Written Answers. - School Staffing.
Ivan Yates
Question:
220
Mr. Yates
asked the
Minister for Education
if a primary school (details supplied) in County Wexford can be granted the appointment of a special teacher, such as a resource teacher, or be given disadvantaged status so that they can retain the individual teacher that they are due to lose for a period of just one year due to the fall in enrolment numbers, in view of the fact that another member of staff is due to retire a year later; and if special arrangements will be made for this school.
The staffing of a national school is determined by the enrolment in the school on 30 September of the previous year. In the case of the school referred to by the Deputy, there were 131 pupils enrolled on 30 September 1992, which warrants a staff of principal plus four assistants for the 1993-94 school year. The school also has the services of a remedial teacher on a shared basis.
There were 121 pupils enrolled in the school on 30 September 1993, which warrants a staff of principal plus three assistants for the 1994-95 school year. The school would have needed an enrolment of at least 127 pupils in order to retain the post of fourth assistant in 1994-95.
The only exceptions that can be made from the agreed staffing arrangements are in the case of developing schools or where my Department's guidelines on maximum class sizes are being breached. If the school authorities feel that the school may qualify under either of these exceptions, my Department will be happy to examine the position on receipt of projected enrolment details.
I am aware that the school in question applied for inclusion in the disadvantaged areas scheme.
Schools are selected for inclusion in this scheme on the basis of priority of need as reflected by a range of socioeconomic criteria.
Factors taken into account include the incidence of unemployment, local authority housing and medical card holders among the parents of the children concerned. Account is also taken of the views of the Department's inspectorate on the relative levels of need between applicant schools.
As I recently announced in the context of the 1994 education budget, an additional 55 schools have been designated as disadvantaged for capitation grant purposes in the current year.
I regret that the school in question did not rate high enough on the priority list for inclusion in the disadvantaged areas scheme on this occasion.
The role of the resource teacher is to act in support of ordinary teaching staff in dealing with the special needs of children with disabilities attending ordinary classes.
The approval of resource teacher posts in a particular year is governed by the teaching resources available in that year. Where such posts are available, they are allocated on the basis of priority of need, following the collection of data from schools by my Department's primary inspectorate.
My Department has not received an application for a resource teacher post from the school mentioned by the Deputy.
