Written Answers Nos. 170-177
170. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will visit a school (details supplied) in County Kerry to see the geographic isolation of the school first hand and the reasons it should have a more favourable threshold for mainstream teacher allocation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40588/14]
View answerWork and diary commitments would not facilitate a visit to Co. Kerry such as outlined by the Deputy. The criteria used for the allocation of teaching posts for the 2014/2015 school year is set out in the Staffing Schedule (Circular 0007/2014) which is available on the Department website. The key factor for determining the level of staffing resources provided at individual school level is the staffing schedule for the relevant school year and pupil enrolments on the 30 September 2013. The staffing schedule also includes an appeals mechanism for schools to submit an appeal under certain criteria to an independent Appeals Board. The appeal criteria are published in Circular 0007/2014.
The school referred to by the Deputy submitted an appeal to the June, 2014 meeting of the Primary Staffing Appeals Board. The appeal was refused by the board on the basis that the grounds of the appeal did not meet the published criteria. The school was notified accordingly.
The Primary Staffing Appeals Board operates independently of the Minister and the Department and its decision is final.
171. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Education and Skills if an application for funding from a school (details supplied) in County Kerry for improved and safer drop off and collection facilities remains active; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40589/14]
View answerI am pleased to confirm to the Deputy that the school in question was allocated a devolved grant to provide significant additional permanent accommodation comprising 3 mainstream classrooms and 7 resource teaching rooms. Additional funding was subsequently approved to address traffic management at the school.
The devolved project has been completed and the final instalment of the grant was drawn down in July 2014.
172. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will include severe geographic isolation and impossibility of amalgamation with another school because of distance as grounds for appealing a mainstream teacher allocation for two, three and four-teacher schools; the reason island schools may avail of favourable thresholds but schools that may be more isolated in terms of travel time on the mainland have no exceptions made for them; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40590/14]
View answerThe key factor for determining the level of staffing resources provided at individual school level is the staffing schedule for the relevant school year and pupil enrolments on the previous 30th September. The staffing process also includes an appeals mechanism for schools to submit an appeal under certain criteria to an independent Appeals Board.
Circular 0007/2014, which is available on the Department website, sets out the staffing and appeals process for the 2014/15 school year.
173. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Education and Skills the annual savings to the State that have been made before and after the payment of income tax, universal social charge and PRSI as a result of budget 2012 changes to the thresholds in small schools for mainstream teacher allocation; if she will provide a breakdown of the number of posts lost per county per annum as a result of the increases; the number of posts that have been lost in schools that are located further than 10 km away from their nearest school; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40591/14]
View answer175. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Education and Skills the cost to her Department to ease threshold levels for mainstream teacher allocation for small schools, providing the costs per unit reduction in tabular form for two, three and four-teacher schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40593/14]
View answer176. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of teaching posts that have been lost in Gaeltacht schools because of her Department’s decision to increase threshold levels for mainstream teacher allocation for small schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40594/14]
View answer177. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of teaching posts that have been lost in Gaeltacht schools that previously had a four-teacher threshold of 76 but now have a threshold of 86 because of her Department’s decision to increase threshold levels for mainstream teacher allocation for small schools; her views on the additional pressures facing teachers in Gaeltacht schools in comparison with non-Gaeltacht schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40595/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 173 and 175 to 177, inclusive, together.
The cumulative savings achieved to date from the 2012 small schools budget measure are of the order of €20m. The number of posts lost and not gained as a result of the increased pupil threshold is of the order of 160 posts. This gives an indication of the overall costs involved in relation to restoring teacher numbers in small schools. The final position will not be known until after the appeals process for the current school year has been fully completed.
In the time available and due to other work pressures it is not possible to provide the more detailed information sought by the Deputy.
My Department has expanded the existing appeals process so that it is accessible to the schools that are affected by the Budget 2012 measure. In this regard small schools did not lose their classroom post if they were projecting sustainable increased enrolments in September 2014 that would be sufficient to allow them to retain their existing classroom posts over the longer term. The detailed arrangements in relation to the appeals process are set in the Department's Staffing Circular 0007/2014. The Appeals Board operates independently of the Department and its decision is final.
Our current configuration of small primary schools has been examined by the Department in a value for money (VFM) review. This review took account of the ethos of schools and the locations of small schools relative to other schools of a similar type. I will be considering this review in consultation with my Government colleagues and I intend to publish the report on completion of this consideration process.
The following information was provided under Standing Order 40A
The reply to this Parliamentary Question set out the overall position in relation to savings achieved to date from the 2012 small schools budget measure. It also explained in the reply that in the time available it was not possible to provide the more detailed information sought by the Deputy.
In that regard, I wish to explain that October is a key month for completing the teacher allocation and redeployment process for schools for the 2014/15 school year. The 30th September is the relevant date for determining enrolment in schools and critical for schools in relation to whether teaching posts allocated on the basis of projected enrolment on that date are retained by the school or redeployed elsewhere. The focus of staff in the Teacher Allocations Section of the Department at this time is therefore on the successful completion of this process. The final meeting of the Primary Staffing Appeals Board was also held at this time (21 October 2014).
The teacher allocation and redeployment process for 2014/15 school year is now effectively completed. Staff now have an opportunity to do detailed analysis which will enable more detailed information to be provided to the Deputy. This analysis will include using the Department’s Geographic Information System to measure distances between individual schools affected by the budget measure.
I want to assure you that this analysis work will be done over the coming days and a comprehensive response will be issued directly to the Deputy at the latest by Friday 14 November 2014.
I want to assure you that every effort is made to ensure, as best as possible, that replies to Parliamentary Questions are as comprehensive as possible and deal with all the issues raised by Deputies.
174. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Education and Skills her views on removing a teacher from a small school from November to June because of a decline in pupil numbers when the school will be in a position to regain the teacher the following September (details supplied); her views that this upheaval would be best avoided by allowing teachers in such cases to remain in situ; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40592/14]
View answerThe key factor for determining the level of staffing resources provided at individual school level is the staffing schedule for the relevant school year and pupil enrolments on the previous 30 September. Circular 0007/2014 sets out the criteria for the allocation of teaching posts to primary schools for the 2014/2015 school year and is available on the website. The staffing schedule also includes an appeals mechanism for schools to submit an appeal under certain criteria to an independent Appeals Board. My Department has expanded the existing appeals process so that it is accessible to the schools that are affected by the Budget 2012 small schools measure. In this regard schools of four teachers or less will not lose their classroom post if they are projecting sustainable increased enrolments in September 2014 that would be sufficient to allow them to retain their existing classroom posts over the longer term.
The school referred to by the Deputy had 18 pupils on 30 September 2013 which entitled it to one classroom post for the current school year. The school submitted an appeal to the February 2014 meeting of the Primary Staffing Appeals Board seeking an additional post on the basis of a projected enrolment of 21 pupils in September, 2014. The appeal was provisionally upheld pending verification of enrolment at 30 September, 2014. The school did not achieve its projected enrolment (14 pupils were enrolled at 30 September, 2014) and the post will be withdrawn with effect from 24 October, 2014.
The Appeal Board operates independently of the Department and its decision is final. I have already indicated that staffing schedules were not increased in Budget 2015. The required number of pupils to sustain a two teacher school for the coming school year remains at 20 pupils.
