Michael Healy-Rae
Ceist:273. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on a matter (details supplied) regarding school class sizes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26967/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 27 September 2016
Ceisteanna (273)
Freagraí scríofa
The Deputy will be aware that Budget 2016 made provision for some 2,260 additional teaching posts for our primary and post primary schools in the current school year. These posts have provided for an improvement in the staffing schedules at primary and post primary levels, enhanced the leadership and management roles of deputy principals at post-primary level by reducing their teaching time, made improvements to the scheme of release time for principal teachers at primary level and included additional resource posts to meet special education needs.
Circular 12/2016, which is available on my Department's website, outlines the number of days that teaching principals may take as release time in a school year in order to assist them fulfilling their principal duties. Under these arrangements my Department pays for a substitute teacher to be employed by a school to facilitate administrative functions to be undertaken by the teaching principal. Under the current arrangements the number of days that principal teachers may take as release time in each school year ranges between 15 and 25 days depending on the size of the school. This is an increase on the previous school year whereby the number of release days ranged from 14 to 22 days depending on the size of the school.
The commitments in the Programme for Government, including measures to assist teaching principals, will be considered in the context of the budgetary process.