A value for money review on small primary schools prepared for the Department of Education recommended certain schools within close proximity of each other be amalgamated.
The report, commissioned by the previous government in 2010 but published today, said there is no clear-cut answer to what impact, if any, the reorganisation of small primary schools has on communities.
“It does not seem to automatically follow that closure will reduce sense of community,” the report said. “Much depends on what else is there.”
The report also said research found that small schools did not necessarily guarantee better educational outcomes for pupils than large schools.
The review committee said reorganisation was desirable for small schools within 8km of another school of the same type. It said this could be achieved while maintaining quality of education, reasonable pupil travel distances and a choice of ethos and language of instruction.
The report follows a statement on Tuesday by Minister for Education Jan O’Sullivan, who said the recommendations would not be adopted. Instead, she announced new measures aimed at sustaining small schools, particularly in isolated areas.
The value for money report said one to three-teacher schools are significantly more expensive to run on a per pupil basis than larger schools. “The estimated per-pupil operating cost of a one-teacher school (€6,870) is more than twice that of a pupil in a 16-teacher school (€3,214).”
The review states: “The provision of small schools of one-teacher/two-teachers will carry an annual premium in the region of €37 million post-2014, and three-teacher schools will carry an annual premium of €6.5 million.
“The committee considers that the priority should be to eliminate as much as possible the €43.2 million premium for schools of one, two and three mainstream classroom teachers.
“Amalgamation of all one and two mainstream classroom teacher schools that are within 8km of a similar school would seem to be the most practicable option in order to achieve the savings that are possible.”
Minimum school size
The committee behind the report recommended the Department of Education establish a minimum primary school size of four teachers, including a principal.
The report said preferential capitation rates and staffing allocations should be withdrawn from schools that refuse to re-organise.
Finally, it recommended that every effort be made to implement a phased programme of re-organisation in order to achieve at least €30 million in annual savings in the fastest feasible timeframe.
