Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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515. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the advice or directives that have been issued to primary teachers and schools on the making up of learning gaps and losses for 2021-22 academic year in the next academic year, for example, third class being revised as well as the fourth-class curriculum being taught; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12071/21]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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When pupils have started back in school, the principal and teachers can assess their needs and adapt their teaching programme so that any gaps in their learning resulting from the temporary closure of schools can be addressed. For the vast majority of pupils, this will ensure progression is as seamless a manner as possible.

Teachers are very well placed to identify and support the emerging learning needs of their pupils through on-going revision and consolidation activities that will support learning for all. They will continue to monitor and reflect on the needs of the pupils in their class and identify pupils who may not have needed additional support in the past, but who require specific short-term or medium-term interventions after periods of sustained school closures / absences in order to continue to make progress.

The Department has not issued guidance to schools in relation to the 2021/2022 school year specifically. However, many of the messages outlined in the existing guidance, Returning to school: Curriculum guidance for primary school leaders and teachers, published in July 2020 for the 2020/21 school year will be relevant to teachers as they prepare for the 2021/2022 school year.

It is important to note, however, that the school closures for this school year have been for a shorter duration, and schools have also used the start of the 2020/21 school year to put contingency plans in place for remote teaching and learning, meaning that they have been able to move to remote teaching and learning with greater ease than during the 2020 school closures.

In Returning to school: Curriculum guidance for primary school leaders and teachers,schools were advised that

- Curriculum considerations for the new school year must take account of the variable learning experiences of pupils during the period of school closure and the practical contexts in which teaching and learning will be taking place in the new school year. It is likely that pupils with special educational needs, pupils at risk of educational disadvantage, pupils with English as an additional language (EAL) and pupils experiencing homelessness or living in direct provision have been the most adversely affected by the lack of classroom contact time. The school community and relevant organisations and agencies need to ensure that those pupils receive the necessary supports in their learning in the 2020/21 school year.

- Teachers continue to provide a broad range of active learning experiences for all pupils. These include play-based learning, inquiry-based learning, talk and discussion, use of digital technologies, and learning in the environment. Care should be taken to avoid the over use of teacher-directed and didactic approaches to teaching and learning in an effort to ‘catch up’ or ‘cover lost ground.’

- Methodologies that support language learning, learning in the outdoor environment, play-based learning, thematic and integrated approaches to learning and collaborative learning are all effective ways of addressing pupils needs

- It will be important to reinforce and consolidate pupils’ learning from their previous class. Teachers might find it useful to work with the curriculum content, objectives and learning outcomes for the previous class level for at least the month of September in order to ensure that pupils are ready to commence new learning. Again, it is worth noting that this message will likely not be as necessary in September 2021 as it is hoped all pupils will return to school in the coming weeks for the remainder of the school year.

- They should prioritise Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE), Physical Education (PE), language and mathematics in the initial weeks of the school year. Many schools will prioritise these subject areas when schools reopen in Term 2 2021, but the need to prioritise these areas will be lessened if schools reopen as planned in the coming weeks.

In summary, schools have received advice on how to address pupil needs since the initial school closure in 2020. Special Education schools returned on the 11th February followed by Special-education classes in mainstream primary schools on 22nd February. As of Monday 1st March junior infants to second class have returned to primary school with the 15^thMarch the target date for the return to in-school provision of the rest of primary school children – third to sixth class. This date will be reviewed during the period following 1 March. As it is envisaged that the school closures for 2020/2021 will not have lasted for as long as the previous school year and schools are more adept at providing for remote teaching and learning, no specific advice for the 2021/2022 school year has yet been published. If there is a need for such advice, this will be issued in due course.

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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517. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if the shortening of the Easter school break has been considered in the context of the discussions on the return to education. [12083/21]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The scheduling of the school holiday periods during the academic years is agreed between the managerial authorities of schools, the teacher unions and my Department for the purposes of standardising breaks at Christmas, Easter and mid-term. This is important to ensure certainty for the school community about the dates of school holidays.

My Department has provided a suite of guidance materials, agreed with the education partners, to enable schools to facilitate the remote continuity of learning for all pupils/students in a Covid-19 context during this period of school closure. These are available at www.gov.ie/backtoschool.

My Department has developed a plan with the relevant education stakeholders for the phased return to in-school learning for children in primary, post-primary and special schools. From the 1^stMarch the first four classes at primary level – junior and senior infants, first and second class – and final year Leaving Certificate students returned to school. This phase also saw a return to full attendance for children in special schools. Special classes reopened fully on 22 February.

The full re-opening of our schools for all students in line with public health advice remains a top priority for Government and my Department is focussing on the safe return of all remaining cohorts of pupils and students to school at the earliest opportunity in March, with the last group of post primary students set to return to school after the Easter Break.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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518. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if additional resources will be provided to primary schools for the 2021-2022 academic year in order for them to accommodate an increased demand from new entrants to the primary school system due to the ongoing pandemic and a reluctance by some parents to commence with the education of their children as a result of public health advice. [12099/21]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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Primary schools are currently provided with class teachers on the basis of one teacher for every 26 pupils which is at its historically lowest level. Budget 2021 builds on this progress by implementing a further 1 point reduction for the appointment of a teacher in the 2021/22 school year and a three point reduction in the retention schedule. These measures will help to ensure that less pupils are required to recruit or retain a teacher.

The staffing schedule for the 2021/22 school year will be published shortly. It is at this stage that schools will be able to establish their staffing for the coming school year on the basis of enrolments in September 2020. The staffing arrangements also include a staffing appeal mechanism and a developing post application process which allows for schools to be allocated posts on the basis of projected enrolments.

I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department is aware of increasing pressures and demand for additional school places in a number of school planning areas.

Where capacity issues arise it may not be as a result of lack of accommodation but may be driven by the following factors:

- Duplication of applications – pupils have applied for a place to a number of schools in the area

- School of choice – pupils can’t get a place in their preferred school while there are places in other schools in the town/area

- Some towns/areas have single sex schools and while places are available in the school these are not available to all pupils

- External draw – pupils coming from outside the local area

Similar to the process adopted in advance of the current academic year, my Department is engaging with patron bodies, to identify particular capacity requirements for the forthcoming year(s) which may necessitate action including, where required, the provision of modular accommodation solutions.

My Department provides capitation funding for all primary schools in the free education scheme which is dealt with on a per capita basis. The two main grants are the capitation grant to cater for day to day running costs such as heating, lighting, cleaning, insurance and general up-keep in schools and the ancillary services grant to cater for the cost of employing services staff.

I am pleased to have been able to provide for a further 2.5% increase in standard capitation funding for primary and post-primary schools that applied from the start of the 2020/21 school year. This builds on last year’s 5% increase in capitation announced in budget 2019. The combined increases given in 2019 and 2020 mean that circa 40% restoration will be achieved. All schools have received the benefit of the capitation increases awarded to date and it is my intention to seek funding for further capitation increases in future budgets.