Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)

The change that has been announced gives schools greater autonomy in how they allocate staff resources to best meet the needs of their students, including how they provide for guidance and counselling. It is a change to how resources are allocated to schools not a policy decision to terminate guidance provision as some may chose to present it. Until now, a specific resource was provided to all second level schools for guidance in addition to the standard teacher allocation. This broadly equates to an additional allocation of approximately one teacher for every 500 pupils.

In future, schools must meet their guidance requirements from within the overall resource provided by the normal staffing schedule. Individually, schools can continue to make provision for guidance and counselling. Decisions on how this will be done will be taken at school level in the best interest of students and to ensure the best use of resources available. I am confident school management and teachers will continue to work together to meet the needs of the students in their care. Our schools are caring institutions and I am certain they will provide the necessary supports for vulnerable pupils in their care.

In this way, the main teacher allocation can be maintained at 19:1 for schools generally, while schools will have discretion to balance what they allocate for guidance against all other competing demands. Moving to a more general allocation by integrating stand alone allocations like the one that has existed for guidance is how many other countries resource schools. In other words, we trust the principals to deploy the resources made available to them in a manner they think is most appropriate. It is about devolution and liberation within management at school level and I fully support it. Many principals have been seeking that flexibility rather than a one size fits all direction by way of circular from the Department.

The Government's protection of schools serving disadvantaged areas is further underlined by the maintenance of €13 million in enhanced funding for DEIS schools, €2 million in school book funding for DEIS schools, as well as a €26 million investment in the home-school community liaison scheme. We will communicate with schools in early January regarding the guidance issue. There are two components to this. The first is counselling for students who are distressed or who are coping with difficult circumstances in their lives and the second is career guidance. It may be that we can examine ways in which both those complementary services can be provided.

I assure the Deputies that we will communicate with schools indicating to them how they may interpret this devolution of power and responsibility. Principals have been looking for this. Deputy Smith will recall that many principals said there needed to be more devolution of responsibility. The countries we wish to emulate, which are achieving good educational outcomes, such as Finland and Australia have schools in which principals have much greater discretion. It is not the case that career guidance will disappear or that counsellors will not be retained.

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