Seanad debates
Thursday, 5 June 2014
Adjournment Matters
Pupil-Teacher Ratio
1:45 pm
Paul Bradford (Independent)
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I welcome the Minister of State. I am glad he is here to take this matter because, as a result of the fact that he represents the constituency of Cork East, he is aware that the issue of small schools in rural areas is beginning to become one of concern throughout the county.
The Minister of State will be aware of the relevant statistics and I am sure he will correct what I am about to say if it is incorrect. The figures available to me seem to suggest that there are approximately 600 schools throughout the country with 50 or fewer pupils. Obviously, this poses a challenge for school authorities, the Department and the Minister, Deputy Quinn, in the context of the allocation of resources. We must acknowledge the very proactive role the schools to which I refer play in small rural communities. Small schools are very much at the centre of life in rural areas, particularly in the context of the number of activities they facilitate.
I wish to refer to the challenges that will be faced by some of the schools in question as a result of the change to the pupil-teacher ratio and I appreciate the huge financial constraints under which the Minister, the Department and the Government continue to operate. When Budget 2012 was introduced, it was announced that the pupil-teacher ratio would be changed over a three-year period. The latter is going to place small rural schools at a significant disadvantage because the number of number of pupils per teacher and per class is obviously going to increase quite significantly. Anyone can romanticise the notion of the small rural school where there are two, three or four classes in a single room and where every child sings along happily with his or her teacher. That is only one side of the story. We live in the modern world and the educational challenges which arise are greater than ever. I refer to the fact that people have high expectations of schools and teachers. We are placing a huge onus on teachers to produce results and to guide young children through their early years in education. It is going to become increasingly difficult for teachers to do their job as they would like to do it if they are going to be obliged to deal with 28 or 29 pupils spread across two or three classes. This is a matter upon which we must reflect.
I received correspondence from a teacher - the Minister of State may also have received it - who asked children in senior classes the differences they had noticed a month after class sizes had been increased. The children replied that they needed to do more writing and that if they required help from the teacher, they were obliged to wait longer for it. The teacher in question notes that children who are weaker academically are not served well by larger class sizes because there is little or no time available in which to give them additional attention.
We must do everything possible to maintain these rural schools, because they play a significant role, not just in the educational but in the broader life of the community. When we have done that and have secured every possible school we can and its future, we must try to ensure the pupil-teacher ratio in that school is appropriate to the needs of the pupils, teachers and community.
I am advised that in disadvantaged DEIS areas the maximum pupil-teacher ratio, in infant classes in particular, is 20 pupils. I have no disagreement with that and believe it is appropriate, though perhaps 20 is too many. We are talking about classes in some of our small rural schools which can have 28, 29 or 30 pupils. I ask the Minister of State and the Minister to reflect on this and to try to ensure, in so far as they can, that these schools will receive the teaching allocations they require to allow them continue the fine traditions such schools, communities and parishes have had for generations.
I admit we live in a changing time and world, but we need traditional stability. Our schools can provide that, our small rural schools in particular. However, there must be willingness on the part of the Department to provide resources to allow sufficient teachers for those schools. I do not expect a major policy announcement today, but I ask the Minister of State to use his good offices to keep these rural schools and their teachers and communities at the centre of the Department's thinking.
1:55 pm
Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I thank Senator Bradford for raising this issue. The criteria used for the allocation of teachers to schools is published annually. I accept the point made by the Senator in regard to budget 2012, whereby as part of that budget there is a phased increase in the number of pupils required to gain and retain a classroom teaching post in small primary schools with four teachers or less. The current system operates on the basis of a general average of one classroom teacher for every 28 pupils, with lower thresholds for DEIS band 1 schools. I have not seen the correspondence Senator Bradford referred to, but I acknowledge pressures are being brought to bear in terms of the classroom experience, both for pupils and for teachers. I acknowledge also that budgetary measures taken in 2012 brought pressure, a result of macro-economic factors.
The Department has expanded the existing appeals process so that it is accessible to the schools that are affected by the budget measure. Small schools will not lose their classroom post if they project sustainable increased enrolments in September 2014 that would be sufficient to allow them to retain their existing classroom posts over the longer term. We are all aware of the appeals process and the staffing circulars and the processes involved.
I acknowledge the general point being made by the Senator that we must ensure there is a role for small schools within rural communities. Both he and I hail from the same region and such communities. The Department has taken a conscious decision to ensure that schools which had no inward investment for many years, for example, in regard to capital expenditure and bricks and mortar, are seeing investment. Projects are now going on throughout our region and the country to replace prefabs with bricks and mortar. This is part of trying to make the experience for students and school communities better. In rural areas, these schools are the institutions underpinning the community.
The Senator will be aware that a value for money review was conducted on small primary schools. The review took account of the ethos of schools and of their locations relative to other similar schools. We are currently considering the value for money reviews, in consultation with Government colleagues and it is intended to publish the report on completion of the consideration process. We are very mindful of the points raised by Senator Bradford in regard to the budget 2012 measures. We seek to ensure we have a sustainable model for the future, but I acknowledge there are challenges in that regard.
The Minister has had initial discussions with the Catholic Primary Schools Management Association, CPSMA, and the Irish National Teachers Organisation in regard to their proposals on the issue of primary school consolidation and reorganisation. We acknowledge that some 48 small schools have had a reduction in enrolments, which means that for September 2014 they will lose a teacher. We acknowledge these losses would not have occurred if the pre-budget 2012 enrolment threshold still applied and if the threshold for a two-teacher school had remained at 12 pupils. We acknowledge the constraints that exist currently. However, the value for money review is under consideration and will be published.
Speaking personally, I will advocate strongly for assurances to be given on the future of schools and for consultation and engagement with stakeholders in a meaningful process of dialogue which will ensure a future for these schools. Then we can begin to address the dynamic the Senator outlined in regard to the new pressures that exist in particular schools and classrooms as economic circumstances improve.
Michael Mullins (Fine Gael)
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Before we finish, I would like to welcome our special visitors to the Gallery.