Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 12 February 2014
73. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to reinstate a teacher following serious concerns for the future of the school (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7053/14]
View answerAs part of the Budget 2012 decisions, the number of pupils required to gain and retain a classroom teaching post in small primary schools is being gradually increased between September 2012 and September 2014. An appeals process is available to small schools which have had their staff number reduced as a result of the budget measure. The school referred to by the Deputy submitted an appeal to the Primary Staffing Appeals Board for the current school year. The appeal was refused as it did not meet the appeal criteria. The Primary Staffing Appeals Board operates independently of the Department and its decision is final.
The single allocation process for learning support (General Allocation Model) and language support, introduced in September 2012, provides an allocation based on the number of mainstream teachers in the school. The allocation is based on the number of mainstream classroom posts in schools in the previous school year.
The National Council for Special Education (NCSE), through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), is responsible for processing applications from schools for special educational needs supports, including the allocation of resource teaching support to schools. The NCSE operates within my Department's established criteria for the allocation of Special Education supports and the staffing resources available to my Department.
It is a matter for schools to monitor and utilise and monitor their additional teaching support to best support the needs of identified pupils, in accordance with my Department's guidance.All schools have the names and contact details of their local SENO. Parents may also contact their local SENO directly to discuss their child's special educational needs, using the contact details available on www.ncse.ie.
The staffing arrangements for the 2014/15 school year (Circular 0007/2014) were published in January and are available on the Department website.
The Government recognises that small schools are an important part of the social fabric of rural communities. They will continue to be a feature of our education landscape. In these extremely challenging times, all public servants are being asked to deliver our public services on a reduced level of resources and teachers in small schools cannot be immune from this requirement.
