Seanad Éireann debate -
Thursday, 24 May 2001

Vol. 166 No. 17

Adjournment Matters. - School Staffing.

Mr. Glennon

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Cullen, and thank him for taking the time to deal with this issue. The issue I wish to raise relates to the staffing levels at St. Patrick's senior school in Skerries. I do not think anybody envies the Minister's task in ensuring adequate staffing levels at all our educational establishments. I readily acknowledge the necessity for a code of rules to try to provide a semblance of order to this thorny question which must cause great headaches at this time of year. I would, however, submit that the real test of any code of rules is the capacity of that code of rules to deal with anomalous, or extraordinary, situations that arise. It is from that angle I wish to approach the issue at hand.

The town of Skerries is situated in the local authority area of Fingal which, by common consent, appears to be the fastest growing local authority area in Ireland, and possibly in western Europe. It is an area that is suffering significantly from lack of infrastructure. It was traditionally a commuter/market gardening area of relatively low population but it is now very much at the centre of the population explosion that is taking place within the 20 mile radius of the city of Dublin. There are other infrastructural problems in the area of which this is only one, but it is an issue which, with imagination, can be tackled successfully.

St. Patrick's senior school is a very long established school; it was established in the first decade of the last century. It currently has 355 pupils and 13 teachers and thereby hangs the tale. As a consequence of the Department's code of rules, unfortunately the 355 pupils enrolled as of 1 September 2000 ensured a drop in the number of teachers from 13 to 12 for the forthcoming academic year commencing 1 September 2001, even though the role prior to 1 September 2001 was in excess of the quota required of 360. On 1 September next, it will also be in excess of the quota required of 360. What we are seeing is a statistical glitch that flies in the face of all the developmental trends in the area. Unless the Minister of State has some particularly good news for me this evening, it will mean the removal of a teacher from the school.

This is a source of major concern not only to the teachers and management of the school, but also to the parents. St. Patrick's has enjoyed very active participation on the part of its parents' association in all its activities. In this day of withdrawal from voluntarism generally, any voluntary activity or any group involved in activity such as this must be encouraged in every possible way. If the situation which appears to be facing us comes to pass, not only will the teaching staff be considerably discommoded, a teacher will have to look for another job in another area against her wishes. A class of ten and 11 year olds will be broken up. From the personal experience of one of my own children some years ago, that can be a very traumatic experience for a child.

The unfortunate part of all of this is that next year, this precise process will be repeated and the teacher will be discommoded again, if possible, to bring her back to teach in St. Patrick's. The pupils, at a particularly delicate stage of their development, will be significantly discommoded and subject to upset as their classes will be restructured yet again. I am sure the Minister of State would accept the difficulty I have, as a public representative in the area, in explaining the necessity for this and the rigidity of the Department's code of rules, especially at a time of plenty when several Members of this and the other House regularly use the phrase "awash with money".

While acknowledging the necessity for rules, I urge flexibility in their application to deal with anomalies such as this. I urge that teachers, parents and the pupils are supported in the positive efforts they are making to maintain in the town a worthwhile educational establishment, which the school has been for a long time.

I thank the Minister of State for his attention to this issue. It is timely, given the year we have had, also to thank teachers and parents active in parents' associations for their input to education. I wish them a good holiday. I look forward to hearing the Minister of State's comments.

Mr. Cullen

I am glad the Senator has given me the opportunity of outlining to the House the current position of the Department of Education and Science regarding the staffing of St. Patrick's senior school. 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 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.

I am happy to inform the Senator that the Minister for Education and Science has allocated a further 350 new posts 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. Patrick's senior national school is that the enrolment of the school on 30 September 1999 was 369 pupils which warrants 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 and a shared resource teacher. The enrolment on 30 September 2000 declined to 355 pupils which will warrant a staffing of principal and 12 mainstream class teachers in the 2001-02 school year. An enrolment of 360 pupils on 30 September 2000 was required to retain the post.

The only criterion by which a school 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 developing school status. The developing school criteria for the 2001-02 school year are outlined in the circular letter 12/2001, a copy of which the board of management of the school has received. To satisfy the criteria as outlined in the circular letter, the enrolment of St. Patrick's 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 385 pupils on 30 September 2001.

If the board of management of the school is confident that the overall enrolment of the school on 30 September 2001 will be in excess of 385 pupils, it should apply to the primary payments branch of the Department of Education and Science for the allocation of a teaching post under the developing school status.