Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Green Party)
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Question 82: To ask the Minister for Education and Science when the full recommendations of the Task Force on Student Behaviour will be implemented. [40221/06]

Willie Penrose (Westmeath, Labour)
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Question 122: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the amount of the €2 million allocated in Budget 2006 to implement the recommendations of the Task Force on Student Behaviour that has been spent; what it was spent on; her proposals for the money allocated in Estimates 2007; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40145/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 82 and 122 together.

Earlier this year I announced an implementation strategy following publication of "School Matters" the Report of the Task Force on Student Behaviour in Second Level Schools, and that strategy is now well advanced.

At the core of the recommendations of the Task Force was the putting in place of a National Behaviour Support Service (NBSS). This has now happened with the appointment of a National Co-ordinator and four Assistant National Co-ordinators. In addition, nine Regional Development Officers and twenty part-time Associates have been recruited to ensure the success of this significant initiative. A key feature of the composition of the National Behaviour Support Service is the assignment to it of a senior psychologist and three psychologists. These have been seconded from the National Educational Psychological Service and their presence will ensure that the team operates in a multi-disciplinary way. A full-time administrator is based in Navan Education Centre.

Since their appointment, the team has been working on a number of key issues:

1. The development of a Draft National Framework for Behaviour Improvement.

2. The development of models of good practice for systems in schools which assist with and impact on classroom and whole school behaviour.

3. On-going training for the NBSS team.

4. Research into and communication with behaviour support systems in other jurisdictions.

The NBSS has commenced its engagement with schools and a series of information seminars have been organised throughout the country. Subsequently intensive work will begin with a smaller number of schools most in need of this intervention.

It is my intention that this new service will work intensively with those schools initially selected for inclusion in this development. I have already announced that part of this work will see us trialling the concept of a behaviour support classroom in up to 30 schools next year. I want to emphasise however that these classrooms cannot be, in themselves, a solution to the issue of poor student behaviour. They must be one part of a holistic response which should see a school, actively supported by the Behaviour Support Team, defining for itself a pathway to improvement.

In relation to the Task Force recommendations in respect of class size, I wish to draw the attention of the Deputies to the significant improvements that have been made in the pupil-teacher ratio at post primary level in recent years. The ratio has fallen from 16:1 in the 1996/97 school year to 13.21:1 in the 2005/06 school year. The reduction in the ratio was achieved through the creation of 2,017 additional posts and the retention of over 2,100 posts which would otherwise have been lost due to the fall in enrolments. I should add that I have consistently ruled out the creation of additional teaching posts across the second level system as a response to the issue of poor student behaviour. On the contrary I see this issue as requiring focused intervention along the lines now being pursued.

It terms of expenditure, funding has been provided to cover the costs of the NBSS recruitment process, staff training and development, staff salaries, establishment of an NBSS Office, development of an NBSS website and the information seminars with schools. At this stage, it is anticipated that the €2 million allocated in 2006 toward the implementation of the Task Force's recommendations will be fully expended by the end of the current financial year.

I wish to draw the attention of the Deputies to my announcement in the context of the 2007 Estimates, that I am providing €8million to support the work of the NBSS, in helping schools promote positive student behaviour at second level.