Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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73. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 200 of 24 October 2024, if she will ensure that a teaching post is retained in a school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45470/24]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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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 includes an appeals mechanism for schools to submit a staffing appeal under certain published criteria.

The school referred to by the Deputy was successful in their appeal to the March meeting of the Primary Staffing Appeals Board and was informed that the additional post was provisional on the school achieving an enrolment of 78 on 30 September 2024. The school did not achieve the required enrolment and so the school was informed that the post would be suppressed at the end of October, in accordance with the arrangements for provisional posts set out in the primary staffing arrangements.

The school submitted a further appeal to the October meeting of the Primary Staffing Appeals Board but the appeal was deemed ineligible as the school’s appeal did not meet the eligibility criteria for appeal. The appeal criteria which requires schools to reach the required enrolment by last day of term in December applies only to those schools which were allocated a Projected Enrolment Post which is not the case with this school. The Primary Staffing Appeals Board operates independently of the Department and its decision is final.

The primary staffing schedule is a long-standing feature of the primary allocation system which ensures fairness and transparency in the allocation of mainstream class teachers across our primary schools. It is an important feature of the primary schedule that staffing levels remain aligned with actual student numbers in schools. The staffing appeals process is in place to allow schools the opportunity to appeal their teacher allocation, ensuring fairness and consistency.