Seanad Éireann debate -
Thursday, 2 Dec 1993

Vol. 138 No. 10

Adjournment Matter. - Clonsilla (Dublin) School Post.

Mrs. McGennis

I thank the Minister for taking this item on the Adjournment. The area I represent at local authority level covers approximately six parishes and some rural hinterland. Four of the six parishes are designated as CODAN by Dublin County Council. As a previous member of the council the Minister knows exactly what that means. St. Philip's senior national school, Mountview, is in one of these parishes and is also designated by the Minister's Department as disadvantaged. It is located in an area which has an unemployment rate of in excess of 70 per cent. According to the school's principal, alcohol, drug abuse, domestic violence, crime and vandalism are major influences on the daily lives of the pupils. I know the Minister feels very strongly about the fact that a significant percentage of the pupils come to school hungry and that several of them come to school without parental assistance.

The principal made an application to the Minister for an additional remedial teacher and a home-school liaison officer. It is an area of huge social disadvantage and great problems. It is also an area in which there are tremendously active groups doing great work but it is vital that the children at Mountview school get the opportunity early on to break the cycle of disadvantage. The principal said that joyriding is a nightly occurrence and that pupils regularly witness serious antisocial activities. Many of the pupils come from homes where parents are illiterate or semiliterate. Some parents are lacking in the social and domestic skills necessary for family life and the principal states that in support of the need for the additional teachers in his school.

The school also provides a travellers' class on the school premises and is to be commended for that. The principal feels that liaison between the school and parents is necessary for preparing the children for confirmation, parent teacher meetings and other significant matters. There is a huge number of traveller families in the greater Blanchardstown area. Once again it is vital to make some inroad into the special problems that traveller children and women experience and to do it at an early stage in the education of the children.

The principal also states that a special class for pupils with literacy and numeracy difficulties commenced in the school on 1 September and there are 15 pupils in the class. He also states in correspondence to the Minister the number of pupils availing of remedial teaching. There are 45 pupils from third and fourth class receiving regular remedial attention in English and another 55 pupils are in need of remedial attention. It is vital that the school gets the support to ensure that these children are provided with the best form of education the State can give.

Tests showed that the pupils have a reading age of two years — or more — less than their chronological age. Testing in January 1993 showed that 80 pupils required remedial attention in maths and 29 pupils are currently being sent for assessment for literacy, numeracy and behavioural difficulties.

I know the Minister is very sympathetic to the needs of these areas in particular. I hope that she will be able to respond favourably. Although I did not mention it in my Adjournment matter, I spoke to the principal who told me that they now have an additional problem. The enrolment figure in his school has dropped to 355 which is below the requirement figure of 370 to retain the present teachers. That is without the additional appointments I am asking the Minister to consider.

Next September the school will face a reduction in its teaching staff, despite the fact that the enrolment figure will increase to 390. In addition to the request for a remedial teacher and a home-school liaison teacher, it is vital the school retains its present allocation of teachers. The Minister is aware of the disadvantage to which I refer and the need which exists in this regard, she has a particular approach to her ministry and has identified these children as a priority. This matter must be considered in the immediate future. Although the number of enrolments will increase to 390 next September, the principal said the school will lose a teacher because enrolments did not reach a certain level last September and this will place it at a considerable disadvantage.

Although I extended the area which I asked the Minister to examine, I ask her to consider the request for a remedial teacher and a home-school liaison teacher. I am a member of the board of a community school in the Corduff area and the appointment of a home-school liaison teacher has been successful. The practice in the inner city and in the county where the Garda acted as the school inspector was counterproductive in getting children to school. The appointment of a school-liaison teacher as a link between the family and the school is vital. I ask the Minister to favourably consider the application for these teachers. However, the school must retain its existing quota of teachers, otherwise class sizes will exceed 30 pupils. As a teacher, the Minister will appreciate the difficulties the teachers face. I hope she will respond to the two requests and that regulations will not tie her into reducing the quota of teachers.

