I move:
That Seanad Éireann notes the significant advances in primary education and the revolutionary changes including, inter alia, the revised curriculum, the introduction of information and communication technology and the piloting of modern European languages; recognises the ever increasing demands on teachers of developments such as the plean scoile of performance management, new codes of discipline, anti-drugs programmes, child abuse guidelines, sex education programmes and new systems of teacher accountability and school evaluation; welcomes the unparalleled contribution made by primary teachers to the design, management and implementation of these positive and progressive changes in Irish primary education; is concerned that there is, among the wider community, a lack of awareness of all that is happening in our primary schools and that there is a dearth of empirical research in this area; and proposes that the Minister for Education and Science initiates an independent performance audit of primary education so that by outlining, describing and confirming the extraordinary activity taking place, the trust and confidence of the community can be reinforced and so that this vital data can also be made available to those who are charged with determining the rewards, remuneration and career structure of teachers.
I am trying to achieve two things with my motion. First, I want to give people an insight into what is happening in primary education. Second, I want them to gain an understanding of the demands made on all the partners in the sector, not just on teachers. To that end I tabled this long motion. I am delighted to welcome the Minister for Education and Science to the House. This is the first opportunity he has had to outline his vision for education and I look forward to hearing what he has to say. I have no doubt that his comments will be very supportive.
The revised curriculum for primary education was introduced after full consultation with all the education partners. It has not happened anywhere else in western Europe that a revised curriculum has been introduced and on the day of its introduction had the full support of parents, management and teachers organisations and the Department's inspectorate. It is a model of how things should be done and everyone involved in education in Ireland should take a bow. The OECD has confirmed that Ireland introduced information and communication technology faster than any other European country. The same applies to the way teachers have been prepared to take on additional responsibilities.
We should also recognise the increasing demands placed on teachers by developments such as the plean scoile of performance management. Performance management is now in situ in primary education. School staff put together their plan for the operation of the school and deal with everything from the implementation of the curriculum to codes of discipline, relationships with parents, development of the management structures in the school and the organisation of everything from supervision to extra-curricular activities. This is hugely important.
The new codes of discipline have been discussed in this House on a number of occasions. We have also discussed the anti-drugs programmes, child abuse guidelines, sex education programmes and the new systems of teacher accountability and school evaluation. In other European countries governments and ministers are fighting to introduce and garner support for these measures, yet there is a consensus approach to them in Ireland. I ask the House to welcome the unparalleled contribution that has been made by primary schoolteachers, not just to the changes that I have mentioned but to the design, management, implementation, modification and continuous assessment of them. All of their contributions have been positive and progressive.
We must also look at the implications these changes will have on primary education but I will come back to that at a later stage. People who work in schools, particularly teachers, are worried that there is a lack of awareness in the wider community of all that is happening in our primary schools and that there is a dearth of empirical research to show what is happening.
In general, teachers get a bad press. It is easy to have a go at teachers in the media and journalists are adept at it. I am not trying to bash the media in response but teachers tend not to get a good press for the extraordinary work they do. It is time we had an independent consideration of their work. The Minister should initiate an independent performance audit of primary education which would examine how we approach change, make policies and how we describe, design, manage, implement and modify the change. An audit could examine whether there is a proper level of consultation, resources and support and whether it is moving at the correct pace. An independent audit would, for the first time, outline, describe and confirm the extraordinary activity that takes place in primary schools, in a way that would reinforce the trust and confidence of the community. This vital data could be made available and would be most useful to me in making a case to those who are charged with determining the rewards, remuneration, career structure and promotion of teachers.
This is the way to go about it. If we examine what is going on in schools then we could show that the changes are worthwhile, important, add value and improve the system. We could also prove that these changes add to our children's education and that the people who deliver that should be properly and fairly rewarded.
In recent times, there have been the most significant advances ever in primary education and the matters I have mentioned. I cannot recall, from my experience over the past 30 years and my knowledge of the history of primary education, when demands on teachers increased at such a rate.
The developments I mentioned have resulted in a substantial increase in the workload of teachers. The current pace of change at primary level is quite incredible. Each of those changes adds to the workload of the teacher.
