Martin Ferris
Ceist:150. Deputy Martin Ferris asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will allocate a resource teacher to a school (details supplied) in County Kerry. [2412/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraWednesday, 20 January 2016
Ceisteanna (150)
Freagraí scríofa
The criteria used for the allocation of teachers to primary schools is published annually on the website of the Department of Education and Skills. Staffing Circular 0005/2015 which is available on the Department website sets out the staffing arrangements for primary schools for the 2015/16 school year and includes the allocation process for schools to meet their NCSE approved resource hour requirements. The staffing and redeployment arrangements for all schools for the 2016/17 school year will be published shortly. 82% of all NCSE approved resource teaching hours in the 2015/16 school year were allocated to schools that had permanent resource base posts. Schools with less than 25 resource hours (a full-time post) can join with neighbouring schools to form a cluster of 25 hours, with a temporary post being based in one of these schools for the 2015/16 school year. The school referred to by the Deputy was approved for one full-time permanent base resource post and one temporary shared post for the current 2015/16 school year.
The Deputy will be aware that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has recommended the introduction of a new resource allocation model for schools, which will allow schools to allocate resources to pupils taking into account their individual learning needs, as opposed to being based primarily on a diagnosis of a particular disability. It is also designed to factor in the educational profile of the student cohort in the school. A pilot of this new resource allocation model is currently taking place in a number of schools.