Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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1308. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the way in which her Department has drawn on top performing education models, such as Finland, as set out in the programme for Government. [33637/14]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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I can confirm to the Deputy that my Department actively reviews, on an ongoing basis, international best practice in relation to education and training matters. As a member of a number of different international organisations, Ireland has access to international data and studies across a range of relevant education and training issues.

As the Deputy will be aware, there is a significant programme of reform under way in the education and skills sector in Ireland and this draws, as appropriate, from the findings of national and international studies as well as lessons derived from experience in other top performing models in a range of countries.

Being open to learning from the experience of others and applying this learning to our own situation is, and will remain, a key part of the process of developing and implementing policy in the education and skills sector in Ireland.

Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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1309. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding the Programme for Government commitment to allow greater freedom and autonomy to school principals and boards to raise educational standards by devolving more responsibility locally, with greater freedom to allocate and manage staff with required flexibility and to delegate management responsibilities to teachers as school priorities require. [33638/14]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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The Programme for Government 2011-2016 contains a commitment to changing certain decision-making responsibilities in relation to the delivery of aspects of education at both primary and post-primary levels. My Department has already begun to progress this commitment, mindful that changes in school autonomy need to be carefully planned and supported if they are to achieve improved educational outcomes for our children.

The skills levels of school leaders and teachers are critical factors in enabling schools to benefit from both existing and any increased levels of school autonomy with regard to school governance, curriculum, pedagogy and assessment. The Department has made considerable investment to build the professional competence of school leaders through its support services and through the work of the education partners including the IPPN and NAPD. Developing the leadership skills of principals and deputy principals will be an essential requirement of any plans to increase school autonomy. Equally, the strong focus in current policy development on increasing the skills levels of Irish teachers and driving the professionalism of teaching, evident in the work of the Teaching Council, is important.

We are already moving towards greater autonomy in the area of curriculum and assessment. Already, the primary school curriculum provides considerable flexibility to schools and teachers to select and prioritise different aspects of curricular content to advance the learning needs of students. The major reforms that are already being introduced at junior cycle will bring further autonomy for schools over curriculum. The Junior Cycle Student Award (JCSA) offers flexibilities and opportunities for innovation in curriculum through enabling schools to offer short courses and alternative learning experiences. It already includes formal recognition for school-based assessment outcomes. This extends considerably the scope for post-primary schools to plan and teach creatively and to implement curricula that promote innovation and independent learning.

The proposals made in the recently published NCSE discussion document regarding the creation of a single pot of SEN-related teaching posts in schools may offer further opportunities for school autonomy. These would provide schools with the greater freedom to allocate and manage staff with required flexibility which is envisaged in the Programme for Government. The recent introduction of school self-evaluation at primary and post-primary levels enables schools themselves to arrive at school-specific information on how well they are doing, which they are expected to use in their planning for improvement. This encourages schools to use their autonomy to prioritise particular learning targets and to make the necessary pedagogical changes to achieve those targets within a broad curriculum and pedagogical framework.

We know that putting appropriate supports in place is a critical step to realising in a fresh way the curriculum, pedagogical, and assessment autonomy that schools currently have and may be given in the future and that is why this work is already underway.