Teachers have never been more in the firing line and it has never been so difficult to be a teacher. I am not saying that to whinge but to be factual. Many jobs are difficult at the moment, but huge demands are put on teachers. Parents have invested a huge amount in their children. The burgeoning Irish economy has huge expectations of the next generation. That brings its own problems in terms of demands on schools. However, in addition, there has never before been so many social problems and different family models that must be dealt with. Every one of those problems is evident in the school every Monday morning and is part and parcel of the teacher's work.
Today's primary teachers feel they are the dustbin where everybody's fresh idea for education or every expert's new proposal to cure the ills of society are left to be dealt with. Schools are expected to deal with everything but they cannot. While teachers and schools can be part of the solution to many problems, they cannot do it on their own. Teachers cannot change the attitudes and habits of a generation in the time they have with children because other things must also change. Listening to some commentators – I ask Members of the House to show some sympathy on this point – one could be forgiven for thinking that every problem in the country, including litter, vandalism, drug abuse, violence and delinquency, can be solved by teachers, simply by the introduction of yet another specially devised programme.
This adds to the frustration of teachers. They have, first, the frustration of dealing with these problems in the schools and then the added frustration of a community expectation that, in some way, the problems of litter can be fixed in school. The problem of bad manners cannot be fixed in school. Parents cannot send their children to school to learn manners. If children do not have manners when they go to school, they will not learn them there. That is a simple fact of life. If children grow up throwing litter on the ground, they can be stopped doing it at school but their behaviour will not be any different outside school unless the community attitude changes.
At the same time, the whole methodology, content and subject range of primary schools are constantly changing. Every week brings a new circular with a new proposal to be implemented. Despite all this, and the fact that every teacher is subject to regular, unannounced inspectors' visits, an annual confirmation of continuance and a full and rigorous school inspection every few years, numerous influential critics continue to bay for more accountability from teachers.
Primary teachers are accountable and are required to be confirmed in their position every year. School staff are required to be confirmed, at the outside, every four years, but usually much more often than that. Every teacher is visited by a team of inspectors and becomes part and parcel of the school report. That is important and is supported by teachers. In the same way that it is important to have an independent performance audit, we believe in the independence of the inspectorate. We believe we can put our hands up and say we are doing a good job because the inspectors are confirming that every year.
The whole pace of change which I outlined must be slowed down and managed because it is overwhelming at present. I seek the Minister's sympathy and support in that regard. The pace of change is too fast and teachers are being overwhelmed by a tidal wave of change. Teachers and school authorities cannot cope with the weight of new proposals. Schools will crash due to overload if this continues. If the process of change moves too fast, it will be ineffective.
I ask the Minister to note that I have not rejected any of the proposed changes. We are talking about the management of that change, to make sure it is implemented in a way with which everyone can be comfortable. That means determining the pace of change in a way that is acceptable. We need to manage change in a professional manner. We, as teachers, will embrace that positive change as long as it is introduced in a measured and agreed manner.
It must be accepted that everyone's work is changing these days. However, teachers must do much more than accept change, we must also manage, implement and evaluate it. Not only that, we also sometimes have to design the changed models. While we have not, at this point, claimed additional money for particular new duties, we believe we have given good value for the relatively small percentage increases we got in previous programmes and that the primary service has gained massively. There seems to be a lack of awareness of this. Teachers are of the view that an independent performance audit should be put in place so that everyone can see what is happening. That is hugely important.
We are now faced with another barrage of new duties, responsibilities and functions over the next five years. These are all good but will bring a huge new range of demands and will require resources. These arise from the introduction of the revised curriculum, which will be implemented over the next five years, the enactment of new education legislation this year and a large number of new proposals from the Department and the Minister on a regular basis.
It is reasonable to expect a reasonable reward for undertaking this massive turnaround. The INTO, as representatives of teachers, will be seeking a substantial increase for teachers from the benchmarking body under the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness. We will insist that body comes up with a decent percentage increase, which will reward the unparalleled contribution made by primary teachers to the design, management and implementation of a positive and progressive change in primary education.
I hope for the Minister's support in ensuring the changes can be managed effectively. The contribution of teachers must be recognised, appreciated and rewarded. I hope we can move forward in a consensus and partnership manner, as envisaged under the programme.