Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent)
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206. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will review the staffing figures for the retention and appointment for schools with three to four teachers, to ensure that both figures are the same; if she will confirm the number of schools that would have benefitted in 2014 and 2015 if the appointment threshold had been reduced by three to the retention threshold; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33667/15]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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The criteria used for the allocation of teaching posts is published annually on the Department website. The key factor for determining the level of staffing resources provided at individual school level is the staffing schedule for the relevant school year and pupil enrolments on the previous 30 September. The staffing arrangements for primary schools for the 2015/16 school year are set out in Department Circular 0005/2015 which is available on my Department's website. The Deputy will be aware that I announced some improvements in the staffing schedule for small primary schools in February 2015. These changes were introduced to better support the sustainability of small schools and particularly those in isolated areas and were the only changes that I made to the staffing arrangements for schools for the 2015/16 school year.

These improvements are improved retention thresholds for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th classroom teacher and also the improved appointment and retention thresholds for isolated one-teacher schools.

These improvements particularly recognise the challenges faced by very small schools that are more than 8km from the next nearest school of the same type.

This package of measures will provide rural communities with security about the future of their small schools, recognising the essential social function which small schools can play, especially in isolated communities.

The Deputy has sought information on what the impact of these improvements would be for the 2014/15 school year if they were applicable to the last school year. The improvements came into effect from 1 September 2015. There is no scope within my Department to do the detailed analysis requested by the Deputy in relation to the 2014/15 school year given that the focus is now on the staffing and redeployment arrangements for the coming school year.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent)
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207. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated number of posts to be created by doubling the release time for teaching principals; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33668/15]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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Principal duties in medium to large sized schools are carried out by administrative principals. Principal duties in small to medium sized schools are carried out by teaching principals.

Circular 25/02 which is available on the Department website outlines the number of days that teaching principals may take as release time in a school year in order to assist them fulfilling their principal duties. Under these arrangements my Department pays for a substitute teacher to be employed by a school to facilitate administrative functions to be undertaken by the teaching principal. Under the current arrangements the number of days that principal teachers may take as release time in each school year ranges between 14 and 22 days depending on the size of the school.

The level of substitution required to facilitate doubling release time for teaching principals is estimated to be of the equivalent of about 170 posts.

I am aware of the workload issue and the pressures on Principals teachers. My Department has done work at helping to ease the administrative burden on school principals. The development and introduction of the primary online database is a significant step forward in this regard. A further step forward was the publication recently of Department Circular 0033/2015 which updates and simplifies the manner in which primary schools can maintain pupil enrolment and attendance records following the introduction of the primary online database.

Economic constraints and the moratorium on recruitment albeit alleviated to some extent for schools, have presented challenges within the education sector. They also provide an opportunity to review the role of the principal so that our principals are leaders of learning, and to reconfigure the middle management structure to support principals in their role, ensuring ownership of responsibility rather than tasks, thereby building expertise and supporting a career path within the profession.

The Department, in consultation with the representative management bodies has commenced an exploration of the opportunities to support and thereby advance our understanding of the needs of school leaders and how they might be addressed.