Results 17,841-17,860 of 19,666 for speaker:Norma Foley

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...

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

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 262, 266 and 271 together. 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 30th September. However, the staffing arrangements for primary schools also includes the provision whereby schools experiencing rapid increases...

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

Norma Foley: 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 30th September. The staffing process includes an appeals mechanism for schools to submit a staffing appeal under certain criteria to an independent Appeals Board. The school referred to by the Deputy was...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Emergency Works Scheme (13 Oct 2020)

Norma Foley: I am pleased to inform the Deputy that approval in principle has issued to the school in question regarding funding under the Emergency Works Scheme for roof works. This approval is subject to the clarification of certain details by the school.

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: 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. In the absence of these examinations, every effort has been made to make the system as fair as possible for as many students as possible. The process of national standardisation, which forms a key...

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

Norma Foley: Through the Schools Broadband Access Programme the Department provides for the supply of internet connectivity for all recognised primary and post primary schools, and some 98% of schools are included in this scheme. The Department's High Speed Broadband Programme, provides all recognised post-primary schools, high speed broadband with a minimum broadband speed of 100mbs. There are 58 special...

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

Norma Foley: The Board of Management of Mercy Convent School has been through the formal dispute resolution process resulting in April of this year of the termination of the obligation of the Main Contractor to complete the construction of the new school building. The Board of Management and its Design Team have carried out a full assessment of the partially constructed building and are in the process of...

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

Norma Foley: 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 process. It is not possible to appeal the information...

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

Norma Foley: A building project is a complex arrangement of contractual relationships between the client, the main contractor, specialist sub-contractors, domestic sub-contractors, suppliers of materials, suppliers of plant etc. In general all sub-contractors employed on education sector building projects are employed directly by the Main Contractor or indirectly by the Main Contractor through other...

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 this year. The system of Calculated Grades is a complex and sophisticated system. It had to be developed from scratch, specifically for the Irish Leaving Certificate, and within an extremely tight timeframe in...

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

Norma Foley: 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 process. It is not possible to appeal the information...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teaching Council of Ireland (13 Oct 2020)

Norma Foley: Under the Teaching Council Acts 2001-2015 the Teaching Council is the body with statutory authority and responsibility for the regulation of the teaching profession in Ireland including the registration of teachers in the State. The Teaching Council have registered approximately 3,400 Newly Qualified Teachers this year, and a further 1,240 teachers across all 4 registration routes since...

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: 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. Schools provided an estimated percentage mark and a rank...