Carol Nolan (Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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147. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated costs of restoring positions of responsibility to primary schools and to secondary schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34232/16]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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There are limited alleviation arrangements in place for schools that are acutely affected by the impact of the moratorium at Assistant Principal level. These arrangements are mainly focused at post-primary level. However, it is fair to say that before the moratorium, notwithstanding the fact that one out of every two teachers held a management allowance the workload issue and the pressures on Principals and Deputy Principals existed. The estimated cost of lifting the moratorium on posts of responsibility and restoring them to pre-moratorium levels would be in the order of €50m.

School leaders have a key role to play in determining the shape of our schools and student outcomes. Leading on curricular change and change management are key challenges for every school leader. The challenge for schools and the Department is therefore to build a leadership partnership that is fit for 21st century Ireland and school context.

We have reviewed 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.

Budget 2016 provided 250 posts to second level schools to enable Deputy Principals to be freed up from teaching time and be more fully available to assist the school principal with the leadership of the school. At primary level Budget 2016 provided for additional release days for teaching principals to range between 15 and 25 days depending on the size of the school and effective from the start of the 2016-17 school year. 

Budget 2017 has provided for the equivalent of 170 additional posts to second level schools to employ an additional Deputy Principal to assist the school principal with the leadership of the school. With effect from September 2017, schools with pupil enrolment in excess of 700 will be allocated additional Deputy Principal posts.

Budget 2017 also provides for the commencement of the restoration of middle management posts to lift the rigidity of the longstanding moratorium on these posts in both the primary and post-primary sector. A Department circular will issue in early January in relation to these new arrangements.

Strengthening leadership is schools is a serious issue and these announcements provide additional resources to focus on leadership and management in our schools.