Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 21 October 2020
143. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Education if her attention has been drawn to the position in a school (details supplied) and the increased risks the school faces losing a teacher due to lower enrolment numbers than expected; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32065/20]
View answerThe staffing schedule is an allocation mechanism that uses enrolment bands to determine the number of classroom teaching posts allocated to a school. This is a long standing arrangement for allocating teaching posts to our primary schools in a fair and equitable way based on their respective enrolment.
The staffing schedule operates in a clear and transparent manner and treats all similar types of schools equally, irrespective of location. For the 2020/21 school year at primary level it operates on the basis of 1 classroom teacher for an average of every 26 pupils which is historically the lowest level. I am very pleased to say that under Budget 2021 as announced, this will be further reduced to 25:1 from September 2021.
The staffing arrangements for primary schools also include a provision whereby schools experiencing rapid increases in enrolment can apply for additional permanent mainstream posts on developing grounds, using projected enrolment for the following September.
The school referred to by the Deputy was allocated a temporary teaching post on this basis as the school had indicated that it was expecting an enrolment of 334 students in September 2020,which was a projected increase of 39 pupils.
My Department has recently received an enrolment return of 277 pupils from this school as at 30th September and it clear that school has not experienced a growth in enrolments, instead their overall school enrolment has gone down from last year. This school is 57 pupils below what they had indicated as their projected enrolment for September.
The school has submitted an appeal to the Primary Staffing Appeals Board and will be notified of the decision of the Board this week.
