Kildare South Fine Gael TD Martin Heydon has said that Kildare primary schools are set to benefit from the lowest pupil teacher ratio ever, following Budget 2018 announced this week. An additional allocation for SNA’s will also ensure extra supports are available for local children who need them most.
“I am delighted to announce that children here in Kildare will benefit from the lowest pupil teacher ratio in primary schools ever of 26:1, ensuring better opportunities and a fairer chance for all children in classrooms across our local community.
“I also welcome the investment of over €1.7bn for special education needs in the coming year. This means that over 1,000 additional Special Needs Assistants can be recruited in time for September 2018, bringing the total number of SNAs to over 15,000.
“In 2018 we will also see 230 new teachers in special classes and special schools and 100 new Special Education teachers.
“I am continuing to work with Minister Richard Bruton and his Department to raise issues of interest to parents and children in Co. Kildare. I am working with members of the SKET campaign to highlight the demographic information in their new report as they continue to fight for a new secondary school in Co. Kildare.
“I am also fighting for more special needs units at secondary level in particularly in the Newbridge area where there seems to be a shortfall for the coming year.
“This Government is now spending more on education than ever before. This shows the strong priority that the government has put on education, but we need to ensure that funding is getting to where it needs to be. I am continuing to work to ensure that this funding is channelled to those that need it most in Co. Kildare.