Results 781-800 of 19,404 for speaker:Norma Foley

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Curriculum (22 Jan 2025)

Norma Foley: The Primary Curriculum Framework, published in March 2023, sets out the direction for the redeveloped Primary Curriculum. The inclusion of modern foreign languages (MFL) at stages 3 and 4 (3rd to 6th class), which was strongly supported in the consultation process, forms part of this redeveloped Primary Curriculum. The new specifications for the full redeveloped curriculum will be...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Artificial Intelligence (22 Jan 2025)

Norma Foley: My Department and its officials do not presently use AI to generate official text. My Department recognises the potential offered by AI and is aware of the Interim Guidelines for Use of AI published. My Department will continue to assess the suitability of AI on a solution by solution basis. The information in respect of State bodies, within the scope of the Deputy’s question,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (22 Jan 2025)

Norma Foley: As the Deputy may be aware my Department provides funding via the Summer Works Scheme (SWS) to enable individual school authorities to undertake small-scale building works on a devolved basis and, ideally, can be carried out during the summer months or at other times that avoid disrupting the operation of the school. The SWS operates on a multi-annual basis for a number of categories of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (22 Jan 2025)

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 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 (22 Jan 2025)

Norma Foley: In order to plan for school provision and analyse the relevant demographic data, my department divides the country into 314 school planning areas and uses a geographical information system, using data from a range of sources, including CSO census data, child benefit and school enrolment data, to identify where the pressure for school places across the country will arise and where additional...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (22 Jan 2025)

Norma Foley: The major building project for the school referred to by the Deputy is being delivered under the Departments ADAPT Programme. The ADAPT Programme uses a professional external Project Manager to co-ordinate and drive the Design Team to achieve the best possible timeframe for the project through the stages of Architectural Planning to Tender and Construction. The project is currently at...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (22 Jan 2025)

Norma Foley: I can confirm to the Deputy, that the school in question submitted an application for the Additional School Accommodation (ASA) scheme in February 2023. Following assessment of the application and consideration of the situation in the school it was agreed that the project should proceed with the Department’s Project Manager Framework. A brief issued to the school authority for 2x...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Facilities (22 Jan 2025)

Norma Foley: The school to which the Deputy refers submitted an application for funding under the Emergency Works Scheme (EWS) for universal access works. Works. This application is currently being reviewed by the technical team within the EWS and, once a technical recommendation has been received, the EWS team will engage further with the school as appropriate. The EWS team is aware of the urgent nature...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (22 Jan 2025)

Norma Foley: I am pleased to advise the Deputy that approval has issued to the school in question for the provision of Modular Accommodation to provide Two Special Education Needs Classrooms. The project is being delivered under the Department’s Devolved SEN Reconfiguration and Modular Accommodation programme. This programme provides project management supports to enable the accommodation to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Scoileanna Gaeilge agus Gaeltachta (22 Jan 2025)

Norma Foley: Work is currently underway in my department to develop a new policy on Irish-medium education outside of the Gaeltacht. One of the key objectives of this policy, among other things, is to increase the proportion of children and young people accessing Irish-medium education. This includes exploring and progressing opportunities for the growth and establishment of Gaelscoileanna and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Child Abuse (22 Jan 2025)

Norma Foley: The Department takes child protection very seriously and considers that the protection and welfare of children is a fundamental responsibility of all involved in the care and education of children. Since the introduction of a revised primary school curriculum in 1970 and the total prohibition of use of corporal punishment from 1 February 1982 child protection requirements and procedures in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Appointments to State Boards (22 Jan 2025)

Norma Foley: I am advised that no persons have been appointed to State Boards under the Department of Education since 1 November 2024.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (22 Jan 2025)

Norma Foley: The project for the school referred to by the Deputy received notification of the decision to grant planning on the 15th of January 2025. If there is no appeal to An Bord Pleanála, the final grant of planning will issue within six weeks of the initial notification, following which the project can progress to the next stage of architectural planning, Stage 2(b) Detailed Design, which...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (22 Jan 2025)

Norma Foley: I can advise the Deputy that the purpose of my Department’s Additional School Accommodation (ASA) scheme is to ensure that essential mainstream classroom accommodation and accommodation for pupils with special education needs is available to cater for pupils enrolled each year, where the need cannot be met by the school’s existing accommodation or at other schools in the area. ...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (22 Jan 2025)

Norma Foley: My Department and the NCSE work closely in relation to advance planning for new special school requirements. This work was primarily done in the latter half of 2024 in respect of the 5 new special schools that are due to be established for the 2025/26 school year. Updates in relation to this work are set out in press releases that were published by my Department in October and December 2024....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (22 Jan 2025)

Norma Foley: As part of its forward planning, my Department has identified the need for a new special school to be established in the Lucan area for the 2025/26 school year. This will be a very important local facility for families and children in the Lucan area who require a school place in a special school. My Department considers that this need can be best met through the Lucan East ETNS school...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (22 Jan 2025)

Norma Foley: As part of my Department’s forward planning, it has identified the need for a new special school to be established in the Lucan area for the 2025/26 school year. This will be a very important local facility for families and children in the Lucan area who require a school place in a special school. My Department considers that this need can be best met through the Lucan East ETNS...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (22 Jan 2025)

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 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 Facilities (22 Jan 2025)

Norma Foley: Investment and expenditure on sports facilities is an element of the overall expenditure and investment in the School Building Programme. The provision of outdoor play areas form part of the accommodation brief for all new school buildings or where a major building or refurbishment project is being delivered for an existing school. Practically all schools have outdoor play areas, and many...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Data (22 Jan 2025)

Norma Foley: Transition Year is a valuable optional programme for pupils that offers opportunities for life skills, personal, social and academic development and exploration of future pathways in an environment away from the pressures of state examinations. In 2022, I announced an ambitious programme of work for a re-imagined Senior Cycle of education and directed that a new Transition Year Programme...