Vol. 557 No. 5
129 Mr. Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the recent INTO call for action to assist schools in areas of high deprivation, particularly in relation to the size of classes. [22769/02]
An Agreed Programme for Government sets out a commitment to continue to reduce the pupil teacher ratio in our schools, to progressively introduce maximum class guidelines which will ensure that the average size of classes for children in junior classes will be below international best-practice guidelines of 20:1 and to implement changes to retention and support policies which will assist schools in areas of significant disadvantage to recruit and retain teachers. I have asked officials of my Department to examine how best this commitment can be implemented over the next five years and to consult with the partners in education in that regard. On completion of the examination and consultation process, decisions will be taken as to the appropriate implementation measures and the timing of their introduction.
