Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

The Senator has outlined in detail the situation that applies to Drumnigh school and the wider role the Montessori movement plays in education. We welcome the plurality of approaches which now characterises the provision of education in Ireland, as exemplified not only by the Montessori movement but by Educate Together and various other providers, in addition to the established, traditional primary school system.

I thank the Senator for raising the matter as it affords me the opportunity on behalf of the Minister to outline to this House the Government's strategy for providing support for child care facilities, and to outline the position of the Department of Education and Science regarding the application for recognition as a primary school by the proposed patron of Drumnigh Montessori primary school, Donaghmede, Dublin 13.

The Montessori method of education, among other methods within a very diverse sector, is well recognised and respected and contributes significantly to the development of early childhood education in Ireland. St. Nicholas Montessori teachers' association, which promotes the development of Montessori education in Ireland, is one of the seven national voluntary child care organisations which receives annual funding from the Office of the Minister for Children under the quality sub-measure of the equal opportunities child care programme and its successor programme, the national child care investment programme. The Montessori teachers' association is also represented on the national child care co-ordinating committee, to allow it to feed into national child care and early education policy.

Capital and staffing grants are made available to child care facilities, including those based wholly or partially on the Montessori model, under the equal opportunities child care programme 2000-2006, and the national child care investment programme 2006-2010. These programmes are administered by the Office of the Minister for Children, who might have some role in resolving this matter.

The Department of Education and Science recognises two Montessori qualifications for primary teaching posts such as resource teaching posts, posts in special classes and in special schools. The two recognised qualifications are the three-year full-time course in the Association Montessori Internationale College, Mount St. Mary's, Milltown, Dublin 14, and the HETAC-accredited BA in Montessori Education or BA (Hons.) in Montessori Education in St. Nicholas Montessori College, Dún Laoghaire. Teachers with Montessori qualifications recognised by the Department are also eligible to work as substitute teachers in mainstream primary schools.

Montessori education, together with other methods in the early childhood field, will continue to contribute to the development of early childhood care and education services in Ireland. Developments in this sector will be co-ordinated within the overall policy framework of the Office of the Minister for Children, which was established by the Government in December 2005 to bring together, and promote close co-operation among the relevant areas of the Department, the Department of Health and Children and the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform.

The application for the recognition of Drumnigh Montessori primary school as a national primary school must be assessed in accordance with the criteria and procedures for the recognition of new primary schools. It is important to note that one of the criteria requires fully-qualified primary teachers for mainstream teaching. Under this process, applications for the recognition of new primary schools are assessed by an independent advisory board, the new schools advisory committee or NSAC, on the basis of the facts provided by the applicant in support of the case for the new school and the likely demand for places.

The proposed patron of Drumnigh Montessori primary school submitted documentation to the NSAC for its consideration. However, this application did not comply with the formal application procedures in place for provisional recognition of primary schools for September 2007. This process requires that the notification of intention to apply for recognition and application for registration of patron be submitted on or before 20 April 2006. This is then followed by a public consultation process and the formal application must be submitted on or before 31 January 2007. As the application from Drumnigh missed both the notification and consultation deadlines the application could not be considered and the applicant was advised accordingly.

I recognise the Senator has raised this matter to see if there is any way around the bureaucratic rule in question. The rule is there for a reason and the Department must be able to plan for a September intake by making decisions in good time. The position of the school has been exacerbated by the fact that the existing arrangements may not hold for another year, putting its existence at risk. It has been exacerbated because existing arrangements may no longer hold for a further year, which might put the existence of the school at risk. Even if the formal recognition issue cannot be addressed in this year, I hope the problem regarding the physical surroundings of the school that are at risk, because the other principal is not in a position to guarantee their availability for much longer, can be addressed in some way so that the benefits the school is obviously bringing to the educational system can be maintained. Perhaps next year the formal recognition issue can be resolved meeting the criteria set out.