Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Seanad for the opportunity to discuss the Teaching Council. I am aware that many Senators are teachers. We know from several international studies that teacher quality is the critical factor in improving educational outcomes. The role of a regulatory body in enhancing teacher quality is, therefore, a valuable area for public discussion. In light of the recent enactment of section 30 of the Teaching Council Act 2001 and my recent proposals to enhance the "fitness to practice" element of that legislation, this debate is particularly timely.

Let us turn to the background of this situation and the question of what the Teaching Council is. The council was established in March 2006 after the passage of the 2001 Act. It is charged with regulating the teaching profession and the professional conduct of teachers; establishing and promoting standards of teacher education, the knowledge and competence required of teachers and their professional conduct; and promoting continuing professional development for teachers. The council comprises 37 members, of whom 22 are either directly elected teachers or nominated by teacher trade unions. The council is a key agency in supporting my Department's strategic objectives and in contributing to the Government's education programme. In particular, the council's work advances Government priorities in respect of recruiting, training and supporting the highest calibre of teachers and as a driver for the reform of teacher education.

Ireland has been fortunate in the quality of its teachers. This is due in no small measure to the supportive role of the State in teacher education. It is accepted that education is a public good. The State, through the Government, the profession itself and the Teaching Council, recognises and accepts responsibility for the ongoing development of teachers as life-long learners supporting their students.

Full implementation of the Teaching Council Act will support a cohesive framework of teacher education, professionalism and registration based on quality inputs across the whole continuum of teacher education. I plan to commence the critically important remaining sections within the next two years.

I will now deal with what we are trying to achieve, namely, a regulated profession. I recently signed the commencement orders giving effect to section 30 of the Teaching Council Act and related regulations. This is a historic time. For the first time in the history of the State, to be paid from State funds all teachers working in recognised schools must since 28 January last be registered with the Teaching Council. When I say "recognised schools" I am speaking of 99.9% of all primary and secondary schools in this State. This has been a long time coming. In truth, far too long.

It is no mean achievement that there are now 87,000 teachers on the Teaching Council's register. I take this opportunity to put on record my appreciation of the efforts made by the council and its staff to process the large volumes of applications in the lead-in period. The co-operation of the Garda Central Vetting Unit and the teachers' payroll section of my Department and the Education and Training Boards of Ireland, ETBI, should also be acknowledged. This move also paves the way for the commencement of the remaining functions of the council as provided for in the Act, which relate to fitness to teach and professional development.

It is essential that there is a robust system of regulation in place for the teaching profession. The role of the Teaching Council is key to ensuring the development and implementation of standards for teachers' conduct and performance, which complements the work of initial and continuing teacher training. Much progress has been made by the council as reports placed before the Houses illustrate. The setting of fees, while subject to ministerial consent, is a matter for the council in the first instance. The current initial registration fee of €90 is significantly lower than registration fees charged by many other professional regulatory bodies. The council has reduced its renewal fee to €65 per annum.

Entry to the Teaching Council register is governed by a cohesive and coherent set of regulations which set out the qualifications required to become a recognised teacher. The council is currently working on revising these regulations to reflect recent developments, such as changes to the entry criteria for certain programmes of initial teacher education and changes to the council's legislation with regard to registration renewal. Along with the qualifications requirements, the council has in place a robust professional standards framework to ensure appropriate standards of competence and conduct throughout a teacher's career. Given the education system reaches into virtually every home in the country, and affects so many so deeply, it is crucial that the teaching profession's value system and professional standards are clear for all.

The code of professional conduct for teachers sets out standards of professional knowledge, skill, competence and conduct which reflect the complexity and variety of teaching. It covers areas such as communication and relationships, equality and inclusion, compliance with national and school policies, professional development and pupil-student welfare. The standards are underpinned by the four core values of respect, care, integrity and trust. Teachers are required to know and uphold the core values and professional commitments which are set out in the code.

As Members of this House will be aware, I recently announced the Government's intention to publish legislation which will amend the fitness to teach provisions of the 2001 Act to bring them into line with current practice in the regulatory area. It is clear from the reaction to that announcement that there will be intense interest in this area. Fitness to teach will be about reassuring the public and the profession, by dealing with cases where a complaint has been made about a teacher's professional misconduct, poor practice, or with cases where medical fitness impacts on a teacher's ability to teach. It will do this in the cases of teachers who are found to be falling short of the required standard by finding ways of helping them to address difficulties. This will be done with the aim of improving the quality of teaching and learning for pupils and teachers alike. In serious cases, where a teacher does not demonstrate a capacity or willingness to improve, or the subject matter of the complaint is deemed to be sufficiently serious, suspension or removal from the register will be an available sanction. It is important to note that the Teaching Council's fitness to teach role will not replace the responsibility at school level in the first instance for the resolution of complaints. The council will have the power to hear a complaint where it believes the case so warrants.

