Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 59: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide an update on the progress of the numeracy and literacy strategy. [10037/12]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I published the National Strategy to Improve Literacy and Numeracy among Children and Young People 2011 to 2020 in July 2011. The Strategy contains 41 actions and almost 180 sub-actions across 6 key areas. A high level implementation advisory group has been established to monitor strategy implementation.

There has been significant progress in implementing the early actions of the Strategy and preparatory work is ongoing on medium and longer term actions. Some of the key developments to date are set out as follows.

A team of 19 literacy and numeracy advisors have been appointed to support teachers and schools in implementing the Strategy and a national programme of professional development for primary and second level teachers is underway. Over 1,250 primary teachers completed summer courses in mathematics in 2011. Programmes in literacy (including Irish) and mathematics accounted for almost half of all attendance at summer courses in 2011. There will be further development in this area in 2012.

Initial proposals on revised entry standards for initial teacher education have been incorporated into the Teaching Council's Initial Teacher Education: Criteria and Guidelines for Programme Providers in relation to mathematics. The criteria also provide for an expansion of the primary Bachelor of Education from 3 to 4 years, and for an expansion of the Professional Diploma in Education to 2 years.

Units on literacy and numeracy are in place within the National Teacher Induction Programme for the 2011/12 school year.

Circular 56/2011 issued to all primary schools asking them to o Increase the time spent on mathematics by 70 minutes per week,o Increase the time spent on literacy by one hour per week, o Introduce a third point of standardised testing in English reading and Mathematics, so that pupils are tested at the end of 2nd, 4th and 6th class. Irish medium schools are asked to also test students in Irish reading. o Report the results of the tests to parents as part of an overall standardised report on their children's learning,

o Report the results, in terms of the numbers scoring at particular percentile bands, to the Department and the school board of management, o Provide data on 6th class pupils' progress to their second level school once enrolment has been accepted.

An increased grant is being provided to schools support the increased cost of testing.