Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail)
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Tá mé buíoch den Chathaoirleach as ucht an deis seo a thabhairt dom an t-ábhar seo a lua ar an Athló anocht. I raise the Department?s current position on the allocation of teachers to Ratoath junior national school. An unprecedented number of parents have been in touch with my colleague in Ratoath, Councillor Nick Killian, and a number of parents have been in touch with me. They are most concerned at a decision of the Department, which I believe is under review today, to remove a teacher from the school. What happened in Ratoath junior national school is that 470 names were on the school roll on the first day of term in September. Ten of those names were reported to the National Education Welfare Board for various reasons which resulted in the school numbers being 460, seven short of the teacher allocation required to maintain existing staff numbers. If the decision is upheld by the Department to remove a teacher based on the lower numbers, one teacher must go and one of five junior infants? classes in the school must be reallocated to the other four classes. That is not fair. It is not right.

It is particularly unfair at this stage of the school year when children have settled into their classes if they have to be allocated to another class. That would also result in one class having at least 37 pupils and an empty classroom within the school. It might also have implications for next year in terms of whether the school would be in a position to take five classes. The school is already over the threshold for four classes in the coming year. It might not yet have reached five but it expects to do so. The school might not be able to take all of the pupils that wish to go to it next year. Therefore, if the decision is not reversed there might be pupils in Ratoath who are not accepted into the junior infants? class in the school next year. The school has already lost four teachers in the areas of resource teaching and language support and is in danger of losing a fifth mainstream teacher.

One of the criteria used in assessing such decisions is whether the post relates to a mainstream teacher. I urge the Minister to take that into account and to take the particular circumstances of Ratoath into account. It is a growing area. The pupils are already six weeks? into their school year. I urge him to please leave the teacher in place to give the children the best possible education.

John Perry (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator for giving me the opportunity to outline for the House the position on the allocation of teaching posts to primary schools. The criteria used for the allocation of teachers to schools is published annually on the Department's website. The staffing schedule is the mechanism used for the allocation of classroom teachers to all primary schools. It operates in a clear and transparent manner and treats all similar types of schools equally, irrespective of location. The configuration of classes and the deployment of classroom teachers are done at local school level.

Classroom teachers are allocated under the staffing schedule based on the pupil enrolments for the previous 30 September. While mainstream staffing for any school year is based on the previous September's enrolment, there is a provision whereby schools experiencing rapid increases in enrolment can apply for additional mainstream posts on developing grounds, using projected enrolment. The retention of such posts in the current school year is subject to schools having achieved their projected enrolment on 30 September. If the enrolment is not achieved the post allocated on developing grounds is suppressed.

The staffing schedule also includes an appeals mechanism for schools to submit an appeal under certain criteria to an independent appeal board. Details of the criteria for appeal are contained in the staffing circular 0007/2012 which is available on the Department's website. The appeal criteria include provision for schools that have been granted a post under the developing school criterion. Such schools may lodge an appeal on the basis that the pupils that failed to enrol as projected by 30 September 2012 are likely to be enrolled by December 2012. A post allocated by the appeal board under this criterion will be sanctioned on a provisional basis, subject to confirmation of the required enrolment being achieved before 31 December 2012.

The school referred to by the Deputy had an enrolment of 442 pupils on 30 September 2011. As a consequence, the school's staffing for the 2012-13 school year is a principal and 16 classroom teachers. The school has an additional five support posts for learning and language support and resource teaching.

The school applied for a developing school post based on a projected enrolment of 478 pupils at September 2012 and this post was conditionally approved by the Department on 6 March 2012. However, I understand that the required projected enrolment was not achieved by 30 September. The school was therefore informed that the post was being suppressed in the normal manner. The school has appealed the decision to the primary staffing appeal board. The appeal board is holding its meeting today, 18 October, and it will consider the appeal from the school in question in this process. The board of management of the school will be notified of the outcome of the appeal as soon as possible. The appeal board operates independently of the Department and its decision is final. I thank the Deputy again for giving me an opportunity to update the House on the matter.

Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail)
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The Minister of State might bring to the attention of the Minister for Education and Skills and the appeal board that the figures indicated in the reply on pupil numbers are not those I was given by the principal this morning. I hope the Department has the correct figures. I will check the position immediately with the school.

My child started school this year in the junior infants? class in another school in County Meath. I can only imagine the disruption that would be caused to her by having to move classes and perhaps having to go into a class with 37 pupils because of what might be an arbitrary decision by the Department. I urge the Department and the appeal board to take into account the factors I have raised on the school and the special circumstances that apply. The school has lost four teachers and is in a developing area. What is proposed is not fair on the small children involved.