Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael)
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503. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if her Department changed the criteria for eligibility of primary teachers to be trained as reading recovery teachers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36777/14]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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Reading Recovery is a licensed programme which has been made available to primary schools through the Professional Development Service for Teachers (PDST).

There are over 500 schools currently participating in the programme. My Department, through the PDST, continues to prioritise support for DEIS Band 1 and DEIS Band 2 schools as well as maintaining ongoing support for other schools already participating in the programme.

All schools can continue to access support in the area of literacy as part of the roll out of a programme of continuing professional development for "Literacy and Numeracy for Learning and Life - The National Strategy to Improve Literacy and Numeracy for Children and Young People 2011 - 2020".

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael)
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504. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if her Department has carried out an evaluation of the effectiveness of the reading recovery programme in primary schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36778/14]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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Reading Recovery is a licensed programme which has been made available to primary schools through the Professional Development Service for Teachers (PDST).

Emerging evidence from work carried out by the Educational Research Centre (ERC) is positive on the range of interventions including Reading Recovery in place for DEIS schools. An evaluation by the Inspectorate in 2011 also demonstrated that the effectiveness of specialised programmes is maximised when they are integrated into the overall programme in a school.

Support for all schools provided by the PDST takes this into account as part of the ongoing continuing professional development programme for "Literacy and Numeracy for Learning and Life - The National Strategy to Improve Literacy and Numeracy for Children and Young People 2011 - 2020".