Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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105. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide a detailed report on the cross-Border co-operative activities that are planned for 2014 which will draw on emerging evidence on improvements in learning and the evaluations of DEIS, the action plan of the Department of Education and Skills to combat educational disadvantage, developments in inspection practice, North and South, and a date for possible joint participation in professional development for inspectors. [50109/13]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The Education Research Centre (ERC) is conducting an ongoing evaluation of DEIS on behalf of my Department. The ERC has already completed two reports based on achievement testing, both focused in the Primary School Sector. This second report was published together with two Inspectorate reports on planning in DEIS Primary and Post-Primary Schools in January 2012. The ERC is finalising a further report based on testing carried out this year in urban Primary schools and is also carrying out an evaluation in DEIS Post-Primary schools. The published findings will be available to share with colleagues in Northern Ireland.

My Department's Inspectorate and the Education and Training Inspectorate, Northern Ireland plan in 2014 to co-operate in each other's professional development programmes; inspector exchanges; joint inspections of specialised projects; and joint meetings of their senior management teams. The Inspectorates have jointly published a report on good practice in literacy and numeracy teaching in primary schools. They are currently working to publish in 2014 Best Practice Guidelines in Literacy Provision at Post-Primary Level, based on joint visits by inspectors to schools both jurisdictions. The Inspectorates expect to produce Best Practice Guidelines in Numeracy Provision at Post-Primary Level early in 2015.