Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Senator for affording me the opportunity to clarify the position of the Department of Education and Science on the new arrangements for the allocation of resource teaching support to primary schools, including the Presentation primary school, Tuam, County. Galway. The proposed new system for resource teacher allocation involves a general allocation for all primary schools to cater for pupils with higher incidence special educational needs, that is, pupils with borderline, mild and mild general learning disability and specific learning disability. The allocation is also intended to support those with learning support needs, that is, those functioning at or below the tenth percentile on a standardised test of reading and-or mathematics. An additional 350 teacher posts are being provided to facilitate the introduction of the new system.

The proposed allocation mechanism is as follows — in the most disadvantaged schools, as per the urban dimension of Giving Children an Even Break, a teacher of pupils with special educational needs will be allocated for every 80 pupils to cater for the subset of pupils with higher incidence special needs; in all boys' schools, the ratio will be one teacher for every 140 pupils; in mixed schools, or all girls' schools with an enrolment of greater than 30% boys, the ratio will be one teacher for every 150 pupils; and in all girls' schools, including schools with mixed junior classes but with 30% or fewer boys overall, the ratio will be one teacher for every 200 pupils. In addition, all schools will be able to apply for separate specific allocations in respect of pupils with lower incidence disabilities.