Bruton warns primary teacher supply panels may be ‘expensive’

Minister for Education Richard Bruton has warned that supply panels to alleviate the shortages in teachers at primary school level may be "expensive and ineffective".

The Irish Primary Principals’ Network (IPPN) has called for the creation of supply panels which would be used to fill temporary vacancies.

These would see supply teachers being paid a salary to be available to fill in where there are vacancies in schools in given areas.

The minister said there are challenges inherent in such a move but that it is being looked at as an option by the steering group which is currently examining teacher shortages.

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Supply panels were introduced on a pilot basis but withdrawn in 2010.

“The evaluation to the Department at the time is that they were proving to be an ineffective and inexpensive use of resources in their view,” Mr Bruton said after addressing the IPPN conference.

“Obviously these issues can be re-evaluated by the steering group, but we do have questions around it. Those will have to be examined if panels were to be considered for the future.”

The minister said he will not change the criteria relating to primary school teachers taking career breaks but he reiterated that schools had to be “careful in their use” of such breaks.

He stressed the need for schools to have replacements in place before allowing teachers to leave temporarily.

IPPN chief executive Páiric Clerkin said he shared the minister’s concerns about the potential value of money relating to the issue of supply panels.

However, he added that there was sufficient vacancies at present to justify a panel being set up and that the Department would get maximum value for money if they were introduced.

Worldwide shortage

He stressed that there is currently a worldwide shortage of primary school teachers and therefore no incentive for Irish graduates to stay in the country in the hope that they will get a temporary position.

“There is plenty of work out there at the moment. We do not want to see one cent wasted. We want to see it all going back at the end of the day to the schools and to the education system,” he said.

“With supply panels and the work that is available, we will keep those young graduates in the country by offering them a year’s contract on the supply panel.”

Mr Bruton also said he will be introducing quotas at second level for teachers qualified to teach certain subjects.

“Up to now there has been no attempt by the Department to set a profile for what positions should be filled in teacher training,” he said.

“We have areas where we have ambitions to grow in Stem (science, technology, engineering and maths) and in foreign languages.

“I have decided we will set requirements in those positions in those areas so that teacher training will not just be looking at who has the highest score in a primary degree.”