Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)
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Gabhaim buíochas don Cheann Comhairle as deis a thabhairt dom labhairt faoi seo. Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit fosta. I am grateful for the opportunity to raise this matter. Many teaching posts in the special needs education sector are filled by post-primary teachers and untrained personnel. The sector suffers a high turnover of staff because many teachers find they are not suited for, or keen to do, such work given, that it is different from mainstream education or because their qualifications and experience are not fully recognised. Many teachers who have chosen a career in special needs education and who have a great deal of specialist training and experience behind them are not fully recognised by the Department as special needs teachers because they are not trained for the primary sector.

The Department only considers primary or post-primary training in recognising special needs teachers. Part five of departmental circular 25/00 states the Department will offer "restricted recognition to teachers with a recognised post-primary qualification to enable them to teach in special schools where a proportion of the pupils attending the special school are of post-primary age (i.e. 12 years or older) and where 2nd level programmes are being provided by the school e.g. Junior Certificate Elementary Programme, Leaving Certificate Applied Programme".

Part four of circular 25/00 states "restricted recognition [is granted] to certain teachers who have a recognised primary teacher qualification from another jurisdiction", that is, those trained outside the state or those with a Montessori qualification. These teachers are qualified to teach four to 12 year olds in schools and classes where Irish is not a curricular requirement. These include schools and classes for pupils with severe and profound general learning disabilities, severe emotional disturbance and autistic spectrum disorders. In the UK, the DFEE confirmation of status for teachers states, "QTS is non-subject and non-age range specific. You are therefore eligible to seek posts covering the range of National Curriculum Subjects."

Why is there not more flexibility in Ireland regarding the recognition of basic teacher training and qualifications for the employment of special needs teachers? Many "unqualified" teachers are in classrooms in the special needs sector in Ireland, particularly in classes of children with autistic spectrum disorders, which I highlight because a number of my constituents work in them. They are considered unqualified in that they are not primary trained. Many may be post-primary trained and may have plenty of specialist training and experience, yet they are not entitled to full recognition and permanent contracts.

The education of these children is a specialist area and it requires much more training and experience than that provided in teacher training colleges. A few examples of the many special needs specific courses available both in Ireland and the UK, which have been taken by people who are teaching but not fully recognised, are PORTAGE, home teaching scheme for pre-school children with special educational needs and their families; PECS, picture exchange communication system; and TEACCH, treatment and education of autistic and related communication handicapped children. It is time the Department adopted a more progressive approach and recognised training other than primary qualifications when it comes to special needs education.

Perhaps it would be preferable if the Department concentrated on allocating primary trained teachers to mainstream primary posts and began to recognise those with specialist qualifications and experience as special needs teachers of any age and ability by allowing them to take up special education posts without restrictions. This way the need for investment in the retraining of teachers will lessen, staff turnover will reduce, there will be more continuity in the classroom and, consequently, the quality in the education of these children will improve.

I ask the Minister of State to recognise that children with special needs need continuity in their education. A great disservice is being done to them, perhaps unwittingly, by the Department, which has created this unrecognised category of teachers who are expert in their field and highly specialised but who must seek jobs elsewhere because they do not meet the Department's narrow criteria or because their own jobs are advertised. The Minister should pay attention to this issue in the interest of children with special needs who require continuity.

The irony is that teachers with post-primary qualifications are educating pupils with special needs who may be aged between 13 and 16 in primary schools but they are not recognised to teach children of post-primary age.

Seán Power (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this matter and, on behalf of the Minister for Education and Science, I am glad to have the opportunity to provide clarity on the issue.

Unqualified teachers should only be employed in exceptional circumstances and when all avenues for recruiting qualified personnel have been exhausted. The primary sector has experienced a shortage of trained teachers in recent years, mainly as a result of the large number of posts created to reduce class sizes, to cater for pupils in disadvantaged areas and to provide for those with special educational needs. The difficulties being experienced are aggravated by the number of teachers availing of career breaks and job sharing schemes.

The Department introduced a range of measures to address the shortage of qualified teachers and I am pleased the number of unqualified teachers employed in our primary schools has reduced significantly as a result. Some of the initiatives taken since 1999 are as follows. More than 1,000 students have been admitted annually to the B Ed programme in the colleges of education; a postgraduate course was introduced; graduates of the Hibernia course are recognised for employment as primary teacher; B Ed graduates of St. Mary's College, Belfast, who have studied Irish to honours level as an academic subject as part of their teaching qualifications, are recognised as fully qualified; Montessori trained teachers who have successfully completed the three-year full-time course at St. Nicholas College, Dún Laoghaire, which is recognised by HETAC, or the Montessori qualification which is awarded on completion of the three year full-time course in the AMI College, are recognised as fully qualified substitute teachers and to teach in certain categories of special schools, special classes and as resource teachers in primary schools; and fully qualified teachers who trained outside the State are recognised to teach in certain categories of schools and classes without the necessity to hold an Irish language qualification.

With regard to the question of recognition of qualifications, all applications for recognition are considered under the terms of circular 25/00 regarding recognition of teacher qualifications for the purposes of teaching in national schools, and are considered on a case by case basis. In accordance with the circular, where an applicant has a general primary teaching qualification from another jurisdiction, he or she may be entitled to recognition in a provisional and restricted capacity. This would entitle him or her to teach in mainstream classes in national schools, special classes and special schools and in resource teaching posts.

While in Ireland qualifications in special education are undertaken at postgraduate level, it is recognised that in other jurisdictions a qualification in special education may be taken at undergraduate level. In processing applications for recognition, account of this position is taken and teachers holding such qualifications, following consideration of their individual cases, may be granted restricted recognition to work in certain categories of special schools and special classes where Irish is not a curricular requirement and in resource teaching posts in mainstream schools. The Minister is committed to ensuring the shortage of qualified teachers will be eliminated as speedily as possible and her Department will continue to consider new initiatives and keep existing initiatives under review.