Minister Bruton convenes Specialist Group on Teacher Supply

The Minister for Education and Skills, Richard Bruton TD, today convened the first meeting of the Teacher Supply Steering Group, a specialist group of stakeholders, chaired by the Secretary General of the Department of Education and Skills, Mr. Seán Ó Foghlú.

Minister Bruton has established the Group to ensure that there is an adequate supply of quality teachers to meet the needs of primary and post primary schools and to ensure we can deliver on the government’s ambition to make Ireland’s Education and Training Service the best in Europe by 2026.

The numbers graduating from all teacher education programmes are steady and we are now recruiting more new teachers than at any other point in the history of the State. Over 5,000 additional teachers have been successfully recruited in the last two years.

However, concerns have been raised around teacher supply in recent times. The Group will consider the issues that impact on teacher supply and demand and oversee a programme of actions according to strict timelines and clear deliverables to meet important needs.

The Group will be considering the following areas:

• policies and arrangements for schools and teachers that impact on teacher mobility/supply
• promotion of the teaching profession
• higher education: initial teacher education policy, provision, funding and support
• data/ research

Convening the first meeting, Minister Bruton said:

ENDS

Minister Bruton has already taken a number of measures to alleviate pressures in this area:

• universities have increased the capacity on undergraduate initial teacher education programmes by an estimated 280 places in 2018
• this includes an increase in the priority areas of STEM, Irish and foreign languages of more than 100 places, an increase of over 40% on 2017 in these areas
• at postgraduate level, the Universities have increased the capacity on PME programmes by more than 100 places in the priority areas of STEM, Irish and foreign languages
• the universities and Postgraduate Applications Centre (PAC) have extended the closing date to Friday 13 April for applications for entry to PME programmes for Irish and the targeted STEM and foreign language subjects (Mathematics (including Applied Maths), Physics, Chemistry, French, German, Spanish and Italian)
• the restriction on the number of days a teacher can work while on career break has been temporarily lifted
• employers were reminded that “in considering applications for career breaks, the welfare and educational needs of the pupils shall take precedence over all other considerations and accordingly, must take account of the availability of appropriate qualified replacement teachers"
• the number of students admitted to St. Angela's, Sligo, in the current year, to study the home economics programme has been increased
• as part of the policy on Gaeltacht education, the Minister has also made funding available for the provision of two additional posts tor the existing Irish medium post primary initial teacher education programme in NUIG and is increasing from 2018/19 the number of places available on the programme
• all teachers retiring in 2017 were informed that in order to remain eligible for employment in a state funded teaching post for a period of more than five consecutive days or to supervise the State examinations, they must maintain their registrations with the Teaching Council

Terms of Reference of the Steering Group

The Steering Group will:

• evaluate policy initiatives both for short-term and longer term implementation to respond to constraints in the system which have been already identified, and others which it identifies in the course of its work on teacher supply and demand
• oversee a programme of actions for implementation by the Department of Education and Skills, its agencies and Higher Education Institutions together with identified targets, outcomes and timeframes
• provide direction and governance for the programme of actions and be the escalation point for the resolution of any difficulties
• provide a forum for the discussion of significant issues which impact on demand and supply and how these can be best progressed
• develop a consultation and communication strategy

Group membership:

• Chairperson: Seán Ó Foghlú, Secretary General, DES
• Mary Doyle, Deputy Secretary General, DES
• Ruth Carmody, Asst. Secretary General, DES
• Harold Hislop, Chief Inspector, DES
• Patrick Cluskey, Minister’s Advisor
• Graham Love, Higher Education Authority
• Tomás Ó Ruairc, Teaching Council
• John O’Halloran, Deputy President and Registrar, UCC
• Eithne Guilfoyle, Vice President Academic and Registrar, DCU
• Lewis Purser, Director Academic Affairs, Irish Universities Association
• Independent expert: to be confirmed