Results 11,301-11,320 of 19,598 for speaker:Norma Foley

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Site Acquisitions (4 May 2022)

Norma Foley: In respect of a solution for the permanent school to which the Deputy refers, the Department is examining all options. In order to better inform these deliberations the Department has undertaken a site identification process in the greater Bray area. The site identification process has identified one site with some potential. However to advance to negotiations the Department is currently...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (4 May 2022)

Norma Foley: I wish to advise the Deputy that a lease on the property in question commenced in 2020 for a period of seven years with the option to extend by a further three years.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Disadvantaged Status (4 May 2022)

Norma Foley: I recently announced that from next September the DEIS programme will be extended to an additional 310 schools. 37 schools will also benefit from additional supports following reclassification. Schools were identified for inclusion in the programme through the refined DEIS identification model which is an objective, statistics based model. Schools were not required to apply for inclusion in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (4 May 2022)

Norma Foley: The terms and conditions of employment of teachers in Ireland, who are paid out of monies provided by the Oireachtas, are a matter for the Teachers' Conciliation Council (TCC). This Council is comprised of representatives of the teacher unions, school management bodies, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, and the Department of Education chaired by an Official of the Workplace...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (4 May 2022)

Norma Foley: School secretaries are valued members of our school communities and my Department is fully aware of the vitally important role played by them in the running of our schools. On the 24th February, following a series of engagements at the WRC, a package to settle a claim on terms and conditions for grant-funded school secretaries was proposed, which Fórsa agreed to recommend to its...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (4 May 2022)

Norma Foley: I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department is in receipt of an application for additional school accommodation (ASA) from the school authority in question. The purpose of the ASA scheme is to ensure that essential mainstream classroom and Special Education Needs (SEN) accommodation is available to cater for pupils enrolled each year, where the need cannot be met by the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Attendance (4 May 2022)

Norma Foley: My Department recognises the importance of promoting school attendance and supporting schools to ensure that students attend, participate and are retained in education in order to achieve their potential. Tusla Education Support Service (TESS) operates under the Education (Welfare) Act, 2000, a piece of legislation that emphasises the promotion of school attendance, participation and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Welfare Service (4 May 2022)

Norma Foley: The aims and objectives of the statutory educational welfare service are to ensure that every child either attends school regularly or otherwise receives a minimum education; to ensure and secure every child’s entitlement to education. This service is delivered by Educational Welfare Officers who work with families and children in a child-centred way to overcome barriers to their...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (4 May 2022)

Norma Foley: I wish to assure the Deputy that the provision of appropriate accommodation for all pupils including pupils with special education needs is an absolute priority for me. This is in two respects: firstly in ensuring that there is sufficient provision for pupils with special education needs and secondly in designing school accommodation that meets the needs of all users and enhances the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Curriculum (4 May 2022)

Norma Foley: Currently at Primary level, Religious Education (RE) is one of 12 subjects in the 1999 Primary School Curriculum. It holds a unique position in that the responsibility for providing a programme of RE rests with the patron bodies of individual schools and not the State. There are a number of patrons’ programmes within the primary school system reflecting the diversity of patronage....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Site Acquisitions (4 May 2022)

Norma Foley: The site identification and assessment exercise for the school referred to by the Deputy is ongoing. A Minister-owned site has been identified as an option for potential redevelopment to accommodate a second school. In the case where any such solution is being considered, engagement takes place with all relevant stakeholders regarding the feasibility of any proposed solution to identify what...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (4 May 2022)

Norma Foley: School Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the current school year over 121,400 children, including over 15,500 children with special educational needs, are transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country at a cost of over €289m in 2021. The purpose of my Department's...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (4 May 2022)

Norma Foley: The State Examinations Commission has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the certificate 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: Teaching Council of Ireland (4 May 2022)

Norma Foley: The Teaching Council have informed the department that on Wednesday, 27 April 2022 the Teaching Council issued a communication to the register of teachers using its bulk email system. Soon after the email issued, it came to the attention of Teaching Council staff that the scheduled email did not issue and in its place a default template response was sent by the system in error. Once the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Curriculum (4 May 2022)

Norma Foley: Access to Relationships and Sexuality Education, or RSE, is an important right for students. This is reflected in the Programme for Government, which states that this Government will develop inclusive and age appropriate curricula for RSE and Social, Personal and Health Education across primary and post-primary schools. Social, Personal and Health Education, or SPHE for short, is a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Irish Language (4 May 2022)

Norma Foley: I can advise the Deputy that the exceptional criteria for granting an exemption from the study of Irish are set out in section 2.2. of both circular 0052/2019 (primary) and circular 0053/2019 (post primary).  There are no other circumstances in which a school can consider granting an exemption from the study of Irish.  For reasons of equity, there is no alternative process for...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Staff (4 May 2022)

Norma Foley: There has been one secondment from my Department to the university third level sector in the last two years. The former Secretary General of the Department has completed his term of office as Secretary General and is now on secondment to Maynooth University for a term which will expire on his reaching his preserved pension age. This arrangement follows two Government decisions...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (4 May 2022)

Norma Foley: The permanent school building projects for the schools referred to by the Deputy are being delivered under my Department's Design and Build programme. This delivery programme uses a professional external Project Manager to progress the projects through the relevant stages of architectural planning, tender and construction.    The first post-primary school referred to by the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Ukraine War (4 May 2022)

Norma Foley: Yesterday, Minister Madigan and I announced a summer education programme for pupils with complex special educational needs and those at greatest risk of educational disadvantage for summer 2022. Building on the successful 2021 programme, all schools (primary and post-primary) will once again be encouraged to provide summer programmes including post-primary children with complex needs and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (4 May 2022)

Norma Foley: I can assure the Deputy that it is the policy of my Department to ensure a high standard of permanent accommodation for all schools.  However, in the context of a rapidly increasing school population over the last decade or more it is sometimes necessary to put in place interim accommodation solutions to meet the needs of schools.  Given the timeframes for the acquisition...