Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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440. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the details of the supports that her Department has provided for Ukraine and for Ukrainian people since February 2022, whether in Ukraine or within the State; the number of people supported, where relevant; the estimated cost and value of the support where available; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8863/23]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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Our schools have done great work in welcoming Ukrainian children and young people into their communities since 25 February 2022. As of 31 January 2023, 14,482 students have formally enrolled in schools across all 26 counties.

My Department continues to support our school in their immediate response to children and young people from Ukraine, especially through Regional Education and Language Teams (REALT), and through other supports which are outlined below.

REALT

The primary role of REALT is to build on existing regional education support structures and the initial focus is on assisting families in securing school places, when they are ready to engage with the school system. REALT also advise and support my Department in developing new capacity where required, and co-ordinate the provision of education services to schools and families across their defined area. The remit of the REALTs has been extended to include supporting non-Ukrainian IPAS arrivals and children under the Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP) to find school places.

Additional resources have been made available to REALT and to schools to support the enrolment of Ukrainian pupils. As part of this process a number of additional REALT resources have been appointed to areas under pressure.

The Tusla Education Support Service (TESS) team continue to operate as normal with new arrivals and work closely with the 16 REALT coordinators in the regions, and can request supports from REALT when needed to assist with the enrolment in schools. The statutory role of Tusla, to ensure all children aged 6 to 16 are in receipt of an education, is not affected.

English Language Provision

The allocation of specialist resources to schools takes account of the needs of pupils in the school including, where appropriate, English as an Additional Language (EAL) needs.

The Department of Education has, as of 10 February 2023, allocated an additional 923 EAL (English as an Additional Language) posts to support primary and post-primary schools in respect of the 2022/23 school year; 661 in 1,465 primary schools and 256 in 447 post primary schools. The Department continues to receive applications from schools and processing of these applications is ongoing.

All schools have been advised of the accelerated process for applying for EAL and the frontloading process for the allocation of SEN resources (including teachers and SNAs). In addition, where existing teacher resources have been exhausted to fulfil the allocated hours for EAL, post-primary schools can apply to the local ETB’s ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) panel of tutors to source additional personnel. ETBs have recruited to these panels over the past few months.

School transport

My Department in consultation with Bus Éireann has put in place a process to facilitate the provision of School Transport Scheme Services for children arriving to Ireland from Ukraine. Every effort is being made to ensure school transport services are up and running as they are required. However, given the ongoing movement and arrival of families, it may in some cases take some time to arrange services for families.

Special Educational Needs

The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is available to support schools that have children from Ukraine with additional or special educational needs.

Specific guidance has been issued to schools in relation to additional supports that will be available to those schools who have Ukrainian enrolments. This guidance also outlines the process and supports in place to ensure that Ukrainian children with special educational needs are able to access the most appropriate setting.

Schools where 10 or more Ukrainian pupils are enrolled will be eligible for additional SET resources (15 or more Ukrainian pupils for SNA resources) based on a sliding scale to a maximum of 25 teaching hours per week and a maximum of 3 SNAs on a temporary basis. To date, 181 special education teachers and 221 SNAs have been allocated to schools in relation to the additional Ukrainian enrolments. The exceptional review process remains available to schools in the normal manner through the NCSE to deal with any concerns regarding the supports available for children with SEN.

Resources in schools

The Inspectorate has developed and published a number of guidance and advice notes for primary and post-primary schools, including advice for schools on the placement of pupils and students in classes and year groups and a description of the Ukrainian education system. Information notes in both Ukrainian and Russian have also been published for parents/guardians and pupils/students on the language of instruction in Irish schools. My Department also established a dedicated helpline and email account for school principals.

A central repository of information and CPD resources for school leaders and teachers to support cultural and linguistic diversity is on the Scoilnet.ie website. These supports include EAL, intercultural and relevant curriculum supports developed by the teacher education supports services including PDST, the NCCA and the ETB sector.

Resources have been published by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) to support learners with English as an additional language (EAL) across early childhood, primary and post-primary settings;

The National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) has developed bespoke psycho-educational advice and support, with guidance, webinars and other resources, and NEPS psychologists are actively engaging with school principals to provide advice and support.

The spend by my Department in 2022 on Ukraine related support totals some €75 million. An allocation of €45 million is also provided in the initial 2023 allocations to my Department’s Vote with additional funding available as necessary and appropriate from a central contingency reserve in place to further support the Ukraine crisis.