Dáil debates
Wednesday, 18 January 2017
Other Questions
School Staff
3:25 pm
Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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34. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his views on whether the criteria for appeals by one-teacher mainland schools to obtain an additional teacher with regard to the staffing schedule circular 0007/2016 and the provisions in budget 2017 are overly burdensome on the schools in question, in view of the fact that in order to make an application a school must have at least 15 students across at least six class groups; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1819/17]
Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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One of the consequences of the staffing reductions in 2012 has been an increase in the number of one-teacher schools. There were eight such schools in the country in 2008 but thanks to moves by the Fine Gael-Labour Party Government, there are now 24 such schools. It goes without saying that the appointment of a second teacher to a small school or the loss of a school's second teacher is a critical issue in determining whether the school will survive.
The Minister will be familiar with St. Brendan's national school in St. Mullins on the Carlow-Kilkenny-Wexford border, which recently applied for a second teacher but found the going tough. Does the Minister agree that the criteria for appeals by one-teacher mainland schools on applications for an additional teacher are unfair?
Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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Following a review of the staffing allocation for small primary schools, budget 2017 announced two adjustments relating to one-teacher schools. Where the school is the sole primary school on an island, it will be able to appoint a second teacher. Single-teacher schools more generally with an enrolment of 15 or more pupils can apply to the staffing appeals board for a second post where the single teacher has pupils across six or more class groups. This new measure is in recognition of the challenges faced by teachers having to teach six class groups or more.
These arrangements will be effective from September 2017 and will be set out in the staffing schedule circular for the 2017-18 school year which will be available on my Department's website in the coming weeks. These two measures are important improvements in the staffing for small rural schools. They demonstrate the Government's commitment to rural Ireland within the small increase in resources that the Department has been able to secure.
These new measures build on the previous improvements to the staffing of small schools in the 2015-16 school year, where improved retention thresholds were introduced for the second, third and fourth classroom teacher and also the improved appointment and retention thresholds for one-teacher schools situated 8 km or more from the nearest school of the same type of patronage and-or language of instruction. This reduced the enrolment requirement for these one-teacher schools from 20 to 15.
In addition, budget 2016 introduced a one point improvement, from 28:1 to 27:1, to the primary staffing schedule which has been implemented for the current school year and it should be noted that the current staffing schedule of 27:1 for primary schools has restored it to the position prior to the fiscal crisis. As resources become available, we are trying to make it easier for these small schools.
Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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In 2012, the threshold for qualifying for two teachers was 12 pupils but now, unless the nearest school is over 8 km away, the threshold is 19. The particular school to which I refer is already disadvantaged, with 41% of pupils in lone-parent families. In the past, the school would have been entitled to Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools, DEIS, status and the supports that come with that but, unfortunately, the Government blocked new entrants to the DEIS scheme.
When I wrote to the Minister for Education and Skills about this matter, he made the point that the staffing appeals board is an independent body but the board operates according to the criteria set down by the Department. Furthermore, the new budget 2017 proposal does not guarantee that St. Brendan's national school will be granted another teacher because it simply states that one-teacher mainland schools will have the "capacity to apply" to the staffing appeals board for an extra teacher. Schools already have that right and capacity at the moment.
Will the Minister consider this issue again? The future for the school to which I refer is pretty bright. The numbers enrolled are expected to increase and it is totally unfair not to grant it a second teacher.
Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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In response to Deputy Wallace's points, the change to which I referred gives the staffing appeals board discretion so that it is not just rigidly adhering to some view. The change will allow the board to assess the situation. From what Deputy Wallace has said, it sounds as if the school will have a good chance of meeting the criteria by September 2017. Those criteria are ones that are budgeted for this year and are not for the coming school year. They will have to be budgeted this year for a third of the year and next year for the full school year. I cannot bring forward the date because there is funding attached to these relaxed arrangements.
As in every other area, as resources become available we are able to make adjustments in various parts of the education system to make things easier. I will be making adjustments to the DEIS scheme. We will be opening DEIS to new schools. No new schools have applied for DEIS status since 2009. We are making progress with the resources available to improve the position of schools, particularly disadvantaged schools.
Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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I am glad to hear that the moratorium on DEIS applications is being lifted. The particular school to which I refer expects to have 18 pupils enrolled which is almost over the line for a second teacher. I do not understand how the system works. I know that the staffing schedule circular for 2017-18 is due in mid-January. Will it be announced then as to whether this school will get another teacher? The school will have less chance of attracting more pupils if parents cannot plan ahead. St. Brendan's could have 22 pupils in 2018, especially if it has a second teacher. It expects to have 26 pupils in 2019 but obviously those additional pupils are unlikely to materialise in the absence of a positive sign from the Department, at an early stage, that it will facilitate the appointment of a second teacher.
3:35 pm
Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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What I read out is the new provision that will be interpreted based on the enrolment numbers schools submit and whether they span the six classes. The conditions are set out as to what is there. If the school meets the criteria it has the chance to go to the appeals board and get the additional resource. I cannot anticipate the application of these rules, but the rules are clear and the school will be able to assess its position against these rules and make its application on the basis of its belief it is meeting the criteria. We have relaxed the criteria to try to deal with schools with the problem of teaching multiple classes, including six classes, in these environments.