Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 July 2021
1086. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Education if she will intervene to ensure that a school (details supplied) does not lose a primary teacher in the next academic year due to being five pupils short of the retention figure; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41382/21]
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.
Under the Programme for Government there is a commitment to make further progress in reducing the pupil teacher ratios in primary schools and to support small schools.
As part of the Budget 2021 measures, the Government have sought to deliver on this commitment by the announcement of a 1 point change to the primary staffing schedule and the introduction of a three point reduction in the number of pupils required to retain a teacher.
The school referred to by the Deputy is not losing a teaching post for the 2021/22 school year.
