Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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372. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the main initiatives that she has taken to provide reduced class sizes at primary school level since 27 June 2020; the additional funding provided in successive budgets; her plans for 2023; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [62202/22]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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Under the Programme for Government, there is a commitment to reduce the pupil teacher ratios in primary schools and I am delighted that significant progress has been made.

In Budget 2023, I ensured major investment in our schools and I have succeeded in bringing the teacher allocation ratio to an average of 1 classroom teacher for every 23 pupils in all primary schools for the 2023/24 school year which is the lowest ever seen at primary level. This was my third successive Budget which saw an improvement in allocation of teachers to primary schools. Budget 2021 reduced the staffing schedule to an average of 1 classroom teacher for every 25 pupils, while Budget 2022 reduced it further to 1 classroom teacher for every 24 pupils.

In Budget 2021, I also introduced a three point reduction in the retention schedule, which assists schools that would otherwise be at risk of losing teaching posts. The recent announcement in Budget 2023 will further reduce this retention schedule, by virtue of the one point improvement to the staffing schedule which helps to ensure better teacher retention in primary schools while also ensuring that less pupils are required to retain or recruit a teacher.

This significantly increased investment reflects my commitment and that of Government to support the educational success of learners and to provide a quality inclusive school system with improved learning outcomes for all.

Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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373. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the main initiatives that she has taken to improve the quality of secondary education since 27 June 2020; the additional funding provided in successive budgets; her plans for 2023; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [62203/22]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The Programme for Government sets out this Government’s intention to continue to develop our educational system to meet the needs of all students and to tackle disadvantage from an early age. Progressing this ambition, while responding to the particular challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in the Ukraine, has been a key priority for my Department since 2020.

As the Deputy will be aware, in June 2020 the challenge of COVID-19 meant a rapid switch to distance learning, during the unprecedented closure of schools. Schools and educators took on a range of approaches to support their pupils’ continuity of learning during that period and, in immensely challenging times, demonstrated great innovation including the use of digital technologies and online learning platforms for teaching and learning. In supporting schools, my Department provided resources and supports including enhanced ICT grants, updated guidance for teaching and learning in a remote context and an expanded supplementary programme of learning to take place in students’ homes or in schools over the summer of 2020.

Assessment is a core dimension of learning and development. Alternatives to written examinations, in response to public health advice, was a further key focus for my Department in 2020 and 2021. My Department and the SEC worked closely to develop alternatives. Calculated Grades and Accredited Grades, in 2020 and 2021 respectively, assisted candidates in those years to progress on their journey to further or higher education, to apprenticeships or to the world of work. 2022 marked the welcome return of written examinations, supported by detailed planning and appropriate adjustments to reflect the impact of the pandemic including loss of learning.

2022 was also the first full year of examinations in the reformed Junior Cycle, as the new Framework for Junior Cycle continued to become embedded. Review and evaluation of this major reform is ongoing, with a longitudinal study commissioned by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) to explore the experiences of schools over a period of four year. The study will run for four years to 2024. A first report has been published by the NCCA.

Other curricular initiatives include development of new curricular specifications in SPHE/RSE, in Physical Education, and in Modern Foreign Languages (Mandarin Chinese, Polish, Lithuanian and Portuguese). These have been supported by the provision of high quality Continuing Professional Development (CPD) noting that the quality of our teaching profession is a critical factor in sustaining and enhancing the quality of education outcomes. A range of high-quality models of CPD is provided to teachers and school leaders through my Department’s support services and the national network of Education Centres and appropriate groups, bodies and institutions who are empowered to design, develop and deliver CPD. Most recently I announced in November the provision of a new NQF Level 9 Graduate Level Diploma in SPHE/RSE Education.

A significantly expanded Summer Programme was developed in 2020, as a direct response to COVID. It allowed a wide range of children with special needs to benefit from the programme, including those with severe and profound and moderate needs, autism, Down syndrome, and those with severe visual or hearing impairment. It included a number of strands which included in-school, or home-based supports by teachers and special needs assistants to help prevent regression among children with special educational needs impacted by school closures. Also, all DEIS schools could provide summer camps, including a numeracy and literacy programme for primary pupils and for the first time, a programme in DEIS post-primary schools. In 2021 the programme was expanded further and for the first time all recognised primary and post-primary schools could offer a programme. The Inclusion Programme introduced this year was also available to pupils at risk of educational disadvantage. The home-based programme continued to be available to eligible pupils who could not avail of a school-based programme.

In any consideration of quality within education, it is important to note that the Department’s Inspectorate has a statutory duty to inspect and report on the quality of educational provision in recognised schools, centres for education and other education settings. It plays an important role in sustaining and assuring the continuity of educational provision for all children and young people in our schools, especially those with special educational needs and vulnerable learners. The Inspectorate has adjusted its inspection programme on a number of occasions, for example, during the pandemic and in response to the Ukraine crisis, in order to support schools and the education system, while also helping to ensure that educational provision is as effective as possible. Currently, inspectors are engaged in undertaking Incidental inspections, Child Protection and Safeguarding Inspections, Follow-through visits, Curriculum evaluations (primary), Subject inspections (post-primary) and Evaluations of provision for learners with additional and special educational needs.

I am pleased to say that over recent budgets, significant additional funding has been provided to post-primary education, including through the delivery of thousands of extra teaching and Special Needs Assistant posts. Since 2020, post-primary related funding has increased by an estimated 21 percent (over €590 million) to over €3.4 billion including school staff payroll costs, school grants, capital costs and a share of grants to agencies who deliver services to the education sector. The figures exclude additional funding provided for COVID-19 measures and Ukrainian students. In addition to these investments at post-primary level, there have also been significant increases in funding for school transport and a range of other services and supports for students in all our schools and not just post-primary.

At the end of March 2022, I made a comprehensive announcement setting out a vision for the redevelopment of Senior Cycle which builds on the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) Advisory Report on the Review of Senior Cycle. Work is now in train in my Department to give effect to significant elements of the programme of work involved, including preparations for the introduction of new and revised subjects in schools from September 2024 and changes to the assessment arrangements for fifth year students commencing fifth year in the next school year.