The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed chronic failings in our primary education system such as schools without hot water or soap, the president of the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) has said.
Mary Magner told delegates at the union's annual congress that it took a public health emergency to ensure classrooms are cleaned daily and a reduction in pupil-teacher ratios.
“Did it really take a pandemic to ensure that children were taught by a substitute teacher when their own teacher was sick for a day?” she said.
“Colleagues, this pandemic has highlighted the dire neglect and totally inadequate budget spending in our education system.”
She also said Covid-19 had also uncovered the dearth of physical, emotional, social and mental health supports for our most vulnerable and challenged pupils.
“The appalling absence, of education psychologists, speech and language therapists, psychiatrists, occupational therapists and counsellors is at crisis point,” she said.
“Our educational system simply does not have enough of these therapists in our schools and the severe shortage of support is negatively affecting and will continue to impact on this generation of children, if the situation isn’t addressed at lightning speed.”
Special education cuts
Teachers attending the annual congress voted in favour of a motion calling for freeze on special education “cuts” and for further investment in special education .
INTO delegates agreed that no school should lose its current special educational teaching allocations for two years and such a moratorium should not prevent schools from seeking additional support where necessary.
Teachers spoke of the significant damage to special education provision arising from both the pandemic and a prolonged period of inadequate investment which was exacerbated by cuts to resource teaching hours a decade ago.
Delegates deplored the lack of timely assessment and widespread unavailability to children such as needs assessments.
Eimear Mannion of the Loughrea branch, said many schools will need additional support, increased funding and immediate access to professional services, especially in light of the school closures and remote teaching.
Teachers also backed calls for a reduction in the size of primary school classes, to bring them into line with, or lower than, the EU average.
While a recent reduction in class size announced by Government will bring the average class size to 25 pupils, the union said there was still a way to go until I class sizes reach the EU average of 20 pupils per class.
INTO general secretary John Boyle said Ireland had the "particular shame of being the only country in the EU to issue guidance for social distancing in a class of 30 or more".
"The government has the opportunity over the next few years to bring our class sizes into line with the rest of Europe. We hope they will seize that opportunity," he added.
Carmel Browne of the INTO's central executive committee said the impact of "supersized classes" was never more evident than when the Covid pandemic hit in 2020.
“As hard as everyone worked to get our schools open last August, the stark reality is that social distance is an impossibility in large classes in cramped classrooms.”
Substitute teachers
In addition, the congress heard that a shortage of qualified teachers to cover short-term absences is a “huge challenge” for schools across the country and a threat to long term education standards if not addressed.
As a response to the need to provide substitute cover during the pandemic, the Department of Education expanded a supply panel scheme which now covers two thirds of the primary and special schools.
However, INTO members backed a motion calling for greater investment in primary school sector to expand this supply network and ensure all schools have cover and are kept safe.
The union’s vice president Joe McKeown said: “Saying that schools are safe places does not make schools safe. Ensuring safety requires ongoing support ... The need for adequate funding, leadership support and continued investment in primary education will remain. We must ensure it is maintained.”
Members also supported a motion calling for further reform of pregnancy and reproductive health related leave.
They directed the union to negotiate with the Department of Education to ensure that no certified pregnancy-related absence can be counted towards ordinary sick leave or affect pay entitlements.
Any appointments for assisted reproduction appointments should also be fully substitutable.
Siobhán Lynskey of the INTO’s Tuam branch said: “Teachers who miscarry need time and space to recover. They should not have the additional worry of it impacting on their sick leave. This is the most human of topics. Our colleagues need support.”
