Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 December 2021
291. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Education the steps she is taking to address the lack of substitute teachers at secondary level; the measures being taken to ensure students do not miss out on teaching due to a shortage of substitute teachers; the way in which this will be evaluated; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59787/21]
View answerA range of measures are in place to provide enhanced substitute cover in the context of current challenges.
Higher education institutions (HEIs) providing undergraduate programmes of post-primary initial teacher education (ITE) have agreed to facilitate the release of year 3 and year 4 B.Ed. students to support schools up to the end of the current term. They have also agreed to explore flexible options in relation to the assessment requirement for programmes in the context of students being available to support schools.
In addition, the HEIs providing professional master of education (PME) ITE programmes have ensured flexibility in programme delivery to enhance the availability of PME students to undertake substitute work. PME students have been advised to register with the Teaching Council and to register with Sub Seeker, the national substitution portal service to make their availability known to schools.
A new temporary arrangement has been put in place to provide principals with an alternative means of sourcing appropriate substitution cover, preferably with subject appropriate qualifications, where none is otherwise available. This scheme will assist post-primary schools to ensure that they can source sufficient substitution cover, in circumstances where schools cannot source cover through the existing arrangements. Post-primary teachers will now be able to work over 22 hours per week, working extra hours to provide substitute cover, up to a total of 35 additional hours between 29th November and 28th February, 2022.
Continuing professional development (CPD) at post-primary level where substitution is required is being deferred until after the February 2022 mid-term break, with the exception of planned CPD relating to reforms in senior cycle examinable subjects. These measures are being taken on an exceptional basis.
My Department’s teacher education support services have been asked to release teachers who are on secondment to make themselves available to provide substitute cover in schools. Arrangements are being made for available teachers from these services to register with Sub Seeker.
Retired teachers returning to classrooms until the end of the current school term will not have their pension abated.
In exceptional circumstances where there is no substitute available it may be possible for the Treoraí (formerly co-operating teachers) who host student teachers on school placement to provide substitute cover for absences of a very short duration in their own school if another substitute cannot be sourced at short notice. This should be for the shortest time possible until a substitute can be recruited.
These recently announced measures are in addition to those already in place, including, for the current school year, changes made to the career break scheme to permit teachers on career break to carry out unlimited substitute work. Changes have also been made to the job sharing scheme to permit job sharing teachers carry out substitute work on the days they are rostered off, in their own or in other schools.
The Teaching Council has also undertaken a communications campaign to contact the over 111,000 teachers on its register to raise awareness to the current teacher substitute challenges and to ask available teachers to register with Sub Seeker, so that their availability is known to schools seeking subs.
As outlined in Circulars 0032/2021 and 0033/2021, my Department's programme of inspection activity during the September-December 2021 term is placing an emphasis on the provision of advice and support to schools that takes account of the circumstances in which schools are currently working and the prevailing public health advice.
