Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this important issue. The protection of small schools is critical, and I know the Save Our National Schools, SONS, campaign, including Billy Standish and his colleagues, has done good work in creating awareness of the difficulties that will face many communities with the gradual implementation of the staffing schedule changes.

On many occasions I stated clearly that the 2012 budget unfairly targeted rural communities. The Government's plans to introduce staffing cuts in small schools with fewer than five teachers will result in many communities losing their local schools. In the decade leading up to 2011 there was a very substantial and welcome increase in resources provided to small schools, including a major increase that almost doubled personnel. That policy was implemented by previous Governments because we valued the critical role of the small school in the local community, and it contributed to rural regeneration.

Local primary schools are an irreplaceable part of community life. The network of schools with fewer than four teachers must be protected. In January this year, I moved a Private Members' motion on behalf of Fianna Fáil outlining very clearly the need to support and protect small schools and for the Government to reverse its decision to introduce the new, discriminatory staffing schedules.

In the past six months the cuts being imposed in our schools have rightly become the cause of concern to many school communities. I attended a meeting in west Cavan last Sunday morning where I expected to meet a deputation of six to eight people but the local parish hall was full of people from the wider community. Those in attendance included parents and people with no children attending the school but who were interested in their community. These people value the service provided by the school and are worried that a rural parish will be left without a school. A number of decades ago there were six schools in the parish but the people are worried that the lone school will face closure over the next few years. There is much angst and concern among the people of Glangevlin, where the school in question is Curravagh, and it was evident to me and the other public representatives who attended.

It is true we have a high number of primary schools in proportion to population. That is the result of many factors, including our population dispersal pattern and, more importantly, the role of primary school as a focal point in the local community. The community school link is a core feature of our society and we must continue to retain that link. These schools help maintain the viability of many rural areas and taking away the school in a community removes the community's heart and future.

The previous Minister responsible for education matters commenced the value for money review on the provision of small primary schools mentioned by the Minister of State, Deputy Cannon. The main approach in the review was to find the best way of supporting those schools. I understand that review will not be published until after the summer but it should have been published before staffing schedule changes were made and included consultation with relevant unions and management bodies. Was any impact analysis carried out in the Department? It would appear not. Small schools received a stark message from the Department when they were advised "to consider their future" and "to assess their options for amalgamation".

It is clear that the changes are blunt in nature and the forced cuts are based on numbers alone, without any consideration for school ethos, the geography of an area or the impact on a community of removing such a key amenity. These cuts will have a disproportionate and severe impact on minority faith schools, such as Church of Ireland schools and gaelscoileanna. This policy is completely at odds with the Minister's stated intention of widening patronage. I outlined in this House previously that there are 200 Protestant primary schools in the State, with 65% of Church of Ireland schools affected by these changes. A Church of Ireland minister recently wrote:

Many of our schools in rural Ireland are small schools located in dispersed and isolated rural areas. The changes in pupil-teacher ratio means that it will become virtually impossible for many small schools to function due to staffing cuts and these draconian austerity measures will seriously undermine the Irish education system that has been built so well up to now.

The decision to introduce phased adjustments at primary level in 2012 to staff schedules for schools with between one and four teachers will lead to a dramatic increase in the pupil-teacher ratio in rural primary schools, leading in turn to large numbers of closures and amalgamations. I have the privilege of representing in this House two of the southern Ulster counties. Within the community of minority churches, there is widespread concern that there are serious difficulties in trying to retain those schools. That must be addressed.

Decisions on staffing levels cannot just be about value for money and achieving savings. Research has indicated that children do well in these schools, and the social and emotional development of children in small schools is stronger. There is also greater parental involvement in small schools, with communities and parents getting actively involved in school activities. This was evident at the meeting I described in the parish in my county last Sunday, as the entire community was in the parish hall expressing concern about the future of the local school.

Multigrade and multi-class teaching has its challenges but there are considerable learning positives to grouping children of different ages and grades. The Department statistics indicate that approximately 40% of all primary school pupils are taught in multi-class situations. Even in a one-grade class there is always a considerable range of abilities, maturity and needs. No two children can be considered as being at the same level in all areas. The small school provides a sense of belonging where each child is valued for his or her unique abilities. Multi-class teaching brings together children of different ages and development. International studies show that the outcomes for children in small schools are on a par with, if not better than, larger schools. Studies in our country have the same conclusions.

It is not true to claim that there would be a gradual increase in the pupil-teacher ratio in small schools. These changes will represent a large increase. For example, a Gaeltacht scoil will now need 83 pupils instead of 76 pupils to qualify for four teachers this year. The new retention figures published by the Department are inequitable. A large school with 12 teachers needs a further 28 pupils to become a 13 teacher school. However, a two teacher school that seeks to become a three teacher school this September will need an additional 37 pupils and a three teacher school seeking to become a four teacher school will need an additional 30 pupils. Why are small schools punished compared to larger schools? These new retention figures will make it more difficult for small schools to expand.

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