Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

On behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Education and Science, I thank both Deputies for raising this matter as it affords me the opportunity to outline to the House the staffing position of the schools to which they refer.

In accordance with the staffing schedule, the staffing for St. Mark's junior school for the school year 2004-05 is a principal and 16 mainstream class teachers based on an enrolment of 469 pupils at 30 September 2003. The school also has an additional mainstream class post due to its developing status, two resource posts, one learning support post, two special class posts, one resource teacher for Travellers and three temporary language support posts.

The staffing for St. Mark's senior school for the school year 2004-05 is a principal and 13 mainstream class teachers based on an enrolment of 380 pupils at 30 September 2003. In addition the school has three resource posts, two learning support posts, one permanent special class post, one temporary special class post and two temporary language support posts.

Significant steps have been taken in recent years to improve the pupil-teacher ratio in our primary schools. The pupil teacher ratio, which includes all the teachers in the school including resource teachers, has fallen from 22.2:1 in the 1996-97 school year to 17.44:1 in the school year 2003-04. The pupil-teacher ratio in the current school year for the schools to which the Deputies referred is 17.37:1 and 16.52:1 respectively.

The Department has been active for several years in promoting interculturalism in schools. A range of actions can be taken to support participation of minority groups and Travellers in education. I was very struck by the descriptions given by both Deputies and particularly Deputy O'Connor's description of the extensive range and breadth of nationalities participating in this school. As a Deputy for the western Dublin area I have noticed the remarkable range and level of participation by international students in these schools. Many of the teachers have informed me of the excellent progress they are making with these children and how happy they are to work with them. It is important the House is aware of the great progress and strides being made with these children. I welcome the fact that both Deputies have raised the issue of this school in that context.

The measures the Department has adopted to date, include information for schools on the integration of asylum seekers and Travellers; additional resources for schools to support the needs of students for whom English is not the mother tongue; resource packs for schools prepared by organisations such as the National Consultative Committee on Anti-Racism and Interculturalism; a video for second level schools highlighting excerpts from the "Mono" TV programme; materials and training for teachers through funding the work of Integrate Ireland Language Training and other bodies; development in progress by the NCCA of guidelines for primary and post-primary teachers on how the existing curriculum can be mediated and adapted to reflect the emergence of an expanding multi-ethnic society; primary level guidelines will be published in May and the post-primary guidelines are expected to be ready by the end of the year; supports provided by the reception and integration agency to assist in the integration of refugees and asylum seekers into schools; expanding provision for language and literacy tuition for adults for whom English is not the mother tongue through the VEC literacy services.

The new curricula at primary and post-primary levels provide ample opportunity to extend students' awareness of the wider world and to learn about the lives and histories of people in other countries and of their contributions to art and science. In particular, the social, personal and health education programmes at primary and post-primary levels are designed to prepare students for participatory citizenship and to develop the skills of critical appraisal and decision making based on human rights and social responsibilities. They also promote a respect for human dignity, tolerance for the values and beliefs of others and a celebration of diversity.

Schools catering for non-national pupils who have significant English language deficits are entitled to assistance to enable these pupils gain full access to the curriculum. Schools with 14 to 27 non-English speaking non-national pupils enrolled are entitled to a full-time temporary language support teaching post at primary level and a whole-time equivalent teaching post at post-primary level. Schools with 28 or more such pupils are entitled to two full-time temporary-whole-time equivalent language support posts. Where there are between three and 13 non-national pupils enrolled in a primary school, the board of management may apply to the primary administration section of the Department for a grant to enable the school to take measures to improve the standard of English of the pupils concerned. Schools with between three and eight such pupils receive grant assistance in the amount of €6,348.69 while schools with between nine and 13 pupils receive grant assistance in the amount of €9,523.04. The total amount expended on such grants in the 2003-04 school year exceeded €2.3 million.

At post-primary level, where there are fewer than 14 pupils, additional teaching hours are allocated ranging from three hours per week for one pupil to 19.5 hours per week for 13 pupils. The support for an individual pupil is provided for a period of up to two years.

The Department provides a start-up grant of €635 when a language support teacher is allocated to a school. Each school for which the language support teacher continues to be sanctioned is issued a follow-up grant of €318 annually. The purpose of the grant is to facilitate the purchase of appropriate educational material and resources for use by the teacher.

In addition, the Department funds Integrate Ireland Language and Training, IILT, formerly known as the refugee language support unit, a Trinity College company, to provide training for English language support teachers and their principals. An English language programme and English language training materials are available to all teachers who attend their in-service courses. A portfolio known as the European language portfolio, has been developed by the IILT to provide a focus for pupils' learning, which concentrates on English language in the context of the school curriculum and on socialisation within the school. One of the fundamental aims of the training is to equip teachers to enable non-English speaking pupils to participate fully in school life. The Department will continue to keep under regular review these initiatives to promote inter-culturalism in our schools. I thank the Deputies for raising this matter.

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