Written answers

Tuesday, 8 July 2014

Department of Education and Skills

Pupil-Teacher Ratio

Photo of Dominic HanniganDominic Hannigan (Meath East, Labour)
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253. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the action he will take to deal with the fact that County Meath has the second highest pupil-teacher ratio in the country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29412/14]

Photo of Dominic HanniganDominic Hannigan (Meath East, Labour)
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256. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the action he will take to deal with the fact that County Meath has the second highest pupil-teacher ratio in the country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29434/14]

Photo of Ruairi QuinnRuairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 253 and 256 together.

We have a growing population of young people in this country and despite the difficult financial circumstances we face as a country, we prioritised education so that the number of teachers we have in the system has also grown in order to protect pupil teacher ratios. There are a thousand more teachers employed in schools around the country this school year, than there was the year before. While there has been a moratorium on recruitment across other sectors in the public service, this has not applied to teaching and shows the commitment this Government has to educating our future generations.

The Department of Education and Skills key statistics for the 2013/14 academic year show that the number of children attending school has increased by 9,895 at primary level and 4,331 at post-primary (excluding PLCs). Despite these massive rises, pupil teacher ratios at primary school have dropped slightly from 16.4 to 16.3, while they have remained constant at second level at 13.9.

The primary level statistics on class size data for the 2013/14 school year show the national average class size is 24.8 pupils. With over 21,000 classes in over 3,100 primary schools throughout the country there will always be variations in class sizes at individual school level.

The primary staffing schedule currently operates on the basis of a general average of 1 classroom teacher for every 28 pupils, with lower thresholds for DEIS Band 1 schools. It includes the provision where schools experiencing rapid increases in enrolment can apply for additional permanent mainstream posts on developing grounds. In addition, a staffing appeals process is available to schools, including a new criterion for 2014/15 aimed at schools which make a significant contribution to absorbing demographic growth.

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