Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 62: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if his attention has been drawn to the implications of the proposed staffing cuts for post primary schools attended by pupils from County Roscommon; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12015/09]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I have consistently said that the 2009 Budget required difficult choices to be made across all areas of public expenditure. These decisions were made to control public expenditure and to ensure sustainability in the long run. In this respect Education while protected to a much greater extent than most other areas of public expenditure could not be totally spared, and I acknowledge the impact of funding restrictions in a number of areas, including at school level. However, these are the inevitable result of the challenging economic environment and the need to manage Exchequer resources prudently. These decisions included the withdrawal of teaching posts which have been historically provided under previous disadvantage schemes to non-DEIS schools and the increasing of the pupil teacher ratio across all second-level schools from 18:1 to 19:1. In the case of fee-charging post-primary schools, there will be an additional one-point adjustment to 20:1.

The budget measures will impact on individual schools in different ways depending on whether enrolment is rising or declining and the degree to which any one school has more teachers than it is entitled to under the allocation processes. Across the school system generally there will of course be some impact on class sizes and the changes may impact on the capacity of individual second-level schools to offer as wide a range of subject choices as heretofore.

Teacher allocations to all second level schools are approved annually by my Department in accordance with established rules based on recognised pupil enrolment. In accordance with these rules each school management authority is required to organise its subject options within the limit of its approved teacher allocation. The deployment of teaching staff in the school, the range of subjects offered and ultimately the quality of teaching and learning are in the first instance a matter for the school management authorities.

In terms of the position at individual school level the key factor for determining the level of resources provided by my Department is the pupil enrolment at 30 September 2008. The annual process of seeking this enrolment data from schools took place in the autumn and the data has since been received and processed in my Department enabling the commencement of the processes by which teaching resources are allocated to schools for the school year that begins next September.

Initial allocation letters have issued to Post Primary Schools and Vocational Educational Committees. The allocation is provisional at this stage and reflects the initial allocation position. The final position for any one school will depend on a number of other factors such as the allocation of support teachers, additional posts for schools that are developing rapidly and posts allocated as a result of the appeals processes.

In accordance with existing arrangements, where a school management authority is unable to meet its curricular commitments within its approved allocation, my Department considers applications for additional short term support i.e. curricular concessions. This concession is available as a short term support to enable essential curricular provision to continue.

The allocation processes also include appellate mechanisms under which schools can appeal against the allocation due to them under the staffing schedules. The Board of Management of a school can submit an appeal under certain criteria to an independent Appeal Board which was established specifically to adjudicate on appeals on staffing allocations in post-primary schools. This Board operates independently of my Department.

Discrete allocations are also made to post-primary schools to cater for pupils with Special Educational Needs and those with Language difficulties for example and these allocations can alter the ultimate position of the school in relation to any over quota position.