Results 14,881-14,900 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: My Department's Action Plan for Education 2016-19 underlines the important function served by the education system in promoting wellbeing in our schools. At an overarching level it commits to supporting schools in the implementation of Wellbeing Guidelines for Primary and Post-Primary schools and providing a framework for a whole-school approach to mental health and wellbeing. There are a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools Scheme (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: As the Deputy is aware, a process to review the DEIS Programme is nearing completion. I intend to publish a new Action Plan for Educational Inclusion in the coming weeks. The review process is looking at all aspects of DEIS including the potential for increased integration of services provided by other Departments and Agencies to improve effectiveness. Among the measures to be included in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Healthy Living Strategies (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: I am reviewing the activity of my Department in the area of Wellbeing. I shall ask that the Deputy's suggestion be considered in that context. I am of course conscious that the content and procurement of school journals and resources is a matter for individual schools. This provides schools with the flexibility to select the resources that are most appropriate to the needs of their students.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teacher Recruitment (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: The key factor for determining the level of staffing at individual school level is the staffing schedule for the relevant school year and pupil enrolments on the previous 30th September.  The staffing schedule for the current school year is available in Circular 0007/2016.  The staffing schedule also includes an appeals mechanism for schools to submit an appeal under certain...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Patronage (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: Ten new primary schools have opened since 2013 under the patronage divesting process, two of which opened in September 2016. The Government is committed to progressing the development of a dynamic and innovative education system that reflects the diversity of twenty-first Century Ireland.  The Programme for a Partnership Government reflects the Government's objective...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Staff Contracts (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: The Teaching Council is the statutory body with responsibility for professional standards at all stages of the teaching career. It has established standards for post-qualification professional practice, as set out in Droichead, the new model of induction and probation for newly qualified primary and post-primary teachers.  The Droichead programme was the subject of a three-year...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Patronage (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: When it is decided following demographic analyses by my Department that a new school is required to meet demographic needs, my Department runs a separate patronage process to decide who will operate the school. The criteria used in relation to patronage of the new school place particular emphasis on parental demand for plurality and diversity of patronage, with parental preferences...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Curriculum (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: The Advisory Group to the Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the Primary Sector recommended in its report that programmes in Education about Religion and Beliefs (ERB) and Ethics be developed. The NCCA was asked, in response to the report, to explore the development of such programmes. The NCCA produced a Consultation Paper in 2015 outlining the proposed rationale, vision, aims and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Admissions (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department is monitoring the school accommodation position in the Wexford town area.  In that regard, my Department considers that the additional school accommodation planned for the Wexford town area should be adequate to cater for the projected increase in enrolments in that area. My Department will however continue to monitor the position, taking...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Participation (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: The data referred to by the Deputy actually serve to highlight the significant progress being made in supporting disadvantaged students to progress to third level. For example, the analysis of the data indicates that a significant number of non-fee paying schools are achieving considerable success in terms of supporting their students to progress to higher education. Specifically, over the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Admissions (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: I believe that it is unfair that preference is given by publicly-funded religious schools to children of their own religion who might live some distance away, ahead of children of a different religion or of no religion who live close to the school. I also believe that it is unfair that parents, who might otherwise not do so, feel pressure to baptise their children in order to gain...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Multidenominational Schools (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: The Government is committed to progressing the development of a dynamic and innovative education system that reflects the diversity of Twenty First Century Ireland. The Programme for a Partnership Government reflects the Government's objective of strengthening parental choice and further expanding diversity in our school system. The desire of parents for diversity in education is primarily...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Grants (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: Very significant numbers of third-level students move out of home to go to college and continue to be supported by their parents while in full-time education. Confirmation that a student is living separately from his/her parents is of itself, not sufficient to establish independent status. When considering whether a student meets the conditions to be assessed independently of his or her...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: National Educational Psychological Service Administration (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: The Deputy will be aware that my Department's National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) provides educational psychology service to all primary and post primary schools through an assigned NEPS psychologist and in some cases through the Scheme for Commissioning Psychological Assessments (SCPA). NEPS does not maintain waiting lists but, in common with many other psychological...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Data (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible for organising and planning provision for children with Special Educational Needs, including establishing special classes in mainstream primary and post primary schools. Special classes are part of a continuum of educational provision that enables students with more complex special educational needs to be educated, in smaller...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Establishment (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: My Department uses a Geographical Information System to identify the areas under increased demographic pressure nationwide. The system uses data from the Central Statistics Office, Ordnance Survey Ireland, the Department of Social Protection and information from my Department's own databases. With this information, my Department carries out nationwide demographic analyses to determine where...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Equipment (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: The decision to issue the tender for the supply of library books and audiovisual material was taken by the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) and local authorities. The role of the Education Procurement Service (EPS) is to conduct the procurement exercise on behalf of these bodies. The specification of goods and services, evaluation and award of winning tenders are decided by the LGMA...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Refurbishment (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: The school referred to by the Deputy was approved funding in 2013 for the provision of 2 mainstream classrooms and 2 resource rooms. The school authority has since contacted my Department seeking additional funding for an alternative building project. Further information, requested by my Department, including details of the tender cost analysis and the new building plans, has...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: My Department provides for a range of services and supports to ensure that children with special educational needs, including children with Dyspraxia and Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD), can have access to an education appropriate to their needs. These supports include additional teaching and care support, enhanced capitation, specialised school transport arrangements, funding for...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Industrial Relations (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: Following discussions, the Teachers Conciliation Council published a set of proposals in November for consideration by ASTI members aimed at finding a resolution to their dispute. The ASTI Central Executive Committee took a decision to put the outcome of the talks process to a ballot of members with a recommendation to reject. The ASTI’s leadership have taken a view on the proposals....