Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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259. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her views on the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on student teachers; the way that she proposes to assist student teachers to cope with requests to substitute for permanent staff due to Covid-19 absences while balancing their studies; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15598/22]

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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260. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the steps that she is taking to ensure that student teachers are supported to continue substituting to cover for pandemic-related staff absences in schools; and if she plans to develop contingency plans or to alter regulations on substituting while on a period of school placement to accommodate such requests from schools. [15599/22]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 259 and 260 together.

At the outset, I want to acknowledge the key role played by student teachers in supporting our schools throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, particularly in providing substitution cover. This support was vitally important to ensure that our schools remained open for pupils. I am conscious that, at the same time, so many aspects of the student teacher experience were altered by the pandemic.

Over the past two years, Education Stakeholders, including the Department of Education, Higher Education Institutions providing initial teacher education (ITE) and the Teaching Council, have sought to work together to maintain the integrity of the students’ ITE experiences and support students in satisfactorily completing their ITE programmes, while also meeting the challenges to the education system as a whole. In this context, a number of Guidance documents were developed and published, to provide information and clarity around aspects of ITE that were particularly impacted by Covid-19 and to set out the framework within which student teachers could facilitate additional substitute supply, as appropriate to their own circumstances.

In this regard, a framework for adapted School Placement arrangements was developed by the Department of Education and the Teaching Council, together with the relevant Initial Teacher Education (ITE) providers, in order to ensure that student teachers at primary level could continue to support schools during periods of planned school placement from the beginning of January up to the February mid-term break. During this period, student teachers continued to be located in their host school for school placement, but were also available to support other schools where required.

As the Deputy will be aware, the adapted School Placement arrangements were an exceptional measure introduced as part of a suite of measures to support schools to minimise the risk associated with COVID-19 in January and February, with the understanding that these would be unwound as soon as possible.

The Department understands that student teachers are now experiencing more typical School Placement arrangements, and associated assessments, which are a critical part of their ITE programmes. While the adapted School Placement arrangements are no longer in place, student teachers will, if they wish, still be able to support schools by providing substitution cover when they have availability outside of their ITE programme requirements. However, student teachers cannot be compelled to carry out substitution work and any substitution work carried out would be in a paid capacity.

Due to the exigencies of the public health emergency still posed by the spread of Covid-19, I have signed into force legislation which permits payment for periods of more than five consecutive school days to 3rd and 4th year student teachers, who satisfy the criteria to be eligible to apply to the Teaching Council for registration, pursuant to Route 5 of the Schedule to the Teaching Council (Registration) Regulations 2016.

This is a temporary and time limited amendment to Regulation 7 of the Education Act 1998 (Unregistered Persons) Regulations 2014 (S.I. No. 32 of 2014) which will expire on 30th June 2022. This amendment solely relates to this category of unregistered persons and the “5-day rule” remains in place in relation to the employment of all other unregistered persons in schools.

In addition, the Teaching Council is working to put processes and procedures in place to support the registration and vetting of 3rd and 4th year student teachers. This is expected to be in place before the end of this academic year.