Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 2 May 2001

Vol. 535 No. 2

Adjournment Debate. - School Staffing.

Mr. Broughan:

I thank the Chair, and the Minister of State for coming in. I am disappointed that my constituency colleague, the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Michael Woods, is not here.

For much of the past few months we have had major discussions about the huge cost of Sports Campus Ireland. Constituents rightly believe that health, education and local sports facilities should take priority over the Taoiseach's obsession. A good example of the Government's mixed-up priorities is the reason for this Adjournment debate. Two outstanding and much-loved schools in Dublin North-East are each faced with the loss of a member of their teaching staff because they marginally missed getting the required number of students last September. Both schools will be severely hampered in their vital work for the parishes of Baldoyle and Sutton. The Minister must review the situation urgently.

The first of the schools is St. Peter and Paul's Boys' national school, Brookstown Road, Baldoyle, an excellent primary school. It is now faced with the loss of its tenth assistant teaching post for the 2001-02 academic year. The school currently has 263 pupils with a junior infant intake of 41. Between senior infants and fifth class, class sizes range from 28 to 39 pupils, much higher than the pupil-teacher ratio claimed by the Government. Retaining the tenth post would mean that the clear demand for enrolment at junior infant level would be met and it would go some way towards alleviating the effects for the other pupils in very large classes.

Baldoyle parish is part of the Northside Partnership area, a partnership of which I am proud to be a director and chairperson of its education sub-committee. The local parish development agency, the Baldoyle forum, has identified early education as a key factor in lifting parts of the parish out of deprivation. For this reason, St. Peter and Paul's has been included in the new programme for pupils in primary schools from disadvantaged backgrounds. Baldoyle parish is also expected to have a massive upsurge in population over the coming years. The local Baldoyle action area plan, currently before Fingal County Council, provides for an additional 2,600 new homes while an extra 10,000 to 30,000 homes are planned for the adjoining areas of Donaghmede and Portmarnock. Key services are currently being installed in these designated areas, and construction should begin within two years.

St. Fintan's national school, Carrickbrack Road, Sutton, is also a wonderful school which has always been at the heart of social activities and developments in Sutton parish. The prospect of losing a teaching post in St. Fintan's for the next academic year will mean that the junior infant class will have at least 35 children, which is completely unsatisfactory from the viewpoint of pupils, teachers and parents. It will also mean that some children, including siblings of pupils already attending St. Fintan's, will be refused places in the school and the school's future capacity to service a growing community will be restricted.

Sutton parish, which adjoins Baldoyle, is also a steadily growing community. Many new and young families have settled in the area in the past few years and over 175 children attend pre-school facilities in the immediate area. St. Fintan's is at the start of a growth cycle, but is now being judged only on the number of applicant children in 2000. The school has applications from over 50 children this year, many of whom are siblings of children currently at St. Fintan's. Some of these will not gain entry and will, therefore, have to apply to attend schools elsewhere, thus placing added stress and strain on already hard-pressed families where often both parents work.

The Minister, Deputy Woods, personally opened the new St. Fintan's national school in 1982 in one of his many periods of ministerial office. It would be ironic if, as Minister for Education and Science, he allowed a situation where, through losing a teaching post for 2001-02, a massive blow would be dealt to this excellent school and its marvellous work for the people of Sutton.

The loss of these key teaching positions from September 2001 will be a serious setback for the educational work of St. Peter and Paul's Boys' national school, Baldoyle and St. Fintan's national school, Sutton. I strongly urge my con stituency colleague, Minister Woods, to reconsider these decisions and, for the reasons I have outlined, to maintain the staff numbers in both of these fine schools.

Mr. O'Dea:

I apologise for the absence of the Minister, Deputy Woods, who is attending a meeting of school managers in Killarney.

The staffing of a primary school for a particular year is determined by reference to the number of pupils enrolled on 30 September of the previous year. The actual number of mainstream posts sanctioned is determined by reference to a staffing schedule. The staffing schedule is determined for a particular year following discussions with the managerial authorities of primary schools and the INTO. A further 350 new posts have been allocated to primary schools for the coming school year. These posts, together with those arising from the demographic dividend, will mean significant improvements in the staffing schedule and the overall pupil teacher ratio in primary schools.

The improvements in the next school year will include: additional staffing, following the introduction of the new administrative principal arrangements; a reduction in the appointment and retention figures for the second, third, fourth and fifth mainstream class teachers; and the allocation of further posts to tackle educational disadvantage within the terms of the new programme, Giving Children an Even Break.

The position in relation to St. Peter and Paul's Boys National School, Baldoyle, is that the enrolment of the school on 30 September 2000 was 262 pupils which warrants a staffing for the 2001-2002 school year of a principal and nine mainstream class teachers. The school also has the services of a learning support teacher.

The board of management of the school is seeking the retention of the tenth mainstream class teacher on the basis that the enrolment of the school for September 2001 is projected to increase.

The board of management made representations last year regarding an increase in enrolment at the school for the current school year. The increase in enrolment did not occur and it declined by one pupil between 30 September 1999 and 30 September 2000. Accordingly, under the guidelines agreed with the managerial representatives of schools and the INTO, the present figures entitle the school to nine mainstream class teachers.

The enrolment at St. Fintans' on 30 September 1999 was 367 pupils which warranted a staffing for the current school year of a principal and 13 mainstream class teachers. The school also has the services of a learning support teacher. The enrolment declined to 350 pupils on 30 September 2000. This enrolment warrants a staffing of a principal plus 12 mainstream class teachers for the 2001-2002 school year. The principal of the school has indicated that the enrolment of the school will increase in September 2001. The only criteria by which a school in which enrolments are increasing may possibly gain an additional teaching post, apart from the numbers as determined by reference to the enrolment on 30 September of the previous year, is what is called "developing school" status.

The "developing school" criteria for the 2001-2002 school year are outlined in circular letter 12/2001, a copy of which the board of management of the school will receive in the next few days. To satisfy the criteria as outlined in the circular letter, the enrolment of St. Fintans' school on 30 September 2001 would have to increase by at least 30 pupils over the number enrolled on 30 September 2000. Accordingly, the school would require an enrolment of at least 380 pupils on 30 September 2001.

If the board of management of either school is confident they can satisfy the criteria for "developing school" status, they should apply to the primary payments branch of the Department of Education and Science for the allocation of a teaching post.