Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 24 May 1995

Vol. 453 No. 4

Adjournment Debate. - Remedial Teacher Appointment.

Mr. S. Kenny

I thank the Chair for allowing me to raise this matter and the Minister of State for coming in to reply.

St. Francis senior national school was built in 1980 when the Priorswood and Clonshaugh area was developing. Prior to 1980 there were approximately 500 owner-occupied homes in the area. In the early 1980s Dublin Corporation built two estates in the area, Moatview and Fairfield, comprising about 600 houses in total. It also developed a small group housing scheme for the travelling community at Cara Park and a halting site at Belcamp Lane.

The number of children on the roll at St. Francis senior national school at present is fewer than half the number on the roll in the early 1980s. There are a number of apparent reasons for this. First, a large number of children in the area now attend post-primary level. Second, 11 per cent of children attending the school are from the travelling community at Cara Park and Belcamp Lane. Third, there has been an increasing trend for children leaving the junior school to go to a senior national school outside the area. This compounds the problem for the senior national school as it is usually the brighter children who leave.

There is also a high level of unemployment in the local authority estates with the consequent disadvantage and deprivation. As in many other similar areas of Dublin city and throughout the country there is a serious and growing drug addiction problem.

Recently the principal at St. Francis senior national school carried out a special Sigma T mathematics test for the third and fifth classes. The results of this test showed that over 50 per cent of the children were below the cut off point for children in need of remedial help. They also demonstrated that over 17 per cent were seen to be in acute need of remedial help.

At present the remedial teachers allocated to the St. Francis senior national school can only cater for remedial English pupils. One of these teachers provides instruction in remedial reading and literacy in fourth, fifth and sixth classes while the second remedial teacher who is shared with the junior school provides instruction in remedial reading and literacy in third class.

Because of the special factors pertaining to this school it may not qualify under the standard criteria used by the Department of Education in determining whether a school is entitled to a second remedial teacher and, therefore, I ask the Minister to treat it as a special case.

Minister of State at the Department of Education (Mr. Allen)

I thank Deputy Seán Kenny for having raised this matter in the House and am pleased to inform him that a second special teacher for travellers was recently sanctioned for St. Francis senior national school.

As indicated to the House in the past, remedial education at primary level is a matter in the first instance for ordinary class teachers. Therefore, the majority of pupils with remedial needs would be helped within the scope of the normal teaching service.

However, it is acknowledged that remedial teachers constitute the main additional resource for addressing the problem of under achievement in primary schools.

Substantial additional resources have been allocated to this area in recent years. In 1994, an additional 100 remedial teachers were appointed to primary schools when 350 schools with approximately 34,000 pupils benefited from this allocation. This brought the total number of remedial teachers in place to 1,133. Of the 3,209 ordinary national schools throughout the country, approximately 2,061 now have the services of a remedial teacher, either full-time or on a shared basis.

My colleague, the Minister for Education, recently announced her intention to appoint an additional 55 remedial teachers in the current year. Decisions in relation to the allocation of these posts will be made shortly following the collection and analysis of information from schools by the Department's primary inspectorate. The posts will then be allocated on the basis of priority of need, as indicated by the information collected.

Of the 408 ordinary national schools in County Dublin, 378 now have the services of a remedial teacher, either on a full-time or shared basis. This includes 20 schools allocated a remedial service in the current school year as part of the recent distribution of posts. This means that 97 per cent of pupils attending ordinary national schools in County Dublin currently enjoy a remedial service.

I can assure the Deputy that the needs of St. Francis senior national school, Priorswood, will be considered in the context of the allocation of remedial posts in 1995.