Surge in primary school mergers, but rural schools make up a small fraction

The number of primary school mergers almost doubled last year, but most were not small, rural schools.

Department of Education figures suggest its staffing change for small schools is not yet having the intended effect of making it easier for them to decide to amalgamate, even though the number of mergers rose significantly last year.

Cuts to the favourable teaching numbers for smaller schools are being phased in since Ruairi Quinn’s first budget as education minister in December 2011. In a phased implementation ending in September, he has increased the number of pupils needed by small schools to maintain current staff levels or to get an extra class teacher.

Figures obtained by the Irish Examiner show a big jump in primary school amalgamations to nine last year, up from three or four a year from 2008 to 2010, six in 2011 and five in 2012.

However, in only one-third of cases last year did both schools to merge have fewer than 100 pupils, and they were in a mix of urban and rural areas, such as:

nOutside Ballina, Co Mayo (one 11-pupil school and one with 13 pupils);

* North inner-city Dublin (two schools of almost 90 pupils each);

* Near the west Clare village of Kilmihil (two schools with a combined enrolment of 38).

The six other amalgamations were in: Carrick-on-Shannon, Co Leitrim (211 and 64 pupils); Kildare town (two schools with almost 1,000 pupils between them); two south inner-city Dublin schools (176 and 70 pupils); Baldoyle, Co Dublin (both had nearly 200 pupils each); Kinsale, Co Cork (129 and 60 pupils); and Rochfordbridge in Westmeath (178 and 81 pupils).

The Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) said the department has no clear policy on amalgamation and staffing changes had merely put more pressure on hundreds of small schools.

“There must be an agreed national procedure that clarifies who should initiate and lead an amalgamation; at what stage an amalgamation process might start; and the consultation with the local community,” said an INTO spokesman.

He said budgetary constraints hamper some potential amalgamations and there should be dedicated funding for any necessary construction or refurbishment work to facilitate mergers.

Small schools traditionally had lower pupil-teacher ratios, because staff teach mixed grades, but the 79 that have lost staff as a result of the changes so far still have average class sizes below the 24-pupil national average.

The department had hoped bringing staff levels closer to the national average would encourage small schools to merge, as they would have less to lose in staffing terms, but the cuts have met strong resistance in rural areas. It emerged last month that 34 schools are to lose a teacher in September on foot of the changes, but appeals may succeed if a school’s enrolment is likely to increase.

Merge stats

Primary school amalgamations:

*2008 — 3 (1)

*2009 — 4 (1)

*2010 — 3 (0)

*2011 — 6 (3)

*2012 — 5 (2)

*2013 — 9 (3)

(Figures in brackets show number where both schools to merge had less than 100 pupils.)