Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 14 October 2021
120. Deputy Steven Matthews asked the Minister for Education 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]
View answerAmong 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.
