Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As part of the engagement with the school patron, the Department did outline what was available at that time and that it would be a shared process between the ETB and the school. That was agreed at the time. However, the school has taken the decision to accept a significant increase in enrolments from 52 in the 2022-23 school year to 85 in the 2023-24 school year.

Individual school authorities are responsible, in the first instance, for ensuring the safety and welfare of children and others in their care. The configuration of classes and the deployment of classroom teachers are done at local school level. The Department's guidance to schools is that the number of pupils in any class is kept as low as possible taking all relevant contextual factors into account, for example, classroom accommodation and fluctuating enrolments.

The role of the Department is to ensure that all schools in an area can, between them, cater to school place requirements in that area. The broader position in the Fermoy school planning area is that demographics at primary level are declining and will steadily decrease for the foreseeable future.

Officials in the Department of Education have been engaging with the school patron, Educate Together, in respect of the current and future needs of the school. A technical visit by the Department is scheduled to take place shortly.

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