Results 17,821-17,840 of 19,660 for speaker:Norma Foley

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Management (13 Oct 2020)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 230 and 277 together. Boards of Management should continue to meet remotely. Alternative solutions are required to meet and operate and make important decisions in relation to the functioning of the schools. The Governance Manual for Primary Schools 2019 – 2023 provides for the use of conference calls to facilitate board meetings. This is not...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (13 Oct 2020)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 231 to 234, inclusive, together. The decision to adopt a model of Calculated Grades by my Department was a result of COVID-19, which prevented the State from running the conventional Leaving Certificate Examinations this year. The statistical model underpinning the system of Calculated Grades is a complex and sophisticated bespoke development. Developing a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Data (13 Oct 2020)

Norma Foley: On registration for the Calculated Grades Student Portal, students were linked to a Privacy Notice for Students - Calculated Grades for Leaving Certificate 2020 in light of the postponement of the Leaving Certificate examinations. This privacy notice detailed the categories of personal data that would be utilised in the processing of Calculated Grades. A copy of this privacy notice is...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (13 Oct 2020)

Norma Foley: My Department appointed Dr. Kentaro Yamamoto to the Leaving Certificate Calculated Grades National Standardisation Group in an expert role which included a level of contingency cover for the company Polymetrika; as technical advisor on the standardisation process; and to provide expert advice and oversight regarding data integrity. Prior to his retirement in May 2020, Dr. Yamamoto was...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (13 Oct 2020)

Norma Foley: The decision to adopt a model of Calculated Grades by my Department was a direct result of COVID-19, which prevented the state from running the conventional Leaving Certificate Examinations. As part of initial contingency planning for the Leaving Certificate 2020, the State Examinations Commission (SEC) procured international expertise through Polymetrika International Inc. (PII)....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (13 Oct 2020)

Norma Foley: The decision to adopt a model of Calculated Grades by my Department was a direct result of COVID-19, which prevented the state from running the conventional Leaving Certificate Examinations. A range of steps were taken to ensure adequate oversight of the Calculated Grades process. Technical details of the Calculated Grades model and standardisation process were published on the date of issue...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (13 Oct 2020)

Norma Foley: Circular letter 0037/2020, ‘Calculated Grades for Leaving Certificate 2020 - Guide for Schools on Providing Estimated Percentage Marks and Class Rank Orderings’, which was published on 21 May, set out the detailed guidance for schools on the operation of the Leaving Certificate calculated grades process. The document provided detailed information on the process of estimating...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (13 Oct 2020)

Norma Foley: I am keenly aware of the vital role contributed by school secretaries within school communities and I recognise the very important work done by these staff, and the other support staff in the running of our schools. I have met with Fórsa, who represent many of the secretaries working in schools. In recognition of their role, I have put special arrangements in place for the coming...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (13 Oct 2020)

Norma Foley: School Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the 2019/20 school year over 120,000 children, including over 14,200 children with special educational needs, were transported in over 5,000 vehicles on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country covering over 100 million kilometres at a cost of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Textbooks (13 Oct 2020)

Norma Foley: The role of the school is to provide an appropriate education for all its pupils. A stable, secure learning environment is an essential requirement to achieve this goal. Schools have autonomy in choosing the resources and programmes that best support the work within their own classrooms. While respecting schools' autonomy, my Department has introduced a number of measures to assist...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (13 Oct 2020)

Norma Foley: I am pleased to advise the Deputy that the Department will be devolving the delivery of the project for the school to which he refers to Cork Educational Training Board (CETB). The next step in that respect is for CETB to enter into a Service Level Agreement (SLA) with the Department. Once this is in place, CETB will then proceed with the appointment of a design team to progress the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (13 Oct 2020)

Norma Foley: The decision to adopt a model of Calculated Grades by my Department was a result of COVID-19, which prevented the State from running the conventional Leaving Certificate Examinations. The purpose of this process was to allow as many students as possible to progress to employment, further education and training, or higher education. The Calculated Grades system was designed to use estimates...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (13 Oct 2020)

Norma Foley: School Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the 2019/20 school year over 120,000 children, including over 14,200 children with special educational needs, were transported in over 5,000 vehicles on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country covering over 100 million kilometres at a cost of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (13 Oct 2020)

Norma Foley: School Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the 2019/20 school year over 120,000 children, including over 14,200 children with special educational needs, were transported in over 5,000 vehicles on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country covering over 100 million kilometres at a cost...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (13 Oct 2020)

Norma Foley: The building project for the school referred to by the Deputy is included in my Department’s Construction Programme which is being delivered under the National Development Plan. The brief for this project is to provide accommodation for a long term projected enrolment of 1000 students, including a 2 classroom SEN Base and PE Hall. The Design Team are currently working on Stage 1 of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (13 Oct 2020)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 249 and 251 together. The Calculated Grades Student Portal reopened on 14 September to allow students to view their estimated percentage marks and calculated marks and to submit an appeal for any of their Calculated Grades. The appeals process is a process review focussed on looking for errors in the transmission and processing of student data through the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (13 Oct 2020)

Norma Foley: The Leaving Certificate system has a well-established practice of not reducing the marks or grades of students who have not appealed their results, but who through an appeal by another student or other systemic check are identified as somebody who received higher marks or grades than were merited. In keeping with that principle, and mindful of the fact that the mistake was not the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (13 Oct 2020)

Norma Foley: The decision to adopt a model of Calculated Grades by my Department was a direct result of COVID-19, which prevented the state from running the conventional Leaving Certificate Examinations. The information requested by the Deputy set out in the following table. Date Event 7 September Calculated Grades results provided to students ...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (13 Oct 2020)

Norma Foley: I am acutely aware of the issues faced by many schools in respect of teacher allocations and class sizes. Under the Programme for Government there is a commitment to seek to make further progress in reducing the pupil teacher ratios in primary schools. Previous budgets of 2016 and 2018 improved the staffing schedule by one point on both occasions to its historically lowest level ever of 1...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Equality Issues (13 Oct 2020)

Norma Foley: The public service agreements have allowed a programme of pay restoration for public servants to start. The starting salary for a new entrant teacher in 2012 was €30,702. As a result of the programme of pay restoration, the starting salary of a teacher from 1 October 2020 onwards will be €37,692. Section 11 of the Public Service Pay and Pensions Act 2017 provides that...