Children to bear brunt of teaching staff cuts

LIKE dozens of other schools, Scoil Náisiúnta an Chroí Naofa will have fewer language support staff to help an increased number of pupils in need of their help next year.

There are 48 pupils from 14 different countries at the school in the parish of Glounthaune, a few miles outside Cork city.

The school has three full-time language support teachers, having been allocated an extra post in September when the numbers whose first language is not English passed the 42 threshold for which a third appointment is needed. However, under the budget cuts, that will automatically be reduced to two language support staff, even though the number of international children will probably be more than 50 next autumn. Most of the children go out of class in small groups of up to five or six for half an hour a couple of times a week, depending on their level of English, but that will change next year.