Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

104. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the retention level of pupils required to retain a second classroom teacher in an island school; the level of pupils required for a one teacher island school to get a second teacher; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20578/13]

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

105. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of pupils in each offshore island school, not connected by bridge to the mainland, on the 30 of September 2012; the number of classroom teachers attached to each school; the number of general learning support hours allocated to each school; the number of resource hours allocated to each school; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20579/13]

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

I propose to take Questions Nos. 104 and 105 together.

Teacher allocations are approved annually in accordance with established rules based on recognised pupil enrolment. My Department has published the staffing arrangements at primary level for the 2013/14 school year in Circular 0013/2013 which is available on the Department's website. This includes the appointment and retention figures (Appendix A) and the GAM/EAL - learning/language support allocation (Appendix C) for all schools. The number of pupils required for all one teacher primary schools to gain a second classroom teacher is 17 pupils.

Within the staffing arrangements there is special provision for island schools to retain the second or third classroom teaching post where the school is the only primary school remaining on the island. This special provision means that unlike the generality of schools in the event that a reduction in the pupil numbers of an island school will result in the loss of the second or third classroom teaching post in the school, the post may be retained subject to certain pupil retention levels.

In the case of the second mainstream post the total number of pupils must be at 8 or above and the school must be the only primary school remaining on the island. For all other primary schools this figure is currently 17 pupils. In the case of the third classroom post the total number of pupils must be at 45 or above and the school must be the only primary school remaining on the island. For all other primary schools this figure is currently 54 pupils. This information is set out at Section 3 of Circular 0013/2013. There is detailed historical information contained in the Statistics Section of my Department's website relating to the number of pupils and teaching posts in schools. The most recent published information relates to the 2011/2012 school year and is available at . Figures for the 2012/2013 academic year are currently being compiled and will be available during the summer of 2013. The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs) is responsible for processing applications from schools for special educational needs supports. The resource hours allocation for each school is published on the NCSE website.