Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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371. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the extent to which all efforts are being to ensure the availability of special needs school places at primary and second level schools throughout Kildare North and the rest of the country; whether sufficient accommodation in this regard has been made for September next and thereafter; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23233/23]

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I would like to thank the Deputy for the question and would like to advise the following:

Enabling children with special educational needs (SEN) to receive an education appropriate to their needs is a priority for this Government.

It is also a key priority for me as Minister for Special Education & Inclusion, for my Department and for the National Council for Special Education (NCSE).

For 2023, the spend by my Department on special education will be substantially increased by over 10% on last year, meaning that for 2023 my Department will spend over €2.6 billion providing supports to children and young people with special educational needs and their schools.

This level of educational funding and support is unprecedented and represents in excess of 27% of the Department’s total allocation for 2023.

This includes funding to support children with SEN in mainstream classes; funding for new special classes and new special school places; additional special educational teachers and special needs assistants.

The NCSE has responsibility for coordinating and advising on the education provision for children with special educational needs nationwide.

Over the last two to three years, my Department and the NCSE have introduced a number of strategic initiatives to plan for and provide sufficient special class and special school places.

These initiatives are bearing fruit with over 600 new special classes sanctioned at primary level, almost 300 new special classes sanctioned at post-primary level and five new special schools established over the last three years.

My Department is engaging intensely with the NCSE in relation to the forward planning of new special classes and additional special school places. This work involves a detailed review of statistical data in relation to forecasting demand for special class places, consideration of improved data sharing arrangements and a particular focus on the provision of special classes at post-primary level.

As a result of this forward planning, on the 12th of April, Minister Foley and I announced the establishment of 2 new special schools for the 2023/24 school year, with further capacity being expanded in 11 other special schools.

Along with the two new special schools, 305 new special classes – 197 at primary and 108 at post-primary level – have been sanctioned by the NCSE for opening in the 2023/24 school year, with more to be confirmed in the coming weeks.

Of these new classes, 5 are in Co. Kildare, with 3 at primary level and 2 at post-primary level. These new classes will bring the total number of special classes in Kildare to 109, 81 at primary and 28 at post-primary.

As demand for new special classes at post-primary level is expected to increase significantly over the next few years, due to increasing demographics and increasing prevalence rates, my Department and the NCSE have engaged with post-primary stakeholders in relation to the provision of special classes.

In October of last year, my Department wrote to all post-primary schools to advise them of the need to begin planning to provide additional special classes. It is envisaged that all post-primary schools will be required to provide special classes over the next 3 to 5 years, with an approximate average of 4 special classes in each school.

Parents seeking special class placements for their children are advised to contact the NCSE locally so that their needs can be taken into account for planning purposes. The local SENOs remain available to assist and advise parents of children with special educational needs. Parents may contact SENOs directly using the contact details available at: ncse.ie/regional-services-contact-list.

Information on the list of schools with special classes, the types and locations of these classes is published on the NCSE website and is available at www.ncse.ie.

I want to reassure you also that my Department will continue to support the NCSE and schools through the provision of the necessary funding and capital investment to ensure all children are successful in accessing an education.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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372. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the extent to which she continues to address pupil-teacher ratios at primary level in County Kildare and throughout the country; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23234/23]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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Under the Programme for Government there is a commitment to seek to make further progress in reducing the pupil teacher ratios in primary schools.

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. A three point reduction in the retention schedule, in place since 2021, assists schools that would otherwise be at risk of losing teaching posts.

The latest figures in relation to pupil teacher ratio shows an improved ratio of teachers to pupils from 15.7:1 to 13.7:1 at primary level when comparing the 2016/17 school year to the 2021/22 school year. This compares favourably with the OECD pupil teacher ratio which is 1:15. In the same period the staffing schedule improved from 27:1 to 25:1. Average class sizes improved from 24.6 to 22.8 in the same period. The budget measures will continue the positive trend of improving class sizes for this school year, and statistics on this will be published at the end of the school year.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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373. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the extent to which she hopes to attract and retain teachers at primary and second level in all areas throughout the country; the regions currently showing greatest pressure in this regard; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23235/23]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The recruitment and appointment of teachers to fill teaching posts is a matter for individual school authorities, subject to procedures agreed upon under Section 24 of the Education Act 1998 (as amended by the Education (Amendment) Act 2012). In that regard there are more than 3,700 individual employers (primary schools, post primary schools and ETBs). My Department does not currently collate data on teacher vacancies in schools, including on a regional basis.

