Vol. 480 No. 2
321 Mr. N. Ahern asked the Minister for Education the reason the Breaking the Cycle guidelines are already being watered down in respect of St. Joseph's Junior national school, Ballymun, Dublin 11; the reason the integration of traveller children is being stopped on his Department's instructions; the reason such late notice is being given to the two displaced teachers; if he will review the matter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13470/97]
I would like to reassure the Deputy that the Breaking the Cycle guidelines are not being watered down in respect of the school in question. Neither is the integration of traveller children being stopped on the instructions of my Department.
A key element in the support package for urban schools under the Breaking the Cycle initiative was the allocation of additional teaching posts to facilitate an average maximum class size of 15:1 in all junior classes. The number of posts allocated to individual schools, including the school in question, at the commencement of the scheme in 1996, was based on data supplied by the schools on the number of pupils enroled in their junior classes.
The position of each participating school was recently reviewed to ensure that they would remain in a position to adhere to the guidelines for the junior classes. As part of this review and in line with normal staffing arrangements, the number of Breaking the Cycle posts allocated to each participating school for the 1997-98 school year will be based on the number of pupils enroled in junior classes at September 1996.
In the case of the school in question, it emerged from the recent review that the number of pupils put forward as enroled in junior classes in 1996 included the children enroled in its three special classes for travellers and in respect of whom the school has already been allocated three special class teachers.
Given that the needs of the traveller children in question are already being addressed by a separate staffing allocation, they should not also be counted as enroled in ordinary junior classes for the purposes of attracting Breaking the Cycle posts.
As soon as the above situation came to light, the school was notified of the necessary adjustment to its staffing allocation for the forthcoming school year.
