Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 February 2024
191. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Education if Circular 02/2024 will be revised to permit more than two schools to form a cluster for the purpose of combining principal release hours with SET hours; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8659/24]
View answerThe Special Education Teacher allocation, allows schools to provide additional teaching support for all pupils who require such support in their schools and for schools to deploy resources based on each pupil’s individual learning needs.
The Special Education Teaching allocation for each school has been reviewed for the 2024/25 school year, as per Circular 02/2024.
Due to the new allocation of SET hours, all existing SET clusters will cease at the end of the current school year. Schools have an opportunity to enter into cluster arrangements with neighbouring schools to achieve a full-time post.
Teachers are employed for principal release days in fixed term positions and special education teachers are employed in permanent positions. For the 2024/25 school year, schools with a majority of Special Education Teacher hours available for clustering are permitted to combine those hours with principal release hours to complete the 25 hours required for a special education teaching post. The allocation of principal release hours required for this purpose may come from a school’s own allocation, if sufficient, or be supplemented by principal release hours from other schools, to a maximum of 10 hours principal release in any cluster.
This may benefit schools which may be a significant distance from other schools with part-time hours and so creating a cluster would not be feasible. The measure will also help reduce the number of individual schools that have to come together in the cluster to form a full-time post, thus reducing the number of schools the employed teacher has to teach in. This approach also helps schools to reduce administration in the recruitment and employment of teachers by reducing where possible the number of positons to be filled.
