Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate and say, "Well done," to the Minister on lowering pupil-teacher ratios for small schools, which is a great initiative. We know that there is wonderful work being done in smaller schools and I am glad that the Minister has responded on that issue.

The Teaching Council director Tomás Ó Ruairc said the council was responsible for the story book of teaching. It is responsible for setting up the framework for the profession. They do not do the doing: the teachers do the teaching and therefore it is up to teachers to fill out the details of the book in each of the chapters.

The Teaching Council was established in March 2006 to promote teaching as a profession at primary and post-primary levels, to promote the professional development of teachers and to regulate standards in our profession. Its major achievements to date include setting up the register, the ongoing review of teacher training programmes and piloting "droichead", a new model for formal induction of new teachers conducted by more experienced colleagues. Last October, the council also launched its consultation on continuing professional development, CPD.

Draft guidelines are due to be published in March 2016 with the aim of supporting and developing an embedded culture of research in the profession. I commend the Teaching Council for its work and welcome the changes the Bill will bring.

Good teachers must have excellent communication skills, a great classroom presence, a love for children and a love for teaching and learning. Learning is not just a passive activity on the part of children but it is about engaging children, motivating children and awakening in children a love of learning. I know from my experience as the principal of a primary school that a mediocre teacher just tells, a good teacher explains, a superior teacher demonstrates and a really great teacher inspires. W. B. Yeats, speaking in the Seanad, said that education was not the filling of a pail but the lighting of a fire. Children must learn how to think and not what to think.

In the past, talk and chalk was an acceptable form of teaching - children in their seats, silence prevailing. I quote the poem, "The Village Schoolmaster":

And still they gaz'd and still the wonder grew,

That one small head could carry all he knew.

That was the school principal, or the school headmaster.

Teacher learning is vitally important and continuous career development is a prerequisite for the inspiring teacher. We must ensure the right people qualify and, ultimately, have a long and fulfilling career in the education sector and that students receive a quality education. Teachers must be learned, creative, motivators and counsellors and the Bill helps to ensure the right teacher qualifies, remains qualified and is passionate about his or her job.

This Bill sets out a number of ways in which a complaint can be made about professional misconduct, poor professional performance or medical unfitness. Weak teachers need to be weeded out, just as in every other profession. It is of the utmost importance that our children are taught in a safe, professional and nurturing environment.

To quote Tomás Ó Ruairc, "The greatest critic of an underperforming teacher is the teacher next door, because they’re the one picking up the pieces." This has been my experience as a principal. Teaching is a very demanding job and children deserve the very best. Children get one chance of a quality education and the performance of the adult in that pupil-teacher relationship is so important. It is important the children before that teacher receive the very best education and that the child reaches his or her potential, whatever that might be.

This Bill also introduces the statutory vetting of registered teachers, which I welcome. Previously, a teacher had to be vetted every time he or she moved school, which was daft and created chaos in the vetting system for the Garda and boards of management employing teachers. The Bill takes welcomes steps and I look forward to seeing them being enacted.

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