Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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227. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to provide an update on the supervision and substitution scheme; if the scheme currently exists and is open to new applicants; the way she will address the shortage of cover for supervision; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18761/23]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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Department of Education Circular 006/2014 sets out details of the Supervision and Substitution (S&S) Scheme which operates in post-primary schools. The S & S Scheme allows for the supervision of students during breaks and before and after school and to allow for substitution to cover certain categories of teacher absences. This includes providing substitution cover for short term and unexpected absences in schools, such as all uncertified sick leave absences or to cover the first day of force majeure leave or illness in family leave

With effect from the beginning of the 2013/14 school year, participation in the Supervision and Substitution scheme is compulsory for all post-primary teachers, save for those who had availed of the opt-out arrangements prior to this date. Circular 0047/2017 also subsequently set out the arrangements whereby teachers who previously opted out from compulsory participation in the Supervision and Substitution scheme under Circular 0006/2014 could opt back in to the Supervision and Substitution scheme.

With effect from the beginning of the 2013/14 school year, each teacher has been required to provide 43 hours supervision and substitution per annum. Teachers working less than full hours other than those employed on a casual basis will have a liability to deliver supervision and substitution on a pro-rata basis. This scheme therefore provides for a very significant number of hours for each school for the covering of substitution absences.

The Department is undertaking a comprehensive programme to support the supply of teachers, including to cover short term substitutable absences , which includes:

• As a temporary measure, post-primary teachers can provide additional hours of substitute cover in the subject they are qualified to teach. The number of additional hours that can be taught per term has been increased from 20 to 35 for the remainder of the 2022/23 school year.
• For 2022/23, higher education institutions have introduced flexibility in the delivery of initial teacher education programmes to allow student teachers to provide more substitute cover.
• The Teaching Council introduced regulations allowing for the registration of 3rd and 4th-year undergraduate student teachers under registration Route 5 (Student Teachers). More than 2,700 student teachers have registered under route 5 to date
• A waiver of abatement for retired teachers returning to teach for up to 50 days in each of the three calendar years, 2021 to 2023 inclusive has been agreed with the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform.
• For 2022/23, job-sharing teachers may be employed to work in a substitute capacity during the period they are rostered off, in their own or in other schools, and the limits on substitute work applying to teachers on career break have also been suspended.

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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228. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of middle management positions in primary schools which were removed or scaled back during the austerity years that have been reintroduced per county, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18804/23]

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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229. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of middle management positions in secondary schools which were removed or scaled back during the austerity years that have been reintroduced per county, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18805/23]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 228 and 229 together.

Budget 2017 allowed for the commencement of restoration of middle management posts as part of an agreed distributed leadership model and meant lifting the rigidity of the long-standing moratorium on these posts. The equivalent of approximately 1,300 middle management posts (Assistant Principal I and Assistant Principal II) were restored at both Primary and Post-Primary level. (2,600 in total)

The Department has committed to annually revising the allocation of Posts of Responsibility to take into account retirements during the school year which has ensured that the current level of Posts of Responsibility (PORs) are maintained in the school system. New POR threshold tables are produced each year to distribute these POR’s equitably across all school.

The Sectoral Bargaining process under Building Momentum for the primary sector has been used to increase posts of responsibility (POR) in primary and special schools by 1,450 posts. The distribution of these additional posts of responsibility are comprehended in Circular 0043/2022 available on the Department’s website.

Since the commencement of the restoration of these posts at Post-Primary, there has also been an increased allocation in respect of Deputy Principal posts with over 450 additional posts allocated to schools. In the 2021/22 school year, the enrolment threshold for the allocation of an additional deputy principal in DEIS post-primary schools was reduced from 700 to 600 pupils. These additional posts provide resources to focus on leadership and management in our schools.

This recognises the key role school leadership has in promoting a school environment which is welcoming, inclusive and accountable.

At second-level, currently one in three Post-Primary teachers hold an API/APII post within schools and there are 727 Principals and 992 Deputy Principals.

