Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

The Deputy referred to international evidence on smaller class sizes and the Government accepts that smaller class sizes at junior level can make a difference. There is no evidence, however, to show that smaller class sizes further up the line can make a real difference to educational achievement. The international level was recently cited by the INTO in its magazine in an article that also shows the reduction in class size must be accompanied by a change in teaching styles to achieve all of the benefits. Teacher quality and the work he or she is doing in the classroom is even more significant than the size of the class. The two must go hand in hand.

Our priority must be disadvantaged areas. We want to ensure children in those areas are targeted and that is backed up by changes in teaching methods. In the Breaking the Cycle element of the disadvantage programme, there is a class size of 15:1 but in the evaluation, improvements in literacy and numeracy were not generally attained and, unfortunately, in some areas it was found that there was even some decline in attainment despite the small class size. My priority is to aim to meet the target in the programme for Government but that will be done in the context of the availability of resources and teachers and the priorities for me are special needs and disadvantage.

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