Results 18,601-18,620 of 19,666 for speaker:Norma Foley

Opening of Schools and Calculated Grades: Statements (30 Jul 2020)

Norma Foley: I will repeat what I said to the Deputy earlier about the roadmap. He will appreciate that the roadmap covered quite an amount of aspects, including cleaning, panels of substitution, additional posts or whatever. As I previously outlined to the Deputy, all of those aspects, including curriculum and assessment, were discussed at great length with the partners in education and the broadest...

Opening of Schools and Calculated Grades: Statements (30 Jul 2020)

Norma Foley: I note the Deputy's concern and thank him for it. There was full engagement in bringing forward many and all of the initiatives that are in the roadmap. I confirm to the Deputy that the guidelines will be available. I believe those guidelines are in the best interests of the students. I have not heard at any point that students are not happy with the proposals, which are very fair. It...

Opening of Schools and Calculated Grades: Statements (30 Jul 2020)

Norma Foley: I thank the Deputy for his questions. I assume the Deputy is asking what will happen when substitution is not available in a school. There are several streams or options within schools regarding substitution. I repeat that there is a national roll-out of a substitute panel. Importantly, and perhaps I did not say this already, it was piloted first in six places and a number of posts are...

Opening of Schools and Calculated Grades: Statements (30 Jul 2020)

Norma Foley: I am sorry, will the Deputy repeat his final question?

Opening of Schools and Calculated Grades: Statements (30 Jul 2020)

Norma Foley: We are living through an extraordinary time and I appreciate that extraordinary measures had to be brought in, but work on new buildings will proceed. More than 200 buildings were to be completed this year and they will proceed as intended.

Opening of Schools and Calculated Grades: Statements (30 Jul 2020)

Norma Foley: Regarding the decision to operate from this building, the Deputy will be well aware and will appreciate that it was not mine. I assume it was the decision of the Business Committee.

Opening of Schools and Calculated Grades: Statements (30 Jul 2020)

Norma Foley: That is a matter the Deputy will have to take up elsewhere, as it is beyond my remit. Regarding works being carried out in schools and being resourced and carried out in time, the Deputy referred to many of the schools having previously applied to the Department for necessary and perhaps emergency works, including minor works, etc., and being refused funding. I am pleased to confirm to...

Opening of Schools and Calculated Grades: Statements (30 Jul 2020)

Norma Foley: The leaving certificate results will be in time for UCAS offers. The leaving certificate results come out on 7 September, which will be fully in time for UCAS and there has been engagement in that regard. On the wider issue of students taking up university places in third level institutions elsewhere in Europe, I have written to my counterparts throughout Europe regarding students having...

Opening of Schools and Calculated Grades: Statements (30 Jul 2020)

Norma Foley: It depends on the works to be done in the schools. There will be small jobs and big jobs and, as I said, these funds are for minor works. The schools will know what will be involved in each case.

Opening of Schools and Calculated Grades: Statements (30 Jul 2020)

Norma Foley: I reiterate that I appreciate the Deputy's positive engagement on all these issues up to this point. The matter of fee-paying schools is an important one as questions have been raised around it. I confirm that all fee-charging schools have been contacted by my Department to advise them that while schools outside of the free schemes are not automatically covered by the minor works grant, the...

Opening of Schools and Calculated Grades: Statements (30 Jul 2020)

Norma Foley: I ask the Deputy to revert to me regarding St. Brogan's College and I will ask my officials to come back to him on it.

Opening of Schools and Calculated Grades: Statements (30 Jul 2020)

Norma Foley: On the issue of children or young students on buses, the buses are operating on the basis of the public health advice that has been given. That advice suggests that children in primary school, and older children at second level, be regarded as one single cohort. That means that the same children get on the bus every day. They will be assigned specific seats and will sit with a sibling or a...

Opening of Schools and Calculated Grades: Statements (30 Jul 2020)

Norma Foley: I appreciate the Deputy's point. I do not mean to repeat myself, but the funding of €75 million that has been made available to the schools is intended for providing space within the schools themselves in the first instance. They should look within their own classrooms, declutter them and remove all excess furniture. They can also look at other areas outside the classroom, like the...

Opening of Schools and Calculated Grades: Statements (30 Jul 2020)

Norma Foley: I thank the Deputy for his support for me as Minister and for the entire education community. We must make every possible effort to work collaboratively to ensure we can safely and fully reopen schools in late August or September, depending on the individual schools. The Deputy highlighted the importance of SNAs in schools. I absolutely acknowledge that and I have first-hand experience of...

Opening of Schools and Calculated Grades: Statements (30 Jul 2020)

Norma Foley: I can answer the question.

Opening of Schools and Calculated Grades: Statements (30 Jul 2020)

Norma Foley: The 1,000 teachers is actually 1,080. I will take this opportunity to explain to the Deputy how that will work. Each school will look at their own need. The hours available in each of those teaching posts will be 22 hours. Management will decide what is needed within the school, for example, an additional eight hours being needed for French and ten hours for physics or whatever the case...

Opening of Schools and Calculated Grades: Statements (30 Jul 2020)

Norma Foley: The lead worker representative is an important role within the school. It is a recognition of the need for co-ordination of Covid-19 measures within the school and it is a recognition that there needs to be a number of personnel who are to the fore. There is the principal, the deputy principal and senior members of staff. I know from experience that it will be a whole-school engagement and...

Opening of Schools and Calculated Grades: Statements (30 Jul 2020)

Norma Foley: There will be the normal supports in place in terms of helplines and so on. Students will receive their results via the portal, but I know from personal experience that schools will always be open to support and to walk with, before and behind their students. I have every confidence schools will want to play a role, but in the first instance the results will go via the portal to the...

Opening of Schools and Calculated Grades: Statements (30 Jul 2020)

Norma Foley: I welcome the Deputy's positive engagement and absolutely appreciate that there should be opportunities for him and other Opposition spokespersons to engage with both me and the Department on an ongoing basis over the coming weeks. I would value that positive engagement. There absolutely should be a national effort in which all of us come together to reopen the schools. I appreciate the...

Opening of Schools and Calculated Grades: Statements (30 Jul 2020)

Norma Foley: Yes.