St. Teresa's national school, Killflynn, Tralee, County Kerry, currently has four teachers. However, it is about to suffer the loss of one of those teachers because in September 1999 pupil numbers fell below the level required to retain a fourth teacher. Although pupil numbers fell below the required figure at that stage, it has since taken on additional pupils. The total number of pupils in the school is now 85, two more than the required level of 83.
The school has appealed to the Department of Education and Science for permission to retain its fourth teacher but I understand that its efforts have been to no avail. The school authorities are concerned about the loss of the teacher and they believe it will be extremely detrimental to the children's education. Their concerns arise for the following reasons.
Additional pressures will be placed on teachers who are already teaching two classes and who will now be obliged to take a third class, despite the fact that pupil numbers are above the level required for four teachers. The current classrooms are approximately half the recommended size for classrooms set out in the Department's guidelines for new buildings. The school authorities are already concerned about the number of children accommodated in these small rooms and they must now deal with a situation where a classroom will have to be closed. As a result, the additional children will have to be accommodated in already overcrowded rooms. There will also be a need to introduce a new curriculum in light of this position. The authorities are also concerned about the school's current lack of facilities – it has no sports hall, drama hall or arts area and there are few outside sheltered play areas.
For children to partake fully in the new curriculum to which I refer, an onus will be placed on the school to transport them to outside facilities. This will probably not be possible if the school loses a teacher while retaining its current number of pupils. The safety of the children may also be jeopardised due to the physical layout of the school's play areas, which make it difficult for three teachers to provide adequate supervision during break times. The children already experience a certain level of disadvantage as a result of living in a rural area, where access to social amenities is restricted. The loss of a teacher will increase this disadvantage because it will be difficult for the remaining teachers to support extra-curricular activities.
I call on the Minister to recognise the difficulties presented by the mixed age group vertical teaching model which is so common in rural schools. I urge him to review the teacher-pupil ratio in such circumstances. I understand there are a further 50 schools with problems similar to those which obtain at St. Teresa's. However, St. Teresa's now has 85 pupils, two above the requirement for a fourth teacher, and I believe its case should be given priority over other schools. The parents and teachers involved with St. Teresa's would welcome it if the Minister could respond positively.
