Results 15,041-15,060 of 19,632 for speaker:Norma Foley

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (13 May 2021)

Norma Foley: I appreciate the Deputy raising the question. As he will be aware, it was previously raised by another Deputy. It is a priority of mine and has been since I became Minister to reduce the pupil:teacher ratio, which we succeeded in doing, and also to address the points required for the retention of a teacher, which have fallen by three points this year. That is important and has proven to be...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: School Staff (13 May 2021)

Norma Foley: I thank the Deputy. There has been a three-point reduction in the number of pupils required to hold on to a member of staff. For many schools, that has been very successful and beneficial. For others, it might have required a reduction of four, five or six. That is the position but there has been a significant advancement. Equally, there have been advancements regarding appeals, which...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Special Educational Needs (13 May 2021)

Norma Foley: I thank the Deputy and appreciate the question. I recognise the great importance of investing in special education. A significant investment is being made in both special classes and special schools by the Department of Education. Almost one fifth of the Department's budget, amounting to €2 billion, is spent on special education annually. The National Council for Special...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Special Educational Needs (13 May 2021)

Norma Foley: The funding streams being made available to schools are often four times the standard rate of funding made available for mainstream students. That is as it should be. The Deputy referred specifically to smaller schools. A 60-pupil primary school receives just short of €20,000, which comprises grants spread throughout the year, including the minor works payment in July, the minor...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Special Educational Needs (13 May 2021)

Norma Foley: I thank the Deputy. I welcome the announcement by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage on the home supports being made available. It is a positive and progressive step forward. I take the Deputy's point on making the public aware of the funding streams available to special schools. I will certainly take it on board. The funding is available but I take the point that...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: State Examinations (13 May 2021)

Norma Foley: I appreciate the Deputy raising this question on the floor of the House. The Department is acutely aware of the disruption caused to students as a result of school closures resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic. From 11 January 2021, all students, including those currently in fifth year and who are due to sit the leaving certificate examinations in 2022, engaged in a programme of remote...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Psychological Assessments (13 May 2021)

Norma Foley: It is important to point out that the provision of support in schools is not dependent on a NEPS assessment or diagnosis. A new model was introduced in 2016. I appreciate the Deputy acknowledging the various strands of work in which the NEPS psychologists are involved but it is very important to note that. The special education teaching, SET, model of resourcing, introduced in 2016, is a...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Psychological Assessments (13 May 2021)

Norma Foley: I acknowledge, as the Deputy has, the excellent work on the ground by our schools and special education teachers. The model as introduced in 2016 is working more effectively, in that it does allow a child without a specific diagnosis to be catered for within the school environment by virtue of the hours that have been made available through the special education teacher. Since becoming...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: School Staff (13 May 2021)

Norma Foley: Primary schools are currently provided with class teachers on the basis of one teacher for every 26 pupils, which is at its historically lowest level. Under the programme for Government there is a commitment to make further progress in reducing the pupil-teacher ratios in primary schools and to support small schools. As part of the budget 2021 measures, the Government has sought to...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: School Staff (13 May 2021)

Norma Foley: To be clear, the primary staffing appeals board is an independent board and operates independently of the Department. There is an opportunity for appeal. I cannot comment on the specific school the Deputy mentioned as I am not familiar with it or the format of its appeal. However, we did successfully reduce the pupil-teacher ratio to 26:1 this year. We also included the three-point...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: School Curriculum (13 May 2021)

Norma Foley: In the first instance, the primary objective within a school is to ensure that all children, irrespective of their backgrounds, beliefs or orientation, are all welcomed and all included, and that is what we wish the experience of education to be for all concerned. The Deputy specifically asked in regard to timelines. As I alluded to earlier, the NCCA is developing the updated guidelines and...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: School Curriculum (13 May 2021)

Norma Foley: I thank the Deputy. As I have stated clearly, all schools are required to have an RSE policy. That policy, we must acknowledge, is developed in consultation with the entire school community, and the entire school community includes school management, parents, teachers and students, as appropriate. A school's programme for RSE is developed and taught, as the Deputy stated, in the context of...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Psychological Assessments (13 May 2021)

Norma Foley: The Department of Education's NEPS provides a school-based, consultative psychological service in two ways: through the provision of an individual casework service for students and through a support and development service for school staff. Educational psychological assessments are not assigned to schools; rather, educational psychologists are assigned to schools. The NEPS casework...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (13 May 2021)

Norma Foley: The Government has always been guided by public health advice on what is safe in schools and that has been the case from the very beginning. The Chief Medical Officer, CMO, has made it clear in his advices to the Government that schools are places of low transmission, with very little evidence of transmission within schools, and that the majority of infections in children and adolescents...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (13 May 2021)

Norma Foley: I do appreciate that this is an issue Deputy Bríd Smith has raised on an ongoing basis. I also appreciate the difficulties for individual families. I recognise that the issues the Deputy has raised are causing particular difficulties for families. Equally, it is very important that we remember that within the education sector at every step of the way everything that we have sought to...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (13 May 2021)

Norma Foley: I want to be very clear about this: where staff have been identified as very high risk, measures have been put in place for all staff to be replaced. Substantial funding has been made available for that and it has been drawn down throughout the country in recognition of the needs of specific staff who are regarded as very high risk. There is no question about staff who are very high risk...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: School Curriculum (13 May 2021)

Norma Foley: Access to sexual and health education is an important right for students. Social, personal and health education, SPHE, is a mandatory curriculum subject in all primary and post-primary schools. Relationships and sexuality education is required at all levels, from primary through to senior cycle. The Department has set out the content for each of these programmes in SPHE syllabuses and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (13 May 2021)

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 Child Benefit and school enrolment data, to identify where additional school accommodation is needed at primary and post-primary level. Castletroy is in the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Physical Education (13 May 2021)

Norma Foley: Many schools have a general purpose room/sports hall and practically all schools have outdoor play areas. In addition, many schools, use adjacent local facilities, including community halls, public parks, playing fields and swimming pools. The provision of general purpose rooms, PE halls and outdoor hard play areas such as basketball courts, form part of the accommodation brief for all...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Site Acquisitions (13 May 2021)

Norma Foley: I appreciate that this project is a priority for the Deputy, as it is for my Department. My Department is very conscious of the difficulties the school authorities and the families have to contend with and, in this regard, my officials will continue to treat this acquisition as urgent. The site acquisition process is very complex and subject to completion of successful negotiation...