My Department is committed to providing funding to recognised primary and post-primary schools in the free education scheme by way of per capita grants. The two main grants are the Capitation grant to cater for day to day running costs such as heating, lighting, cleaning, insurance, general up-keep etc. and the Ancillary grant to cater for the cost of employing ancillary services staff. Schools have the flexibility to use capitation funding provided for general running costs and ancillary funding provided for caretaking and secretarial services as a common grant from which the Board of Management can allocate according to its own priorities, except for cases where a secretary is now paid from my Department payroll as per circular 36/2022.
The current standard rate of Capitation grant is €183 per pupil at Primary level and this year's grant is being paid, as usual, in 2 instalments, - the first in January and the second in June, for the 2023/24 academic year. Enhanced rates of capitation are also paid in respect of pupils with Special Educational Needs and Traveller pupils.
Primary schools with less than 60 pupils are paid the Capitation and the Ancillary grants on the basis of having 60 pupils.
As part of the capitation package in Budget 2024 I am pleased to have secured €21 million as a permanent increase in capitation funding to assist schools now and longer term with increased day-to-day running costs. This will support a permanent restoration of funding for all primary and post-primary schools from September 2024. This will bring the basic rate of capitation grant to the pre-2011 level of €200 per student in primary schools. Enhanced rates will also be paid in respect of pupils with Special Educational Needs. This represents an increase of circa 9.2% of current standard and enhanced capitation rates.
In addition to these grants, €20 million in funding was issued in October 2023, to support all recognised primary and post-primary schools in the free education scheme. This funding is the first tranche of an overall additional €60 million funding announced as part of Budget 2024 measures designed to assist schools with increased day-to-day running costs such as heating and electricity. A further €40 million in funding was delivered in early 2024.
As the Deputy may be aware, following the acceptance by Fórsa of the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) agreement in respect of salaries and various leave entitlements for grant-funded school secretaries, those secretaries who accepted the terms of this agreement were placed on a payroll operated by my Department from September 2023. Therefore, ancillary related grant funding has been revised to reflect the fact that schools are no longer paying these salaries directly.
The arrangements for the 2023/24 school year are based on reducing grants by the value of the salary schools paid to grant-funded secretaries prior to their acceptance of the new terms and conditions. Schools provided my Department with these details and this information is now being used to reduce the ancillary related grant funding.
Correspondence issued to all schools on 20th December 2023 providing details of these arrangements for the period September to December 2023. Further correspondence issued on 26th April 2024 setting out the position for the period January to August 2024.
Schools have been advised that work is ongoing to identify a method of standardising the reduction to the Ancillary and SSSF Grants for the longer term, where school secretaries are being paid via a payroll operated by my Department. Engagement will take place with school management bodies in order to discuss these arrangements to ensure that they are as reasonable and as fair as possible for all schools and further details of these arrangements will be provided to schools as soon as they become available.
SNAs play a central role in the successful inclusion of students with additional and significant care needs into mainstream education, special classes and special schools ensuring that these students can access education to enable them to achieve their best outcomes and reach their full potential.
SNAs are allocated to schools as a school based resource and not to individual children. The deployment of SNAs within schools is a matter for the individual principal/board of management of the school. SNAs should be deployed by the school in a manner which best meets the care support requirements of the children enrolled in the school for whom SNA support has been allocated.
This allows schools flexibility in how the SNA support is utilised.
The NCSE have published the SNA allocations for the 2023/24 school year. For ease of reference these allocations are broken down by school type and are available on the NCSE's website at: www.ncse.ie/set-hours-and-sna-allocations
Schools can apply to the NCSE for a review of its SNA allocation if it is insufficient to meet the needs of its students. Detailed information on the NCSE exceptional review process is published on the NCSE website: www.ncse.ie/application-for-sna-exceptional-review
There is a facility within the Special Needs Transport Scheme for the appointment of a School Bus Escort where a child’s care and safety needs while on school transport are such to require the support of an escort. The employment of a School Bus Escort, where required, is sanctioned by the Department of Education and the Escort is employed by the school management authority. Once a sanction for employment has been approved, School Transport Section issues funding to the school management authority at the end of each school year by way of advance payment for the next school year. Should the school authority have specific issues in regard to the grant funding for Bus Escorts they should contact officials in School Transport Section of my Department, at school_transport@education.gov.ie, who would be happy to assist.
The key factor for determining the level of staffing resources provided at individual school level is the staffing schedule for the relevant school year and pupil enrolments on the previous 30 September. The staffing process also contains an appeals mechanism for schools to submit a staffing appeal under certain criteria to an independent Primary Staffing Appeals Board. Information is available in Circular 0011/2024.
The current teacher allocation ratio stands at an average of 1 classroom teacher for every 23 pupils in primary schools, the lowest level ever seen at primary level. A three point reduction in the retention schedule, which I introduced in 2021, assists schools that would otherwise be at risk of losing teaching posts. I also improved teacher allocations for DEIS Urban Band 1 schools which now stand at an average of 17:1, 21:1 and 19:1 for junior, senior and vertical schools respectively. In excess of 1,100 teaching posts were provided over the last three years to bring about this improvement at primary level.
The latest figures in relation to pupil teacher ratio shows an improved ratio of teachers to pupils from 15.7:1 to 13.4:1 at primary level when comparing the 2016/17 school year to the 2022/23 school year. In the same period the primary staffing schedule improved from 27:1 to 24:1. Average class sizes at primary improved from 24.6 to 22.8 in the same period. The improvements brought about by Budget 2023 for this school year will be available in the statistical reports published at the end of the school year.
The Financial Support Services Unit (FSSU) is an important source of advice and support. It is available to primary schools to assist on financial matters. Officials from my Department have made contact with the FSSU on behalf of the school referred to by the Deputy. They will provide advice and support as required.
