"Stressed And Angry": Junior Infant Students In Naas School Without Teacher For New Academic Year

It comes as a new junior infant class was added for the school

Concerns have been raised as a new junior infant's class in Naas is without a teacher for the new school year.

Earlier in the year, the Department of Education requested an extra junior infant class for St. Corban's Boys National School, due to an excess of students in the school during the current school year.

However, the Department of Education said it will not be providing an extra teacher.

The school had submitted an appeal to the Primary Staffing Appeals Board, but the appeal was unsuccessful.

Speaking on this morning's Kildare Today, parent of one of the students, Lucy Stokes said that the parents are "stressed and angry" about the situation.

"We're very stressed and angry, looking at it now, we were already in this position, I applied to five or six schools in Naas and was told no places were available, and then when St Corban's opened their extra class, we were delighted, but now we're not sure."

Ms Stokes was also worried about the prospect of her son not having a school place for the new school year.

"I have contacted the other four schools that I applied to and they have said to me that there's 40 or 50 on some of the lists and the numbers haven't moved at all in weeks."

She added that there was "no guarantee" that her son will secure a school place somewhere else other than St Corban's, and hopes that the Education Department "might see sense".

Also speaking on Kildare Today was Higher Education Minister and Kildare North TD James Lawless, who explained what correspondence he had with the Department:

"What the Department of Education say, is that even though there's a new class being enrolled, the numbers are actually less than last year, and the school population will be smaller this year than last year.

"Teacher to pupil ratios are the way it's done and they work out how many teachers are needed based on the pupils in the school."

The Minister said that the Department's reasoning "doesn't sound right [as] most of the schools in Naas and in Kildare are bursting at the seams".

Minister Lawless had been due to meet the school principal earlier this afternoon about the situation.

He said that he will be "driving this hard to get a resolution" having met with Education Minister Hildegarde Naughton recently in relation to it.

On social media previously, Minister Lawless said that he understood the stress for parents whose children are starting school and are anxious to get clarity on the situation.

In a statement provided to Kfm News, the Department of Education said:

"The department’s staffing schedule clearly sets out for all schools how teachers are allocated.

"The key factors for determining the level of staffing resources provided at individual school level are the staffing schedule for the relevant school year and pupil enrolments on the previous September.

"Additional teachers are allocated when pupil numbers increase above the thresholds set out in the schedule.

"Where pupil numbers are below these thresholds, schools organise their classes to operate within the existing teacher allocation, which is sufficient to ensure a mainstream class teacher for all pupils."

In a document from the Department and seen by Kfm News, outlines that the enrolment numbers had fallen from September 2024 to September 2025 from 498 to 460, in which 1 teacher was de-allocated from the school.

It also outlined how the retention figure of 478 was needed to retain the 20th teacher.

The matter has also been raised by a number of local councillors and TDs.

The full interviews can be heard below: