Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 4 May 2004
163 Mr. Carey asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will examine the staffing allocation for a school (details supplied) in Dublin 11 in order that a concessionary post can be retained, thus ensuring the school’s provision for special needs pupils and to facilitate the introduction of co-education due to the announced wind down of an adjacent primary school; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12493/04]
View answerMy Department has no record of a concessionary post having been sanctioned at the school referred to by the Deputy.
The staffing of a primary school is determined by reference to the enrolment of the school on 30 September of the previous school year. The number of mainstream posts sanctioned is determined by reference to a staffing schedule and is finalised for a particular year following discussions with the education partners. The staffing of the school in question for the current school year is a principal and ten mainstream class teachers, based on the enrolment of 268 pupils on 30 September 2002. The school also has the services of a shared home school liaison post based in the school, two learning support teachers, two resource teachers, a special class teacher and a permanent post under the early start programme.
According to data submitted to my Department by the school's board of management, the enrolment on 30 September 2003 was 250 pupils. The enrolment on that date determines the staffing for the 2004-05 school year. The enrolment of 250 pupils warrants a staffing of principal and nine mainstream class teachers for the 2004-05 school year. The reduction in pupil enrolments means that one teacher will be redeployed to the Dublin diocesan panel for the 2004-05 school year. Panel notices have been issued to the appropriate teachers in the school during the course of this week.
The Department of Education and Science has received an application from the school for special educational needs supports. Applications for special educational resources received between 15 February and 31 August of last year are being considered at present. More than 5,000 such applications were received. Cases involving children who started school last September are being given priority. All such cases were responded to at or before the commencement of the current school year. The balance of over 4,000 applications has been reviewed by a dedicated team comprising members of the Department's inspectorate and the national educational psychological service. The applications are being considered in the context of the outcome of surveys of special educational resources provision conducted over the past year, approximately. Data submitted by schools as part of the nationwide census of special educational resources provision are also being considered.
The processing of applications is a complex and time-consuming operation. My Department is endeavouring to complete the processing as quickly as possible. My officials will then respond to all applicant schools. Pending a response, schools are advised to refer to circular 24/03, which was issued in September 2003. The circular contains practical advice on how to achieve the most effective deployment of resources already allocated for special educational needs within the school.
The teacher resources outcome for each applicant school will be based on a new weighted system of allocation which I announced recently. This system, as part of which an additional 350 teaching posts will be allocated, will involve making a staffing allocation to schools based on a predicted incidence of pupils with special educational needs and making individual allocations in the case of children with more acute lower-prevalence special educational needs.
It is expected that the change to a weighted system will bring with it a number of benefits. The new system will reduce the need for individualised educational psychological assessment, reduce the volume of applications to my Department for additional resources for individual pupils and give greater flexibility to schools, which will facilitate the development and implementation of improved systems and procedures in schools to meet the needs of pupils with low achievement and pupils with special educational needs. The detailed arrangements will be set out in a circular to be issued to schools before the end of the current school year. Schools due to receive the additional posts will be notified within this timeframe.
