Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 219: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the progress made on the commitment given in the Programme for Government to put in place new arrangements to enable Gaelscoileanna to hire teachers with a strong ability to teach all subjects through Irish. [18869/08]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

In relation to teaching methods my Department, through Teacher Education Section, has a wide number of initiatives in place to further develop the teachers' competency in teaching Irish.

At primary level the "Tús Maith" programme is a targeted initiative designed to support the teaching of Irish. There are currently thirty — one cuiditheoirí on the team of trainers. The purposes of the Tús Maith programme are to improve the teaching of Irish and to improve teachers' competence and confidence in speaking the Irish language. Tús Maith cuiditheoirí provide a range of supports to teachers including in-class support, whole school support and after-school workshops. The team is currently working with 527 Spriocscoileanna, (Target Schools), providing intensive sustained support. Tús Maith cuiditheoirí also work with Gaelscoileanna. The funding currently provided for the Tús maith initiative is €2.3m annually.

At post primary level, a subject-specific support service for Gaeilge was established in 2007. The service forms part of the Second Level Support (SLSS) which provides programme and subject specific curricular support, and support for implementing new teaching methods in second-level schools. The funding provided for this service is €0.65m annually.

The support service for Irish has been designed to provide professional development support to second-level teachers of Irish generally. One of the primary objectives of the service is to support the use of Gaeilge as a communicative language in schools and classrooms.

The programme of professional development has been designed to:

promote the importance of oral skills as an integral part of the Junior and Leaving Certificate syllabuses

enable teachers develop a range of teaching and learning strategies that will promote oral language proficiency, as recommended in Circular 0042/2007

build on the strengths of the Revised Curriculum for Primary Schools.

My Department also provides funding of €150k per annum for the provision of Campaí Samhraidh in disadvantaged schools for 4th to 6th class students. In 2007 there were 10 ten schools participating in the scheme and it is anticipated that there will be twenty schools in 2008.

In addition to the above at both primary and post primary level each of our support services have measures in place to provide training through Irish. In relation teaching aids, Séideán Sí is a pack of resources forming a course in Irish which was developed for Gaeltacht primary schools and All-Irish primary schools. It comprises a range of teaching materials and guidelines for teachers and pupils up to Third Class. It includes pre-reading materials, posters, prompt cards, word games, board games, rhymes, songs, picture cards, alphabet cards, books, a cd and ICT materials. At present writers are developing a package of materials for Fourth Class.

All of the above initiatives aim to improve the competency of students in the Irish language when they leave school. Some of these students will eventually become teachers themselves, with an improved grounding in the Irish language.

As part of the minimum academic requirements specified by my Department for entry to programmes of teacher education in the Colleges of Education, all candidates must have a minimum of a Grade C in Higher Level in Irish in the Leaving Certificate or an approved equivalent. This requirement embodies both the written and oral element of a student's proficiency in Irish and my Department considers it to be the minimum standard in Irish necessary for students entering a teacher training course which will equip them to teach Irish to pupils at all levels of the primary school.

In addition in the Colleges of Education there is a separate competition for entry to the B.Ed for candidates who reside in the Gaeltacht and the normal language of whose home is Irish. The Colleges may offer up to 10% of their places to Gaeltacht candidates.