One-quarter of Clare pupils in super-sized classes

PRIMARY schools in Clare are among the most overcrowded in the country and almost nine out of every 10 pupils in the county are in classes greater than the EU average.

 

New figures published this week show that almost 90% of pupils in Clare schools are in classes of 20 or more and over one quarter are in “super size” classes with over 30 children.

The report shows that 27% of primary pupils are in classes of 30 or more which equates to 3,656 pupils. Fifty-eight per cent of the primary school population are in classes of 20 or more and 15% of pupils are in classes under 20.

Clare INTO representative Sean McMahon has claimed the figures show the impact of government cutbacks on the ground in schools and that Irish class sizes are back to where they were a decade ago and getting worse.
“Regrettably, that is the reality. In Clare, we have a double-edge whammy – a development of super-sized classes in urban environments and a hit on rural schools through an increase in the required threshold to maintain teachers,” he argued.

“Quite obviously, when you see where the economy is, it would be hoped that education would be used to generate future investment. It seems very difficult to see how this will take place when such large classes are placed in front of individual teachers.

“Many of these classes should have additional teachers for special needs and for teaching English to international pupils. Unfortunately, many of these posts are already suppressed.
“To me, the most important element of the classroom is interaction between teachers and children. In order to maximise that interaction, it is necessary to reduce numbers and international best practice is to use the figure of 20 as being the optimum of class size in terms of cost to the Exchequer and education benefits to the pupils.

“In an ideal world, we all would like one-to-one but I don’t think society can afford that,” he added.

Mr McMahon, principal of Mullagh National School, pointed out that this year, the retention figures for three class teachers goes to 54 pupils and to 85 for a fourth teacher.
“Such thresholds obviously will lead to a reduction in the number of teachers in many small or rural schools in County Clare,” he cautioned.

“I am calling on the minister to undertake a root and branch review of education delivery in Clare and nationwide.
“Quite obviously for the last number of years, building policies have dictated that people are almost coerced into urban environments, leading to a population explosion in these areas. That policy needs to change. In 2002, the average class size was 24.5, the same as it is today. That has to change,” he stressed.

General secretary of the INTO, Sheila Nunan described the findings as a wake-up call for Education Minister Ruairí Quinn, as Irish class sizes are now the highest in the EU.

At the same time as class sizes are rising, the pupil/teacher ratio is worsening as non-class teachers are cut from the system. More and more responsibility, she argued, is being put on the class teacher to meet the needs of children with little English, special needs or disadvantaged backgrounds.
“The minister needs to spell out how he intends to staff schools for the coming years so that teachers can meet the needs of all pupils,” she added.