Written answers

Thursday, 14 October 2021

Department of Education and Skills

School Staff

Photo of Steven MatthewsSteven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party)
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120. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her plans regarding the banking of hours by primary schools in cases in which mainstream classroom teachers are replaced by special education teachers due to absences; if her attention has been drawn to the demands of a union (details supplied) to reinstate this policy; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50188/21]

Photo of Norma FoleyNorma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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Among the COVID-19 supports provided for the 2020/21 school year, additional measures to provide for substitution to cover for teacher absences were introduced.  These included a major expansion of the Substitute Teacher Supply Panels.  These were extended and currently almost 380 newly appointed supply panel teachers are employed, providing substitute cover to over 2,500 primary schools across the country.  These substitute Supply Panels are not the only means whereby schools source substitutes but are set up to work alongside the existing methods of sourcing substitute teachers such as the national substitution portal service "Sub Seeker", operated by IPPN or through a school’s own panel of regular substitutes.

As a measure of last resort, and in the context of the uncertainty surrounding Covid-19 related absences schools were permitted to use non-mainstream class teachers last year to provide cover for teacher absences.  

Department Circulars 0044/2019 and 31/2011, provide that schools are required to employ appropriately qualified and registered teachers and ensure that unemployed teachers should be offered employment in preference to those who have retired. The circulars set out the sequence of recruitment for substitute appointments, which include contacting a person on the substitute list established by the employer, or by using a national substitute service such as SubSeeker, or advertising.

Due to the successful roll out of the vaccination programme and changes to the rules around close contacts and the requirements to restrict movements, teacher absences due to Covid-19 should be reduced this year.  In this context using non-mainstream class teachers should no longer be necessary and schools should revert to using the normal sequence of filling substitute positions. It will therefore no longer be necessary to ‘bank hours’.  This will ensure that children with special education needs get access to their specialised teaching on an ongoing basis.

Photo of Steven MatthewsSteven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party)
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121. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her plans regarding teacher supply panels at both primary and secondary school level; if she plans to expand the existing coverage of supply panels to make them accessible to schools nationwide; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50189/21]

Photo of Steven MatthewsSteven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party)
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122. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her views on the adequacy of the number of teachers currently allocated to supply panels for substitute teachers at a primary school level; if her attention has been drawn to cases in which three substitute teachers are covering up to 14 schools in a district as is the case in north County Wicklow; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50191/21]

Photo of Norma FoleyNorma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 121 and 122 together.

As part of the COVID-19 supports provided to schools in 2020, additional funding of €41.2 million was allocated to provide primary schools with substitute staff.

This funding allowed for the expansion of the Substitute Teacher Supply Panel from a pilot scheme consisting of 6 base schools to 132 Substitute Teacher Supply Panels nationwide, with almost 380 newly appointed Supply Panel teachers employed, providing substitute cover to over 2,500 schools across the country.  This includes 5 supply panel clusters in Co. Wicklow. 

The base schools were firstly identified in conjunction with the INTO and primary management bodies.  The INTO and management bodies made contact with these schools with a view to being a base for that location.

In forming the Supply Panel clusters, my Department's GIS system identified the receiving schools based on distance from the base school.  Teaching posts were allocated to each Supply Panel cluster based on the number of permanent teaching positions in the schools in the cluster and the distance to the base school.

Primary schools have been informed that the Supply Panel Scheme will continue for the 2021/22 school year. The scheme provides more certainty on the availability of substitutes for primary schools and allows for substitutions that are not covered by existing schemes.

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