Gay Mitchell (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 904: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if she will take urgent steps to address the concerns of a school (details supplied) in Dublin 10; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10502/05]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 1032: To ask the Minister for Education and Science when the overcrowding of classes will be addressed at a school (details supplied) in Dublin 10. [11251/05]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 1034: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if her attention has been drawn to the fact that a school (details supplied) in Dublin 10 is in an area designated as being disadvantaged, that it is a local drugs task force area, that Ballyfermot has the lowest educational attainment levels in Ireland and that failure to give the necessary resources to the school to employ an additional class teacher is adding to the pressures; and when steps will be taken to address this shortfall. [11253/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 904, 1032 and 1034 together.

The mainstream staffing of a primary school is determined by applying the enrolment of the school on 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 referred to by the Deputy for the school year 2004-05 is a principal and ten mainstream class teachers based on an enrolment of 288 pupils on 30 September 2003. The school also has resource teachers, a resource teacher for Travellers, special class teachers and an extra post due to its disadvantage status. 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 of the school, the enrolment on 30 September 2004 was 281 pupils. The staffing for the 2005-06 school year will be determined on the basis of this figure and in accordance with the agreed staffing schedule.

Significant improvements have been made in the pupil-teacher ratio at primary level in recent years. The ratio has fallen from 22.2:1 in the 1996-97 school year to 17.44:1 in the 2003-04 school year. In line with Government policy, my Department will continue to provide further reductions in the pupil-teacher ratio 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.

There is a new proposed new system for resource teacher allocation which involves a general allocation for all primary schools to cater for pupils with higher incidence special educational needs, such as borderline mild and mild general learning disability and specific learning disability. This system also applies to those with learning support needs, such as functioning at or below the tenth percentile on a standardised test of reading and-or mathematics. My Department is reviewing the proposal to ensure that it provides an automatic response for pupils with common higher incidence special educational needs. The review involves consultation with educational interests including the National Council for Special Education before it is implemented in September 2005.

The ancillary services grant scheme provides additional per capita grants for primary schools towards caretaking and secretarial services. This scheme does not provide for the linking of the grants to any particular pay scale. The scheme, by its nature, is flexible and gives boards of management discretion as to the manner in which caretaking and secretarial services are provided.

The level and extent of services provided is a matter for the school authorities which, through the discretion afforded by the scheme, apply diverse arrangements for secretarial services as resources permit. As the secretaries are employees of individual schools, this Department does not have any role in determining the pay and conditions under which they are engaged. These are matters to be agreed between the staff concerned and the school authorities.

It is a matter for each individual school, to decide how best to apply the funding to suit the school's particular needs. The standard rate of the ancillary services grant has been increased from a rate of €102 per pupil in 2002 to €133 per pupil this year. The question of increasing the rate of grant in the future will be considered in the context of available resources and priorities within the education sector.

The school to which the Deputy refers is currently included in the disadvantaged areas scheme and Giving Children an Even Break scheme and benefits from a range of supports under both of these programmes.