PARENTS of children attending Cloughduv National School are calling for a temporary reprieve from the Department of Education after the school lost one of their teachers because it is short just three pupils for a projected enrolment.

Both parents and teachers have protested outside the school for an hour every day calling for the decision to be reversed, while an online petition has garnered over 700 signatures.

Parent Cian O’Leary, who has two children attending the school, said the school was notified last Wednesday that it was to lose one on their teachers who was on a temporary development teaching post.

‘The post was granted to the school on the provision that the school would hit a certain number in terms of enrolments. However, they were a couple short by September 30th and this was because some families were waiting to receive their keys for new houses in the village,’ said Cian.

‘The school put in an appeal then with letters and justifications as to why there was a temporary shortfall and that those families were waiting to get possession of their houses and would be enrolling in December.’

However, the Department of Education informed the school last Wednesday that the appeal failed and the teacher would lose her job on Friday October 24th.

‘The principal had to them to rearrange the classes and the teachers and it led to a lot of disruption. The irony is that with the project numbers for enrolment next September the Department of Education has sanctioned two of these development posts. We are tying to reason with them to retain the teacher we have and then get another teacher in September.’

Cian said the pupils were equally distraught that they lost their teacher which has now led to increased class sizes in the school

‘We are just calling on the Department to have some level of understanding and have a temporary reprieve here under the circumstances that we are a growing village with even more families moving in so the school population will equally increase.’

A spokesperson for the Department of Education and Youth said Cloughduv National School applied for a projected enrolment post which was granted provisionally on the basis that the school achieved an enrolment of 169 on September 30th.

‘Schools that are allocated these temporary posts are informed that they may fill the temporary post for September and October, but that if the required enrolment is not achieved, the post will be suppressed at the end of October.’

The spokesperson added that the enrolment on September 30th was 166 and ‘the post was suppressed in line with published
circulars.’

‘The school appealed but did not have sufficient enrolments before Christmas and the decision of the Board was not to grant the appeal post.’

The staffing of Cloughduv NS will remain as was during the 24/25 school year.

‘The provisional post granted was not an additional post, not one the school already had.’