Results 14,361-14,380 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin

Written Answers — Early Childhood Education: Early Childhood Education (5 Apr 2006)

Mary Hanafin: The attachment which accompanies this response gives a detailed breakdown on a county by county basis of the average age at which infants entered primary school for the first time in the 2004-05 school year. The national average age at which infants entered primary school for the first time in that year was 4.6 years. The compulsory school starting age in a national school is six years of age...

Written Answers — Languages Programme: Languages Programme (5 Apr 2006)

Mary Hanafin: The report is currently being examined in my Department in conjunction with another of the commission's reports on the criteria and procedures for the recognition of new second level schools. Both reports are being considered together because many of the recommendations, particularly the suggested procedure for recognition, apply equally to schools offering education through the medium of...

Written Answers — Psychological Service: Psychological Service (5 Apr 2006)

Mary Hanafin: The information sought by the Deputy is in the table below. All schools have access to psychological assessments for their pupils, either directly through my Department's National Educational Psychological Service psychologists or through the scheme for commissioning psychological assessments that is administered by NEPS. Schools that do not currently have NEPS psychologists assigned to them...

Written Answers — Pupil-Teacher Ratio: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (5 Apr 2006)

Mary Hanafin: Major improvements in school staffing have been made in recent years with the hiring of more than 5,000 additional primary teachers. This represents the largest increase in teacher numbers since the expansion of free education. There is currently one teacher for every 17 children, the lowest pupil-teacher ratio in the history of the State. The unprecedented increase in school staffing in...

Written Answers — Youth Services: Youth Services (5 Apr 2006)

Mary Hanafin: The Youth Work Act 2001 provides a legal framework for the provision of youth work programmes and services to be organised by the Minister for Education and Science, the vocational education committees and national and regional youth work organisations. Section 1 of the Act provides for sections to be commenced at different stages. Sections 2 to 7, inclusive, 17, 18 and 24 have been commenced...

Written Answers — School Evaluations: School Evaluations (5 Apr 2006)

Mary Hanafin: In the first three months of this year, the inspectorate of my Department has issued 14 whole-school evaluation reports on post-primary schools. The majority of these reports follow whole-school evaluation inspections conducted towards the end of 2005. In 2006 the inspectorate has planned to conduct a total of 273 whole-school evaluations in primary and post-primary schools, 57 of which will...

Written Answers — Multi-Denominational Schools: Multi-Denominational Schools (5 Apr 2006)

Mary Hanafin: I asked officials to establish a working group on Educate Together's ethical education programme and to explore with Educate Together and the colleges of education the best means of ensuring that training in this area can be provided to students studying to become primary school teachers. My officials have contacted the Conference of Heads of Irish Colleges of Education to progress the matter...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (5 Apr 2006)

Mary Hanafin: My Department considers that school-based education provision is the most appropriate intervention for all children, including those with special educational needs. Home tuition is only intended as an interim measure until a suitable school placement is secured. The cases in question relate to pupils with autism who are in full-time school placements with significant teaching and special...

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (5 Apr 2006)

Mary Hanafin: The recruitment of a principal of a primary school is a matter for the board of management of the school concerned. Details of the number of applications for principalship received by boards of management are not available in my Department. I appreciate that the post of school principal is of critical importance in the management of primary education. In recent years many improvements have...

Written Answers — Tuarascáil Ranna: Tuarascáil Ranna (5 Apr 2006)

Mary Hanafin: Tagraíonn an Teachta don tuarascáil Irish in Primary Schools: National Trends in Achievement (1985-2002) atá curtha ar fáil ag an Dr. John Harris agus a mhaoinigh an Roinn Oideachais agus Eolaíochta. Ní mór leagan Gaeilge agus Béarla den tuarascáil a fhoilsiú go comhuaineach agus tá leagan Gaeilge á ullmhú faoi láthair. Ní fada go mbeidh sé seo ar fáil. Tá sé ar intinn agam...

Written Answers — Pupil-Teacher Ratio: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (5 Apr 2006)

Mary Hanafin: Major improvements in school staffing have been made in recent years with the hiring of more than 5,000 additional primary teachers. This represents the largest increase in teacher numbers since the expansion of free education. There is one teacher for every 17 children, the lowest pupil-teacher ratio in the history of the State. Recently I announced that I have secured sufficient funding to...

Written Answers — Pupil-Teacher Ratio: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (5 Apr 2006)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 103, 145 and 154 together. Information on the number of classes of over 30, 35 and 40 pupils in the current school year is not yet available in my Department. The Government's commitment to improving the staffing in our primary schools has been unprecedented. We have put more than 5,000 more primary teachers in our schools in the last few years. These have...

Written Answers — School Curriculum: School Curriculum (5 Apr 2006)

Mary Hanafin: Private individuals or organisations frequently distribute materials to schools without approaching my Department in the first instance. It is a matter for individual school management authorities to determine if the material should be used in a classroom setting. Usually, decisions on these matters are taken by schools in the context of the appropriateness or otherwise of the material to the...

Written Answers — Pupil-Teacher Ratio: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (5 Apr 2006)

Mary Hanafin: The pupil-teacher ratio at primary level on a national basis, which includes all the teachers including learning support-resource teachers, has fallen from 22.2:1 in the 1996-97 school year to 17.1:1 in 2004-05. Significant improvements have also been made in the pupil teacher ratio at post-primary level at national level in recent years. The ratio has fallen from 16:1 in the 1996-97 school...

Written Answers — Psychological Service: Psychological Service (5 Apr 2006)

Mary Hanafin: Financial provision of €15.425million has been made for the National Educational Psychological Service in the 2006 Revised Estimates Volume provision for my Department. This represents an increase of 10% on the 2005 outturn for NEPS.

Written Answers — Vocational Education Committees: Vocational Education Committees (5 Apr 2006)

Mary Hanafin: It is assumed that the Deputy is referring to vetting applications in respect of special needs assistants, SNAs, employed by vocational education committees. Under current arrangements, vetting applications in respect of SNAs are submitted to my Department for onward transmission to the Garda central vetting unit. It is proposed that, in future, apart from applications in respect of teachers,...

Written Answers — Proposed Legislation: Proposed Legislation (5 Apr 2006)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 109 and 157 together. The balancing of rights in section 29 of the Education Act 1998 has been acknowledged by the task force on student behaviour in second level schools as one of those areas which prompted very many submissions. In its final report, the task force recommended that the legislation be amended to stress the rights of the compliant majority to...

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (5 Apr 2006)

Mary Hanafin: Claims for improvements in the conditions of service of teachers are processed through the teachers conciliation council in accordance with the terms of the revised conciliation and arbitration scheme for teachers. Under current arrangements, a principal teacher can only relinquish his or her post as principal provided that there is a permanent vacancy in the school where he or she is...

Written Answers — School Discipline: School Discipline (5 Apr 2006)

Mary Hanafin: In launching School Matters, the final report of the task force on student behaviour in second level schools on 14 March, I outlined a package of measures to tackle student behaviour issues. Implementation of the report must be approached in a prioritised and carefully structured way. These measures I have announced included a review of existing legislation, the putting in place of a...

Written Answers — School Enrolments: School Enrolments (5 Apr 2006)

Mary Hanafin: I am conscious that the Dublin 15 area as a whole is one of the most rapidly developing areas in the country and, as a result, there has been a marked increase in the demand for primary school places. My Department is taking a number of measures to increase the capacity of existing schools in the area concerned along with the development of new schools to meet this increasing demand. All...