Old Borough national school in Swords - Adjournment motion Senator Darragh O'Brien

Date: 24/01/2012
Posted by: Darragh

Seanad Éireann Adjournment Debate: School Staffing
18 January 2012

Senator Darragh O’Brien

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House to take this Adjournment matter which I have tabled on behalf of the pupils, parents and teachers of the Old Borough national school in Swords, which is a Church of Ireland school covering the parish of Swords, Clonmethan, Kilsallaghan and Donabate.

The cuts in education proposed by the Government relating to smaller schools is not only a rural issue.  In many instances it affects minority faith schools such as the Church of Ireland school in this instance.  I specifically raise the fact that the change proposed by the Government to allocate 0.2 of a full-time equivalent learning support teacher for each mainstream teaching post will result in this instance of a reduction of a full-time permanent learning support position to part-time hours.  This is on the basis of the school being a four teacher school with a full learning support teacher.  This post will go and will be curtailed.

The Old Borough national school has 104 pupils, 25 of whom avail of learning support.  The knock-on effect of not having access to full-time learning support for other pupils also is obvious, as the Minister of State knows from his role.  I am interested to know what are the proposed savings in this instance and many others.  I put it to the Minister of State that they are minimal and that the future costs of not allowing our children who require this service to avail of it will be much greater.

I simply ask that the Government re-examines this.  Perhaps this was not the intention, because I cannot believe it would be the intention of any Government to specifically target minority faith schools and rural schools.  Will the Government consider what the Minister, Deputy Quinn, announced with regard to being committed to a review of the measures in DEIS schools?

This is a very blunt instrument.  On future occasions I will raise cuts which affect other schools in my area and in other areas in Dublin.  The overall issue is that this is unfair and is targeted at smaller schools.  I believe it is targeted at them in quite a cynical fashion on the basis that the Government does not believe it will result in mass protests.  On Sunday evening the people of Dunmanway showed this is a major issue.

It is not only a rural issue; it is an issue very prevalent in north Dublin, specifically in this instance at the Old Borough national school in Swords.  A few decades ago the school was not in operation and I am glad to say the Church of Ireland community in the area has rejuvenated and is growing.  Any true republic should protect minority faiths and ensure they thrive.  I do not see how in this instance a smaller Church of Ireland school losing a full-time permanent learning support post and having it reduced to a temporary part-time role serves any of us well in any way.  With all sincerity I ask the Minister of State to examine this specific case and reverse the proposed cuts.  I will be interested to hear any response he has in this regard.

Minister of State at the Department of Education and Skills (Deputy Ciarán Cannon)

I will take this Adjournment matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister Education and Skills, Deputy Ruairi Quinn.  I thank the Senator for raising the matter.

No decisions have yet been taken in respect of learning support allocations in individual schools or where full-time posts will be based in individual schools for the coming year.  The allocation of learning support teaching posts under the general allocation model, GAM, is currently regulated under the Department’s Circular 02/05 which provides that a full-time post may be sanctioned in a school at 22 hours, although a full-time post is equivalent to 25 hours, with the excess capacity within the full post being offset against any future allocations to the school for resource teaching support.

Schools, including the school referred to by the Senator, have not yet been advised of their revised GAM allocations for September 2012.  They will be advised of their new GAM allocations for the 2012-13 school year in the coming weeks.  The position is that there are no plans to cut the overall number of learning support or resource teachers which will be provided to schools under GAM.

GAM was introduced in 2005 based on school enrolments in 2003-04.  As allocations have not been adjusted since then, the current allocations do not properly reflect enrolments in schools.  GAM allocations for primary schools will therefore be updated from September 2012, through a redistribution of the existing GAM learning support resources, based on the number of classroom teaching posts in each school in the previous school year.  Classroom teacher posts are themselves based on the previous school year’s enrolment figures.

This new model will provide for a more equitable distribution of the existing GAM resources for schools based on updated enrolments.  It will also ensure that GAM allocations can take into account the overall demographic growth in pupil numbers in the primary school sector, while ensuring the Government does not exceed its employment control framework obligations.

The revised allocation procedures will allow GAM allocations to be updated annually based on the number of classroom teaching posts in each school in the previous school year.  Teaching posts previously designated for English language support will now be combined with GAM allocations to create a single simplified allocation process to cover both GAM and language support through general allocation.

While the overall level of learning support resources being provided under GAM will not change, the revised allocations will take account of updated enrolments and also revised criteria which must take into account there are now more pupils in the overall school system than when GAM was introduced in 2005.  Therefore, inevitably some schools will lose posts or hours and other schools will gain.

The revised allocation process for GAM and language support set out in the recent budget and teacher allocation announcements provide for an allocation of five hours per week, which is 0.2 of a post, to each mixed or all-boys school for every mainstream classroom teaching post.

The Department will shortly issue a new circular to schools which will fully outline the new allocation procedures and criteria for GAM allocations for the coming school year.  This circular will set out the position on the manner in which full-time positions may be allocated or maintained in schools and will also set out the manner in which post-sharing or clustering arrangements might be entered into by schools.  There may therefore be the potential for the school referred to by the Senator to act as a base school for a full-time learning support post, while sharing the excess hours with another local school.

The position with regard to the particular school referred to by the Senator can therefore be considered once the school has been advised of its revised GAM allocation and once the Department’s circular has been issued, setting out fully the criteria and allocation arrangements which will apply.  I thank the Senator once again for raising this matter.

Senator Darragh O’Brien

I thank the Minister of State for his response which states the school must await the circular which will tell it its full-time teaching post will no longer be a full-time post.  The Minister of State has read into the record the response of the Minister, Deputy Quinn, on 0.2 of a post per full mainstream teacher.  This means the full-time teaching post will not continue.

I will raise this matter again.  I am not happy with the response.  I appreciate the Minister of State taking the time to give the response, but in it he suggests an amalgamation of English language support and learning support posts will take place.  Does the Minister of State have any idea when the circular will be circulated to schools?  Will it be prior to the end of January?

Deputy Ciarán Cannon

It is my understanding it will be prior to the end of January.