Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 13 May 2021
141. Deputy Marian Harkin asked the Minister for Education the steps school principals should take in cases in which there are no substitute teachers available through a school’s own panel of regular substitutes or sub seeker facility given many schools cannot avail of the substitute teacher supply panel due to the fact they are not included on the panel and in cases in which no non-mainstream teachers are available to cover absences. [24285/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraAmong the COVID-19 supports provided for the 2020/21 school year was the extension of the Substitute Teacher Supply Panel. Currently, there are 115 Substitute Teacher Supply Panels nationwide, with almost 330 newly appointed Supply Panel teachers employed, providing substitute cover to almost 2,300 schools across the country. The proficiencies of the Substitute Teacher Supply Panels is being monitored throughout the school year and will be reviewed by my Department at the end of the current academic year.
These substitute Supply Panels are not the sole means whereby schools source substitutes but are set up to work alongside the existing methods of sourcing substitute teachers in accordance with Department Circular 45/2020, such as through a school’s own panel of regular substitutes or the national substitution portal service "Sub Seeker", operated by IPPN. Sub Seeker has over 6,000 teachers currently registered. It is anticipated that this number will increase in the coming weeks through additional PME student teachers registering with the Teaching Council under Route 3, following a recent awareness raising campaign by the Teaching Council with HEIS and students, and subsequently registering their availability on Sub Seeker .
Where there is no substitute available from these options, Circular 45/2020 sets out the sequence of substitution for covering teacher absences in primary schools.
