EARLY SCHOOL LEAVERS: Smaller class sizes and wider access to specialist services are needed to combat the problem of early school leaving, according to ASTI president Catherine Fitzpatrick.

Speaking on the recent release of the National Economic and Social Forum (NESF) report Early School Leavers, she said the rise in the pupil- teacher ratio in the second-level sector had left the most vulnerable students at greater risk of dropping out of school early.

"Ireland's pupil-teacher ratio is higher today than it was in 1970 and this means overcrowding in classrooms and reduced interaction between individual pupils and their teachers. This has a disproportionate impact on students at risk of drop out who require special attention."

Maximum class sizes should be established at 25 pupils for junior- cycle classes and 20 pupils for senior- cycle classes, she says.

Specialist services, such as a home-school-liaison teacher, must also be allocated to all second-level schools if the drop-out problem is to be tackled effectively, says Fitzpatrick.

"The NESF report highlights the need for more effective liaison between family and school, yet, currently, the Home-School Liaison Scheme is confined to schools officially designated as disadvantaged."

Fitzpatrick is also calling for greater resources for learning support and guidance teachers in smaller schools.

"Schools with fewer than 600 pupils do not qualify for a full-time learning support teacher and must have 500 students to qualify for a full-time guidance counsellor." This must be reviewed, she says.