Questions raised about measures aimed at sustaining small schools

There has been a mixed response to new measures announced aimed at sustaining small schools.

The head of the Catholic Primary Schools Management Association (CPSMA) said the new measures help “alleviate” community concerns, particularly in isolated areas.

CPSMA General Secretary, Fr Tom Deenihan, said that while “the initiative will not lead to an increase in staffing for many, if any, one-teacher schools, the announcement has been significant for many two- and three-teacher schools who feared losing a teacher if the previous retention figures were invoked. 

“The prospect of an ever-increasing number of one-teacher schools is a frightening one for teachers, management and parents, not least from a Health and Safety perspective. 

“The announcement will mean that the number of these schools will not increase as much as was feared in September 2015. That will be welcomed by all,” he told The Irish Catholic.

This is despite Fianna Fáil’s Education spokesperson Charlie McConalogue claiming “the spectre of closure still remains for many small schools in rural Ireland”.

Announcement

Mr McConalogue warned that the announcement of changes to teacher retention thresholds “is only a small row-back on the cuts to small schools previously introduced” by the  Government and “will not lead to any major improvements for many small schools, as the emphasis is on retaining, rather than gaining teachers”.

The details, announced by Education Minister Jan O’Sullivan, mean any school with 53 children enrolled can now keep a third teacher, instead of needing 56 pupils.

Likewise, the numbers needed to retain a second teacher will fall from 20 to 19, and a fourth teacher can be maintained at schools with 83 pupils instead of 86 currently.

“The fact remains that a two-teacher school would need to enrol 36 extra pupils in order to secure a third teacher, while a three-teacher school would need an additional 30 students to gain a fourth teacher,” Mr McConalogue observed.

“This is a completely unfeasible proposal for the majority of small schools, which will struggle to meet those targets and will be penalised as a result,” the Donegal TD said.