In the Primary System, almost 16,000 teachers have a promotional post (Principal, DP API, APII) resulting in two in five (40%) of primary teachers holding a Management and Leadership position in our schools.

The information requested by the Deputy is not available on a county basis.

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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230. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of secondary schools that do not have a home economics teacher in 2020, 2021, 2022 and to date in 2023, by county, in tabular form. [18807/23]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The recruitment and appointment of teachers to fill teaching posts is a matter for individual school authorities, subject to procedures agreed upon under Section 24 of the Education Act 1998. The Department does not currently collate data on vacant home economics posts in post-primary schools.

With regard to the future supply of teachers of home economics, following the introduction by the Teaching Council of revised student Curricular Subject Requirements (Post-Primary) for persons applying for registration on or after 1 January 2023, students in St Angela’s College, Sligo now qualify to teach home economics (with the option of a second subject) in 4 years rather than 5, as was previously the case. This applies to the student intake in 2022 and subsequent years, and should have the effect of increasing graduate numbers when students graduate from both the 5 year and 4 year programmes.

Additionally, a number of new routes to home economics teaching are now in place. Munster Technological University (MTU) and University College Cork (UCC) offer a pathway for students to become qualified teachers in home economics and business whereby students study at MTU for 3 years and then undertake a PME in UCC for 2 years. A new BA in Education, Home Economics and Business Studies programme is also due to commence at MIC Thurles in September of this year. Graduates of this programme will, subject to Teaching Council approval, be qualified to teach home economics and business.

In addition, programmes to upskill already registered teachers to teach home economics are being offered by MTU and St Angela’s.

The Department is undertaking a comprehensive programme to support the supply of post-primary teachers, including:

• As a temporary measure, post-primary teachers can provide additional hours of substitute cover in the subject they are qualified to teach. The number of additional hours that can be taught per term has been increased from 20 to 35 for the remainder of the 2022/23 school year.
• For 2022/23, higher education institutions have introduced flexibility in the delivery of initial teacher education programmes to allow student teachers to provide more substitute cover.
• The Teaching Council introduced regulations allowing for the registration of 3rd and 4th-year undergraduate student teachers under registration Route 5 (Student Teachers). More than 2,700 student teachers have registered under route 5 to date. This initiative supports the employment of student teachers to cover substitutable vacancies.
• A waiver of abatement for retired teachers returning to teach for up to 50 days in each of the three calendar years, 2021 to 2023 inclusive has been agreed upon with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.
• For 2022/23, job-sharing teachers may be employed to work in a substitute capacity during the period they are rostered off, in their own or in other schools, and the limits on substitute work applying to teachers on career break have also been suspended.
• The Department provided details of the staffing arrangements for the 2023/24 school year to schools before the end of January. This will facilitate schools to begin recruitment for the 2023/24 school year earlier than in 2022.
• Newly qualified teachers (NQTs) who qualify outside Ireland may now complete induction (Droichead) in Ireland under a new measure implemented by the Teaching Council. This measure seeks to enhance the supply of NQTs available to schools.

• The Department has increased the number of places on post primary teacher upskilling programmes in mathematics, Spanish and physics. The programmes are delivered outside of class time and are offered at no cost to the teacher. Approximately 170 places were provided in the first intake across the three programmes with an increase in places to over 300 in 2023.
• A new programme for post-primary teachers to upskill in Irish is planned for commencement in 2023/2024. The Department is also considering additional upskilling programmes in other priority subject areas.
• The Department introduced a scheme to allow post-primary schools to share teachers, the aim of which is to recruit teachers in high-demand subjects and give teachers a full-time teaching contract. It is expected that a pilot of the scheme will be introduced in a small number of locations for the 2023/24 school year.

The Department meets on a regular basis with school management bodies and teacher unions on this very important issue and will continue to work intensively with all stakeholders to develop and implement creative solutions to address the teacher supply challenges for schools.