Charlie McConalogue
Question:144. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills when a reply will issue to an interim letter (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48230/13]
View answerTuesday, 12 November 2013
Questions (144)
Written answers
Arrangements are underway in my Department for a response to issue to the correspondence referred to by the Deputy. In this regard the Deputy will be aware that guidance is a whole school activity and it does not just involve the guidance counsellor. Under existing arrangements each school develops a school guidance plan as a means of supporting the needs of its students.
Since September 2012 guidance provision is now being organised by school management from within the staffing schedule allocation. In this way principals have discretion to balance guidance needs with the pressures to provide subject choice. A framework document was published jointly by the Post Primary Management bodies and the NAPD (National Association of Principals & Deputies) in September, 2012 to provide guidance for school management in the allocation of teaching hours to guidance counselling in post-primary schools in the context of the decision in Budget 2012 to withdraw the provision of ex-quota guidance hours to schools. This should be of assistance to schools in terms of how they maximise guidance provision.
My Department helped shelter the impact for DEIS post-primary schools by improving their standard staffing allocations. All 195 second-level school in DEIS have been given targeted support by a more favourable staffing schedule of 18.25:1. This is a 0.75 point reduction compared to the existing PTR of 19:1 that applies in non fee-paying second-level schools (23:1 in fee-charging schools).
Confirmation both from initial findings of a recent comprehensive survey by the National Centre for Guidance in Education on schools provision for guidance and from schools on the ground would suggest that even though there has been a cut in the allocation schools continue to prioritise the guidance programme and within it have increased group-work and class-based activity at senior cycle. This approach maximises the amount of time available for those pupils that need one to one support.