Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 3 October 2023
291. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Education to address teacher shortages in secondary schools by allowing teachers who are working 22 hours in a school and who could work in another school on their half day, to do so, and therefore extend the ability to work up to 35 extra hours in the year, not just in one’s own school, but in others too; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42152/23]
View answerThe purpose of the Teaching Hours Extension Scheme, as set out in Circular 0035/2023, is to provide Post Primary school management with an alternative means of sourcing appropriately qualified substitute teaching cover to support teaching and learning in schools.
Under the terms of the scheme, teachers may provide substitute teaching cover in more than one school. However, where a teacher works in more than one school, they remain subject to the overall maximum limit of 35 hours per term, i.e. the cap applies irrespective of the number of schools in which a teacher works.
