Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 25 Feb 1997

Vol. 475 No. 4

Adjournment Debate. - Clare Remedial Teacher Appointments.

Miss de Valera

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to raise this very important matter on the Adjournment. There is much concern in County Clare about the lack of remedial school teachers and the failure to appoint even one remedial teacher last year. Of the 346 teachers available for redeployment, 170 were utilised in the implementation of the Breaking the Cycle scheme which is ineffective in rural areas.

When dealing with the issue of remedial teaching, one must look at the definition of the word "disadvantage" which has one meaning in an urban area but a different meaning in a rural area. The disadvantage in rural areas may relate not to socio-economic issues but to learning difficulties.

We all realise the need for remedial teaching. It is not just the educational benefits which accrue from such remedial help; the psychological and emotional benefits are incalculable with the raising of self-esteem and the general confidence which accrues to pupils who are given the little extra help they need and which teachers, given the circumstances they have to face in the classroom, are unable to give due to the many other pressures on their time.

It is only fair to recognise the tremendous standard of teaching in this country. Teachers would be the first to say they wish to see a proper remedial system to aid the kind of work they wish to do and the even higher standards they wish their students to achieve.

It is important to realise that rural schools are the basis of any community. We are talking here about a very fundamental element in keeping a community together. If we are not prepared to look at remedial teaching, and any other education resource which is necessary for small schools, we are doing a whole generation a very great disservice.

I was at a meeting in County Clare last night at which six schools were represented — Ogonaloe, Broadford, Kilbane, Bodyke, O'Callaghan's Mills and Tuamgraney national schools. The meeting was very well attended, not only by public representatives of all shades of political opinion, but also by parents and teachers. The one thread running through the meeting was that they felt they were being discriminated against because they were rural schools in that their children were not being given the same opportunities as children in urban centres.

I realise the importance of remedial teaching and I hope the situation in Clare is immediately addressed by the Minister for Education. Her recognition that Clare is one of the worst in terms of a lack of remedial teaching would be of help in the sense that once the situation is recognised we can begin to address it.

Out of 124 primary schools in County Clare, 57 have no remedial service. The Minister may argue that a remedial teacher can service a number of schools but we recognise that the ideal is to have a remedial teacher in each school. However, we must be practical and acknowledge that there must be a transitional period during which the schools I mentioned would have the services of one remedial teacher to begin with, and the need for further remedial teachers to deal with this great problem in the county would be recognised by the Minister.

We have every reason to be proud of our education system but we must put an emphasis on primary education. We all want to see improvements at second and third levels but the greatest emphasis must be on primary education because that not only gives young people an opportunity to develop educationally but also emotionally and psychologically, and it gives them the opportunity to be better citizens.

Mr. Deenihan

The Minister for Education is not in a position at present to make remedial teacher posts available to the primary school sector. As has been indicated to the House in the past, remedial education at primary level is a matter, in the first instance, for the ordinary class teachers. The majority of pupils with remedial needs would, therefore, 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 1995, an additional 55 remedial teachers were appointed to primary schools and 223 schools benefited from this allocation. This brought the total number of remedial teachers in place to 1,188. Of the 3,209 ordinary national schools throughout the country, approximately 2,285 now have the services of a remedial teacher, either on a full-time or shared basis.

At this stage, 87 per cent of the pupils in our primary schools have the possibility of access to a remedial teacher. This is a big improvement on the position when the Minister for Education took office in 1993, when 77 per cent of pupils had the possibility of such access. It is a matter of regret to the Minister that it is not possible at present to meet the needs of all pupils for remedial teaching as, unfortunately, she does not have unlimited resources.

Of the 122 ordinary national schools in County Clare, 63, with an enrolment of 8,941 pupils on 30 September 1995, have the services of a remedial teacher, either on a full-time or shared basis, available to them. This includes five schools allocated a remedial service with effect from the commencement of the 1995-6 school year as part of the distribution of 55 posts. These posts were allocated on the basis of priority of need following the collection and analysis of information from the schools by the Department's primary inspectorate, and having consideration to data submitted by schools. This means that 73 per cent of pupils attending ordinary national schools in County Clare currently enjoy access to a remedial service.

It is important that such a substantial resource should be used to best effect and deployed in line with evolving need. The Minister considers it is now appropriate to carry out a review of all these posts to ensure they are being used in the most efficient and effective manner. Remedial teachers are allocated to schools to enable them to reduce the numbers of those pupils who might have difficulties in learning literacy and mathematical skills and to support schools in teaching those who experience serious problems in acquiring these skills. Research, for example the IEA English Reading Survey 1993, indicates that between 6.5 per cent and 9 per cent of pupils at 11 years of age, or fifth class, and at 14 years of age have serious learning problems in those areas. The focus of the remedial teachers' work should be on those pupils who have the greatest needs, both in terms of prevention and remediation.

An initial survey carried out by the Department's inspectorate in 1995 has raised concerns that some pupils may be receiving remedial teaching who do not need it. This suggests there needs to be a much sharper focus on ensuring that the service is targeted at those who need it most. The key target group would be the lowest functioning 10 per cent of pupils.

The survey has demonstrated there is a serious need to ensure the existing provision is correctly targeted. There is a need to place much greater emphasis on preventative strategies in schools. There is a need to focus on early identification strategies and differentiated teaching.

The Department has arranged, in consultation with the education partners, to commence a comprehensive remedial education study in 1997. The study will survey principal teachers and remedial teachers focusing on the number of pupils attending remedial classes; the criteria for inclusion in, and withdrawal from, remedial classes; the organisation of remedial teaching in schools; the development and implementation of policy on remedial teaching in schools; record keeping and reporting. The study will review the instructional programmes of pupils in remedial classes, examine the progress made by pupils receiving remedial teaching and analyse data on remedial education participation.

The Minister regards this study, which it is hoped to have completed by the end of 1997, as an enormously important step in basing future advances in the remedial service on up to date research, knowledge of precisely how the current remedial provision operates and knowledge of precisely what progress has been made by pupils. This research, to be conducted by the Education Research Centre in co-operation with the partners in education, will inform further advances in remedial provision throughout our schools.

The Minister for Education has indicated to the House her intention to review the needs in this area and consider how best these needs can be addressed within available resources. When she is in a position to further extend the remediation service, all national schools in County Clare which have applied for a remedial service will receive every consideration.