Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The Department of Education’s Statement of Strategy sets out the vision, mission and goals in order to provide an education system where every child and young person feels valued and is actively supported and nurtured to reach their full potential. It aims to ensure that our school system is open and welcoming for all students, regardless of background, and that in particular learners at risk of educational disadvantage will be supported to achieve their full potential.

My Department is committed to

• supporting the provision of high-quality education and improve the learning experience to meet the needs of all students, in schools and early years settings
• ensuring equity of opportunity in education and that all students are supported to fulfil their potential
• providing strategic leadership and support for the delivery of the right systems and infrastructure for the sector in co-operation of our education partners.

These goals are being progressed, for example, through increasing investment in our school infrastructure, supporting the continuous professional development of school staff, improving services for children with Special Educational Needs (SEN), tackling educational inequality and continued curriculum reform.

A number of key national education strategies and initiatives underpin the work of the Department and drive the significant changes that are being planned and implemented across the continuum of education. These include the National Síolta Aistear Initiative, Wellbeing Policy Statement, Literacy and Numeracy for Learning and Life strategy, DEIS Plan, 20 year strategy for the Irish Language – Implementation Plan, Policy on Gaeltacht Education, Teacher Supply Action Plan, Digital Strategy for Schools, Languages Connect: Ireland’s Strategy for Foreign Languages in Education. STEM Education Policy Statement and Education for Sustainable Development: The National Strategy on Education for Sustainable Development in Ireland

The curriculum from early childhood to senior cycle offers multiple opportunities for the development of digital skills and digital literacy. Reform of the curriculum across primary and senior cycle is underway which will build on these opportunities so as to ensure that our young people are equipped with the digital skills and digital literacy required to meet the challenges of the 21st century and therefore participate fully in society.

The Digital Strategy for Schools to 2027, published in April of last year, sets out the Department’s policy approach to continue the progress made in embedding digital technology across the curriculum and in all aspects of teaching, learning and assessment. Its stated vision is “to empower schools to harness the opportunities of digital transformation to build digital competence and an effective digital education ecosystem so as to develop competent, critically engaged, active learners while supporting them to reach their potential and participate fully as global citizens in a digital world”. The Digital Strategy will support the ongoing advancement of digital infrastructure through targeted funding, and working with colleagues across Government to ensure broadband connectivity to all schools, regardless of location. It will be supported through a capital investment of some €200m over its lifetime under the National Development Plan 2018-2030

The Department of Education’s STEM Education Policy Statement 2017–2026, published in November 2017, sets out the ambitious goals and actions required to achieve and improve the STEM education experience and outcomes for all learners from early years to post-primary school. Its vision is to nurture curiosity, inquiry, problem-solving, creativity, ethical behaviour, confidence, and persistence, along with the excitement of collaborative innovation. This will be achieved through for example curriculum and assessment reform, teacher professional development, embedding of digital learning in our classrooms and advances in initial teacher education. The second STEM Education Implementation Plan published in May this year sets out the approach for the continued promotion of STEM education for the coming years to 2026.

The Government has committed to the development of a successor strategy to the 2011 Literacy and Numeracy Strategy. The new Literacy, Numeracy and digital literacy strategy will be aligned with and support the new primary curriculum, the junior cycle framework and the revised senior cycle. Areas identified for particular attention including the further development of numeracy, increased support for our disadvantaged learners, a stronger emphasis on digital literacy and an increased focus on multilingual literacy. The new strategy, which is being developed against robust research and consultation, will be published later in 2023.

The Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) Programme is a key policy initiative of the Department to address concentrated educational disadvantage at school level in a targeted and equitable way across the primary and post-primary sector. In March last year, I announced the single largest expansion of the DEIS programme, benefitting 361 schools. The programme now includes 1,200 schools and supports approximately 240,000 students. The additional €32million to my Department’s expenditure on the DEIS programme from 2023, brings the overall allocation for the programme to €180million.

Further improved staffing schedule for all primary schools to 23:1 has brought the teacher allocation ratio in all primary schools to the lowest ever seen at primary level. This is the third successive Budget which has seen an improvement in allocation of teachers to primary schools.

Under the Assistive Technology scheme, funding is provided to schools towards the cost of computers and specialist equipment, which are required for educational purposes. All equipment provided under this scheme supports children with more complex disabilities who, in order to access the school curriculum, require essential specialist equipment. This year, my Department will spend in excess of €2 Billion, or over 25% of the Department’s budget on providing a wide range of schemes and supports for children with special educational needs with an additional €2 million funding in Budget 2023 for this scheme. This represents an increase of almost 60% on funding allocated previously to this essential support. This increased allocation supports my Department’s commitment to ensure that a full range of resources, not just teachers and SNAs, are available to support children who most need it.

In addition a total investment of over €50 million is provided for a new primary free school book scheme commencing for the 2023/24 school year. The new scheme will provide free schoolbooks, workbooks and copybooks, in recognised primary schools and special schools. More than 558,000 pupils enrolled in approximately 3,230 primary schools, including over 130 special schools, will benefit from this measure.

My Department continues to promote the quality of teaching and learning through the provision of continuing professional development (CPD) and supports for teachers and principals to include the provision of an induction programme for newly-qualified teachers, dedicated support for school leaders, national CPD for curricular and policy reform, and ongoing support for teachers. These supports are delivered by the department's Support Services:

I trust the information supplied shows the work and investment being undertaken within my Department to ensure that every child has access to an educational experience that supports both their academic and personal development.