This article is from page 8 of the 2006-06-27 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 8 JPG
AS thousands of parents and teachers in the county prepare to battle with the Department of Education to reduce class sizes, one small west Clare School is encouraging pupils to join its small classes.
Baltard National School, close to the White Strand in Doonbeg, has less than a dozen pupils.
Chairman of its board of management, Michael Howard, told The Clare People that it was important that the school facility was maintained, especially with the ongoing development in the area.
“People are crying out for smaller numbers and we are prepared to take children from other areas to counteract the overcrowding,” he told The Clare People .
Last week, a petition was handed in to the Department of Education, which included more than 6,500 signatures from Clare parents, demanding smaller class sizes and an end to overcrowding.
Baltard Primary School principal Mary Molloy, who previously worked in an overcrowded Dublin city school, told The Clare People that smaller schools, were a huge advantage to both mainstream and special-needs children as they allowed one-on-one tuition.
It also allowed the teacher give special attention to a child who might need special help with a specific subject, she said.
The West Clare school recently received the prestigious DEIS (Delivering Equality of opportunity In Schools) award, one of only 100 rural schools ever to do so.
An associated grant was welcome for the school that has continued to battle with the Department of Education for funding for a second adult to assist its teaching principal.
To date, the board of management has had to find the funds for the second employee. Ms Molloy, who began working in the school four years ago, has outlined a number of suggestions for the future development of education in the area.
The principal, with qualifications in special needs education, outlined an idea that would involve developing the school as a junior or senior school for the area, with the students transferring to another school in the parish that could specialise in other classes.
The school is also likely to grow in the coming years due to ongoing development in the area, according to Mr Howard. The board of management chairman maintains the school can cope with any increase in number, and indeed welcomes the prospect. The Baltard man pointed to the importance of the school as the centre of the small community.