§ Lord Bleaseasked Her Majesty' s Government:
Whether they will publish:—
- (a) The criteria used by the Department of Education, Northern Ireland (DENI) in determining the teacher/pupil ratio (including principals and vice-principals) in respect of the following categories of school: (i) Primary (ii) Secondary (iii) Comprehensive (iv) Grammar:
- (b) What principles or formulae are applied by the DENI in the exercise of the departments' discretion with respect to (i) size of school (total pupil population): (ii) general (normal) students; (iii) -special help" students: (iv) ESN students and (v) maladjusted students: and
- (c) what procedural arrangements exist for appeals by a school' s management committee on decisions by the DENI.
Lord Lyell:
(a) Basic staffing entitlements for schools are calculated in accordance with the following formulae:—
Primary schools:
and so on, with one teacher extra for each additional 33 pupils.
Less than 25 pupils — 1 Teacher 25 to 57 pupils — 2 Teachers 58 to 90 pupils — 3 Teachers Secondary schools:
whichever of the following two methods is more favourable to the individual school—
The number of teachers being determined in accordance with the following scale:
(i) for each pupil under 16 years of age —1½ points for each pupil aged 16 to 19 —2½ points ascertained handicapped (regardless of age) —2 points and so on with one teacher extra for each additional 30 points, or
less than 151 points — 5 Teachers 151 to 180 points — 6 Teachers (ii) 1 teacher for every 16.75 pupils, plus 1 teacher for every 60 pupils requiring special help.
Note: The staffing allocations for grammar schools include an allowance where appropriate for preparatory departments calculated on the same basis as for primary schools.
(b)Discretionary posts are allocated to meet the particular needs of Individual schools and, where sufficient discretionary posts are not available to meet all the requests received, the posts available are allocated to the schools whose needs are considered to be greatest. No particular formulae are applied 429WA but the total enrolment of a school would be one factor in the decision as to how many discretionary posts (if any) it might be allocated. Posts for pupils requiring special help in primary schools are allocated after consideration of the schools' needs by the educational psychologist services of the education and library boards and the Inspectorate of the Department of Education for Northern Ireland. In secondary schools such posts are determined in accordance with the formulae for basic staffing entitlements. Where a special unit for pupils who have been determined as handicapped (including educationally subnormal and maladjusted pupils) has been formally established in an ordinary school the staffing of that unit is determined separately from that of the school so that account may be taken of the numbers and particular needs of the pupils in the unit. Where handicapped pupils are integrated in ordinary classes in a school they are taken into account in the formulae for determining basic staffing entitlements.
(c) School authorities are normally notified of their staffing allocations for the next school year at the end of January. Appeals against those allocations may be submitted to the Department of Education for Northern Ireland and a small number of the discretionary posts available are held for consideration of such appeals. Final decisions on the appeals are normally made by 31st March and after that date no further posts are available for the following school year.