Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 30 May 2017
201. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to address the delay in allocating teachers to primary schools when the school meets the pupil threshold for an additional post; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25875/17]
View answerThe criteria used for the allocation of teaching posts to primary schools are published annually on my Department's website. The key factor for determining the number of classroom teaching posts allocated to each school is the staffing schedule for the relevant school year and pupil enrolments on the previous 30 September.
However, the staffing arrangements also include a provision whereby schools experiencing rapid increases in enrolment can apply for additional permanent classroom posts for the coming school year, on developing school grounds.
Budget 2017 sets out the resources available for schools for the 2017/18 school year. This Budget represents the start of a major reinvestment in education, and the first phase of implementation of the Action Plan for Education, aimed at becoming the best education system in Europe within a decade. The budget provides for over 2,400 additional teaching posts for our primary and post primary schools next year. This includes additional teaching posts to meet demographic need, curriculum reform, additional guidance posts, additional resource teaching posts, addition teaching support for DEIS schools and the strengthening of school leadership.
The 2017/18 school year will see a significant increase in teacher numbers (almost 4,700) in our schools compared to the 2015/16 school year.
A change to the method used to calculate teaching posts from existing arrangements would result in a substantial impact to the allocations process which has not been built in to current budgetary projections.
The Programme for Government has a commitment to reduce class sizes at primary level and it is my intention to make further improvements to class sizes over the life of the Government.
The configuration of classes and the deployment of classroom teachers are managed at local school level. My Department's guidance to schools is that the number of pupils in any class is kept as low as possible, taking all relevant contextual factors into account, for example, available classroom accommodation, fluctuating enrolments etc. School authorities are also requested, where possible, to use their autonomy under the staffing schedule to implement smaller class sizes for junior classes.
