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Seanad Éireann debate -
Thursday, 15 May 1997

Vol. 151 No. 12

Adjournment Matter. - Assistant Teacher Post.

I wish to raise an issue related to Scoil Cholmcille, Letterkenny, County Donegal. I visited the school recently and the principal and teachers are concerned that the eighteenth assistant teacher has been placed on the diocesan panel. On 30 September 1996 the school was one pupil short of the retention number required. They would have needed 541 pupils but they only had 540. The present enrolment is 544. It seems ludicrous for the school to lose a valued teacher. It will lead to the school having more mixed classes than it would wish with a corresponding concern for parents that the children in the mixed classes, that is third and fourth classes, are at a disadvantage. The school applied for disadvantaged status last year which unfortunately it did not obtain. I raised the matter in the House. It lost a teacher and it does not welcome the prospect of losing one this year.

Scoil Cholmcille has an increasing number of children from dysfunctional families and situations of social and financial deprivation and inadequate parenting. In many cases the children have poor home environments. I am concerned at the increasing number of children attending the school who are in need of remedial help. Letterkenny has experienced phenomenal growth over the past few years. Such unplanned and largely unforeseen growth has brought with it all the social problems associated with a major growth area. We have our share of difficulties with crime, vandalism, one parent families, poor housing, high rents, drug related problems and so on. Scoil Cholmcille has its fair share of children with problems. It is one of the few schools with a resource teacher and it has been burdened by the influx of students from other schools without such a service. This places an extra load on the resource teacher.

The school does not want to lose a teacher. I ask the Minister for Education to ensure that, although its enrolment may be one short of the number required, Scoil Cholmcille is allowed to retain its eighteenth assistant teacher to give the pupils the help and support they need.

Limerick East): Before I discuss the specific case of Scoil Cholmcille, I take the opportunity to draw the Senator's attention to the manner in which the staffing allocation for primary schools is determined. In accordance with an agreement entered into in the 1980s between the Government and the INTO, the staffing of a national school for any particular year is determined by reference to the enrolment of the school on 30 September of the previous year. Arising from this agreement a staffing schedule is drafted annually. The schedule sets out the relevant enrolment which schools must have attained on 30 September of the previous year in order to qualify for extra teaching staff. Likewise, the schedule specifies the minimum enrolment required to retain teaching posts.

The staffing schedule has been amended for the 1997-98 school year. The retention figure for the eighteenth assistant teacher has been reduced from 552 to 541. However, as the Senator is probably aware, enrolments at primary level have declined nationwide. Therefore, some schools will not benefit from the significant improvements resulting from the new staffing schedule. The enrolment at Scoil Cholmcille on 30 September 1996 was 540 pupils. This enrolment warrants the staffing for the 1997-98 school year of a principal and 17 assistant teachers. Therefore, the eighteenth assistant's post will be suppressed at the end of the current school year. In addition to the staffing which I mentioned, this school has the services of a remedial teacher, a special additional assistant to cater for pupils with special needs and a shared resource teacher.

The staffing arrangements can be deviated from in two circumstances only. First, when a school experiences rapid growth in its enrolment. Broadly speaking, rapid growth is defined as an increase of 30 pupils in the enrolment of a school in one year relative to that of the previous year. Second, when a school is in breach of maximum class size guidelines. A maximum class of 35 applies in the case of a single grade class group and 34 in the case of a class group with two consecutive grades.

If the managerial authorities at Scoil Cholmcille are unable to manage the enrolment in September 1997 within the recommended guidelines, it is open to them to contact the Department of Education on the matter.

The Seanad adjourned at 5.30 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Friday, 16 May 1997.

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