Dáil debates

Tuesday, 23 November 2021

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions

School Staff

9:05 pm

Photo of Donnchadh Ó LaoghaireDonnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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58. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the steps she is taking to address the substitution crisis in schools. [57258/21]

Photo of Rose Conway-WalshRose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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The education system is at crisis point and many schools are struggling to stay afloat. School leaders are working up to midnight every night trying to source substitute teachers for their schools for the next day. Many of these positions remain unfilled and many classes end up with no teacher to take them. According to an INTO survey, nearly one third of substitution days were not covered. Does the Minister accept that there is a substitution crisis in schools?

Referring to my previous question, is she saying that we do not need school-specific contact tracing? Who will do the contact tracing if she says there is no way teachers or principals will have to do it?

Photo of Norma FoleyNorma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I am the first to acknowledge that these have been difficult and challenging times, not just currently but throughout the pandemic, for all school leaders and all school communities. There has been an extraordinary generosity by school leaders and school communities to do what needs to be done in the delivery of education and to pivot in other directions when it was not possible to maintain the delivery in the school setting and to provide remote teaching and learning.

I accept there are continuing challenges in the education sector. The Deputy referred in particular to substitution. I acknowledge that there has been extraordinary co-operation between the partners in education and others in finding a pathway forward. It is a considerable challenge, and it is more acute in some areas than others.

Significant measures have been put in place in recent weeks, and again this evening. Following positive engagement with the higher education institutions, HEIs, in recent weeks, including today, we are now in a position to say that there will be an opportunity for the HEIs to facilitate release of master’s in primary education, and BEd years 3 and 4 students to support schools up to the end of term. The HEIs have also agreed to explore flexible options on the assessment requirements for programmes in the context of students being available to support schools also, which is an important consideration. Retired teachers returning to the classroom until the end of the current term will not have their pensions impacted. Qualified teachers on secondment to the Department's teacher education support services will now be released and made available to schools. The continuing professional development, CPD, programmes, which are being followed at primary school, where substitution is required will be deferred until the mid-term break in February. It is intended that the programmes will be rescheduled following the mid-term break.

There will also be additionality added to the supply panels. A total of 100 teachers were added in the past week or so and a further 200 will be added bringing us to 680 teachers available on a full-time basis. There are also other measures.

Photo of Rose Conway-WalshRose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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I welcome all of the measures. Some effort has been made to tackle substitution by deploying student teachers, albeit that we have been calling for this for some time. However, it is only part of the solution. Much more can be done, and every school must have access to a substitution panel. This is an emergency, and we need all hands on deck. Student teachers alone will not solve this crisis. Several hundred teachers are on secondment to other bodies. I would not usually advocate this, but given that we are in a state of emergency, surely it is time to identify some of these teachers and for them to return back to the classroom. Principals are under incredible pressure to find substitute cover. Sometimes they have no other option but to deploy a special education teacher to cover a mainstream class. This is not by choice but by necessity. Last year, schools were able to bank those special education hours to protect special education teaching time for children with additional needs. I cannot understand why this year, when the substitution crisis has deteriorated even further, that banking is no longer an option. This is one thing the Minister can do immediately.

Photo of Norma FoleyNorma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I want to be very clear. No single measure is sufficient of itself to meet the challenges that are particularly acute in some areas. I have referenced the fact that those who are on secondment, in particular those who are on secondment to the professional development service for teachers, PDST, will be released and made available.

That is an important measure. It is important to say also that a number of measures have been announced in the last while and these are additional measures that are being announced today.

The Deputy referenced the substitution panel, which I also referenced. We now have full-time opportunities for teachers to make themselves available for emergency cover in schools. These panels have been expanded. Prior to this Government being formed, there were six of those panels in the country and there are now more than 400 of them, and we continue to keep that under review and to provide additionality, with more than 680 teachers being made available as well. There are also other measures in terms of teachers on supply panels completing Droichead in order to assist with the recruitment of teachers and, in the context of the pandemic, the Teaching Council has confirmed that teachers who secure posts on supply panels will also be eligible to complete Droichead.

9:15 pm

Photo of Rose Conway-WalshRose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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The Minister needs to safeguard special educational teaching. Will the Minister reverse the decision to remove banked special education hours - "Yes" or "No"? I go back to my previous question. Does the Minister think there is no need for school-specific contact tracing? What happens with the time delay in having antigen tests delivered to schools? Teachers and parents need more clarity around that.

Photo of Norma FoleyNorma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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To clarify with regard to substitution, a whole myriad of measures are being made available to schools, not one single measure. In terms of special education specifically, it is very important that children who need to avail of particular supports because they have particular special educational challenges should receive that support at the time they are scheduled to receive it. I do not think it is helpful to pit one group of students against another. It is important that, as the need arises and as the students are timetabled for special educational support, they should receive it at that time.

On contact tracing, I want to be very clear. The Deputy referred to public health, which continues to be available to schools currently and in the future in terms of any particular issues that might arise in schools. I have outlined previously what the new mechanisms will be, bearing in mind that this is the expert recommendation of the CMO and of public health, which have supported the running of our schools right from the very beginning and the onset of this pandemic.