The teacher allocation to an individual second level school for a particular school year is determined by the enrolment in the school at the end of the preceding September. It is open to the authorities of the school to seek a concessionary allocation to cater for curricular needs within the school.
Ultimately, it is a matter for the authorities of the school concerned, having regard to available teaching resources and the requirements with regard to the provision of the core curriculum, to decide on the curriculum to be provided and the subject choices to be offered to the pupils attending the school. Similarly, the appointment of teachers and the subject areas to be catered for are matters to be decided by the school.
In June 1999, the Government decided that suitable provision should be made for PE facilities when new second level schools are being planned or when existing schools are being extended. This initiative means that all new schools that have an enrolment in excess of 450 students qualify for a PE hall of 608 square metres. This area refers to the floor area of the hall and does not take account of ancillary accommodation, which can add in excess of a further 200 square metres to the overall size of the facility. Schools that have an enrolment of between 200 and 449 students qualify for a PE hall of 406 square metres. Again ancillary accommodation can add a further 200 square metres of accommodation to this floor area, giving a total area in excess of 600 square metres. The needs of smaller schools in relation to PE facilities are assessed on a case by case basis.
When planning new second level school buildings and extensions to existing buildings, provision for a PE hall is integrated into the overall plans. The needs of schools that do not have a PE hall and do not have a capital project in planning will be addressed by using generic PE hall templates, which are currently being developed within the building unit of my Department. The templates will standardise the construction of PE halls in second level schools and will reduce the architectural planning processes considerably. The templates are being piloted in four schools initially and are expected to be available for widespread application later this year.
