Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)
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Question 32: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the procedures followed in the Advisory Council for English Language Schools' accreditation process; the qualifications required by teachers to be employed in these schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44355/08]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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The Advisory Council for English Language Schools (ACELS) was established in 1967 and reconstituted as a company operating under the aegis of the Department of Education and Science in 1995. It provides a voluntary quality assurance and inspection scheme for private sector English language schools. ACELS also approves teacher training qualifications for the EFL private sector, and has developed English language proficiency test instruments.

Schools which comply with the ACELS quality assurance and inspection scheme are approved by my Department for the purpose of providing English language programmes in the private sector. The conditions for recognition of schools are available on the website www.acels.ie, and include such requirements as:

that courses are educationally sound and have content appropriate to their objectives within a documented framework;

that placement procedures are educationally sound and students are placed in classes according to competence and age;

that class size does not exceed 15 students;

that courses reflect Irish life and culture where appropriate;

that satisfactory arrangements are in place for academic management, staffing and administration, and that all teachers have a third level qualification at a minimum of Level 7 in the national qualifications framework or equivalent, plus an ACELS recognised qualification in Teaching English as a Foreign Language;

that premises meet the requirements set out in a schedule of standards.

There is an annual application process and all centres are inspected prior to approval, as well as being subject to a full inspection at least once every three years. Unannounced spot checks are also undertaken. The quality standards for management, staffing and administration are on the website, as are the criteria for inspection.

The programmes recognised by ACELS for teaching in the EFL sector are programmes which comply with the Key Standards and Guidelines and Common Assessment Framework for the Certificate in English Language Teaching, or the Preparatory TEFL qualification for State qualified teachers. The key standards and assessment framework, also on the website, cover such issues as trainee entry criteria, course duration and programme hours, supervised teaching practice, classroom observation, lesson planning and programmes of work, teaching techniques and assessment, classroom management and selection of materials, and review, in addition to having appropriate premises and resources for the programme. These standards are based on best international practice in the EFL sector.

Applications may be made to ACELS for approval of teacher training programmes for this purpose. In addition, ELT programmes of a minimum of 115 hours duration leading to awards recognised by the Higher Education and Training Awards Council, Dublin Institute of Technology, NUI and recognised universities, and their international equivalent are also recognised.