IPPN Irish Primary Principals' Network, the professional body for Irish primary school leaders

SCHOOLS may lose special teaching hours next autumn, it has been claimed.

A union said red tape could see teachers driving between schools instead of being in class.

The Department of Education last month announced reforms to the way it allocates learning support and resource teachers who work with children with common learning difficulties such as dyslexia or those who need extra help with reading and maths. 

For almost a decade, primary schools have been given such staff based on pupil numbers, taking into account factors such as if a school has high numbers of disadvantaged children.