Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 7 February 2024
197. Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin asked the Minister for Education to set out the number of substitutable primary teacher absences overall, and on a county by county basis, which were not covered by a substitute teacher and those that were covered by an unregistered person, between 1 September 2023 and 31 January 2024. [5281/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraI wish to advise the Deputy that details of the number of teachers who are employed by primary and post primary schools (excluding Education and Training Board (ETB) schools) are published each year at www.gov.ie/en/publication/c97fbd-teacher-statistics/#number-of-teachers-by-gender-appointed-to-teaching-posts
In circumstances where posts are unfilled for a period of time, or where a vacancy arises in a school due to a teacher taking leave, such vacancies may be filled by substitute teachers, on either a casual or non-casual contract basis.
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.
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 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 unfilled vacancies, or substitutable absences which were unfilled, in any given period of time, or as to the number of vacancies covered by an unregistered person during that time.
