Results 15,101-15,120 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin

Written Answers — Literacy Levels: Literacy Levels (15 Feb 2006)

Mary Hanafin: The results of the "Succeeding in Reading" report are very encouraging in one respect as they show that Ireland's high reading standards have remained consistently high. I am concerned, however, about the poor reading achievement among many children attending school in disadvantaged areas. The Deputy may be aware that improving reading standards in disadvantaged schools is a core objective of...

Written Answers — School Evaluations: School Evaluations (15 Feb 2006)

Mary Hanafin: During whole school evaluation at primary and post-primary levels, inspectors from the Department of Education and Science consult with the members of the school community, including parents, teachers, principal teacher and members of the board of management. In post-primary schools where student councils have been established, inspectors meet with the representatives of the students during a...

Written Answers — Literacy Levels: Literacy Levels (15 Feb 2006)

Mary Hanafin: A key focus of the Government's education policy is to prioritise investment in favour of those most at risk and to optimise access, participation and educational outcomes at every level of the system for disadvantaged groups. The Government's commitment to achieving the highest possible standards of literacy both for those in school and for adults of all ages is set in the context of the...

Written Answers — Standardised Testing: Standardised Testing (15 Feb 2006)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 95 and 98 together. I believe that standardised testing on a systematic basis has great potential to enhance the quality of teaching and learning for our students at classroom level and to provide valuable information for parents about their children's learning. It is also clear that test results, provided on a sampling basis, can also guide policies aimed at...

Written Answers — Pupil-Teacher Ratio: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (15 Feb 2006)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 97 and 140 together. According to statistical returns made to my Department, the number of primary school pupils in September 2004 in ordinary classes of more than 30 but less than 36 was 69,179. The corresponding figure for classes of more than 35 was 4,158. Significant improvements have been made in the pupil teacher ratio and in average class size in recent...

Written Answers — Third Level Education: Third Level Education (15 Feb 2006)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 99, 103, 147, 155 and 159 together. On the 1 February 2006, the Tánaiste and I published the report of the Fottrell working group on undergraduate medical education and training. In addition, the Tánaiste published the report of the postgraduate medical education and training group. These reports represent the most significant review of medical education and...

Written Answers — Educational Disadvantage: Educational Disadvantage (15 Feb 2006)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 102 and 125 together. A key focus of education policy is to prioritise investment in favour of those most at risk and to optimise access, participation and outcomes at every level of the system for disadvantaged groups. The wide variety of measures in place in Tallaght and in other similar areas for tackling educational disadvantage and social exclusion...

Written Answers — Third Level Education: Third Level Education (15 Feb 2006)

Mary Hanafin: The report of the study of new entrants to higher education in 2004 is currently being finalised. It is expected that this report will be published shortly.

Written Answers — School Curriculum: School Curriculum (15 Feb 2006)

Mary Hanafin: Section 15 of the Education Act 1998 requires boards of management of schools to uphold, and be accountable to the patron for upholding, the characteristic spirit of the school as determined by the cultural, educational, moral, religious, social, educational, linguistic and spiritual values and traditions which inform and are characteristic of the objectives and conduct of the school....

Written Answers — Literacy Levels: Literacy Levels (15 Feb 2006)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 106, 128 and 165 together. The most significant levels of literacy difficulties tend to be concentrated in designated disadvantaged schools. Data on the precise number of children in these schools that have literacy difficulties are not available but a survey commissioned by my Department estimated that the mean proportion of children with serious literacy...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (15 Feb 2006)

Mary Hanafin: There has been enormous progress over the past number of years in increasing the number of teachers in our schools who are specifically dedicated to providing education for children with special educational needs. At second level, approximately 1,641 whole time equivalent additional teachers are in place to support pupils with special educational needs. This compares to the approximately 200...

Written Answers — Disadvantaged Status: Disadvantaged Status (15 Feb 2006)

Mary Hanafin: Six post-primary and 11 primary schools in Wicklow and three post-primary and two primary schools in Carlow are currently designated as disadvantaged under the disadvantaged areas scheme. Under this scheme, schools are in receipt of such supports as additional supplementary capitation, 95% building grant for building projects, additional teaching assistance as well as participation in the...

Written Answers — Bullying in Schools: Bullying in Schools (15 Feb 2006)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 110 and 171 together. The evaluation of all school policies, including a policy to deal with bullying behaviour, is part of the whole school evaluation process. WSE involves a full examination of all the varied activities of a school — from teaching standards to the availability of extra-curricular activities, the ethos of the school and the implementation...

Written Answers — School Evaluations: School Evaluations (15 Feb 2006)

Mary Hanafin: A total of 57 whole school evaluations are planned at post-primary level for 2006; 230 whole school evaluations at primary level are also planned for 2006. It is not possible at this stage of the year to give an accurate number of actual completions by the end of 2006 for a number of reasons. The final number of evaluations completed in any year is contingent on, among other things, the...

Written Answers — Psychological Service: Psychological Service (15 Feb 2006)

Mary Hanafin: My Department's National Educational Psychological Service, NEPS, encourages a staged assessment process, whereby each school takes responsibility for initial assessment, educational planning and remedial intervention, in consultation with their assigned NEPS psychologist. Only if there is a failure to make reasonable progress in spite of the school's best efforts, will a child be referred...

Written Answers — Residential Institutions Redress Scheme: Residential Institutions Redress Scheme (15 Feb 2006)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 113 and 151 together. Under the terms of the indemnity agreement reached with the religious congregations on 5 June 2002, the congregations agreed to make a contribution of €128 million towards the redress scheme. This was broken down as follows: cash contribution €41.14 million; provision of counselling services €10 million; property transfers €76.86...

Written Answers — School Evaluations: School Evaluations (15 Feb 2006)

Mary Hanafin: I laid a signed copy of the Education Act 1998 (Publication of Inspection Reports on Schools and Centres for Education) Regulations 2006 before the Houses of the Oireachtas on Tuesday, 31 January 2006. The purpose of these regulations was to place a legal obligation on the chief inspector to publish reports prepared as a result of school inspections. Simultaneously, my Department published...

Written Answers — Commercial Marketing in Schools: Commercial Marketing in Schools (15 Feb 2006)

Mary Hanafin: Commercial marketing in schools can take a variety of forms — from educational materials made available to schools by newspapers to companies offering schemes whereby products are given to the school on the basis of tokens collected by parents. It is at the discretion of management in individual schools to decide what commercial initiatives they want their school to engage with. Clearly...

Written Answers — Garda Vetting Services: Garda Vetting Services (15 Feb 2006)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 116, 154, 162 and 163 together. Ensuring the protection, health and welfare of children is a key concern for the Government, for parents, for agencies that work with children and for society generally and the Government is determined to do all it can to keep our children and vulnerable adults safe. In the education sector, vetting is available in respect of...

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (15 Feb 2006)

Mary Hanafin: There are currently 860 males under 30 employed as full-time teachers at primary level. Recently I launched a promotional campaign aimed at encouraging more men to consider primary teaching as a career choice. Studies have shown that decreasing numbers of men are applying to become primary school teachers, both in Ireland and across the developed world. The first phase of the Men As Teachers...