5 days 5 ways - Numeracy & Literacy Strategy Adds Up - Minister Jan O'Sullivan

Posted on June 30, 2015 at 10:24 AM

This week’s #5Days5Ways campaign highlights 5 key areas in which Labour and Minister of Education and Skills, Jan O'Sullivan continues to introduce and deliver education reform and today we are highlighting the first improvements to literacy and numeracy levels for more than 30 years. 

Literacy is the key that unlocks a child’s education. It is the most basic - not to mention the most important - life skill that our schools teach. Labour wants to ensure that no child leaves an Irish school without being able to read and write.

We see it as being vital to the future of our recovering economy and society. Here are some facts:

• Labour has initiated a ground breaking Literacy and Numeracy Strategy in all of our schools and the standards in reading and maths at primary school level are now at their highest level in over 30 years.
• These results exceed expectation as targets reached are ahead of schedule for 2020. So we will now review the strategy and set even more challenging targets.
• An additional €6m was allocated for the Literacy and Numeracy Strategy in Budget 2015, bringing this year's total spend to €13.8m.
• Thanks to Labour's Literacy and Numeracy Strategy, overall pupils’ performance in reading and maths at 2nd & 6th class level was significantly higher in 2014 than in 2009 when Fianna Fail were in government.
• Investing in education is the best way for us to break the cycle of poverty, and begin levelling the playing field for all young people

Minister O’Sullivan is now examining the level of disadvantage in every school in the country. Once this work is done, we will be able to target our resources to the schools with the greatest level of need. Labour is determined that work on education will continue, so that we can help unlock real potential within children and give them their best chance for a successful future.

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