Protection of pupils-students attending our schools is a major priority of the Government and my Department. Since the introduction in September 2006 of the arrangements for Garda vetting of school staff, the Teaching Council has undertaken a very important role in the vetting arrangements for teachers. The National Vetting Bureau Act, when commenced later this year, will place the vetting of persons working with children or vulnerable adults, including teachers, on a statutory basis. My Department is currently engaging with the Department of Justice and Equality and the Office of the Attorney General in relation to the implementation of the Act in the education sector. I also intend to bring forward Teaching Council legislation that will underpin the central role of the council in the vetting of teachers.

I will deal now with initial teacher education, ITE, which is the training of our teachers at primary and second level. If we are serious about maintaining and enhancing the calibre of people who are entering the profession of teaching, we must look at the entry criteria for initial teacher education. I have asked the Teaching Council for advice on the requirements for entry to programmes of teacher education. The council carried out consultation in this area and research has also been commissioned. In the interim, the council has produced a new set of criteria for registration on the basis of qualifications in post-primary subjects from 2017 onward. The lead-in time and related communications are particularly important for students entering first and second year of their degrees as they will need to ensure that they choose the right modules if they wish to pursue a career in teaching. The State has also made a conscious policy choice to ensure that ITE is research-informed and based in third level institutions. This is in keeping with the best practices of education systems of other countries held in high regard. While the council is not directly involved in implementing this policy its work will be supported by the restructuring currently underway. This reform process is designed to ensure that programmes have explicit and clearly articulated sets of values underpinning them and that students are ready to meet the expected learning outcomes established by the council. This is but one step in a process of empowering teachers to empower learners to meet the unknown challenges of the century to come. The first graduates of reconceptualised programmes will emerge in 2016.

It is also worth noting that within the last 18 months, the provisions of the Teaching Council Act relating to its powers to set down the procedures for the induction and probation of new teachers have been commenced. Initial teacher education is only one phase in what we hope will be a lifelong career for teachers. Currently, the Teaching Council's pilot programme for induction and probation of newly qualified teachers, Droichead, is being implemented in over 50 schools, with this number is expected to increase. This pilot is important. It is about enhancing the quality of teaching beyond the period of initial teacher education. It is about embedding ways of thinking, reflecting and improving that should stand to teachers for the rest of their careers. It is about empowering teachers, within supportive school communities, to lead their own process of professional induction and development.

Engagement in ongoing continuous professional development is a key hallmark of any profession. Put simply, teachers should always learn so that they can always teach. This function of the Act has yet to be commenced but I intend to commence it during the lifetime of this Government.

In the meantime it is heartening to know we have a strong culture of teachers engaging in self-directed CPD and that this is growing. My Department also makes significant investment in CPD in a wide range of areas. Current priorities include literacy and numeracy, school self-evaluation, special education, wellbeing and curricular reform including the junior cycle.

Regulating the profession, improving professional standards and encouraging professional learning among teachers are three of the primary functions of the Teaching Council of Ireland. The council also works hard to promote teaching as a profession and to promote quality standards in teaching. The council is keen to expand its role and the ways in which it reaches out to teachers.

A particular case in point is FÉILTE, the Festival of Education in Learning and Teaching Excellence, which the council held to mark World Teachers' Day last October. Teachers from all over the country came to Dublin, in their own time, to showcase their work in teaching and learning, to share it with their peers, and to learn from their peers. It was a resounding success. Planning is already under way for the next FÉILTE, where it is intended to have increased capacity for teachers to attend and to open it to the public.

In order to support the process of lifelong learning for teachers, research is and will continue to be critical. The council has been co-operating closely with the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment and the Centre for Effective Services on an initiative called Research Alive! This will enhance connections between teachers, research and researchers in ways that make a real difference to the quality of teaching in our schools.

Teachers have called for more access to research and the council has provided all registered teachers with free access to the EBSCO education collection of online research. The council also hopes to reactivate soon its research bursary scheme for action research in classrooms.

I have also asked the council to provide me with advice on the matter of teacher supply. It is important that those considering embarking on a teaching career are aware of likely opportunities or limitations. The council has been liaising closely with the officials in my Department. We have no policy of measuring the labour market requirements for teachers coming into the system. In addition we have no say over what kinds of teachers come out of the initial teacher education system. For example, we do not have the ability - although it would be my intention to have it - to identify that we have a shortage of STEM teachers in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

We cannot prescribe the priorities we would like to give the colleges. We simply do not know and we take whatever teachers come out of the system. Senators will recall that until very recently we did not even know how many qualified mathematics teachers we had. That will change and I will be very interested to hear Members' comments on that. We have more than 800,000 young people in the primary and post-primary system. Any sane rational system looking at such a fixed cohort of young students should look at what labour force we need and what skillsets we require from those people and how we should achieve those outcomes without being too intrusive.

Quality of teaching has been determined as a critical influential factor towards improving educational outcomes for students. The work of the council is focused on the maintenance and improvement of the teaching standards. Notwithstanding the progress made to date, there are challenges ahead, including the further inculcation of the professional culture of teachers. The council needs to become more relevant and meaningful to all teachers in their day-to-day work, putting into operation further functions including sound and robust fitness to teach procedures, and continuing professional development. I look forward to working with the council on these and other matters and to discussing these further with Members of the Seanad today.