Results 11,061-11,080 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin
- Leaders' Questions (13 Feb 2007)
Mary Hanafin: Deputy Gogarty is the one who called special needs a hoary chestnut.
- Language Support Services. (13 Feb 2007)
Mary Hanafin: My Department estimates that there are in the region of 28,000 students in our schools whose first language is not English or Irish. In order to meet their language needs, additional support is given to their schools which can take the form of financial assistance, additional teaching posts or portions of posts. The level of extra financial or teaching support provided to any school is...
- Language Support Services. (13 Feb 2007)
Mary Hanafin: We accept children have different levels of language. That is why a language assessment kit will be sent to every school. It is being devised for us by Integrate Ireland Language and Training Limited to ensure teachers will be able to assess the language capability of the child. I indicated at the conference of the Irish Primary Principals Network that the two-year rule and the two teacher...
- Language Support Services. (13 Feb 2007)
Mary Hanafin: The teachers will be allocated this year under a new allocation process recognising the number of students in those schools. An assessment kit â one can call it what one likes â is a method of assessment and a way in which teachers will be able to ascertain the language competency of a child. That is being devised in conjunction with Integrate Ireland Language and Training Limited....
- Psychological Service. (13 Feb 2007)
Mary Hanafin: As the Deputy will be aware, this Government has given a very high priority to providing better supports for children with special needs. This year, we will provide over â¬820 million for special education â an increase of 30%, or â¬180 million, on last year's allocation. Among other improvements, this increased investment covers the cost of 31 extra NEPS psychologists, including our...
- Psychological Service. (13 Feb 2007)
Mary Hanafin: The Deputy's first question was on when the target would be met. The target set by the planning group was for 184 NEPS psychologists. This year we intend to reach 174 and, in two years' time, we will exceed that figure to reach 209, including the psychologists in the VECs.
- Psychological Service. (13 Feb 2007)
Mary Hanafin: It certainly will. With the extra 31 coming on board this year, we will be able to extend the direct coverage. There have been many tragic incidents in schools recently so it is important we do not ignore the service NEPS provides to all schools on such occasions. It plays a very valuable role and school principals very much appreciate it. The Deputy also asked about the individual...
- Psychological Service. (13 Feb 2007)
Mary Hanafin: There may have been cases where that is the case but I can cite examples of schools which have had additional assessments. Given that the target was set at 184 psychologists, the fact that we will provide 209 will certainly cover the existing need. Those numbers were indicated before the allocation of resource teachers to schools, meaning every school has those teachers as well as a NEPS...
- Disadvantaged Status. (13 Feb 2007)
Mary Hanafin: Ensuring children from the most disadvantaged communities in Mayo and elsewhere get the support they need to succeed at school is a key priority for the Government. To this end, we have increased investment in tackling educational disadvantage significantly in recent years. In 2007, we are providing almost â¬730 million for targeted initiatives at all levels, an increase of almost â¬95...
- Disadvantaged Status. (13 Feb 2007)
Mary Hanafin: The criteria were devised by the Educational Research Centre and can stand up in any circumstances when examining factors in disadvantage, such as large families, unemployment, local authority accommodation, lone parenthood, Travellers, pupils eligible for free books and so on. These characteristics would define levels of disadvantage. Equally, at second level, hard statistical information...
- Disadvantaged Status. (13 Feb 2007)
Mary Hanafin: The Deputy was not listening to me. The schools will retain their posts for the duration of the DEIS plan and continue to be part of the home-school-community liaison depending on the level of disadvantage and the size of the school. The capitation will ensure there is no reduction in funding.
- Disadvantaged Status. (13 Feb 2007)
Mary Hanafin: It will continue for the duration of the disadvantage plan. The Deputy is also confused about the figures and dates for the junior certificate. Those were for first years who entered schools in those years, but who sat their junior certificate three years later. We were not using figures from 1995, 1996 or 1997, we were looking at the first years in those years and their junior certificate...
- Disadvantaged Status. (13 Feb 2007)
Mary Hanafin: We were asking if children who entered school in those years finished school, whether they reached and completed junior certificate and then leaving certificate. The information I gave today about schools that were in disadvantage schemes retaining their teaching posts, remaining part of the home-school-community liaison scheme and not losing funding should offer comfort to all schools. The...
- Special Educational Needs. (13 Feb 2007)
Mary Hanafin: I am satisfied that the Department provides an extensive range of supports for the education of deaf and hearing impaired children. This includes three special schools and ten special classes attached to mainstream schools with a pupil-teacher ratio for these classes of 7:1. In line with the Department's policy that children with special educational needs access appropriate education...
- Special Educational Needs. (13 Feb 2007)
Mary Hanafin: I share the Deputy's disappointment that the group failed to reach consensus. However, its members held very entrenched divergent views. It is important that the National Council for Special Education would try to get an overview of the issue bearing in mind these differing views and the research material available. I am not in a position to propose setting targets as each child is very...
- Special Educational Needs. (13 Feb 2007)
Mary Hanafin: I hope to receive it in the next few months as the council has been working on the matter.
- School Accommodation. (13 Feb 2007)
Mary Hanafin: Increases in our population, including the impact of immigration, are now unquestionably the main drivers of growth in demand for school accommodation. On foot of current and projected demographics, the Department is planning provision for a minimum increase in the national primary school-going population of 100,000 pupils by 2013. The number of extra classrooms that will be needed will...
- School Accommodation. (13 Feb 2007)
Mary Hanafin: I too welcome Deputy Haughey as Minister of State in the Department and I wish him well in his work. I encourage the Deputies opposite to table questions for him the next time we are answering oral questions.
- School Accommodation. (13 Feb 2007)
Mary Hanafin: With the range of options I have outlined, we are satisfied we can make quick progress in building the new schools, particularly in developing areas. This will require us to ensure that much of our funding goes towards those areas in coming years. Having the generic design and repeating models removes all the stages of architectural design, appointment of design teams, etc. I have already...
- School Accommodation. (13 Feb 2007)
Mary Hanafin: I will certainly answer in regard to class size. If anybody in this House wants to tell me that the teachers allocated to schools in the past four years, who could have gone into class size but which we choose to put into special needs and disadvantage, should not have gone there I look forward to hearing from them.