Willie Penrose (Westmeath, Labour)
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Question 842: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if her Department has received correspondence from a school (details supplied); the steps she will take to ensure that the average size of classes in the school is reduced significantly from its current level of 29 pupils per class; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10157/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I can confirm that the commission on school accommodation, an associate agency of my Department, has received correspondence from the school.

The mainstream staffing of a primary school is determined by applying the enrolment of the school on the 30 September of the previous school year to a staffing schedule, agreed between my Department and the education partners. The system for allocating teachers to primary schools is based on ensuring an overall maximum class of 29 in each school. Where some classes in a school have class sizes of greater than 29, it is generally because a decision has been taken at local level to use their teaching resources to have smaller numbers in other classes.

In accordance with the staffing schedule, the staffing of the school for the school year 2004-05 is a principal and 13 mainstream class teachers, based on an enrolment of 354 pupils at the 30 September 2003. In addition, the school has one learning support teacher and two full-time resource teachers.

My Department will finalise the staffing schedule for the 2005-06 school year shortly and thereafter notify school boards of management. According to data submitted to my Department by the board of management, the enrolment of the school in question on the 30 September 2004 was 372 pupils. The staffing for the 2005-06 school year will be determined on the basis of this figure and the agreed staffing schedule.

Significant improvements have been made to the pupil teacher ratio at primary level, which has fallen from 22.2:1 in the 1996-97 school year to 17.44:1 in the 2003-04 school year. Average class size nationally has fallen from 26.5 in 1996-97 to 23.9 in 2003-04. In line with Government policy, my Department will continue to provide further reductions in the pupil-teacher ratio and average class sizes at junior level within available resources and subject to spending priorities within the education sector. Priority will be given to pupils with special needs, those from disadvantaged areas and those in junior classes.