The third teaching post at the school to which the Deputy refers will be lost at the end of the current school year because the enrolment at the school declined from 96 pupils in September 1996 to 83 pupils in September 1997. The retention figure for the third teaching post is 87.
The authorised staffing at the school for the 1998-9 school year is a principal and two teaching posts, a full time remedial teaching post, and a concessionary post on account of the school's designation as a disadvantaged school In addition, the school has the services of a teacher counsellor and a home school liaison teacher.
In light of the substantial enrolment decline at the school and the overall staffing levels at the school, unfortunately, I cannot authorise the retention of the third teaching post at the school.