Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 12 December 2023
360. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Education the amount of teacher absences that went uncovered between 1 September and 6 December 2023; and the unspent allocation of funds in respect of same. [55354/23]
View answerI can advise the Deputy that between 1st September, 2023, and 6th December 2023, a total of 356,799 days substitutable leave absences arose in primary schools, in respect of 30,451 teacher absences. A total of 131,449 days substitutable leave absences arose in voluntary or community and comprehensive post primary schools, in respect of 13,819 teacher absences. These figures are subject to slight change.
Substitutable leave absences may be filled by schools in a number of ways.
A substitute teacher may be recruited locally by a school, and a claim for payment for the teacher may be submitted to my Department, via the Online Claims System.
Alternatively, the absence may be covered by schools under a number of schemes, which are managed locally by schools.
The Supervision and Substitution 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 teachers, save for those who had availed of the opt-out arrangements prior to this date.
All schools therefore provide cover for a significant number of substitutable absences, arising over the course of the school year, through the Supervision and Substitution scheme.
For primary schools, substitute teacher supply panels are also in place. For the 2023/24 school year, 590 substitute teacher supply posts have been allocated to 166 panels, covering nearly 2,900 schools.
This scheme provides substitute cover for teachers employed in primary schools who are absent on short-term leave. Absences covered by the teacher supply panels are recorded locally by the schools and the schools are not required to claim for the substitutable leave to my Department.
For post primary schools, Circular 0035/2023 provides for a Teaching Hours Extension scheme to be in place for the 2023/24 school year.
This scheme provides post primary schools with an alternative means of sourcing appropriately qualified substitute teaching cover to support teaching and learning in schools. Teachers on full teaching contracts of 22 hours can provide additional substitution cover, of up to 35 additional hours, for each term designated under the scheme.
Absences covered under this scheme are also recorded locally by the schools and the schools are not required to claim for the substitutable leaves covered by this scheme to my Department.
As many of the substitutable absences that arise in schools are filled locally by schools, without a requirement for an application to be made to my Department, my Department therefore cannot provide definitive figures as to the number of substitutable absences which were filled, or unfilled, in any given period, or as to the resulting costs savings arising from same.
