CUTBACKS:
As a result of cuts in the 2010 budget, our school is set to lose a full-time Resource Teacher for Travellers, a shared Resource Teacher for Travellers and shared Rural Coordinator, effective from August 31, 2011. This staff reduction will have disastrous consequences for the children in our school.
* The school will lose 66% of its current support teaching time -- in other words, the current figure of 52 hours per week will be slashed to 17.5 hours per week. At the same time, there will be no reduction in the numbers of children with learning needs requiring support teaching.
*The average overall number of children with learning needs in the school each year is 47. This year, we have 25 children attending the Learning Support Teacher and 22 children attending the Resource Teacher for Travellers.
If these cutbacks are implemented, approximately 50% of these 47 children with learning needs will not receive ANY extra support from September 2011 onwards, because the Learning Support Teacher will have to cater for the children with the greatest needs.