IPPN

Last Updated: Monday, 16 March 2009 15:39

At the annual IPPN conference in Killarney, over 900 principals will hear Larry Fleming, President; express deep concern at the challenges facing primary schools in the new economic reality. "In this time of scarce resources, the Government commitment to reducing class sizes will simply not be met. Within the 28:1 pupil teacher ratio, we must prioritise those children for whom class size is most important; Junior Infants and the class of the teaching principal."

"Over sixty thousand children will begin primary education next September. Many will be in unacceptably large classes. The Government will continue to pay a childcare supplement for these children even though three out of every four of them are already in school. The cost of the last year of this supplement could be diverted immediately to reducing the class size of Junior Infant, a totally cost neutral proposal. Continuing to pay this supplement to parents when their children are in school does not make sense."

"The number of children in any teacher's class is an important factor in determining how each individual child learns and is taught. However, reducing the overall class size is not the answer to every educational problem in our schools." maintains Fleming."International research like the McKinsey Report and only recently in Ireland, the report of the National Competitiveness Council points to teacher quality as the most important factor in determining learning outcomes."

"Ask any parent, would they rather have their child in a class of 28 with one of the best teachers in the school or in a class of 22 with a less able teacher - we all know what the answer would be."

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