Minister for Education (Ms Bhreathnach)

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

However, we must acknowledge that remedial teachers constitute the main additional resource for addressing the problem of under-achievement in primary schools. It was with this in mind that 86 posts were created and allocated for remedial purposes under the commitment in the Programme for a Partnership Government. These appointments were made following the collection of information from schools. The posts were then allocated on the basis of priority need, as indicated by the information collected.

There were applications from more than 1,100 schools for these posts and, in all, 308 schools benefited from the allocation. This included 20 schools in Dublin to which a total of 11 remedial posts were allocated in the current year. This brings to 1,033 the total number of remedial teachers operating in the primary school sector at present. Of the 3,209 ordinary national schools in the country, 1,700 have the services of a remedial teacher, either on a full-time or shared basis. As a result of the recent allocation of posts, 77 per cent of primary school pupils have access to remedial education.

At this stage, all primary schools with enrolments above 362 pupils, which sought remedial service, have at least one remedial teacher and many smaller schools have the service on a shared basis. This allows for a visit at least one day each week and in a remote rural community this is more than the allocation in the past. Some 352 schools in Dublin now have access to the service and it embraces 94 per cent of primary schools in the area. I take the Senator's point about CODAN areas and remedial services are available there.

The school referred to by the Senator currently has the services of a full-time remedial teacher as well as a concessionary teacher under the disadvantaged scheme. This means the teacher quota rate is one above that in schools outside the CODAN area. The appointment of further remedial teachers will be kept under regular review as part of a broader commitment to provide a substantial number of additional remedial teachers in the coming years. I assure the Senator that the needs of the school referred to will be taken into account in this context.

The home-school-community liaison scheme was established in 1990 as a three year pilot project. It is one of a number of initiatives aimed at addressing the problems of under-achievement and marginalisation of young people as well as poor participation in education in areas of socio-economic disadvantage. I am satisfied the scheme has since proved its value and for this reason, I recently announced a decision to put the scheme on a formal footing which will allow us to extend it to other areas.

At present there are 106 primary schools and 38 post primary schools in the scheme, embracing a total of 55,000 pupils. This includes 27 primary schools and 12 post-primary schools newly included in the scheme in 1993. The scheme now has a total of 98 locally based co-ordinators working under the direction of a national co-ordinator. Each co-ordinator is responsible for an area and acts in support of local schools in establishing contact with parents, encouraging them to become involved in their children's education, organising locally based activities which contribute to closer contact between parents and teachers and establishing links with pre-school groups in an area. A national steering committee, comprised of experts in this field, advises on the overall direction and focus of the scheme, it is being constantly monitored. I received a positive response to the scheme and I welcome the Senator's comments in this regard. The Programme for a Partnership Government contains a commitment to developing a nationwide service and additional posts were allocated in September. I assure the House of my commitment to further developing this scheme.

The case of the school in question will be fully considered. I accept the urgency of the situation which caused the Senator to raise a supplementary question to the debate. However, I came to the House without the information referred to by the Senator. At present the school has a principal, 12 assistants, one ex-quota concessionary teacher and one full-time remedial teacher. The school also has two special assistants responsible for a special class for travellers and mildly mentally handicapped pupils, an initiative welcomed by the Department. Current enrolment at the school totals 353 pupils and I take the point about the required level of 362. This matter will be kept under review and we will keep in constant touch with the principal. I thank you, a Chathaoirligh, for the opportunity to come to this House.

Mrs. McGennis

I thank the Minister for dealing with this matter sympathetically. She also recognised the situation in the school and I am sure she will continue to do so. I might raise the matter relating to the possible loss of a teacher with the Minister in the future. I agree that remedial education should start with the class teacher. If the school can retain that teacher, perhaps it will not look for a remedial teacher.

The Seanad adjourned at 4.30 p.m. until 2.30 p.m. on Wednesday, 8 December 1993.