School Funding, Staffing Shortage and Special Educational Needs Support are three priority areas I would like to see the next Government effectively address.
School Funding
‘Cherish all of the children of the nation equally and give equal funding to primary and
post primary school pupils’ is the message our next government need to hear and respond to as stated by the Catholic Primary School Management Association.
Since the foundation of the state, Primary Education has been the poor relation in terms of government funding.
Today there is still a €145 per pupil gap between the capitation funding for primary and post primary pupils. That is a €145 shortfall for every child every year.
It is time to end this double standard against primary school pupils and instead fund primary education properly, so that schools, teachers and school leaders can focus on teaching and learning, instead of fundraising and penny pinching.
What can the next government do to address this priority concern?
The next government needs to align primary education funding (currently at 13% in Ireland) with the OECD average and increase expenditure per student to at least 27% of per capita GDP.
Schools are blessed to have incredible school communities that regularly and consistently support seasonal fundraisers to keep the lights on, fuel in the tank and pay for basic but
essential items like paying for buses to Cumann Na Mbunscol games and school trips for
children.
This should not be a struggle for schools and school communities yet in reality it is a cause for deep concern amongst School Leaders, Boards Of Managements and school
communities.
The next government needs to provide additional funding on a permanent basis to adequately cover rising costs of utilities, insurance and other basic operational expenses and remove the burden of responsibility to meet these costs by schools and their communities.
Many schools depend on the Ancillary Services Grant to cover the wages of ancillary school staff who are valued and essential members of school communities. The most recent Ancillary Grant awareded to schools was pitiful in many school contexts, enormously reduced and represents scant support in terms of schools meeting cleaning and caretaking costs.
Staffing Shortage
To say it is challenging to recruit staff for teaching posts at present is an understatement.
A recent INTO Survey of primary and special schools carried out in partnership with the Irish Primary Principal Network (IPPN) and the Catholic Primary Schools Management
Association (CPSMA) revealed that for the second year running schools are struggling to fill permanent, fixed – term and long term substitute teaching posts, leading to an overall staffing shortage of 951 teachers.
Even more concerning schools are forecast to have a further 1,816 vacancies by next January.
This means an overall shortage of 2,767 teachers for the majority of the school year. Of the primary schools who participated in the survey 195 permanent teaching posts and 756 long term temporary or substitute posts were unfilled in these schools in early October.
Reallocating special education teachers SET’s to cover short term absences is a very real and harmful impact on school communities.
59% of schools surveyed reported having to reallocate SETs to mainstream classes which is a shameful indictment of the current status quo.
Most Principals can relate to the daily scramble for locating available substitute teachers and this situation is at its worst at present. All schools are experiencing the difficulties illustrated above in some shape and form and the harsh reality is the children are being disadvantaged as a result.
What can be done by the next government to make a difference?
The next government must address this priority issue by increasing the number of places on initial teacher education courses by at least 300 per year.
Much more needs to be done to incentivise eligible teachers to return to work in Ireland from overseas.
They are a valuable resource if eligible teachers can be attracted to work in our Education system. More needs to be done by the next government to targeting and securing these teachers to work here.
The next government would do well to work alongside teacher representative bodies to find tangible solutions to this teacher staffing crisis and take on board suggestions and heed the comments of INTO Secretary General John O’Boyle “Housing, living costs and working conditions must all be addressed if we are to retain our teaching workforce and ensure viable future delivery of primary and special education in Ireland.”
Special Education Needs Support
Many schools experienced cuts to their valuable Special Education Teaching hours in recent months. In some cases this resulted in schools losing not just hours but in some cases teaching posts. Crucially the needs of our most vulnerable pupils are being disadvantaged.
The process for obtaining required resources and supports for pupils with special educational needs remains extremely challenging for schools and school leaders and places undue strain and angst on families and children with additional needs.
Without sufficient resources schools will struggle to deliver effective inclusive education. Effective inclusive education works where schools are properly resourced with appropriate accommodation, staffing, professional development training and services such as psychological support and therapeutic provisions.
We, as schools, are encouraged to prioritise our SEN resources and allocate them where the needs are greatest.
School leaders, teachers and Special Needs Assistants to their credit do this incredibly every day in good faith but enhanced provision of these vital resources is of paramount importance in helping children with special educational needs reach their full potential going forward.
What can the next government do address this priority concern?
Continue to increase funding for Special Education. Update the allocation models to reflect
current needs of the individual school with individual profiling and enhance the support for
testing and diagnoses.
Simplify and improve the appeals process for additional resources from the National Council for Special Education – NCSE. At present the current system does not allow for schools to adequately and promptly meet the needs of the most vulnerable children in our school communities nor does it allow for requisite resources being put in place for pupils with additional needs in a timely manner which is satisfactory to schools, parents and in the best interests of the children with special educational needs.
More can be done by our next government to support schools in delivering effective early
intervention of pupils presenting with additional educational needs.
Utilise existing systems like the Primary Online Database to gather more SEN Data directly from schools.
Work with schools and their representative bodies to develop a strategic plan to improve SEN provisions in the first two years of their term in office.
Best wishes to all candidates in the upcoming election. There is a great opportunity for our next government and elected representatives to work together to prioritise the very real and genuine concerns of our school communities.
I wish them well in their endeavours.
SEE ALSO – Check out all our 2024 General Election coverage here
