 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 across the primary and post-primary sector....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (23 Mar 2023)

Norma Foley: I can confirm to the Deputy that my Department has issued an approval 'in principle' to the school in question, for the purchase of modular accommodation of 2 x 80m2 SEN classrooms, under the Additional School Accommodation Scheme. My Department's Planning and Building Unit is currently assessing its work programme and priorities for 2023 in the context of its available funding.  My...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (23 Mar 2023)

Norma Foley: The Deputy will be aware that in March 2022, I announced an ambitious programme of work for a reimagined Senior Cycle of education where the student is at the centre of their Senior Cycle experience. In my announcement, I set out a clear vision for Senior Cycle. Significant progress has been made to date in implementing the vision I set out last March, and this work continues. My...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (23 Mar 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 147,900 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. In addition, school transport scheme services are being...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (23 Mar 2023)

Norma Foley: I wish to advise that the school referred to by the Deputy will relocate to an existing building currently occupied on an interim basis by another school while awaiting the construction of a building project for that school. In this regard, the building project for that school is at an advanced stage of the tender process. The project is currently on hold to proceed to construction due to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (23 Mar 2023)

Norma Foley: My Department has a strong track record of delivery of school building projects and this was achieved again in 2022 notwithstanding the wider construction sector environment of high inflation, labour shortages and supply chain issues. Under Project Ireland 2040, we are investing €4.4 billion over the period 2021 to 2025, to add capacity and develop and upgrade school facilities...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (23 Mar 2023)

Norma Foley: The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) commenced work in December 2018 to develop Leaving Certificate Irish specifications for T1 and T2 in December 2018. A consultation on draft specifications was opened in February 2021. The consultation report was approved by the NCCA Council at the end of last year, and subsequently submitted to my Department. The NCCA published...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (23 Mar 2023)

Norma Foley: In July 2015, the then Minister for Education and Skills published the Framework for Junior Cycle 2015.  Implementation of the Junior Cycle was carried out on a phased basis, commencing in September 2014, with the introduction of English for first year students.  By 2019, all subject specifications had been introduced, with all subjects in the 2022 examinations being assessed under...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (23 Mar 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 147,900 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. In addition, school transport scheme services are...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (23 Mar 2023)

Norma Foley: I can confirm to the Deputy, that my Department is in receipt of an application from the school in question, under my Department's Additional School Accommodation (ASA) scheme. My Department's Planning and Building Unit is currently assessing its work programme and priorities for 2023 in the context of its available funding.  My Department's published NDP allocation for 2023 is...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (23 Mar 2023)

Norma Foley: The project for school referred to by the Deputy is in early architectural planning which involves site surveys, school design stages and the preparation of statutory applications. It is anticipated that the planning application for the permanent school will be lodged in Q2 2023. My Department must then await a decision on planning from the local authority. A notification to grant planning...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (23 Mar 2023)

Norma Foley: In 2018, my Department established a Steering Group on Teacher Supply to facilitate multi-agency engagement and to lead on a coordinated programme of actions to support the supply of teachers. Arising from the work of this Group and its various substructures, the Teacher Supply Action Plan was published in November 2018. The Action Plan called for the development of upskilling programmes...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education and Training Boards (23 Mar 2023)

Norma Foley: Officials have been engaging with colleagues in the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, which has policy responsibility for the further education sector, and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in relation to this matter and discussions are ongoing. There has been previous engagement with Unions regarding these staff and while agreement...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Educational Disadvantage (23 Mar 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 the universal supports available to all schools, the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) Programme is a key policy initiative of my Department to address concentrated educational...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Textbooks (23 Mar 2023)

Norma Foley: I can confirm that my Department has received correspondence referred to by the Deputy and will issue a direct reply in the coming days. Since June 2020, and over the past three Budgets, I have secured funding to support measures aimed at ensuring that all children and young people are actively supported to access education in its fullest forms. One of the most important policies in this...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (23 Mar 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 147,900 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. In addition, school transport scheme services are being...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (23 Mar 2023)

Norma Foley: 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. For the 2023/24 school year, the staffing schedule for primary schools has been improved by one point and schools will be provided with class teachers on the basis of 1 teacher for every 23...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Good Friday Agreement (23 Mar 2023)

Norma Foley: The Good Friday Agreement, signed almost 25 years ago in Belfast, remains a remarkable achievement, one that brought peace and transformed this island. To mark that achievement, the Government is coordinating a programme of events to celebrate the peace and to underline the ongoing centrality of the Agreement to relationships across these islands. The programme will acknowledge significant...