The recruitment of teachers is a priority area of action for the Department given the importance of ensuring that every child's experience in school is positive and that they have available to them qualified, engaged, and supportive teachers to support them in their learning.

The Department is undertaking a comprehensive programme to support the supply of teachers, including:

• Additional primary substitute teacher supply panel posts have been provided in locations where significant challenges in sourcing substitution continue. This brings the total to 610 posts on 151 panels covering more than 2,840 schools, including the large majority of primary schools in Dublin.
• As a temporary measure, post-primary teachers can provide additional hours of substitute cover in the subject they are qualified to teach. The number of additional hours that can be taught per term has been increased from 20 to 35 for the remainder of the 2022/23 school year.
• For 2022/23, higher education institutions have introduced flexibility in the delivery of initial teacher education programmes to allow student teachers to provide more substitute cover.
• The Teaching Council introduced regulations allowing for the registration of 3rd and 4th-year undergraduate student teachers under registration Route 5 (Student Teachers). More than 2,700 student teachers have registered under Route 5 to date. This initiative supports the employment of student teachers to cover substitutable vacancies.
• A waiver of abatement for retired teachers returning to teach for up to 50 days in each of the three calendar years, 2021 to 2023 inclusive has been agreed with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. A communications campaign has also been launched to encourage retired teachers to take up short-term substitute positions.
• For the 2022/23 school year, job-sharing teachers may be employed to work as substitutes during the period they are rostered off duty and the limits on substitute work applying to teachers on career break have been suspended.
• Newly qualified teachers (NQTs) who qualify outside Ireland may complete induction (Droichead) in Ireland. Teachers must apply no later than 1 February 2024 to be eligible. This measure seeks to enhance the supply of NQTs available to schools and is particularly relevant for Irish teachers who have studied and qualified abroad and who may wish to return to the Irish education sector.
• As provided for in Section 4 of Circular 10/01, and subject to certain criteria, primary teachers are eligible to apply for the award of incremental credit in respect of teaching service given outside the Republic of Ireland.
• Measures targeted at supporting the long-term supply needs of the system have also been put in place
• At primary level, I recently approved 610 additional places on ITE programmes over the next two academic years (2023/24 and 2024/25).
• At post-primary level, the Department has increased the number of places on teacher upskilling programmes in mathematics, Spanish and physics. The programmes are delivered outside of class time and are offered at no cost to the teacher. Approximately 170 places were provided in the first intake across the three programmes with an increase in places to over 300 in 2023.
• A new programme for post-primary teachers to up-skill in Irish is planned for commencement in 2023/2024. The Department is also considering additional upskilling programmes in other priority subject areas.
• The Department introduced a scheme to allow post-primary schools to share teachers, the aim of which is to recruit teachers in high-demand subjects and give teachers a full-time teaching contract. It is expected that a pilot of the scheme will be introduced in a small number of locations for the 2023/24 school year.
• The Department provided details of the staffing arrangements for the 2023/24 school year to schools before the end of January. This will facilitate schools to begin recruitment for the 2023/24 school year earlier than in 2022.
• Following on from the Department’s Action Plan on Teacher Supply, the Irish Primary Principals’ Network (IPPN) has developed a portal for the recruitment of teachers to long-term teaching positions. The portal will facilitate the matching of demand and supply and provide an efficient and user-friendly recruitment process for both schools and teachers, including teachers working abroad who wish to apply for posts here. It is anticipated that the portal will be available in the coming period.

The Department meets on a regular basis with the school management bodies and the teacher unions on this very important issue and we will continue to work intensively with all stakeholders to develop and implement creative solutions to address the teacher supply challenges facing schools.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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374. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the progress towards the provision of a new primary school at Newtown, County Kildare; the current state of the project; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23236/23]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The school referred to by the deputy was granted approval for a project under my Department's Additional School Accommodation (ASA) Scheme. The project will provide for the following accommodation at the school: 2 x SEN Base Classroom (439m2) & rental of 2 x 100m2 SEN base as an interim measure.

