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Teachers fear for pupils' safety

Thursday, 11 March 2010

TEACHERS are warning that the safety and welfare of pupils in Ballymun and Finglas may be at risk because a scheme that provides vetted substitute teachers to the 22 primary schools in the area has been axed. The Teacher Supply Panel, which was first piloted in Ballymun and Finglas 17 years ago, has been shelved as part of another savage budget cut. And a local school principal told Northside People that the welfare and safety of pupils could be compromised as a result. Ten substitute teachers who were based at St Joseph’s Junior National School in Ballymun and St Kevin’s Boys’ School in Finglas and have provided qualified, vetted and trusted cover to the schools will lose their jobs as a result of the cutback. The supply teacher scheme will cease from the start of the next school year. Brendan Kelly, principal of St Canice’s Boys’ School in Finglas, said the move will lead to chaos on days when teachers are absent as they will have to rely on the availability of unfamiliar substitute cover provided through agencies. “There is a very real possibility that the safety and welfare of Finglas and Ballymun schoolchildren has been compromised by the Government’s decision to axe the present substitute panel service, who have been vetted,” he said. “Schools that require substitute cover at short notice will be forced to delay the employment of a substitute for a day or even longer while they attempt to verify the qualifications of prospective substitutes and also establish that they have been Garda vetted. “The reality on the ground is that principals in disadvantaged areas often find it nearly impossible to attract qualified, vetted substitute cover in emergencies and it greatly increases their workload. “It will undoubtedly result in classes having to be split up on a Monday morning with teachers in already over-crowded classrooms having to make room for up to an extra half dozen pupils.” According to substitute teacher Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin, who is one of the 10 teachers affected, the successful scheme is a “sacrificial lamb” being implemented to appease the Department of Finance. “We are available to cover more than 200 different classes in the locality, at minimal notice, from 6th class right down to Early Start, including Gaelscoileanna,” he told Northside People. “Axing such a successful scheme doesn't even make economic sense and will do damage to local schools. “The scheme has been reviewed and was found to be working well. “Such schemes operate successfully in other EU countries and provide continuity of teachers to pupils and schools. “We would be the only country not to have such a supply scheme.” Over the last decade the substitute scheme was expanded and introduced in other disadvantaged areas throughout the country. Sheila Judge, secretary of Dublin North West branch of the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) and a teacher in St Joseph’s school in Ballymun, described the cut as “short sighted, illogical and one that will save very little money”. “When a teacher is absent it will still be necessary to employ a substitute teacher on a casual basis at a substantial daily rate, so it is basically cost neutral,” she told Northside People. “In fact, the proposal to axe the scheme could actually end up costing additional money. “We have now learned that this budget cut was carried out under orders from the Department of Finance in a crude ‘slash and burn’ manner with the sole aim to cull a number of permanent posts in the education sector without any thought of the consequences. “We are calling on parents, teachers and all concerned groups to actively campaign locally and force the Government to reverse this ill-thought out and reckless decision.” She concluded: “At the end of the day the biggest losers will be the children of Finglas and Ballymun.” A spokesperson for the Department of Education said the scheme was originally set up at a time when schools in disadvantaged areas had difficulty in getting substitute teachers. “The supply scheme operates on the basis of an additional full-time teacher being allocated to a school to cover certified sick leave absences in that school and a cluster of neighbouring schools,” she explained. “If the teacher is not required on a given day to cover sick leave absences they generally assist with other work in their school such as administrative duties. “A value for money review was published in July 2006 and it found that approximately 60 per cent of these teachers' time was used to cover sick leave absences with the balance on various other school duties. “This reflects the unpredictable nature of sick leave absences. “While there are benefits for schools in having these full-time teachers, it is considered more cost effective to use the normal substitution arrangements that apply to all other schools to cover sick leave absences instead of having a cohort of full-time teachers on call all the time in these schools to cover sick leave absences that may or may not arise.” According to the Department of Education spokesperson the teachers affected will be redeployed to other schools that have vacancies.