Results 1,641-1,660 of 19,032 for speaker:Ruairi Quinn

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Curriculum (4 Mar 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: A new dedicated continuing professional development (CPD) service for schools - Junior Cycle for Teachers (JCT) was established in 2013. JCT commenced the roll-out of CPD events for both school leaders and teachers in November 2013. A range of resources and supports will also be made available online. A variety of CPD delivery methods will be employed including in-school CPD, some of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Curriculum (4 Mar 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 112 and 113 together. The new Junior Cycle is based on the advice provided by the National Council for Curriculum Assessment which, in turn, was based on a range of research carried out for it. The NCCA documentation on junior cycle development was in part based, among other sources, on the commissioned research reports from the ESRI's longitudinal study...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Curriculum (4 Mar 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The object of the NCCA, as set out in section 41 (1) (a) and (b) of the Education Act 1998, is to advise me on matters relating to the curriculum for early childhood education, primary and post-primary schools, and the assessment procedures employed in schools and examinations on subjects that are part of the curriculum. It is the Department's role to oversee the implementation of the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Curriculum (4 Mar 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The new Junior Cycle is based on the advice provided by the National Council for Curriculum Assessment which, in turn, was based on a range of research carried out for it. The NCCA documentation on junior cycle development was in part based, among other sources, on the following sources. It was based on the commissioned research reports from the ESRI's longitudinal study of the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Book Rental Scheme (4 Mar 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The Department will continue to provide a book grant as usual to all primary schools. This grant, can be utilised for the purposes of updating or expanding a school's existing book rental scheme. I want to commend all schools that have used it to help build up book rental schemes over the years and I am aware of the difficulties faced by schools in relation to these schemes. Their efforts...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Agencies Staff Remuneration (4 Mar 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The questions posed in this PQ allow for two separate matters to come under consideration and I will deal with each in turn. Firstly, it is a feature of public service employment that sanctioned allowances may be payable for the carrying out of additional duties and/or for the carrying out of duties or functions of a higher level. The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform undertook a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Applications (4 Mar 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: My Department is in receipt of documentation regarding the provision of a link building extension at the College referred to by the Deputy. Such capital resources as are available to my Department must be prioritised to deliver school places. This is the conclusion that the Government came to in deciding on the capital envelope to be made available to the Department for the years 2012 to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education and Training Boards Issues (4 Mar 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The facility referred to by the Deputy is in the ownership of Dublin and Dun Laoghaire Education & Training Board (DDLETB). The ETB has advised my Department that it has had ongoing discussions with Fingal County Council on the possibility of reinstating the pitch to the most risk averse level in the context of future flooding event(s). The ETB has recently agreed with the Council a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Services Provision (4 Mar 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: I wish to advise the Deputy that a significant number of sections of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs (EPSEN) Act have been commenced, principally those establishing the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) and those promoting an inclusive approach to the education of children with special educational needs. In light of the very difficult economic situation...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Services Provision (27 Feb 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department provides an extensive range of supports for pupils with Specific Speech and Language Disorder (SSLD). This includes provision for the establishment of special classes for pupils with SSLD in primary schools. Applications to establish such classes are considered by the school's assigned Special Educational Needs Organiser (SENO) and those...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staffing (27 Feb 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The criteria used for the allocation of teachers to primary schools is published annually on the website of the Department of Education and Skills. The key factor for determining the level of staffing resources provided at individual school level is the staffing schedule for the relevant school year and pupil enrolments on the previous 30 September. The staffing arrangements for the 2014/15...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Gaelscoileanna Issues (27 Feb 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: A new post-primary school is opening next September in the area to which the Deputy refers. This new school will include an all-Irish Aonad. The Patron of the new school is currently progressing the building of a new education campus through the planning process and this will provide permanent accommodation for the school and the Aonad. My Department has confirmed, that if sufficient...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Proposed Legislation (27 Feb 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The Government did not oppose the Private Members Down Syndrome (Equality of Access) Bill 2013, at Second Stage. This Bill has now been referred to the Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection. The NCSE report on Supporting Children with Special Educational Needs recommended that under a proposed new allocation model, all children, including those with Down syndrome, should...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Complaints Procedures (27 Feb 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: While this Department sets out the constitution of Boards of Management and rules of procedure it is not directly involved in the management of schools. Under the provisions of the Education Act 1998, the Board of Management is the body charged with the direct governance of a school, and it is the Board of Management which employs the teachers at the school. The schools Board of Management...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Residential Institutions Issues (27 Feb 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The Residential Institutions Statutory Fund, which uses the service name Caranua is an independent statutory body under the aegis of my Department, established to oversee the use of the cash contributions of up to €110 million, pledged by the religious congregations, to support the needs of some 15,000 survivors of institutional child abuse. Those former residents who received awards...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Home Tuition Scheme Provision (27 Feb 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: As home tuition takes place outside the usual school structure it is important that home tutors are qualified to provide an educational programme. It is appropriate therefore that the qualification standard in the Home Tuition Scheme generally reflects that required in a school environment. The qualification requirements for tutors providing home tuition to children have not changed. It...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (27 Feb 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: As my Department promotes a child -centred approach to the education of children with autism, it is a matter for schools to determine the approach or mix of approaches which they will use. Accordingly details on the number of early intervention classes for children with autism who use ABA are not available. The Deputy will be aware from my previous response that my Department's policy is...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Home Tuition Scheme Provision (27 Feb 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: I wish to advise the Deputy that the following are the numbers of children between the ages of 2.5 and 4 years who are/were in receipt of a home tuition grant during the school years 2010/11, 2011/12, 2012/13 and 2013/14: 2010/2011 - 422, 108 of whom turned 5 during the course of the academic year 2011/2012 - 513, 16 of whom turned 5 during the course of the academic year 2012/2013 - 641, 41...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Correspondence (27 Feb 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: I wish to advise the Deputy that a response will issue shortly to the organisation in question. The Deputy may also wish to note that officials from my Department met with the Directors of the organisation and have previously addressed many of the issues raised in the correspondence to which he refers.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations Reviews (27 Feb 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The reform of the Junior Cycle and the provision of a JCSA at the end of the three years will not have a significant impact on the role of the State Examinations Commission (SEC) . New subject specifications are being phased in over several years from Sept 2014 with the first examination in English in 2017. The SEC will provide final examinations in English, Irish and Maths for the...