Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 226: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding a school (details supplied) in County Cork; the appeal mechanism available to the school; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31771/12]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The staffing schedule is the mechanism used for the allocation of classroom teachers to all primary schools. It operates in a clear and transparent manner and treats all similar types of schools equally irrespective of location. There has been no change to the mainstream staffing allocation of the school referred to by the Deputy for the 2012/13 school year. The school has 19 classroom teachers in the current school year and will have the same number for the coming school year 2012/13.

The configuration of classes and the deployment of classroom teachers are done at local school level. My Department publishes annual statistics on class size data for each school. The most recent statistics are for the 2010/11 school year.

The national average class size is 23.9 pupils. However, with over 20,600 classes in over 3,100 primary schools throughout the country there will always be variations in class sizes at individual school level. My Department's guidance to local school management is that such variations should be kept to the minimum.