Vol. 537 No. 5
101 Mr. Hayes asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will immediately introduce a special package of measures to encourage teachers to remain in or apply for teaching posts for schools in areas of disadvantage; the likely date when such measures can be brought forward; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14573/01]
The Government since taking office has created 2,315 extra teaching posts to reduce the pupil-teacher ratio and increase support for children with a disability or disadvantage.
The introduction of the Giving Children an Even Break programme, together with the improvements in the overall pupil teacher ratio in recent years and the additional funding provision for schools, are measures which will assist teachers in areas of disadvantage. I launched the programme in January to deal with educational disadvantage in primary schools. The new programme involves the creation of over 200 new teacher posts and will cost £26 million over a three-year period. Schools participating in the programme are eligible to receive a range of additional supports, including teacher posts and financial supports to be targeted at disadvantaged pupils. The additional supports to be provided reflect the level of concentration of pupils from educationally disadvantaged backgrounds in each school invited to participate in the programme.
There are separate urban and rural dimensions to the programme. Schools categorised as urban with the highest concentrations of at risk pupils will be supported, where necessary, over the three-year period through staff allocations to implement a pupil-teacher ratio of 20:1 in the junior classes, infants through second class, and a pupil-teacher ratio of 29:1 in senior classes, third through sixth classes.
Rural schools with the highest concentrations of at risk pupils will be allocated the services of a teacher-co-ordinator who will work in clusters of four or five schools. Rural schools that could not be clustered with other similar schools will receive financial supports as an alternative to teacher-co-ordinator support.