The school and its design team submitted a stage report to the Department on 11th November 2022; combined comments issued to the school from the Department's Professional & Technical team on 23rd of November 2022.

Revised documents were re-submitted and forwarded to the Department's Professional & Technical team for review on 15th March 2023. My Department will revert to the school authority upon completion of this review.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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376. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the extent to which primary school places at Broadford, County Kildare continue to be assessed with a view to ensuring that accommodation is sufficient to meet population increases; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23238/23]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I wish to advise the Deputy that requirements for additional school places is kept under on-going review in the context of available information on population, enrolments and residential development activity.

In order to plan for school provision and analyse the relevant demographic data, my Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas and uses a Geographical Information System, using data from a range of sources, to identify where the pressure for school places across the country will arise. With this information, my Department carries out nationwide demographic exercises to determine where additional school accommodation is needed at primary and post-primary level.

Major new residential developments in a school planning area have the potential to alter demand in that area. In that regard, as part of the demographic exercises, my Department engages with each of the local authorities to obtain the up-to-date information on significant new residential development in each area. This is necessary to ensure that schools infrastructure planning is keeping pace with demographic changes as there is a constantly evolving picture with planned new residential development.

The 2022 demographic exercise indicates that 85% of the 314 school planning areas at primary level show static or decreasing enrolments for the period to 2026 compared with 2021. At post-primary level some 74% of school planning areas are anticipated to have increased enrolments for the period to 2029, with most expected to reach a peak within the next two or three years.

Where data indicates that additional provision is required, the delivery of such additional provision is dependent on the particular circumstances of each case and may, depending on the circumstances, be provided through either one, or a combination of, the following:

•Utilising existing unused capacity within a school or schools,

•Extending the capacity of a school or schools,

•Provision of a new school or schools.

As the Deputy may be aware, Broadford is located in the Longwood School Planning Area. Our most recent projections indicate that at Primary level, enrolments across the eight schools are set to decrease having peaked in 2021.Enrolments at Post Primary level in this school planning area are projected to peak this year and to decline in the coming years.

The requirement for additional school places in Broadford, Co. Kildare is kept under on-going review. My Department will continue to monitor residential developments and liaise with the local Council in respect to population projections at settlement level and its review of the Development Plan process with a view to identifying any additional school accommodation requirements.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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378. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to provide an update on the progress in the provision of extra school facilities at Hewetson National School, County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23240/23]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The project to which the Deputy refers has been devolved for delivery to the Board of Management of the school.

I can confirm that a Design Team was appointed by the school in March 2022. The Design Team is now preparing the Stage 1 report (preliminary design). Thereafter, the team will ensure that the project obtains the necessary statutory planning permission, and will be responsible for developing the project such that it can be approved to progress to tender and construction stages in due course.

As the project is at an early stage in the delivery process, it is not possible at this time to give a date for its completion.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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379. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the extent to which additional school places/provision for children with special needs/facilities arising from population increases can be updated in the case of Tiermohan National School, County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23241/23]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has a statutory function to plan and co-ordinate the provision of education and support services to children with special educational needs, in consultation with the relevant education partners and the Health Service Executive (HSE). This includes the establishment of special class and special school placements in various geographical areas where there is an identified need.

When the NCSE sanction a special class in a school (primary or post-primary), school authorities can apply to my Department for capital funding to re-configure an existing spaces within the school building to accommodate the class and/or to construct additional accommodation under my Department’s Additional School Accommodation Scheme (ASA). ASA application forms are available on my Department’s website www.education.ie. Similarly, where special schools are requested to expand provision or wish to refurbish existing facilities, they may also apply to my Department for capital funding to carry out these works.

Over the last two years, the Department and the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) have worked closely on a more streamlined and joined up planning process which has ensured a targeted approach to meet demand for special education placements ahead of each new school year.

The Department continues to work with the NCSE in relation to the short-term requirements for special class and special school places and also the more strategic and longer-term requirements.

I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department has no current record of receiving an application for additional accommodation from the school in question.